EasternRoads

That's a beautiful frame! I've been wanting a Wabi for a while now. Why are you going with a heavier wheel set as opposed to a Wabi wheels?

murrellington

Aesthetics. Not a big fan of how the Wabi wheels look.I wanted black ones and although H Plus Son's are heavier, they are a great wheel. Plus, I'm not a weight weenie so it doesn't really bother me much.

franswa

I really haven't considered trimming down on weight ever before until I read about rotating weight last week. So I weighed the wheelset that came with my Fuji and was shocked at how heavy they weighed. So I swapped the wheelset from another build that weigh 1.3 lbs less just to see if it could be perceived. I was particularly interested in finding out because I live in a rather hilly city and I squeeze out 20 to 30 miles on average daily. The weight benefits were definitely felt in acceleration and when climbing hills. I realize this is not a scientific test but the data on my cyclemeter app corroborated what I felt like I was perceiving. Whether or not this was all mentally driven is beyond me, but if it improves my performance, I'm OK with that.

murrellington

Nice! Well I'm not at that level yet. Maybe in the future I'll look for something lighter. But in the meantime, tb14s are lighter than my current wheelset.

Scrodzilla

Weight isn't everything. TB14s are awesome.

IAmSam

I had been contemplating a very light and very expensive 20/24 wheel build for a long time but everybody I discussed it with told me I was crazy to consider such a low spoke-count for daily "urban" riding. When I found these, figured it would a great test to see how such a build would hold up.

Only had them for about a month so can't give you long-term report but so far I do like the way they perform very much. However - I do not like their bolt-in system at all.

Good luck and have fun with yours...

edit...And I like the all polished, moderate depth look very much but hate the cheap-looking flat black bolts. Been looking for replacements, not easy to find 9mm for the front.

Mumonkan

the only weight i care about at this point are my wheels, my a23:formula huba take off like rockets as opposed to my cr18:sturmey archers

that being said ive only climbed mountains with the latter, so i guess it doesnt really matter

franswa

While I do agree that weight isn't the silver bullet in cycling, it's very hard to ignore the fact that my front wheel weighs almost as much as the wabi wheelset does together.

franswa

I was also worried about the low spoke count, but I was able to chat with Richard and ask him som questions that made me feel better regarding their durability. I understand they're not going to be bomb-proof, and that is perfectly fine with me, I don't ride fixed and I am not hopping curbs or thrashing the streets. It's all about managing your own expectations.


I almost purchased some campy wheels that had the quick release skewers and started to research replacing the axles to become bolt-on and also ran into trouble locating the front axle.

TejanoTrackie 

Unless you guys are clydes, low spoke count wheels won't be a problem. I have several sets of low spoke count geared wheels, and the only difference I've noticed is that the rear wheel feels a bit spongy when really stomping hard on the pedals. I was tempted to buy a set of the Wabi superlight wheels, but am perfectly happy with the standard set that I have on my not particularly lightweight Soma Rush. Now, if Wabi made those new wheels in 650c for my Wabi Lightning, then for sure I'd grab me a set.

murrellington

How much do Clydes weigh?

TejanoTrackie 

>220 lbs

RubenAlonzo

I just bought some new handlebars, a rear rack bag, strobe lights and new seat for my Panama Jack.

veganbikes

I have seen people come through the shop with low spoke count wheels who are pretty light and have issues. Plus I see the issue on forums and with other folks I know. I would rather have a few extra spokes to make a stronger wheel and cut out weight elsewhere. Unless I am a racer and have either money or sponsorship, low spoke count wheels are silly and not practical. Probably depending on weight anything below 24 is too low also with the caveat of the lacing.

TejanoTrackie 

Perhaps these wheels were not built properly, as proper spoke tension is critical. My most recent set of low spoke count wheels are a set of Zipp 101 aluminum rim clinchers that have 20 spokes in the rear and 18 spokes in the front. I've put 1200 road miles on them so far w/o any problems, and although I weigh only about 135 lbs, Zipp actually rates them for riders weighing up to 250 lbs, so they are definitely not super fragile. So, I disagree that they are silly or impractical if you have the money to afford them, as I can definitely feel the liveliness that they provide even for totally non-competitive riding. BTW, the main benefit of a lower spoke count is reduced wind drag, not weight reduction.

Nagrom_

Hail Satan.

hairnet

The uncreator of heaven and soil.

Leukybear 

Probably should've bought something to post along with that tribute... would've gotten his blessing on said item.

TenSpeedV2

Came on Saturday

Mumonkan

when did they change the graphics on those? i removed most of mine from mine with the older graphics

TenSpeedV2

I don't know to be honest. I am just getting into the game here with this brand as I was a mountain biker previously and a year and a half ago, I wouldn't have considered riding on the road, let alone on a fixed gear bike. It was advertised as a 2014 model from the seller on eBay. It is actually the wrong color, as I ordered matte black with dark grey logos for a more muted look, but I think that this will actually work. Waiting on one more piece to see.

T13

Unkle Rico

Ding ding ding

Mumonkan

comes right off with nail polish remover if you wanna murder it out

TenSpeedV2

Will that do anything to the gloss black finish on it or does it just remove the logos?