hman0217

Hello friends,

I recently picked up an inexpensive SS as a commuter so I could finally stop feeling nervous about locking up my beauties in the shadier parts of town while working. (Turns out I absolutely love riding it. I didn't appreciate that the difference in efficiency would be that dramatic)

Anyway this frame easily has clearance for 32+ mm tires but the wheel set internal rim width measures at about 13.5 mm, which is pushing it for a 28 mm tire. I really want a beefier set of tires for the pothole-ridden nyc roads and maybe even an intentional dirt path detour. (currently has on 25 mm tires)

Scouring the internet though, I don't find internal rim widths posted for any pre-built SS wheel sets anywhere. I guess most fixie/SS buyers aren't as spec-oriented as some of us more fanatical riders? And I want to keep the spending modest on this one so I'm not about to get a high end wheel set.

Does anyone know of any fixie/SS wheel sets with 100/120 hubs that have an internal rim width of 15-16 mm, so that I can accommodate a 32 mm tire? Would love to do this for about US$100, give or take. (wheel set only. tires not included)

Thx

phobus

You'll be fine running 28s on a 13mm internal rim. I do it. They end up narrower than advertised, but you still get the additional sidewall height which is what helps with soaking up bumps and stuff. 32s would probably be fine, too, but I take no responsibility.

There are plenty of popular options out there for wider rims in prebuilt fixed-specific wheelsets. Velomine carries several - H Plus Son Archetype, Velocity A23 for example. Even cheaper is the Sun CR18, which is $130 plus shipping so over budget but it's the closest I could think of:

Sun CR18 silver rims Fixed Gear Track Bike Wheelset 36 Hole Sun CR18 silver rims flip flop fixed gear Formula hubs wheelset [71186] - $129.99 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

seau grateau

+1, CR18 is your guy.

hman0217

nice! I'm assuming the 22.5 mm is external and that perhaps the "18" in CR18 is internal?

I'll keep those on my radar

Litespud

I've run 28mm tires on my fixies Mavic Open Pro rims (19mm outside, 15mm inside) for years without issues. 18s on a 13mm internal rim should be fine. I use 25s on my road bike, but I went with the 28s as it's harder to smoothly unship my butt out of the saddle when rolling over rough ground on the fixie, so I wanted the extra cushion of the 28s - easier on me, the bike and the wheels. I don't see you getting a wheel set for $100 unless they're used, in which case, CL or eBay. Another option is to buy the requisite rims and build your own wheels with your existing hubs. Since there's no dishing involved, these would be the easiest wheels to cut your teeth on.

TimothyH

I run 25 mm Vittoria Rubino on Wabi Sub 15 rims which are 13.2 mm inside width.

Been doing so since 2015 without issue.


-Tim-

ThermionicScott 

hman0217

I have indeed considered it but the need for a stand has been making me drag my feet on it. That said, I'll strongly consider the SS wheel as my first foray when I'm ready to pull that trigger

Thanks again

Bigpond

BicycleBicycle

I made a post not very long ago about building a wheel with exactly that rim (Sun CR18).
Sun makes great rims, and that rim is 22.5 mm wide (it's just 0.5 mm shy of all H Plus Son rims) and H + Son uses their wideness as a selling point. They are also often touted as a great rim for that reason. Wide rims have been a trend as of late.
The rim profile is also very similar to the rhyno-lite (legendary bmx rim) but with a little less material on one of the interior walls, and thinner smaller exterior walls.

I've scoured across the internet, and I've looked for a better wide rim combination and have found NOTHING CLOSE to the deal on velomine for CR18's. In fact, they are giving you BOTH wheels for what you would normally pay for ONE MUCH crappier wheel anywhere else. DT Champion, on sealed hubs? That's $250+ anywhere else I promise.

If you bought a cheap fixed, it may be decent quality with a full chromoly frame/fork, rebranded/unbranded vuelta pista cranks, and some decent 6 or 7 series mass manufactured (but you probably wont need to replace a seatpost or stem ever) aluminum components. But it for sure has crap wheels.
One thing that ALL cheap fixay brands skimp out on is the wheels.
I've seen unsealed crap wheels even at the $600+ price point, and once on a freaking $1000 bike!

This makes no sense to me. To me, apart from the frame, the wheels are the most important part of the bike.
Like me, if you don't go with a minimum of formula hubs, you will probably flare your bearing cups, or have loose hubs after a couple of months. They will ride very horribly, be considerably slower/less smooth, and be an actual road hazard (i've snapped fix cogs going downhill). Because they are loose and barely have dust caps most of the time, you will also collect dust and this will destroy your hubs.

You could potentially maintain them, but a set of cone wrenches, a tube of ball bearings, and a tube of quality grease is already like 30% of the price of those wheels (and you still run the risk of flaring your cups).
If you plan on commuting with them you need sealed cartridge hubs. Period.
Formula hubs use relatively soft aluminum but the quality of the hub is such a huge jump from anything else at that price point that they should be all you are looking for in a cheap wheelset.

Anyways, my point is that unless you have decent hubs, just buy the above wheelset. The only reason I built a wheel was because I already had good hubs and matching spokes and the rim cost me like $30.
Otherwise, if you don't have the cash, look into getting a good rear wheel. Look at pictures of formula hubs and just lurk craigslist everyday looking for "rear fixeay wheelz". Immediately dismiss anything that looks like it came off a cheap complete/ loose ball and when you see a formula hub with a decent rim for
under $50, pick it up. (I picked up a deep v on a formula hub for $25, but that's very rare).

This is a bit long winded, but I have destroyed EVERY pair of loose ball hubs that i've had and they have also been an actual safety hazard when riding them.
If you can drop the cash right now, you definitely won't regret picking up that wheelset.. Your rides will be very smooth, you'll never have to think about the wheels again unless you get a flat or hit a pothole, and the wide box section will be super sexy heavenly bliss.

hman0217

Gresp15C

I've built four wheels on CR18's, and couldn't be happier with them. I recommend Dan's Comp for spokes.

BicycleBicycle

Thanks man.
I was just saying that I personally think it is a waste if you built the wheels on loose ball hubs. i'm sure you've ridden on them before and destroyed them. But you could always just get another hub and re-use the rim. Flange lengths don't seem to vary all that much and there's tons of vintage (very high quality) low flanges for like $10 on ebay and CL.
Formulas are dime a dozen and you can find them rebranded everywhere.

ThermionicScott 

hairnet

lol I've never seen someone on BF hate on loose ball hubs so much. Even my mountain bike has loose ball hubs. Maybe I'll get stranded on a remote trail because my crappy hubs gave out on me.

hman0217

BicycleBicycle

There are obviously some nice loose balls like dura ace track hubs.

Those hubs are built with better alloys and much more precision.

This makes them faster than cartridge bearings simply because they have less friction on rotating surfaces.

Not a lot of dirt on the track so in that case loose balls are superior.


The OP was specifically referring to budget wheels. There is a massive difference between formula hubs and budget loose balls, and an even bigger difference between high quality loose balls and budget ones.

The budget loose balls I've taken apart are basically made out of pot metal. You can barely call them aluminum.

I've shredded literally every pair of budget loose balls I've ever owned. They just fall apart.

You may have a good pair of loose balls like DT Swiss or WTB or something to that matter. Those, again, are made with better materials and better seals.

Yes, budget loose balls may actually partially disintegrate when you are riding them. This has literally happened to me (Cone nuts disintegrating, cogs shattering, cups flaring).


Yes, you can maintain them routinely and they would be less likely to do so, but this only makes sense when you already own the tools to do it. If you don't, you're paying like 35% of the price of a good budget formula hubbed wheelset on velomine.

Even then, I can't imagine any person recommending a set of loose ball hubs for a daily city commuter. The small decrease in rolling resistance doesn't matter to anyone but the professional.

When I took apart formula hubs, I noticed a soft alloy, but not as bad as the ones found on the typical complete.

The machining was pretty nice and the overall construction was impressive for such a budget hub.

Therefore, I grew a liking to them because they are within reach of just about everyone as far as price goes.

They're also rebranded by almost every company that just wants to put their name on a set of wheels.
There are also only like 4-5 major bearing manufacturers that every company gets their bearings from, so you can't really compare on that point.
This also means that you can upgrade to something like ceramic bearings or marine grade bearings in the future if you feel so inclined (and you would be able to re-use those bearings on other hubs).

I've never once had a problem with them and i've ridden them through daily, rough, city miles in all weather conditions but snow.

I also screw around occasionally and treat my single speeds like a bmx bike and still no problems. They just continue to be smooth, fast rolling, dependable maintanance free hubs.


So YMMV, but in my opinion, having destroyed every set of them i've ever owned (as opposed to maybe just a bad batch), I believe that someone should take that consideration seriously.

BicycleBicycle

If you don't see a cartridge bearing in there, I personally don't think it's worth putting a new rim on it.

Here is a spoke length calculator.
https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/spokelengthcalculator

Plug in your dimensions and see what your spoke length is.
(compare with the cr18 rim).
If you have to buy new spokes, you're halfway to the above wheelset.

BicycleBicycle

Loose balls are not THAT bad. To be fair, I'm a heavy guy.
They allow sub $400 bikes to have a set of wheels on them rather than not having any at all.
You could also get a taste for how fixed feels for you by just getting a cheapie rear wheel conversion kit for like less than $80.
Just know that if you have a bike with loose ball stock wheels, plan on replacing them in the future if you are going to be riding the bike very very often.