Ambrosio or Tiagra/105 hubs

jimsam33

I'm looking at getting a wheelset made up and can't decide which hubs to get.

I've pretty much decided on getting Mavic Open Pro rims.

I was just deciding between Tiagra and 105 when Harry Rowland recommended Ambrosio Zenith hubs. The Zentith hubs come out at a cheaper price than 105s.

Does anyone have any opinions on the subject?

many thanks

FransJacques

Still can't believe you're going for an options which might not be lighter than your SSRs but it's your cash. To have any hope of getting a lighter wheelset and avoiding post-purchase regret you MUSt do the following:

- go 32 spokes and 28 on the front if possible (Tiagra hubs are not made in 28 hole but Ultegra are)
- go alu nipples on the front. go alu nipples NDS rear if they'll let you
- go DT revolutions or CX Rays on the front and NDS rear.
- go 14/15 butted on DS rear
- skip the tiagra front and get something lighter like the Ambrosio hub

I have a set of 28 hole Open Pros on Ultegra hubs with DT Revolution spokes with alu nipples front and rear which weigh 704 and 940. If you don't do the options I suggested above, and with the Tiagra hub, you'll easily be back into the 1150 gram range which is the weight of the rear SSR. Make sure you get them built TIGHT so at least if you don't improve the weight you'll get improved road feel.

Overall - a £330 pair of RS80s will sheit all over the above solution and I still can't believe you're going to spooge away your post-40% cash with this option :-( Are there any buddies of your with really slick wheels so you can try before you buy?

jimsam33

FransJacques,

Still going through all my options before deciding what to do now or in the near future.

I realise that I might not be losing too much weight with a wheel change. That isn't my real aim, after all i'm not racing. I'm after a durable wheel that will give me a better road feel and will last for years to come. I am a little concerned with my weight (87kg) and 16/20 spoke wheels. Most of my cycling is done away from home on my own and a broken spoke would mean a long walk home. I know you have mentioned losing weight. I have done that but seem to have stabilized where I am.

Possible new wheelset would be Open Pros, Ambrosio Hubs with Sapim race spokes, built by Harry Rowland. Original budget has been increased a little.

Unfortunately I don't know many people who cycle so can't really ask. RS-80s will still give me the feeling of will this wheel make it back home.

redddraggon

jimsam33 wrote:

FransJacques,

Still going through all my options before deciding what to do now or in the near future.

I realise that I might not be losing too much weight with a wheel change. That isn't my real aim, after all i'm not racing. I'm after a durable wheel that will give me a better road feel and will last for years to come. I am a little concerned with my weight (87kg) and 16/20 spoke wheels. Most of my cycling is done away from home on my own and a broken spoke would mean a long walk home. I know you have mentioned losing weight. I have done that but seem to have stabilized where I am.

Possible new wheelset would be Open Pros, Ambrosio Hubs with Sapim race spokes, built by Harry Rowland. Original budget has been increased a little.

Unfortunately I don't know many people who cycle so can't really ask. RS-80s will still give me the feeling of will this wheel make it back home.

Nout wrong with the wheels you are suggesting. I've not heard any negatives comments about the Ambrosio hubs. So go for them I reckon.

Limburger

Ambrosio hubs are nice pieces of kit in my experience. I would go for those myself.

FransJacques

Ok, I understand your motivations better now - as I said on the last thread, automatic assumption that riders are looking for less weight when getting new hoops. You're looking for better feel and durability.

Go 2x in the front for a tight feel but less loosening issues than radial spokes and 3x rear. There's a 2x/3x rear pattern you can also do that's strong - Harry will do what's fastest for him, he gets paid on a piece basis so speed is important for him, so you need to ask for something particular.

In the meantime, if you're a long way from home on the SSRs, go too a good shop and buy 1 each of a front spoke, rear DS and rear NDS side then just tape them to your NDS chainstay for any breakeages. They can be any 14 guage el cheapo stuff. Just be sure they fit your current nipple size cuz that'll make repairs faster - no taking off the tyre and rim tape. Touring bikes back in the day used too have cool braze-ons sur le chainstay where you could thread 2 or 3 spokes for storage. It acted as a chainstay guard as well - very trick - something you never see any more.

jimsam33

Frans,

what do you mean by x2 and x3 patterns? and what advantage would I get by going x2 at the front rather tha x3?

FransJacques

those are spoke crossing patters. 2x is good for front wheels since the spokes are shorter/stiffer and when you're standing up swaying the bike it feels snappier.
radial spoking can be an issue because when a spoke is at the bottom it unweights when the rider is standing and strongly rocking the bike, the nipple can unwind unless it's really tight or one uses locktite. etc.
3x is good for rear durability - imagine sprinting from stand-still on a radial rear wheel - you'll get spoke wind up which stresses the hub flanges, spoke heads and spoke bed on the rim. 3x orients the vector of force from the hub along the direction of the spoke and transfers this to the rim (more) downwards rather than in the sheer plane.
Rear wheels with DS 3x and NDS radial suffer from uneven tension unless you dicker with the variables - flange spacing, flange diameter differential, or spoke bed offset to compensate for length and tension differences. all things being equal the rear wheel with the spoke angle and tension the most equal will last the longest.
it's one of the reasons why road bike rear dropout widths and MTB rear dropout widths have spread from 126 to 130mm and 126 to 130 to 135 mm respectively. as cassettes progressed from 5 to 6 to 7 to 8 to x speed they got wider pushing the DS spoked towards the centerline. you get the rest of the story