Budget tubular wheelset?
11-04-13, 05:30 AM
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Budget tubular wheelset?
As the title states. I want to go back to tubulars. I know "budget" can be open to interpretation, I'll just say I'm not looking for $5000 carbon wheels with a billboard on the side. I'm just your average Joe. What are the least expensive you guys have seen? Perhaps I should look into a custom set with Ultegra hubs.
11-04-13, 06:00 AM
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I don't really have a budget. Just interested in the least expensive and go up from there. I have been considering a custom built set with King hubs if that gives you an idea. I guess I would say less than $1000.
11-04-13, 10:42 AM
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As the title states. I want to go back to tubulars. I know "budget" can be open to interpretation, I'll just say I'm not looking for $5000 carbon wheels with a billboard on the side. I'm just your average Joe. What are the least expensive you guys have seen? Perhaps I should look into a custom set with Ultegra hubs.
Incidentally, the HED Belgium C2's come in at 1673 grams set up as above. What's kind of amazing for me is that they seem to be about a gear faster than with the Reflex set I had earlier. I had thought I was faster, then my wife mentioned it yesterday on our ride. I'm as fast with these as I am with my Easton CF rims and the ride is better. I'm not sure why that is and it's got me confused, but it's what the training data shows.
J.
11-04-13, 04:40 PM
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Neuvation has 80 mm tub wheelset for <700 today
11-04-13, 06:19 PM
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11-04-13, 06:27 PM
#9
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As the title states. I want to go back to tubulars. I know "budget" can be open to interpretation, I'll just say I'm not looking for $5000 carbon wheels with a billboard on the side. I'm just your average Joe. What are the least expensive you guys have seen? Perhaps I should look into a custom set with Ultegra hubs.
The last wheelset I bought I blew the bank and spend $350 for some Chinese carbon 38mm rims and Novatec hubs. These are very light, stiff, and the hubs work great. First thing I did was to pull apart the hubs to have a look. They seem to be well made and are easy to service. I ridden several hundred miles on these with great satisfaction.
As far as hubs, Dura-Ace gets you the best hubset in the world. I don't mean the orphaned 7800/7801 or ancient 7400 series. I mean the modern hubset with the titanium freehubs.
Best designed and implemented hub on the planet - at any price. And I'm a Campagnolo guy.
11-04-13, 07:25 PM
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Anyhow they have a wheel builder web app on their website at https://www.excelsports.com/wheel.asp. You can fool around with different builds and see for yourself. FWIW, I ran their wheel builder using the Mavic Reflex rims laced 32 spokes on each wheel, shimano ultegra 10 speed hubs and it comes in at $385. Didn't check it out, but it's probably because of sale prices on the 10 speed hubs.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ch...FSdp7AodbQQAMg
Buying the King hubs alone is pretty close to the same price. May have to go with that.
11-04-13, 07:32 PM
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I was just checking. I know some newbies jump into tubulars to save a couple hundred grams on wheel weight and end up with more trouble than they need at that stage.
Carry on.
11-04-13, 10:49 PM
#13
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That's not bad at all. I did just find these:
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ch...FSdp7AodbQQAMg
Buying the King hubs alone is pretty close to the same price. May have to go with that.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ch...FSdp7AodbQQAMg
Buying the King hubs alone is pretty close to the same price. May have to go with that.
The HED's that I had built are really awesome - it's some combination of the bearings in the DT Swiss hubs and the wider rim and the Tufo 23 Elite tires. I don't know what it is, but it's my favorite wheelset for sure (I've got so many wheelsets in the garage, it's silly).
I find it to be less work and fooling around than with clinchers. I keep really complete maintenance records on my bikes and I've found that using Tufo's "tubeless tubulars" I get between 1/6th to 1/8th the flats I did with clinchers. With their tape system, it's really easy to set it up and change a tire. The last three tires I've changed were down to the cords and no flats. So, tubulars would have to be a seriously major increase in work before it wouldn't be worth it, and they just are not.
Let us know what you decide on wheels and how you like them.
J.
