Pacenti tesla ultralight

Cubist
Cubist Posts: 73
edited July 2013 in MTB buying advice
Just been looking at Superstars Pacenti tesla ultralight tl28 wheels and would like a few opinions. On paper they look very good indeed.
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Comments

  • Cubist
    Cubist Posts: 73
    Anyone?
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    I agree, on paper looks good. Tesla hubs are good (I have some), those rims look interesting too.
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  • Cubist
    Cubist Posts: 73
    Im giving this post a bit of a bump as Im really tempted to invest in a set. The hubs get some really positive comments but how about the rims?
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    Tbh I think you'll struggle to find any pacenti owners. They're a bit of a US 29er special. That said they have some fans.
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  • Cubist
    Cubist Posts: 73
    benpinnick wrote:
    Tbh I think you'll struggle to find any pacenti owners. They're a bit of a US 29er special. That said they have some fans.

    Ive been doing a bit of internet trawling and there seems to be a fair bit of love out there for them so far.
    Im very probably going to make this purchase.
    Thanks benpinnick for your recommendation of the hubs.
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    Let us know how you get on!
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    + some other bikes.
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    For what its worth, the hubs are great, the spokes are good, Superstar wheels are generally ok built and the price is great! I reckon its worth a punt.
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  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    And if not SS back up service is OK
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  • SuperstarComponents.com
    SuperstarComponents.com Posts: 183
    Hello ive been testing these rims for a while and genuinely was blown away by them (TL28) for real world trail riding. wide stiff and eyeletted plus they are actually 370g!

    They build like a dream and are plenty strong enough for light AM and all day trail riding. Not a DH rim but they dont intend them for that kind of abuse. Not many AM riders actually do big drops and jumps, so its a nice gap filler between XC and hardcore AM.

    Not many of these rims in the UK but i did a deal to get alot of them this side of the water. I think they are going to be as popular as Stans in a few years. They only arrived a week or so ago, so dont expect huge amounts of feedback just yet. They all come out the same factory as stans....

    Lots of test pairs going out to magazines soon, so give them 3-6 months and you can see what they think.

    neil (superstar)
  • Cubist
    Cubist Posts: 73
    I dont think im gonna wait that long Neil! Roll on payday! lol.
  • TimB34
    TimB34 Posts: 316
    I've just spent an interesting couple of minutes looking at stans and Pacenti rims (as one does on a Monday morning!)

    Pacenti describe the CL25 as a XC/race rim and the TL28 as a trail/everything except big drops & jumps rim.

    Looking at weight, both rims are between the Crest and the Arch Ex, but for width the TL28 is wider than the Arch Ex:

    Stans

    Crest 21mm 340g
    Arch Ex 21mm 400g
    Flow Ex 25.5mm 490g

    Crest 29er 21mm 380g
    Arch Ex 29er 21mm 450g
    Flow Ex 29er 25.5mm 545g

    Pacenti
    CL25 20mm 376g
    TL28 23mm 390g

    CL25 29er 20mm 424g
    TL28 29er 23mm 450g

    Be interesting to hear which are stronger between Crest/CL25 and ArchEx/TL28.
  • welsh_14
    welsh_14 Posts: 259
    I've been looking at maybe investing in a set of these as well. After a quick internet browse I can only find good things said about the panceti rims. Cant decide between the CL25 and the TL28, would probably go with the TL28 to be on the safe side as I wont be racing!

    Out of interest does anyone know the weight saving I would make roughly if I swap them for my Mavic XC717 rims with shimano deore hubs? Not sure what spokes I have at the minute. I have no way of weighing my current set up! :roll:
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    welsh_14 wrote:
    I've been looking at maybe investing in a set of these as well. After a quick internet browse I can only find good things said about the panceti rims. Cant decide between the CL25 and the TL28, would probably go with the TL28 to be on the safe side as I wont be racing!

    Out of interest does anyone know the weight saving I would make roughly if I swap them for my Mavic XC717 rims with shimano deore hubs? Not sure what spokes I have at the minute. I have no way of weighing my current set up! :roll:

    Your deore/717 combo will be around the 2KG mark I'd guess, so if you went for the tesla hubs and pacenti rims you'd lose close to half a kilo, which is a hell of a difference believe me! I went fro a similar wheelset to my pro2/crest combo and the difference is night and day. Wheels are easily the best place to upgrade first.
  • welsh_14
    welsh_14 Posts: 259
    I've been holding back on upgrading the wheels as they seemed to be fine and was going to wait till they broke. But i'm now starting to think its worth upgrading when there are bargains like this!
    What sort of difference have you noticed when you say its night and day?
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    They roll alot quicker and are much easier to get upto speed and hold speed better. make a big difference on climbs as well, require alot less effort so I can climb quicker but use less energy. Along with forks and brakes, I always say get the best you can afford, the lighter and stronger the better! In the case of the Pacenti's from what I've heard they fill the whole, "strong, light or cheap, pick two" thing very well!
  • SuperstarComponents.com
    SuperstarComponents.com Posts: 183
    the TL 28 is an interesting rim, it is almost crest weight but as wide as a flow. Sure it wont take impacts and drops as well as a flow but thats what the DL31 is for. But for 99% of people doing trail riding it makes more sense as it is masively stiffer than a crest and would take a bigger tyre for no weight gain.

    Neil (superstar)
  • welsh_14
    welsh_14 Posts: 259
    lawman wrote:
    They roll alot quicker and are much easier to get upto speed and hold speed better. make a big difference on climbs as well, require alot less effort so I can climb quicker but use less energy. Along with forks and brakes, I always say get the best you can afford, the lighter and stronger the better! In the case of the Pacenti's from what I've heard they fill the whole, "strong, light or cheap, pick two" thing very well!

    Thanks lawman that's the sort of thing I am after. So its a very noticeable difference?

    Neil would you suggest the TL28 are the ones to go for rather than the CL25 for general natural riding then?
  • SuperstarComponents.com
    SuperstarComponents.com Posts: 183
    How longs a piece of string... its all personal preference mainly based on tyre size you want and what tyre shape you prefer. smaller tyres CL256, bigger tyres TL28.

    Neil (superstar)
  • clamps81
    clamps81 Posts: 315
    Very tempted by a set of these. Currently running EN521s on switch hubs and they're a bit heavy and narrow for my liking - add to this my recent run of punctures and a tubeless ready wheelset with a wider profile and less weight is seeming like an increasingly good idea.
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  • welsh_14
    welsh_14 Posts: 259
    SuperstarComponents.com wrote:
    How longs a piece of string... its all personal preference mainly based on tyre size you want and what tyre shape you prefer. smaller tyres CL256, bigger tyres TL28.

    Neil (superstar)

    I was thinking more of the strength of the CL25 as on your website it says elite race and cyclocross. wondered whether they would have the strength for someone who doesn't always land or ride smoothly :oops:

    Also anyone know whether I could fit an 8 speed cassette to the Tesla hub? Havent got round to upgrading this part of the bike yet!! This will be something that will be getting done next year at some point....
  • welsh_14
    welsh_14 Posts: 259
    Just ordered myself a set of the TL28's with red Tesla hubs! Now just need to wait for them to turn up and me be allowed to ride again!

    Will let you know how they ride once I can get out but may be a couple of months before I can.
  • Gibbo GTI
    Gibbo GTI Posts: 98
    What width tyres are recommended for 23mm internal rim width? Is a 1.9 tyre too narrow?
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  • Gibbo GTI
    Gibbo GTI Posts: 98
    Found the answer using Sheldon Brown's tyre sizing guide :)
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  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Sheldon's guide is a bit conservative as is geared towards road side of things.
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  • milko9000
    milko9000 Posts: 533
    Got my maiden voyage on these today. No complaints at all, though it was a fairly gentle intro I guess, didn't really get airborne at all. One thing I did notice was that the freehub seemed totally silent, which wasn't what I'd expected.
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    Thats odd, mine sounds like an swarm of horny crickets....
    A Flock of Birds
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  • welsh_14
    welsh_14 Posts: 259
    I was just about to say the same as benpinnick! Aren't quiet but in my opinion do sound good!
  • milko9000
    milko9000 Posts: 533
    Yeah, that was about what I expected. Also, I'm convinced that before I put it into the shop (to fit a new chainguide and while they were at it do a brake hose shorten and bleed) that it made some noise. But now, eerie stealthy silence. Should I be worried?
  • Gibbo GTI
    Gibbo GTI Posts: 98
    How long did it take for your wheels to be delivered? I've ordered a set with Techno Lime Hubs :)
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  • milko9000
    milko9000 Posts: 533
    under a week for me.

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