FSA RD-888 Tubular

mattbell

Does anyone know much about these? There are some good deals about on them down to £699 at planet x. Not super light but not to heavy either, ceramic bearings. Just can't find any reviews on them! Except one from a tri magazine!

ugo.santalucia

No idea, but other Planet X tubular sets are nearly half that. Most manufacturers use Gigantex rims, same as Planet X own brand... most manufacturers use taiwanese hubs, same as Planet X own brand... I think you are paying a lot extra for different stickers.
Don't be fooled by ceramic bearings, they are not an upgrade... they are steel races with silicon nitride balls. They don't last longer, they don't roll better... they are just market hype... if they advertised SKF bearings, that would be much more of an upgrade

mattbell

Cheers, I was thinking about getting wheelsmith to build me some gigantex rims up otherwise

ugo.santalucia

mattbell wrote:

Cheers, I was thinking about getting wheelsmith to build me some gigantex rims up otherwise

You can certainly do so, but unless you want to invest in quality hubs, if you just want to stick to the basic Novatec or his own brand... well Planet X hubs are Novatec 291/382 rebadged and I don't think he can build them for 399.

There is a general belief that building carbon rims is somewhat difficult and require a lot of experience and hundreds if not thousands of wheels built on one's CV. I think the easiest rims to build, those that even a novice can build to an acceptable standard with basic equipment, are deep section carbon rims. Even up the tension and by magic the wheel is already true.
Considering that these days builders don't even bother to use washers etc... really what's the difference between the Planet X and the bespoke made ones?
Answer: the choice of hubs...