Wheel Decision - Shimano, Wheelsmith or Spada

Denny Crane

I'm looking for some light climbing wheels to do the Etape with next year. I've narrowed it down to the 3 with the pros and cons of each:

Shimano Dura Ace 9000 C24: Robust, no weight limit, weighs 1395g. On sale at Merlin at £599

Wheelsmith Race 24: Wide rims (I like wider rims as I currently run Hed Jet 4s), more aero than Dura Ace, weight 1430g. £490. Handbuilt and easy spoke replacement. Good testimonials from people. Worried about weight limit of 90kg. I weigh around 85kg but with kit on and shoes, will be knocking close to that weight.

Spada Stiletto: One of the lightest you can get at 1260 grams but costs £699. Not sure how robust they are and only one short review on Road Cycling UK. Made in Italy.

Anyone had experience to compare these wheels? Thoughts much appreciated.

napoleond

Don't worry about the weight limit on the Wheelsmiths, you'll be fine at that. At your weight it's the option if go for as, fantastic as the DA wheels are, they are flexy for the more robust gent.

Denny Crane

Thanks Nap. Any experience re the Spadas?

Evil Laugh

The new 9000 c24s are fine at 85kg. Wouldn't worry at all.

Crozza

I'm sure all the wheels you've listed would be fine, but for a big event like that (which you are presumably going to spend some money to get to, take time off for etc) I would probably opt for a more reliable build to make absolutely sure nothing went wrong on the day.

maybe a 24/28 wheelset from a good wheelbuilder with nice rims and strong spokes. am sure you could get one of those for under 1600g and have absolute piece of mind. plus easy repairability at a French bike shop

napoleond

No experience with the spadas but I had some 7900 c24s and they flexed a fair bit - touched the brake pads when powering out of the saddle.
I have some light clinchers from Wheelsmith (1400g) and they are fantastic, very stiff too. Rear has 32h record hub.

ugo.santalucia

Denny, just a clarification

When Shimano says "no weight limit" it means that they will honour their warranty regardless of how much you weigh... they have realised that they cannot discriminate customers by weight, or they'll end up in court. It does not mean that they are suited to someone heavy (you are not heavy ,BTW)

When Wheelsmith says 90 Kg max, it means that if you are above he would rather recommend a different spoke count or a different product altogether.

There is a fundamental difference between the two concepts and it's worth keeping it in mind

RE. the Spada... a quick look tells me these are Kinlin XR 200 (or analogous) rims, built with Sapim CX Ray or Alpina mini bladed spokes (probably the latter) on Spada branded hubs (probably made in Taiwan, looking at the components). 700 quid is a bit generous for such a set. You can probably have the same thing built on Chris King hubs for the same money or Dura Ace hubs for less... no need to point out which hubs I would rather have

Denny Crane

Thanks Ugo. I'm leaning towards the Wheelsmith based on the advice.

smidsy

Buy the wheelsmiths, ride more and you will probably lose weight - simples :-)

ugo.santalucia

Denny Crane wrote:

Thanks Ugo. I'm leaning towards the Wheelsmith based on the advice.

If you do so, talk to Derek... for the same money, I would rather have better hubs than the standard ones and cheaper spokes than the CX ray (for instance ACI rear and Laser front are an excellent combination at a fraction of the price of the CX ray and probably 100 grams heavier). Or maybe CX Ray front only, they don't do a great deal of aerodynamics at the rear. In other words, these standard wheelsets that he advertises can be fully customised, I believe

mjbennett

Bad testimonial from wheelsmith from me. Customer service when you are buying is fantastic. When you have an aftersales problem, the customer service is awful. Avoid.
What happens when your wheelset needs attention? You'd have to send it back, pay the return postage, and deal with a clown. Not good.

cycleclinic

Wheels build by a wheel builder can be maintained by any compitent LBS. Shimano wheels however can be maintained by a shop but parts are ludicrusly expensive. So on that basis a wheelsmith wheel or wheels from any other wheel builder have that distinct advantage.

On the other side DS c24 wheels shoudl be pretty reliable if you are kind to wheels.

djhermer

mjbennett wrote:

Bad testimonial from wheelsmith from me. Customer service when you are buying is fantastic. When you have an aftersales problem, the customer service is awful. Avoid.
What happens when your wheelset needs attention? You'd have to send it back, pay the return postage, and deal with a clown. Not good.

Just to balance that. Fantastic from me. Badly damaged rear wheel in August. Called Derek, sent wheel. All drive side spokes replaced and wheel returned within 5 days. £70 odd repair from memory.

I guess turnaround depends how busy he is. But certainly no customer service issue for me.

Great wheels too...

mamba80

if you want a recommendation, then look no further than thecycleclinic - CC built up a set of wheels for my daughter, she s hammered them in training, racing and even a CX race or 2 - weigh less than 1400g and about £320 inc PP - (kinlin xr200/cx rays/novatec) you d need a stronger set up.

His advice was spot on and errs on the side of caution concerning weight and build... bonus is a lot cheaper than an equivalent WS or Strada build.

Hopefully he ll being building a set of carbon tubs for me next year.

cycleclinic

Your daughter is very light though which is why she can ride uch wheels. If the OP at 85 kg got on those I thnk it would not go so well.

As for those spada wheel I have been thinking. 24F/28R that means 260g in spokes and nipples. Rims that hold together need to be in the 385g range so that's 230g for the hubs. There are hubs that are that light but there is the weakeness in those wheels. A wheel like that is for ridr 75kg and under I think but the hubs is what are vunerable to flange cracking or axle breakages. The front hub maybe so light (like the M5) that bearing seat distort causing all kinds of running issues. So with the Spada wheels for the OP's weight I would say no and for lighter rider the rims and spokes will probably be fine the hubs well that is the risk. All the really weight weenie hub have there issues.

For the OP go for some handbuilt 24F/28R on a decent rim like the ones wheelsmith offer (there own) or a velocity A23 H plus son Archetype Kinlin XC-279 and hubs well pick something decent, Miche Novatec Dura Ace maybe wheelsmith's hubs are good (no idea never used them) but go something that will be reliable. You will at least have something that can be repaired if it damaged and that mean you will less afriad every time you see a pothole.