Specialized Alexrims - can they be made good ?

Simply_Steve
Simply_Steve Posts: 59
edited March 2011 in Workshop
my wife has a pair of Spesh Alexrims on her Spesh Sirrus, I loaned her my mavic wheels with Spesh DT hubs today and she remarked on how much easier they were to ride on.

upon inspection its pretty fair to say the alexrims are fairly heavy and roll very poorly indeed, my question is can anything be done fairly inexpensively to improve how they roll, or are they plainly a poor budget wheel and an upgrade is the best option ?

Regards
Steve
2012 Giant Defy Composite 1
2010 Kenisis Racelight T2 (Single Speed)
2010 Specialized Sirrus
2010 Giant Talon 0
2010 Orbea Aqua TTG

Comments

  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    I have them on my Spec Singlecross and they roll fine. Fit some better tyres and you will see a difference. I have 25mm Conti GP4000s and they are fine.
    My Fleet.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    It's more likely to be the poor quality bearings than the rims to be honest. I'd ask what hubs are on there, but budget Alex rims are usually supplied with unbranded hubs.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    They're horrible hubs IME - as soon as they wear out, bin 'em. Best you can do is fit more supple tyres and make sure that spoke tension is good
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Simply_Steve
    Simply_Steve Posts: 59
    its deffo the hubs,

    I took the front wheel off last night, and if i'm honest they dont turn that freely, the same with the rear. they are budget and the hubs are indeed unbranded. - there appears to be some level increase of resistance from the cone dust covers themselves too.

    I guessing removing the reflectors etc will all help too as well as changing the tyres and tubes?
    2012 Giant Defy Composite 1
    2010 Kenisis Racelight T2 (Single Speed)
    2010 Specialized Sirrus
    2010 Giant Talon 0
    2010 Orbea Aqua TTG
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    If the hub bearings are adjustable a clean, lube and re-adjust may help. My rear one was too tight from new. A bit of grease on the dust covers as well. I don't think bearings make a major difference to how well a wheel rolls (well not until they get pretty awful). The resistance is so close to the wheel centre. The tyres make much more.
    My Fleet.
  • Simply_Steve
    Simply_Steve Posts: 59
    they are practically brand new... done 100 miles at the most.
    2012 Giant Defy Composite 1
    2010 Kenisis Racelight T2 (Single Speed)
    2010 Specialized Sirrus
    2010 Giant Talon 0
    2010 Orbea Aqua TTG
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    Simply_Steve wrote:
    they are practically brand new... done 100 miles at the most.
    Maybe but it does not mean they are adjusted right. Mine were not. If they are cup and cone they are easy to adjust. They should turn easily but with no play when the QRs are done up. If they are 'press fit' then not much you can do bearing wise.
    Still think tyres will be the main culprit. The cheaper models have quite heavy 32mm tyres which even at 90psi will feel a bit draggy. Something like 25mm Conti 4 Season would be a good compromise between puncture resistance and performance. This is as narrow as you can go on these rims.
    My Fleet.
  • Simply_Steve
    Simply_Steve Posts: 59
    SORTED ! :D

    quite right John, many thanks for the suggestion.

    I cracked out my cone wrenches last night, and its fair to say they were A: done up way too tight, and B: very poorly setup...

    after spending 15-20 mins getting them "just so" on each wheel, I am now happy to report they spin nice and freely.

    ive also removed the crappy cassette guard and reflectors as these were unbalancing the wheel.
    2012 Giant Defy Composite 1
    2010 Kenisis Racelight T2 (Single Speed)
    2010 Specialized Sirrus
    2010 Giant Talon 0
    2010 Orbea Aqua TTG
  • da goose
    da goose Posts: 284
    Bit late now but have sorted a pair that came on a Giant and smoother than Mavics now stripped and re lubed....shame I can`t say the same for the headsets....if you have the time its worth the effort :lol:

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