Wheels, where do I start? New rabbit hole.
07-12-20, 10:42 PM
#26
Senior Member
Thread Starter
The lighter weight won't make you faster, but it will make the bike feel more responsive. Especially when you accelerate.
When the wind is blowing sideways, deep rims get blown around and make the bike harder to control. This is less a problem for heavier folks, and you're on the light side even for a roadie. If these are going to be your everyday road wheels, 30 mm is a good depth.
I don't know anything about their hubs or the spokes they use.
When the wind is blowing sideways, deep rims get blown around and make the bike harder to control. This is less a problem for heavier folks, and you're on the light side even for a roadie. If these are going to be your everyday road wheels, 30 mm is a good depth.
I don't know anything about their hubs or the spokes they use.
07-13-20, 04:00 PM
#27
Senior Member
Thread Starter
So I've gone and looked at a bunch of wheels from Light Bicycle, Hunt, some Reynolds on sale, and the Zipp 303Ses. I've come to these conclusions and would like to solicit some feedback.
It seems like LB/Hunt are around the same price point. you include the shipping and duties etc, and they'll come to about $1100/1200. LB is perhaps a little less expensive and if I get something from their global warehouse, I'll get better hubs/spokes at the expense of waiting longer and whatever duties I'll have to pay. Hunt's advantage seems to come in that they have a lifetime warranty. The wheels are very light and they're a decently notable brand. People have complained of their hubs being noisy/cheap. It seems like they have a high pawl count and the noise etc. to be cynical, may just be a way to pass off something as quality but they do seem to get decent reviews. Along with the Reynolds, I believe all these rims are tubeless ready and hooked.
The Zipps would come to $1300 with the biggest drawback being that they aren't the lightest, are on the pricier end, and more annoyingly, the hookless rim really makes tire selection much more limiting. It would also mean I'd have to drop another $100-150 right away to get new tires.
All the wheels I've looked at range from about 1380-1600g and are 35-50 deep. I think that depth range is right for me as I'm a light rider and I care about weight and I'm willing to give up a bit of aero for better handling/acceleration.
All this got me thinking: are "budget" carbon rims really worth it? Will I get a noticeable improvement or should I just get some premium alloy ones? Or mid-tier alloy rims? At what price point is there a noticeable upgrade from what I'm already running which are 23mm alloy rims that weigh just little over 1600g?
It seems like LB/Hunt are around the same price point. you include the shipping and duties etc, and they'll come to about $1100/1200. LB is perhaps a little less expensive and if I get something from their global warehouse, I'll get better hubs/spokes at the expense of waiting longer and whatever duties I'll have to pay. Hunt's advantage seems to come in that they have a lifetime warranty. The wheels are very light and they're a decently notable brand. People have complained of their hubs being noisy/cheap. It seems like they have a high pawl count and the noise etc. to be cynical, may just be a way to pass off something as quality but they do seem to get decent reviews. Along with the Reynolds, I believe all these rims are tubeless ready and hooked.
The Zipps would come to $1300 with the biggest drawback being that they aren't the lightest, are on the pricier end, and more annoyingly, the hookless rim really makes tire selection much more limiting. It would also mean I'd have to drop another $100-150 right away to get new tires.
All the wheels I've looked at range from about 1380-1600g and are 35-50 deep. I think that depth range is right for me as I'm a light rider and I care about weight and I'm willing to give up a bit of aero for better handling/acceleration.
All this got me thinking: are "budget" carbon rims really worth it? Will I get a noticeable improvement or should I just get some premium alloy ones? Or mid-tier alloy rims? At what price point is there a noticeable upgrade from what I'm already running which are 23mm alloy rims that weigh just little over 1600g?
Last edited by mattscq; 07-13-20 at 04:33 PM.
07-13-20, 08:53 PM
#28
Sunshine
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All this got me thinking: are "budget" carbon rims really worth it? Will I get a noticeable improvement or should I just get some premium alloy ones? Or mid-tier alloy rims? At what price point is there a noticeable upgrade from what I'm already running which are 23mm alloy rims that weigh just little over 1600g?
h plus son hydra rims 24g
bitex bx106 hubs 24h
sapim laser double butted spokes
sapim brass nipples
A dead reliable handbuilt wheelset that his properly tensioned and trued. Simple to fix with jbend spokes that every shop has and nipples that won't sheer or freeze.
...or save 38g more and get alloy nipples.
$505 with free shipping and 5% off, so $480 net price delivered to you.
1541g listed weight, so figure 1580g on a home scale to be safe.
I get that I am not an elite cyclist, but its tough for me to understand how this(or similar wheelsets with similar options at/under $600) will be 'worse' than many of the entry carbon wheelsets at 1.5-2x the cost.
Its quite the rabbit hole.
07-14-20, 05:14 AM
#29
commuter
Even moreso of a rabbit hole if you would be willing to learn how to build a set yourself with imported carbon rims. I built a set of wheels with 22mm internal, 29mm external width, 50mm deep carbon rims I purchased from a vendor on aliexpress (Liengu bikestore). Pillar Wing 20 spokes, Pillar DSN nipples, and DT Swiss 350 straight pull hubs. Weight for the set is 1580 grams, Total cost around 600 euro.
I never built a wheel in my life before, and I made a truing stand out of some scrap wood. But after looking at plenty of YouTube videos and reading up on the art of wheel building on several forums, the wheels turned out pretty much perfect. True within 0,3mm in all directions, and tensioned pretty evenly.
While this is not for everybody, it's a lot easier than you would think, especially with the wealth of information available on the subject.
Think about it
I never built a wheel in my life before, and I made a truing stand out of some scrap wood. But after looking at plenty of YouTube videos and reading up on the art of wheel building on several forums, the wheels turned out pretty much perfect. True within 0,3mm in all directions, and tensioned pretty evenly.
While this is not for everybody, it's a lot easier than you would think, especially with the wealth of information available on the subject.
Think about it
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07-14-20, 08:54 AM
#30
Full Member
So I've gone and looked at a bunch of wheels from Light Bicycle, Hunt, some Reynolds on sale, and the Zipp 303Ses. I've come to these conclusions and would like to solicit some feedback.
It seems like LB/Hunt are around the same price point. you include the shipping and duties etc, and they'll come to about $1100/1200. LB is perhaps a little less expensive and if I get something from their global warehouse, I'll get better hubs/spokes at the expense of waiting longer and whatever duties I'll have to pay. Hunt's advantage seems to come in that they have a lifetime warranty. The wheels are very light and they're a decently notable brand. People have complained of their hubs being noisy/cheap. It seems like they have a high pawl count and the noise etc. to be cynical, may just be a way to pass off something as quality but they do seem to get decent reviews. Along with the Reynolds, I believe all these rims are tubeless ready and hooked.
The Zipps would come to $1300 with the biggest drawback being that they aren't the lightest, are on the pricier end, and more annoyingly, the hookless rim really makes tire selection much more limiting. It would also mean I'd have to drop another $100-150 right away to get new tires.
All the wheels I've looked at range from about 1380-1600g and are 35-50 deep. I think that depth range is right for me as I'm a light rider and I care about weight and I'm willing to give up a bit of aero for better handling/acceleration.
All this got me thinking: are "budget" carbon rims really worth it? Will I get a noticeable improvement or should I just get some premium alloy ones? Or mid-tier alloy rims? At what price point is there a noticeable upgrade from what I'm already running which are 23mm alloy rims that weigh just little over 1600g?
It seems like LB/Hunt are around the same price point. you include the shipping and duties etc, and they'll come to about $1100/1200. LB is perhaps a little less expensive and if I get something from their global warehouse, I'll get better hubs/spokes at the expense of waiting longer and whatever duties I'll have to pay. Hunt's advantage seems to come in that they have a lifetime warranty. The wheels are very light and they're a decently notable brand. People have complained of their hubs being noisy/cheap. It seems like they have a high pawl count and the noise etc. to be cynical, may just be a way to pass off something as quality but they do seem to get decent reviews. Along with the Reynolds, I believe all these rims are tubeless ready and hooked.
The Zipps would come to $1300 with the biggest drawback being that they aren't the lightest, are on the pricier end, and more annoyingly, the hookless rim really makes tire selection much more limiting. It would also mean I'd have to drop another $100-150 right away to get new tires.
All the wheels I've looked at range from about 1380-1600g and are 35-50 deep. I think that depth range is right for me as I'm a light rider and I care about weight and I'm willing to give up a bit of aero for better handling/acceleration.
All this got me thinking: are "budget" carbon rims really worth it? Will I get a noticeable improvement or should I just get some premium alloy ones? Or mid-tier alloy rims? At what price point is there a noticeable upgrade from what I'm already running which are 23mm alloy rims that weigh just little over 1600g?
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07-14-20, 09:04 AM
#31
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07-14-20, 10:18 AM
#32
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Spoiler Alert.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
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07-14-20, 10:29 AM
#33
Senior Member
Spoiler Alert.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
07-14-20, 11:33 AM
#34
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Spoiler Alert.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
Eventually I might do a set of carbons for gravel racing, Farsports has a 30mm deep, 24mm internal with DT350 hubs that comes in at 1330g for under $800. But like LB, I'm sure I'd have to wait a couple of months to get them, might order over the winter for next season.
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07-14-20, 11:51 AM
#36
Full Member
Spoiler Alert.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
I appreciate all the comments but I ended up finding a set of (showroom/demo model) DT Swiss ARC1400s (42 depth) on The Pros Closet for $1200. I figured that if I wanted a trustworthy hub, the only way to get something like a DTSwiss 240 would be from Light Bicycle from their Chinese warehouse and that would take 3-4 weeks to ship and another 3-4 weeks to get here. The only bummer is the warranty will be a bit of a question mark (I would not be considered an original owner) but I think I should be ok.
I also get the added benefit that they're hooked so I can run my Contis tubed and I can easily swap out the ratchet (for an absurd $100 for 2 metal rings) if I wanted a head-turnier noise.
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07-14-20, 04:26 PM
#37
Senior Member
Thread Starter
A related question, and perhaps a future upgrade, are a lot of Bontrager wheels/hubs basically rebranded DT Swiss hubs? If so, would this part work? It basically looks identical to the $115 DT Swiss kit, while being only $55 and presumably if it's coming from Trek, it's probably originating from a DT Swiss or DT Swiss inspected factory and not just one of those eBay knockoffs of unknown provenance?
EDIT: I called and it is just the single ratchet ring. Question below is still up for discussion though.
Also, am I right to assume (from the cursory research I've done), one reason to go for 36T over 54T (though it seems like high engagement and a high-pitched angry bee sound is a bit of a fetish amongst some circles) is durability? Is that really an issue or more of something like I may have to replace it every 2000 miles vs 1500 miles etc.?
EDIT: I called and it is just the single ratchet ring. Question below is still up for discussion though.
Also, am I right to assume (from the cursory research I've done), one reason to go for 36T over 54T (though it seems like high engagement and a high-pitched angry bee sound is a bit of a fetish amongst some circles) is durability? Is that really an issue or more of something like I may have to replace it every 2000 miles vs 1500 miles etc.?
Last edited by mattscq; 07-14-20 at 04:56 PM.
07-14-20, 05:44 PM
#38
Senior Member
Also, am I right to assume (from the cursory research I've done), one reason to go for 36T over 54T (though it seems like high engagement and a high-pitched angry bee sound is a bit of a fetish amongst some circles) is durability? Is that really an issue or more of something like I may have to replace it every 2000 miles vs 1500 miles etc.?
07-18-20, 09:13 PM
#39
Senior Member
Thread Starter
So today I got the wheels and set them up. I haven't really been able to put them through their paces yet but so far, they're great. They don't seem all too different yet from my previous P1800 Splines except the hub is noticeably quiet. Is that just a thing with DT Swiss ratchet hubs? It's incredibly smooth but once you stop pedaling, you can barely hear it while the 3-pawl based 370 hubs on the P1800 are very loud.
