New wheel build, what do you think??

Action Jackson

Been looking at a wheel build so what do you think of the following

Novatec Road hub super light fr and rear 20/24
ZTR Alpha 340 rim
Sapim CX ray spokes
Not really looked at nipples

Should build into a fairly light good wheelset?? Not done this before, anything to look out for? By the way i'm not building them so any good wheel builders in Nottingham area.

Thanks

ugo.santalucia

Light yes, good no....
you need more than just the lightest components to make a good wheelset. That is a good one if you weigh 40 Kg

Wirral_paul

What do you weigh?? I looked at the same rims but all my research suggests they need a much higher spoke count - 20/24 is going to be very flexy compared to other wheels.

Action Jackson

I weigh around 70kg, are the rims/hubs/spoke count wrong?? Would it be better to up the spoke count to 24/28.

Thanks

buckles

I'm 80kg and used to use Shimano R500 wheels with 24 rear and 20 front spokes. They didn't seem flexy to me.

Forget those hubs unless you enjoy changing bearings regularly / plan to do very little mileage.

ugo.santalucia

Buckles wrote:

I'm 80kg and used to use Shimano R500 wheels with 24 rear and 20 front spokes. They didn't seem flexy to me.
.

That has no relevance... different rim, different spokes, what's it got to do with the build in question?

To the OP: no, not even 24/28 will be a good build with those rims and spokes or you might be borderline if you are not very powerful.
To be honest, I would not use the 340 altogether, as they have a reputation for being very soft and cracking at the spoke holes. If you really want the Alpha, get the 400 ones. While if you really want something superlight, look at carbon tubular rims... Gigantex 38 mm weigh a feather over 300 grams and they are miles stiffer. You need to import them from bike hub store or ask Wheelsmith to build you a set

buckles

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Buckles wrote:

I'm 80kg and used to use Shimano R500 wheels with 24 rear and 20 front spokes. They didn't seem flexy to me.
.

That has no relevance... different rim, different spokes, what's it got to do with the build in question?

I read that flex in a wheel is partly down to the number (and thickness) of spokes. But fair enough, completely different rim and spokes obviously will have a different amount of flex. I can see the Stan's rims are very light and the CX rays are thinner than the Shimano ones.

cycleclinic

20/24 with those rims is too low. I ride on 28F/28R Kinlin XR-200 with novatec hubs and Laser spokes all round and have no issues ugo I weigh 80kg but I am quite kind to my wheels (I have built several of these but all for 60-75kg riders and no one has problems). So a 70kg rider could use a 24/28 spoke Stan alpha 340 and get away with it.

The Stan's rims and XR-200 have similar stiffness and same weight for that matter. A Sapim Laser spoke is not as stiff as the CX-ray either (the CX-ray show less deflection on the spoke tension gauge than the Laser does for the same tension). So it should work well enough.

I have never used the Stan's alpha rim as the Kinlin XR-200 is relaible and does the same job for half the money. The old frist gen stan's 340 rims cracked but the current 2nd gen version is a bit heavier and the cracking issue has been resolved by adding more material on the spoke nipple bed.

Such a wheelset will never be stiff but is stiff enough. I do really try with my kinlin's and sprint with them with no issue. The carbon option is a good one for low weight but they will cost alot more.

To give you an idea of weight my Kinlins weigh 1360g but your Stan's build with a lower spoke count on the front should be 20g lighter. Hub choice of a wheel like this is critical as a hub that gives good NDS rear bracing angles is essential for adaquate stiffness. The novatec hub is such a hub fortunatly.

ugo.santalucia

thecycleclinic wrote:

So a 70kg rider could use a 24/28 spoke Stan alpha 340 and get away with it.

Exactly, he can get away with it... like I can get away with armed robbery (I am a big fan of Eddie Bunker's books)... problem is if he doesn't get away with it, he's spent a lot of money for some crap wheels

cycleclinic

True but if he has been kind to wheels in the past the chances are he will get away with it. If you are a 70kg rider who pops spokes on all the wheels you have had then maybe these are not such a good bet. If you are like me however they work well. The OP will know what kind of rider he is and sometimes you have to take a chance to find out what works and what doesn't or go sensible and use a stiffer heavier rim.