Planet X model C wheels

zerostar

There are plenty of threads on here about the model b wheels, but there doesnt seem to be much discussion of the model c wheels.

Reading Sheldon it seems as though the model B are a bit of a false economy and that it out of the two sets the model c are a better bet.
What does everyone think?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

The Great Spoke Scam: In the early '80s a clever marketeer hit upon the idea of using only 32 spokes in wheels for production bikes. Because of the association of 32 spoke wheels with exotic high performance bikes, the manufacturers were able to cut corners and save money while presenting it as an "upgrade!" The resulting wheels were noticeably weaker than comparable 36 spoke wheels, but held up well enough for most customers.

Since then this practice has been carried to an extreme, with 28, 24, even 16 spoke wheels being offered, and presented as it they were somehow an "upgrade."

Actually, such wheels normally are not an upgrade in practice. When the spokes are farther apart on the rim, it is necessary to use a heavier rim to compensate, so there isn't usually even a weight benefit from these newer wheels!

This type of wheel requires unusually high spoke tension, since the load is carried by fewer spokes. If a spoke does break, the wheel generally becomes instantly unridable.

alfablue

The problem with this argument applied to the model B/C wheels is that they use the same rims. The B's are tough (have toured on them), but the C's are still going to be lighter than any other 32 spoke wheel at the price.

iPete

alfablue wrote:

The problem with this argument applied to the model B/C wheels is that they use the same rims. The B's are tough (have toured on them), but the C's are still going to be lighter than any other 32 spoke wheel at the price.

Hi alfa,

What kind of touring did you deal with?

I'm in a tight financial position and have the option of hand built wheels for £250 or saving a shed load of money and looking at the planet x range, which would also suit my desire to do more sportives etc. I'm 70kg and will be carrying 12kg of kit. Similar to what you put them through?

alfablue

I guess the loads were similar, I think you could get a robust set of handbuilt touring wheels from Spa Cycles much cheaper than this, they would be strong but heavier (weight is not a big issue when touring). The model B's would not be my choice for touring (mainly because a spoke breakage could be difficult to deal with), but it was the only option at the time, however they worked well and were unscathed. I think the C's will still offer advantages over any other wheels at the price, still light, but stronger, so if you want to cover all your bases and only want to spend once, I guess they make most sense.

You could get Spa's handbuilts on Sora hubs for £120 delivered
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s178p1955

Or go Tiagra for £9 more

AND get the model B's for £99

and still be under the £250 budget.

Spa have a great reputation btw.

iPete

Thanks for sharing your experience with the B's. I've heard a lot about Spa but the Model C's are at such a tempting price, would save lots towards the other kit thats still needed.

Sounds like a perfect compromise between strength and weight and I may upgrade my Allez after the trip to a new carbon bike so not worth going overboard on a touring set.

Thanks for the help.