Alternatives to Stans Alpha 340's

vala
vala Posts: 197
edited January 2013 in Road buying advice
Hello all,

I'm looking at building up a set of Hope Pro2 Evo's (single speed rear) for my Roadrat and am thinking of Stans 340 rims. No real preference as to why except I have a set of Flow's on my Ellsworth and they appear pretty strong on that (also with Hope Pro2 hubs), and the weight is low, trying to get the overall weight down of the Roadrat although a Hope SS rear hub kind of goes against that :roll: Another reason is the possibility of going tubeless however tbh I don't think this would happen anytime soon.
Can anyone recommend any rims that would be worth considering?

Comments

  • The Stans are not very stiff and at least the previous model not very durable... the only light clincher rim I used to like was the Aerohead at just over 400 grams... but there are very few left, the story is on my new blog, here

    http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... -gone-good

    Alternatives are the A 23, which will go tubeless very easily or the Archetype which will go tubeless too a bit less easily, but they are both considerably heavier than both Stans and Aerohead at roughly 450 (A23) and 475 grams respectively
    left the forum March 2023
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    what ugo said. Stans do a burlier Alpha (400 at 425g claimed)

    Otherwise the obvious candidates are the A23 or H Plus Son, as said, or Ambrosio excellights?
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • vala
    vala Posts: 197
    Would it be fair to say then that the lighter weight of the 340's is what causes them to be overlooked, and in this case a few extra grams is the key?
  • vala wrote:
    Would it be fair to say then that the lighter weight of the 340's is what causes them to be overlooked, and in this case a few extra grams is the key?

    In my experience alloy clincher rims under 400 grams and tubular rims under 340 are very disappointing. They are difficult to build without compromising on even tension, they are not stiff enough and often they don't last very long.
    For carbon the numbers are different, as even 250 grams tubulars can be good enough to build a decent wheel.
    There is no point in building a disappointing wheel.
    left the forum March 2023
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    There is no point in building a disappointing wheel.

    quote of the day.

    Light isn't everything with wheels. Especially rears.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • vala
    vala Posts: 197
    Thanks for the replies.
    This is great info in an area I'm still learning and all's helping.
    Is it worth looking into any of the offerings from Mavic? In particular I've read some reviews regarding the Open Pro's.
  • vala wrote:
    Thanks for the replies.
    This is great info in an area I'm still learning and all's helping.
    Is it worth looking into any of the offerings from Mavic? In particular I've read some reviews regarding the Open Pro's.

    You hardly go wrong with an Open PRO rim. If you are into weight weenies, remember it's not 425 grams as advertised, but 450, which makes it suitable for pretty much every rider, given the correct spoke count
    left the forum March 2023
  • vala
    vala Posts: 197
    Thanks for the reply.
    I'm looking at using a 32 hole Hope Pro 2 Evo SS rear hub however have not yet decided on going 28 hole or 32 hole for the front.
    The bike will be my primarily be my commuter so initially I was thinking 32 hole for the front as well.
    I weigh 58kg, with this in mind do you think it's worth dropping to the 28 hole version or just sticking to 32/32?
  • vala wrote:
    Thanks for the reply.
    I'm looking at using a 32 hole Hope Pro 2 Evo SS rear hub however have not yet decided on going 28 hole or 32 hole for the front.
    The bike will be my primarily be my commuter so initially I was thinking 32 hole for the front as well.
    I weigh 58kg, with this in mind do you think it's worth dropping to the 28 hole version or just sticking to 32/32?

    You can drop to 28 and save 30 grams, at your weight you can do pretty much what you want.. however: 32 allows you to use a 3 cross construction (28 builds better with 2 cross) which makes for a more durable wheel, especially if you plan to use it as fixed wheel. If you want to scrimp on the gram the best way is to use lighter spokes on the front wheel. The job of the front wheel is pretty simple and there are virtually no torsional loads there, so it is a good point to use light spokes... Sapim Laser, DT swiss revolution are good candidates... they will save you around 60 grams , over using a more robust double butted spoke and there is virtually no drawback
    left the forum March 2023
  • vala
    vala Posts: 197
    Overall what would the difference be approximately in weight comparing the 32 hole wheels with lighter spokes to the 28 hole wheels with lighter spokes? 30g?
  • Something like that. Don't use Laser/revolution spokes at the rear though....
    left the forum March 2023
  • vala
    vala Posts: 197
    Thanks for the reply.
    Why is it not recommended to use the lighter spokes in the rear?
    According to the DT Swiss website they mention they're 'ready for heavy use and lightweight performance'.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    DT Revs are simply too flexy for a rear wheel IME - because they are so thin it's very difficult to tension them sufficiently without problems with wind-up (you can see them twist as you tension the spokes). Build a pair of Open Pros on Super Record with DT Revs a few years ago - I'm only 62kg but they weren't stiff enough for me (brake rub) . Rebuilt them with double-butted on the drive side and they were fine.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • I wrote a mini article on my blog about spokes, if you want to have a read, hopefully informative

    http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... ich-spokes
    left the forum March 2023
  • ratsbeyfus
    ratsbeyfus Posts: 2,841
    I wrote a mini article on my blog about spokes, if you want to have a read, hopefully informative

    http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... ich-spokes

    Love the blog! May have to invest in my first pair of hand-builts this year Ugo. (Apologies to OP for going OT.)


    I had one of them red bikes but I don't any more. Sad face.

    @ratsbey
  • john1967
    john1967 Posts: 366
    Is the New dura ace 9000 wheel rim a better option than the alpha 340.?