Superlight racing wheels

ugo.santalucia

Anyone interested in a superlight set of carbon 20 mm tubolars for racing at a budget price?

I am keen to give a go at building these Planet X 20 mm carbon rims and I need someone brave enough to race on them... They will come at a feather over 1 Kg and I can do them for the cost of the parts, £ 290, considerably cheaper than the assebled ones.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WBP ... aul_curran

If you are under 80 Kg, PM me if interested and we can have a chat

Herbsman

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Anyone interested in a superlight set of carbon 20 mm tubolars for racing at a budget price?

I am keen to give a go at building these Planet X 20 mm carbon rims and I need someone brave enough to race on them... They will come at a feather over 1 Kg and I can do them for the cost of the parts, £ 290, considerably cheaper than the assebled ones.

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WBP ... aul_curran

If you are under 80 Kg, PM me if interested and we can have a chat

Yes, I'm willing to risk my safety so that you can test out any wheel building skills you may or may not have.

I think you should test out your maths first as the rims alone are well over 1100g.

ugo.santalucia

500 grams for the pair of rims, check again.

It's anot about the build quality, it's about a wheelset that weighs 1 Kg... I have no reviews on those built by Paul Curran... don't know how robust these rims are, how stiff/flexy, durable etc...
I can't guarantee they will last, that's the main issue

Herbsman

ahh.

Thing is it says

Rim Features:

Carbon Tubular Rim Superstiff High Tensile TC35 Carbon 20mm deep offset drilled rim Good braking performance Decals sealed under durable clear-coat finish Available in 20 and 24 holes Comes with a set of carbon specific brake pads Please note this rim for tubular tyres only We recommend a rider weight limit of 80KG Effective Rim Diameter (ERD) 599mm Rim depth: 20mm Rim width: 20mm Weight front: 487 grams Weight rear 693 grams

That doesn't make it clear that they're on about the total wheel weight, as it's in the list of 'rim features'...

ugo.santalucia

Two hours on the turbo as a punishment...

Herbsman

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Two hours on the turbo as a punishment...

that's not punishment, that's a fun night in for me!

Barbarossa

I love cycling marketing hype! I've worked with carbon fibre for more than 20 years, projects from Americas Cup to F1. I have never heard of TC35 carbon! Google search gives page after page of bike wheels. Eventually I found a link to the Emers Industrial Corporation, seems that TC35 is a Chinese T300 rip off (T300 is made by Toray in Japan and is the lowest grade available - though still good stuff).

If I was going to the lightest ever wheels, I wouldn't start with rims made from what must be the cheapest, most basic carbon fibre on the market.

ugo.santalucia

Barbarossa wrote:

I love cycling marketing hype! I've worked with carbon fibre for more than 20 years, projects from Americas Cup to F1. I have never heard of TC35 carbon! Google search gives page after page of bike wheels. Eventually I found a link to the Emers Industrial Corporation, seems that TC35 is a Chinese T300 rip off (T300 is made by Toray in Japan and is the lowest grade available - though still good stuff).

If I was going to the lightest ever wheels, I wouldn't start with rims made from what must be the cheapest, most basic carbon fibre on the market.

Thanks fro the info... as I said, I have never built with these rims... normally Planet X sources value for money product... It looks like this time they got it wrong. I have no reviews to confirm or not... I'll investigate further

icsunonove

I built a pair last year and have done several road and circuit races on them since, including the South Div circuit race over the speed bumps at Tidworth House. Seem fine to me so far.

ugo.santalucia

Very interesting, PM sent

Monty Dog

There's been a thread on these rims over on weightweenies - 1000g wheels for $1000. I've been very tempted to build a pair myself with Chin Haur hubs and CX Rays for CX. At under 65kg I'd happily race on a pair, but given the last two road races I've ridden have resulted in cracken carbon rims due to potholes I'd be less sure about racing them on the roads these days.

ugo.santalucia

Monty Dog wrote:

There's been a thread on these rims over on weightweenies - 1000g wheels for $1000. I've been very tempted to build a pair myself with Chin Haur hubs and CX Rays for CX. At under 65kg I'd happily race on a pair, but given the last two road races I've ridden have resulted in cracken carbon rims due to potholes I'd be less sure about racing them on the roads these days.

I agree, I think they'd be perfect for hill climbs (provided they are stiff) and circuit racing... maybe even for the track... however, the offer on Planet X is gone and they're now full price, which makes them far less appealing

ugo.santalucia

Finally got to build them




1150 grams on the scale... I had to anchor them to the carpet, to avoid them floating around

Possibly the cheapest super light wheel set money can buy

FransJacques

Barbarossa wrote:

I love cycling marketing hype! I've worked with carbon fibre for more than 20 years, projects from Americas Cup to F1. I have never heard of TC35 carbon! Google search gives page after page of bike wheels. Eventually I found a link to the Emers Industrial Corporation, seems that TC35 is a Chinese T300 rip off (T300 is made by Toray in Japan and is the lowest grade available - though still good stuff).

If I was going to the lightest ever wheels, I wouldn't start with rims made from what must be the cheapest, most basic carbon fibre on the market.

From what you know of the different grades of carbon and their specific levels of brittleness when laid up, would you say that rims should have the highest spec possible (T1000) or do you want a bit more give than that? Doesn't have to be scientific, just your opinions... grazie.

amaferanga

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Finally got to build them




1150 grams on the scale... I had to anchor them to the carpet, to avoid them floating around

Possibly the cheapest super light wheel set money can buy

Which hubs did you use and which spokes? I'd have thought you could have got them closer to 1000g. I built some alloy clinchers recently that came in at 1250g and that was with rims that weigh ~375g each. Still, nice light wheels for not very much money I suspect, especially compared to what you'd get in a factory built wheel for that price.

How much did you pay for the rims in the end? I got an email the other day from one of the Chinese suppliers (since I'd contacted them last year about getting some 50mm clinchers) with a special offer on rims at only $60 each for 22mm tubulars.

ugo.santalucia

amaferanga wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Finally got to build them




1150 grams on the scale... I had to anchor them to the carpet, to avoid them floating around

Possibly the cheapest super light wheel set money can buy

Which hubs did you use and which spokes? I'd have thought you could have got them closer to 1000g. I built some alloy clinchers recently that came in at 1250g and that was with rims that weigh ~375g each. Still, nice light wheels for not very much money I suspect, especially compared to what you'd get in a factory built wheel for that price.

How much did you pay for the rims in the end? I got an email the other day from one of the Chinese suppliers (since I'd contacted them last year about getting some 50mm clinchers) with a special offer on rims at only $60 each for 22mm tubulars.

Hubs are unbranded Bitex, around 280-290 grams a pair and spokes are simple ACI double butted with brass nipples. Of course it would be possible to spend a lot more to save a little more, but frankly it is pointless as I am not sure these rims will last, so why bother with expensive components? Besides, CX ray or laser would make the wheels less stiff rather than more. I think it is the best possible compromise, including budget in the equation. Rims retail at 79 pounds each at Planet X, but I think the guy paid less for them.

peejay78

i have used these wheels in the national hillclimb and in other hillclimbs.

they are fine. naysayers need to race more.

DavidJB

peejay78 wrote:

i have used these wheels in the national hillclimb and in other hillclimbs.

they are fine. naysayers need to race more.

Yeah because the regularity of racing has a direct impact on the quality of some random wheels...what?

peejay78

that wasn't quite what i was getting at, but i can see why you've said that.

anyway, my point is that these wheels have had a lot of use, and are holding up fine. they've hit some big holes and not gone out of true and not had a catastrophic failure. yet.

mroli

Hi - Ugo built me those wheels, due to a combination of work and family commitments, I haven't really given them a good pounding yet, but will report back when I do. I have given them a blast though and they feel fine, no noticeable flex from them as yet, but I'll do some proper hills with them soon.

I picked up the rims for £90 the pair off of the ebay and I already had the hubs from a previous unfulfilled project. Ugo was right - they are about 290gr and we chatted about making them as light as possible, but really a set of carbon wheels weighing 1150gr for under £200 made more sense to me than busting the bank to try and get them as a light as possible when I don't really NEED them.

Thanks to our resident wheel builder too - he did a great job.

ugo.santalucia

mroli wrote:

Hi - Ugo built me those wheels, due to a combination of work and family commitments, I haven't really given them a good pounding yet, but will report back when I do. I have given them a blast though and they feel fine, no noticeable flex from them as yet, but I'll do some proper hills with them soon.

I picked up the rims for £90 the pair off of the ebay and I already had the hubs from a previous unfulfilled project. Ugo was right - they are about 290gr and we chatted about making them as light as possible, but really a set of carbon wheels weighing 1150gr for under £200 made more sense to me than busting the bank to try and get them as a light as possible when I don't really NEED them.

Thanks to our resident wheel builder too - he did a great job.

I see, so I have to come here to get some feedback on those... I bet with my 11 Kg Croix de Fer I can still edge you up Leith hill...