Alan@TreeFort

Need some new wheels. I'm thinking Ultegra hubs laced to Stan's Alpha rims, and running tubeless tires. This is my 2nd season doing cross, and I'm thinking it will be a pretty killing wheelset. Right now I've got heavy, slow, stock formula wheels. That just won't do.

Anybody used either those hubs or those rims for 'cross? Maybe even both together?!?

M_S

I have Shimano hubs on all of my bikes ranging from Tiagra to Ultegra, XT, and DA. All are varying levels of awesome and super reliable. I use an Ultegra 6600 rear hub on my SS cross bike and it has performed admirably for years. None are light for their class, but whatever.

I have heard mixed results on the Alpha rims fro cross. They are just too super light for me to trust (not to mention spendy to replace). if it were me and I didn't also want to run narrow road tires I would use the proven 355, or Velocity A23s, which incidentally I just built up a wheelset with this spring and they rock. Velocity's EP price is very good too. I assume you're a dealer judging from your sig.

Good luck!

Barrettscv 

I'm running Shimano 105 hubs and Velocity A23 rims. Very satisfied.

Alan@TreeFort

Thanks for the heads up... I'm not real familiar with the A23's (though I have built a couple wheels with other Velocity rims) but that could be a possibility as well. I really like the idea of running tubeless though with the Alpha rims.

Hunt-man

I haven't run tubeless yet but was very tempted last year to get a set. I was in a race and heard one burp out most of its air. It was a very rough and hilly course to be fair. I'm gonna stick with tubes.

Alan@TreeFort

Update:

So I bought the wheels, hand built from Handspun. As a wheel builder myself (who purchased them because of a screaming deal), I retensioned and trued the wheels when they came in, more for my peace of mind than anything else.

After a week of riding, including road, dirt roads, intervals, and single-track, I conclude that the Stan's rims perform more or less as everybody as described. They are extremely light for fast acceleration. However they are flimsy, you can feel the flex when powering hard in a high gear. Also they are difficult to true spot-on since they are very flexible, and obtaining a high spoke tension is difficult (and probably not a good idea) for the same reason.

After doing the retensioning and seeing how flexy these rims were, I was worried about riding on them. However they have not budged from position after 100 miles, even on single track with several hard drops. I know this isn't much time on them, but I have good hopes for them as a cyclocross rim. Haven't run them tubeless, so can't say much for that.

In the end, I would suggest them for lighter riders looking to save weight. I dropped over a pound from my stock formula wheels. If I were to do it over again, I may still purchase them but would probably do the wheel build myself with brass nipples instead of the alloy ones that came on the wheels (ugh). I'll have more to fill in after a full season of cross on them, but for now I'm happy with the decision.

As for the Ultegra hubs, YES! Fast, light, roll smoothly, the rear hub is near silent, and easily serviceable. A great hub that will last a very long time.

igknighted

Why did you go Stan's with Ultegra? Why not just go for the 6700 wheelset... tubeless, stronger, and a great price.

Alan@TreeFort

Didn't consider it, but I'm not a fan of straight-pull spokes or low count spokes, especially not for cross. I'm sure many use them successfully, but just not for me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm am extremely happy with the Alpha rims. They're light and dependable. Not stiff or true as something like an Open Pro, but still very good rims.

Cynikal 

Thanks for the review. I'm also considering tubeless for cross but I want to hear more about riding them tubeless. My concern is having them burp at low pressures (like 28 psi).

flargle

OK here's where the curmudgeon comes in and reminds everyone that tubeless still can't replace tubulars on race day.

Can you ride a flat tubeless tire to the pit? Can you reliably run tubeless at 18psi? Can you bottom out a tubeless setup and not burp?

Regarding the Alpha rims, it's no surprise how flimsy they are, given their weight. If you want to shed weight, run carbon tubulars. The no-name carbon tubular rims I've bought online have worked very well. Light and stiff.

Cynikal 

I admit that I'm a boarder line curmudgeon myself but there are times that I'll at least research the latest what have you. You outlined all of my concerns with tubeless setups.

BTW, can you point me to your carbon rims? If I can make it fit the wallet then that is the direction I'll head.

M_S

I got the a23s because velocity oked tubeless on them but they aren't race only wheels like a set of tubies would be for me. If you want a light set of wheels for a lot of different uses then clinchers/tubeless still makes sense. Tubulars will probably wait until next season for me since I'll be gone for most of the llocal races this year.

Alan@TreeFort

Agreed. While tubulars are the the undisputed king of cross, I put my cyclocross bike through a more than just racing. I'd hate to wear down expensive tubular tires from miles and miles of paved and gravel roads... yes two wheelsets is the best way to go but now you're talking a lot of cash . For amateur racers and every day riders like me, tubeless clinchers sounds like a good compromise.

Alan@TreeFort

Will do, I'll probably set them up tubeless within the next 2-3 weeks. Thinking about using Stan's Raven tires. I'll post when I have experience riding on them tubeless.

flargle

For example
https://www.ebay.com/itm/38mm-New-Ful...ht_1562wt_1048
Buyer beware, at your own risk, blah blah. But I've built up a couple pairs, the local wrench--whose opinion I value highly--was impressed with the quality of the rims.

Cynikal 

Thanks flargle. That may well be in the budget and laced to a set of Novtec hubs, they would be really light.

M_S

yeah, that would be a nice homebuilt Taiwanese special. Pretty tempting though, thanks for the link.

I will probably go Major Toms when I build some tubies though to match all my other (wide) rims but others do not have that self-imposed limitation.

Crap, now I'm thinking too much about cross and I'll be missing most of the season.

mikerhymeswith

i've got wheelset and the DA set - they are great - but everything about them is unique - not sure fixing them if they break is worthwhile - don't think the hubs can be re-purposed either - a true throw-away arrangement

low spoke count -> very high tension; hard bounce on downhill turn with a root could be bad for these wheels; better for road - but road tubeless is a mixed experience and off topic here

stick with hubs and rims that use off-the-shelf spokes - unless someone else is paying for your habit