£400 on some Handbuilt wheels?

Bengdogg

What would you go for if you were me? I am 6,3" 93kg fairly strong climber and want some everyday wheels for training,group rides and sportives. I was looking at 36h rear hope pro 3's on mavic open pros and 28h front from Justridingalong.

I want a stiff set of wheels that deliver the power and dont flex when sprinting or climbing hard.

Thanks :P

napoleond

They'll be great! But 32h will be plenty.
Assuming they do a good job of building them of course.
If you want something more bling then have a look at Ksyrium elites (it's what I have, I'm similar build to you).

Bengdogg

I had looked at the Krysiums but last time I had to get a mavic spoke I had to buy 12 just to replace 1!, I also considered the shimano Rs 80 cl24, Dura ace cl24 pushed my budget a little and fulcrum racing 3's

The other outsider was the new planet X 52mm carbon clincher but they are a bit heavy for what I want as I tend to ride hilly routes on less than perfect roads.

The only thing I am unsure about the Shimanos on is low spoke count. 16f 20r with my heavy ass bouncing around up the hills might redefine the word noodle

napoleond

Yeah, I've had the DA 24s, they were very smooth and light but flexy whilst climbing.
Now there are UK Mavic service centres you'd be able to get 1 spoke replaced.

maddog 2

Hopes are okay but noisy. I had a set and sold them on as they just annoyed me after a while.

I'd see if you could get some Dura Ace (or equivalent Campag) hubs on, say, Ambrosio Excellights. May be a tad over budget though...

I've been a fan of handbuilts a long time but, performance wise, I prefer the factory builds these days.

Bengdogg

Any thoughts on the Shimano RS80 24CLS £299 from crc is tempting me a lot along with the light weight rim and bling looks

Edit just seen Napoleon D reply Thanks

napoleond

If you decide to go custom and can stretch to dura ace hubs, you'll be most pleased.

g00se

I've got the Hope Pro 3 RS mono wheels (mavic open pro rims) and they're great and bombproof. The only thing is the love/hate views on the Hope rear freehub noise. Me, I love it - no need to buy a bell!

I know this a video of the MTB Hope 2 - but it sounds identical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JwwqjLH2cc&feature=related

(I pushed my bike into the LBS the other day, and just as I got through the door - the mechanic said "Hope hub?")

Alternatively, if you want handbuilt - check out:http://www.harryrowland.info/

napoleond

I have the Hope 2s on my MTB wheels. They are fab to be fair and I like the sound as its like a Kid's bike.

Ciclicasati

When i was looking at handbuilts i was going to get a pair built on kinlin rims. They do a 30mm and a shallower rim which seems to be pretty much the lightest alu rim you can buy on its own at a good price. They are called many different things but Kinlin seems to be the most common. They are used on many wheels such as American Classic 420 to name just one. Well worth a look. The pair i priced came in at around £600 but that was with some nice hubs, ceramic coating and sent from the states so you may be able to do it for £400-50.

styxd

Velocity A23 rims, Hope hubs (F 28/R 32) and the best spokes you can afford. Get them from JRA, they will come in under your budget and will be ideal.

Runoutofgears

NapoleonD wrote:

I have the Hope 2s on my MTB wheels. They are fab to be fair and I like the sound as its like a Kid's bike.

I have no experience of Hope hubs, but get loads of stick due to the noise of my campag hubs. Are you guys saying that Hope hubs are noisier than campag?

Runoutofgears

NapoleonD wrote:

If you decide to go custom and can stretch to dura ace hubs, you'll be most pleased.

+1, I have Open pro rims on Dura ace hubs, (7800) I think, classy wheel.

napoleond

Runoutofgears wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

I have the Hope 2s on my MTB wheels. They are fab to be fair and I like the sound as its like a Kid's bike.

I have no experience of Hope hubs, but get loads of stick due to the noise of my campag hubs. Are you guys saying that Hope hubs are noisier than campag?

Campag hubs whirr, hope hubs click like a kid's bike. They are noisier.

ugo.santalucia

at the moment there are some pretty good offers on rims and parts... if you know what to buy and where to buy it, you can get your top end wheels for less than 200 pounds (including build) and spend the rest elsewhere

bobpzero

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/velocity-a23-wheelset/

Runoutofgears

NapoleonD wrote:

Runoutofgears wrote:

NapoleonD wrote:

I have the Hope 2s on my MTB wheels. They are fab to be fair and I like the sound as its like a Kid's bike.

I have no experience of Hope hubs, but get loads of stick due to the noise of my campag hubs. Are you guys saying that Hope hubs are noisier than campag?

Campag hubs whirr, hope hubs click like a kid's bike. They are noisier.

That's great, must get me some Hope Hubs next time around!

napoleond

I have to be honest and say I love the noise of the hopes! When I'm blazing about on my MTB I really do feel like a big kid

ugo.santalucia

bobpzero wrote:

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/velocity-a23-wheelset/

why buy a hand built that mocks some commercial wheels? Don't get the point... too expensive anyway, pay lots of money for silly titanium skewers

napoleond

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bobpzero wrote:

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/velocity-a23-wheelset/

why buy a hand built that mocks some commercial wheels? Don't get the point... too expensive anyway, pay lots of money for silly titanium skewers

Not just me that finds Strada overpriced then!

ugo.santalucia

NapoleonD wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bobpzero wrote:

http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/velocity-a23-wheelset/

why buy a hand built that mocks some commercial wheels? Don't get the point... too expensive anyway, pay lots of money for silly titanium skewers

Not just me that finds Strada overpriced then!

I don't know how good those hubs are, I can't speak for those, but of course titanium skewers are an unnecessary and frankly pointless luxury that the customer ends up paying for...
Good rims come at 100 a pair, a super set of hubs at 200, 20 quid of spokes and 50 for the labour... that's 370 for a super wheel set with top hubs at RRP...
Or... A pair of DT 465 on offer 60 pounds, a set of Novatec at 50 pounds, 20 for the spokes, 50 for the labour, that's 180... for a fantastic set... it's a no brainer

napoleond

I'd wager those hubs are of a similar standard to novatec.

ugo.santalucia

NapoleonD wrote:

I'd wager those hubs are of a similar standard to novatec.

As far as I am aware, all "made for" hubs are "made by" Novatec. It's the biggest hubs manufacturer on the planet... does car hubs as well.
Ambrosio, Planet X, you name it... all Novatec... shame they don't sell as such in the UK and we have to pay premium for a rebranded product... luckily German shops stock some and the rest can be bought on E-bay direct from China

napoleond

Yeah, frustrating.

Wheelsmith.co.uk sells them as novatec but as part of complete builds.

Strada Wheels

Err, our hubs are definitely not made by Novatec. We try to offer a hand built set of wheels custom tuned to suit your requirements at a price which is competitive to those offered by Mavic. Having just taken C+ Editors Choice award in a review against a pair of Elites I think we are doing ok in reaching our objective. And if you don't want the Ti QRs I am happy to take them off the build price. Running a small business is horifically expensive and we try very hard to keep our overheads as low as possible. But VAT, rent, rates, labour, packaging, shipping, warranty and general running costs mean it is expensive to run a business in 2012.

The A23 is a super comfy rim and matched with Ambrosio Zeniths at £299 or with Hopes (they are noisy) at £445 will make a great pair of durable comfortable road wheels for the original poster.

Thanks, Jonathan @ Strada

edward1948

Contact Harry Rowland - you can't go wrong really, take his advice. First class wheelbuilder and no overselling nonsense.

Enjoy your riding.

Bengdogg

Thanks for all the replies guys. Plenty of food for thought after a hard day at work.

carbon337

Or... A pair of DT 465 on offer 60 pounds, a set of Novatec at 50 pounds, 20 for the spokes, 50 for the labour, that's 180... for a fantastic set... it's a no brainer

This sounds good - what spoke number would you say for 11.5 stone for general use, road racing and climbing?

Also any chance of a link or two to the offers?

spokegeezer

I had great service from http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/

napoleond

spokegeezer wrote:

I had great service from http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/

Derek is excellent, I have a front IRD Cadence with 24 CX Rays and an Extralight hub he built, it's very light (about 500g) but so well built it copes with my ample frame wonderfully well

styxd

I bought from Just Riding Along. Great service and about £350 for hope hubs and veolcity rims with revolution spokes (i think)