wheel upgrade on Croix de fer

KulaBen

Hello,
Planning to upgrade my wheels on a Croix de fer. They need to be able to take 32mm tyres for off road and touring duties, but 28mm run at 80-100psi for winter bike duties. I would like them to be a decent amount lighter than the stock wheels to make it worth doing.
Currently I'm looking at some Hope pro 2 evo discs on Mavic open pros, but these are very much top end of budget. I was wondering if there were any other options people would recommend. Also if I do go for the Hope option, is it worth spending a little more on Stans Alphas rims over the Mavics?
Cheers
Ben

ugo.santalucia

Get the Novatec 711/712 hubs, they are just as good, if not better for half the money.

http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... -whats-new

Or the new Shimano 785 XT for even less money

Open PRO CD are good, Stans 340 are good, I have had both... prefer the Stans, but they are less versatile, while the OP will take any tyre you want. To be honest Archetype ride better than either of the above.
Or wait for the Velocity Aileron to be available... that will probably be a hit when it lands here, which might not be soon

cycleclinic

I'd go with the archetype on XT hubs or the novatec if you want a lighter hub.

drlodge

I've just ordered archetype rims on XT hubs for my CX bike. Have got the Open Pro CD rims (with Ultegra hubs) on my Condor and they're good all round rims that last. Have got Novatec hubs on my carbon wheels, but hardly used them. You really can't go far wrong with any of these.

bmxboy10

I thought the Shimano CX hubs were recommended over the XTs?

ugo.santalucia

solboy10 wrote:

I thought the Shimano CX hubs were recommended over the XTs?

I have not seen them yet... they are effectively Ultegra, while XT is XT... it's difficult to compare the two.

Dura Ace is XTR, but I always thought XT was somewhere closer to 105 than Ultegra in terms of technology (and price). Hard to say... the main difference in the two is the hole count... XT are 32/36, CX are only 28

KulaBen

Thanks for all the advice, but I the end I've gone for open pros with hope hubs- I wanted to support a British company and my LBS, and also to have something a little more bling!

KulaBen

PS Dr Lodge, loving the thread on your Rourke 953! One day........

ugo.santalucia

KulaBen wrote:

Thanks for all the advice, but I the end I've gone for open pros with hope hubs- I wanted to support a British company and my LBS, and also to have something a little more bling!

They are nice and you'll love them

bmxboy10

where can i get the Novatecs in red anodised? I see them on ebay from the far east but cant seem to get them in the UK...

ugo.santalucia

solboy10 wrote:

where can i get the Novatecs in red anodised? I see them on ebay from the far east but cant seem to get them in the UK...

Only from Ebay in the far east... worth it, they look ace

bmxboy10

Cheers, been waiting for my birthday which was this week so will be ordering the parts up next week....Do you think black or grey Architypes on the 2014 Croix de Fer???

ugo.santalucia

solboy10 wrote:

Cheers, been waiting for my birthday which was this week so will be ordering the parts up next week....Do you think black or grey Architypes on the 2014 Croix de Fer???

Hard one... slate frame with slate rims? Naaah, better go black or go completely bonkers and get the polished silver ones... but with red hubs you want black rims I think...