Recommend me some track wheels

andrewgas

I'm in the process of buiding a new track bike based on the planet x frame and am trying to decide which wheels to get. The bike will be used for general drop in session, SQT and some track league at Newport. Will consider either Clincher or Tubular, so any reccomendations?

oldwelshman

I must know you if yor racing and training there
I have the ffwd rear disc and 4 spoke front.
For outside I use old shamal clinchers bough off ebay from a well known accademy rider

Eddy S

It would help to understand your budget.

Following on what Old Welshman said, it's good to have a couple of sets of wheels, especially for indoor and outdoor use. There are clincher tyres good enough for indoor use if you're restricted. Having just one set of tub wheels isn't a good plan. There have been a few comments and discussions about this in previous threads.

I have 6 front and 5 rear wheels for track use (it's amazing how they breed! 8) ) ranging from Mavic CXP33/Suzue clinchers through various deep section carbon tub and clincher wheels to a couple of discs. The scary thing is that I use all of them depending on where I'm training or racing.

andrewgas

I just want an all round set of rims that I can use for everything really as I won't be doing anything more serious than the Track League on a Tuesday night. I can't see myself riding outdoor track so its purely for Newport Velodrome.

I was going to get a set of Navigator Pista clinchers but have heard they go out of true quite a bit. I've also seen the Mavic Ecllipse wheelset which cost a bit more but seem to get good reviews. Any opinions? If I go for clincher are Vittoria Diamante Pro light tyres the ones that are recommended?

andyp

I've a pair of Mavic Ellipse wheels and they are a good all rounder. You can pick them up cheaply on ebay if you have the patience, just make sure you get them with the lock ring as they are French threaded and finding one requires some detective work (Condor had some in stock a couple of months ago).

I've been using mine at my local track league and they are stiff, pretty aero and robust.

Vittoria Diamante tyres seem to be the recommended clincher for indoor tracks.

Eddy S

I've never ridden on Mavic Ellipse but have heard plenty of good things about them.

Another alternative if you want something bomb-proof is to get some wheels built around Dura Ace or Goldtec track hubs using CXP33 rims.

Yeah, the Diamante Pro Light clinchers are the biz indoors.

RPMcoaching

I don't know if Goldtec have changed their hubs much, but I wouldn't recommend them for track for two reasons:

1, the allen bolt things are rubbish, you want proper axles and nuts for track, where you take your wheel in and out a lot.
2, the chainline is 45mm, as opposed to the 42mm standard, so you need a longer BB and you can't swap between other wheelsets with standard hubs without swapping BB or messing the chainline up.

Everyone I know who uses mavic elipses seem to go very well on them, I'm not sure why, they are not particularly light, or even that stiff (I know someone who put some extra tension into the spokes to remedy this) but they do seem to go well, maybe it's the aerodynamics of low count bladed spokes, as opposed to the usual 32/36..

acorn_user

Miche Pistard wheels aren't too expensive, and you can get them in tub or clincher.

Cranks

Steve at www.roadacecomponents.co.uk , produces great handbuilds.

Also www.velodrama.co.uk are worth a shout.