New wheels...

UndercoverElephant

Well, my first wheel build has lasted two years, about 10,000 miles, and to be honest I fancied something a little less, erm, agricultural this time. As such I've been accumulating bits for a new build, the specs are as follows:

* H Plus Son Archetype Rims - 23mm wide, aero-profile hubs, anodised grey in colour and 28 holes front and back.
* CN Spoke Aero 424 straight-pull spokes - Very like Sapim CX Ray, but waaay cheaper.
* Moser 0703 Hubs (Campag compatible) - Cheap off the Bay, but extraordinary quality - the bearings roll and roll and the freehub sounds like you're cracking a safe If they're good enough for Francesco, they'll do for me.
* Super-tarty red, brass nipples.

Straight-pull spokes mean that you don't get an option about the lacing pattern, so they are radial at the front, half-radial/4 cross at the back. 4 cross lacing is a little unusual as (with a 28 hole wheel) the spokes head away from each other at a reflex angle, very few hubs make this possible.

Some pics:







Took them for a quick ride this lunchtime, virtual commute due to working from home. The results are fantastic so far, they spin up so quickly it's amazing, they are extremely stiff and cornering on the wider rims is astounding - with the tyres rounded out so much more, you can go much faster and lower round corners with total confidence. They feel astoundingly comfortable too over the many bumps round here.

Total wheel weight (excluding skewers) is 1724 grams on my scales.

Headhuunter

They look lovely!

asprilla

They look lovely.

I've got some Archetypes on CK R45s and another set to put on Royce hubs. Fantastic rims.

spasypaddy

very nice, but im sure ugo will come in and slate them

First.Aspect

Very nice. About as aero as a house brick in reality of course, but they look cool.

You must get some grey tyres for them though.

UndercoverElephant

Cheers, chaps!

I'm certainly very impressed with the Archetypes so far, ride really well and look superb, very easy to build with too. It'll be interesting to see how long they last with year-round commuting.

doogee

Can I ask where you sourced the rims?

Only site I've seen them for sale is one for a wheel builder down south who I bought a pair of A23 rims from. Fancy giving these a try as I have a set of wheels where the rims are about done from wear.

Thanks

UndercoverElephant

doogee wrote:

Can I ask where you sourced the rims?

Only site I've seen them for sale is one for a wheel builder down south who I bought a pair of A23 rims from. Fancy giving these a try as I have a set of wheels where the rims are about done from wear.

Thanks

Brick Lane Bikes, they delivered quickly without any problems. They were also available from Just riding along, but they charged more for delivery.

First Aspect wrote:

Very nice. About as aero as a house brick in reality of course, but they look cool.

You must get some grey tyres for them though.

Aero isn't really too much of a concern, to be honest - they're going on a bike with mudguards, so that should nullify any effect. Grey tyres? I'll stick with black to match the hubs.

First.Aspect

I was thinking...

Ian.B

@UE

Those wheels look lovely! As it happens, I've just bought the same rims and am thinking blue where you have red. May I ask where you got the red bits from? - I am reluctant to google 'blue nipples' :shock:

Headhuunter

Ian.B wrote:

@UE

Those wheels look lovely! As it happens, I've just bought the same rims and am thinking blue where you have red. May I ask where you got the red bits from? - I am reluctant to google 'blue nipples' :shock:

Because googling red nipples would be so much more productive....

UndercoverElephant

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEWSONSPORTEC ... 2a2ad5a01d

Good old eBay. They arrived from China in about a week. The were the only coloured nipples I could find that were actually made of brass rather than alloy.

ugo.santalucia

spasypaddy wrote:

very nice, but im sure ugo will come in and slate them

Why? I like them... if the guy builds his own wheels, he can deal with nipples seizing, sourcing spokes and all that stuff. I advise against alloy nipples and all that stuff for those who have not got a clue and then come back moaning in the workshop section because their wheels cannot be fixed

UndercoverElephant

ugo.santalucia wrote:

spasypaddy wrote:

very nice, but im sure ugo will come in and slate them

Why? I like them... if the guy builds his own wheels, he can deal with nipples seizing, sourcing spokes and all that stuff. I advise against alloy nipples and all that stuff for those who have not got a clue and then come back moaning in the workshop section because their wheels cannot be fixed

I can *always* deal with seizing nipples.

Like I said, these are tarty, coloured brass nipples. Lots of firsts on this build, first radial spokes, first straight pull spokes, first lightweight rims, first bladed spokes. All add their complications. I'm pleased with them so far, hope they last well.

Ian.B

UndercoverElephant wrote:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEWSONSPORTEC-75PCS-brass-spoke-nipples-16-mm-blue-color-/181107269661?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a2ad5a01d

Good old eBay. They arrived from China in about a week. The were the only coloured nipples I could find that were actually made of brass rather than alloy.

@UE, That is great, thanks!
Ian