Wheelset (again) Merlin 495/Equalizers

The Rookie

Anyone know how much this Merlin wheelset weighs?
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/w ... lizer.html

I think someone mentioned they are Eq25 rims, I know my Eq21's are pretty darn light (1850g wheelset with 475 hubs)....anyone?

Chunkers1980

The Northern Monkey weighed them I seem to remember have a look on his build thread

The Rookie

Star, yes he did and found..... I knew someone had, you have the memory of an Elephant sir!

anj132

1900g for anyone else out there that doesn't know where to look

The Rookie

As an aside, we currently have a choice of those or some 2009 crossrides for the same money, weight is similar, personally I'd buy these as the Shimano hubs can be kept going for 'ever' for little money (even freehub swaps) whilst the mavics can be pricey - opinions?

Chunkers1980

I agree with what you've said.

Crossrides look better - and I hate silver spokes. BUT

Spokes and freehub prices are a joke for the Mavics.

supersonic

I bought the Sun/M495 - best value wheelset of all time! Better than Crossrides.

The Rookie

Thanks SS, looks like we'll be getting some....thanks for ruining the resale of my own Crossrides!

lawman

Someone needs to tell shimano to move out of the hub stone age and fit cartridge bearings, most hubs will last as long as a shimano hub if you maintain it...

If you don't look after a shimano hub it will destroy itself very, very quickly.

cooldad

As I've been asked nicely not to say bollocks too often, I'll just say rubbish.

The Rookie

The M475 hub on the back of my commuter, bought well used hasn't needed any attention at all since my precautionary clean regrease back then, that was 2,500 miles ago.....

Stone age? next you'll want wheels to be hexagonal, I mean round is so Stone age for a wheel......

lawman

My personal experience couldn't be anymore different. I've had numerous shimano hubs over the past 9 years or so, of similar 475/495 level and I destroyed them all, even my xt ones in less than a year. It may just something to do with my style of riding, but the fact I was having to maintain them and regrease, retighten them every 2 months (and being a bit heavy handed, normally resulting in looking for a hammer) I got my dad to do them, who has maintained bikes for the best part of 20 years, so they were done properly before anyone says anything. They still lasted no longer than a few months.

Since moving to hope pro2's and now superstars, I have had to perform zero work on either hub set in well over a year and could not be happier.

Superstar currently have their xc wheelsets with switch evo hubs and their own rims for £105 and that is by far away the wheelset I would choose given the choice. Multiple axle compatibility, proper bearings, and they're a tough lighter for good measure

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=348

cooldad

Maybe he's been maintaining things wrongly for 20 years. I have some about 25 years old still on original bearings.

lawman

cooldad wrote:

Maybe he's been maintaining things wrongly for 20 years. I have some about 25 years old still on original bearings.

His Xt hubs are 6 years old and have only needed a new freehub and a couple of adjustments, so he must be doing something right. He doesnt ride his bike as hard as I treat mine however. People forget that some have a PERSONAL opinion on here and in MY PERSONAL experience, they just don't last. :roll: you may very well have some that are 25 years old, is the OP after that? No I've had 475's/495's and deore and xt hubs and they haven't stood upto what I consider pretty normal use, they've been hammered.

The fact is my experience of shimano hubs is poor, even when brand-spanking new from the factory, they haven't lasted well, the freehubs are poor, they lack any kind of axle inter-changing, so if you change forks or frame for whatever you're screwed and they also weigh a tonne whilst being pretty fragile too... I honestly see, and seemingly other than shimano the entire industry agrees with me, that cup and cone hubs should have been shelved a long, long time ago... Some of you dinosaurs out there will always try to fight back :roll:

supersonic

Entire industry? Hardly. Not sure what you are comparing the freehubs to. Same with fragility, you find a bust hubshell on an XT/XTR hub, I'll find you 10 more Pro 2. And knackered freehub bodies.

Either way, for the money there is no better wheelset than this. Full stop.

lawman

supersonic wrote:

Entire industry? Hardly. Not sure what you are comparing the freehubs to. Same with fragility, you find a bust hubshell on an XT/XTR hub, I'll find you 10 more Pro 2. And knackered freehub bodies.

Either way, for the money there is no better wheelset than this. Full stop.

For 60 quid its not bad, but I'd rather spend the extra and get the superstars given my experience with cup and cone hubs. I have no doubt that there are plenty of failed pro2's; among my group of friends there have been 3 busted hope hubs, 3 different failures, in probably 6/7 years. I can count umpteen more times we have had problems with shimano hubs, normally bearings and freehubs. By no means are hope or superstar or mavic hubs for example perfect, but as I say from my experience they have proven to be much more reliable.

The Rookie

You seem in a minority....anyway the daughter is 8st wringing wet and is a sympathetic rider, her current M475 hasn't given her any issues at all either, neither has the front on my commuter.

The Rookie

Pair ordered, job done!

The Rookie

As these are Centrelock I'm sorting soem discs, can anyone confirm what I believe to be true that the lockring is the same as a cassette one and as such I can use one of my many spare cassette lockrings if I get used discs without?

Chunkers1980

I thought locking came with the hub.

The Rookie

OK thanks, would make life easier if it did...not shown in the techdocs with the hub though, but with the disc.

anj132

I would have thought the same that it would come with the hub. I've not fitted a centrelock from a cassette to a hub but I think they were the same.

You can get adapters from superstar for around £20 IIRC - I struggled to find 180 & 160 centrelock rotors with P+P for the same price at the time.

But 160 x 2 is do able...

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/BSSHRT52CR/ ... disc_rotor

The Rookie

Discs sorted for £13 (180/160) just need locknuts!

bartimaeus

I think the rotors come with them... I have this wheelset, and I bought centre lock rotors from On-One (160) and Chain Reactions (180)... both came with lockrings