wheelsmith on holiday - alternatives?

MattFT

Hi all,

With wheelsmith on holiday until late April I'm in need of another source of decent wheels. I'm thinking of some 50 deep carbons, either with or without an alu braking track. Can anyone recommend alternatives?

Thanks,

Matt

napoleond

Superstar wheels, they use reynolds rims.

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/index.php?cPath=81

ugo.santalucia

I doubt he's on holiday... this is normally the busiest time of the year if you build wheels... probably he doesn't take any more orders as he's stuffed with work.

MattFT

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I doubt he's on holiday... this is normally the busiest time of the year if you build wheels... probably he doesn't take any more orders as he's stuffed with work.

Fair point - just closed according to the site

ugo.santalucia

I have no experience of Superstar, but if they are Reynolds rims, as the website seems to suggest (without saying) with CX Ray spokes, then they are indeed a huge bargain, as for that money you wouldn't even buy the rims, let alone the wheels.

drlodge

These are my 50mm carbon rims..tubulars for a knock down price. Planet-X/Gigantex rims, they do built up wheels at pretty good prices too.

viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12935650

Built by a well known person on this forum...

napoleond

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I have no experience of Superstar, but if they are Reynolds rims, as the website seems to suggest (without saying) with CX Ray spokes, then they are indeed a huge bargain, as for that money you wouldn't even buy the rims, let alone the wheels.

A mate of mine has a pair, they really are a fantastic bargain! He is a very good racer and thinks they are brill.

ugo.santalucia

drlodge wrote:

These are my 50mm carbon rims..tubulars for a knock down price. Planet-X/Gigantex rims, they do built up wheels at pretty good prices too.

viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12935650

Built by a well known person on this forum...

Yeah, but that's no longer an option... at the time Planet X was basically giving away these rims for free... while now they are more savvy and have realised they make more money selling their own wheels instead.
You can still get Gigantex rims and have them built, but using CX Ray spokes the bill will be close to that Superstar offer and the High Tg of Reynolds rims make them superior, at least on paper.
If I was on the market for carbon (which I am not), I'd probably give them a serious thought... worst come to worst they are badly built and you need to flog a few more pennies to get them sorted, but that's about as far as you risk...

on-yer-bike

I heard that Reynolds clincher rims had problems. Maybe that's been sorted now. Where can you buy 35mm carbon rims to build your own wheels? You would have to remove the decals from the Superstars.

LegendLust

http://dcrwheels.co.uk/ is a very good builder

ugo.santalucia

on-yer-bike wrote:

I heard that Reynolds clincher rims had problems. Maybe that's been sorted now. Where can you buy 35mm carbon rims to build your own wheels? You would have to remove the decals from the Superstars.

Are we into rumours here?
I've heard the aliens have landed many times...

Moonbiker

What would be a the approx max rider weight for theese:

Pave 28 Wheelset 20/24

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=864

They seem very cheap whats the downside of them?

ugo.santalucia

Moonbiker wrote:

What would be a the approx max rider weight for theese:

Pave 28 Wheelset 20/24

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=864

They seem very cheap whats the downside of them?

If you want them to be reasonably stiff, I'd say 65 Kg max... if you want them to have a reasonable chance to survive a few thousand miles before the rear drive side spokes start popping probably 75 Kg. If you want them to be something you don't have to worry about, leave them there.

philclubman

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Moonbiker wrote:

What would be a the approx max rider weight for theese:

Pave 28 Wheelset 20/24

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=864

They seem very cheap whats the downside of them?

If you want them to be reasonably stiff, I'd say 65 Kg max... if you want them to have a reasonable chance to survive a few thousand miles before the rear drive side spokes start popping probably 75 Kg. If you want them to be something you don't have to worry about, leave them there.

Sorry to hijack your thread MattFT, but does anyone know how they compare to the Planet X AL30? Ugo, does the above apply to the AL30 or are they any stronger? I'm weigh 68kg at the moment BTW and am looking for something to use when I want something lighter and more aero than my 32 spoke Excellights.

ugo.santalucia

PhilClubman wrote:

Sorry to hijack your thread MattFT, but does anyone know how they compare to the Planet X AL30? Ugo, does the above apply to the AL30 or are they any stronger? I'm weigh 68kg at the moment BTW and am looking for something to use when I want something lighter and more aero than my 32 spoke Excellights.

The AL 30 use significantly stiffer spokes (hence the weight difference). I believe those are Pillar 3.2 mm wide bladed spokes, very similar to the bladed Alpina you would find in a set of Mavic Aksium (except the latter are straight pull). Normally Pillar spokes are pretty good, but Planet X always manages to make them last less than they should... However, no biggie, if this turns out to be the case, they are very much repair-able.
At your weight, they should be plenty stiff

philclubman

ugo.santalucia wrote:

PhilClubman wrote:

Sorry to hijack your thread MattFT, but does anyone know how they compare to the Planet X AL30? Ugo, does the above apply to the AL30 or are they any stronger? I'm weigh 68kg at the moment BTW and am looking for something to use when I want something lighter and more aero than my 32 spoke Excellights.

The AL 30 use significantly stiffer spokes (hence the weight difference). I believe those are Pillar 3.2 mm wide bladed spokes, very similar to the bladed Alpina you would find in a set of Mavic Aksium (except the latter are straight pull). Normally Pillar spokes are pretty good, but Planet X always manages to make them last less than they should... However, no biggie, if this turns out to be the case, they are very much repair-able.
At your weight, they should be plenty stiff

Thanks

Anyone have any other suggestions for a set of wheels for dry days, less than £200? I'm looking for low spoke count, 25-30mm deep rims and fairly light weight.

Also, Ugo, I know some wheel builders build Kinlin rims and Novatec hubs with sapim spokes. Are these better than the Superstar wheels? Would they be better with Pillar spokes?

Apologies again MattFT for hijacking you thread.

duckson

Are the Volta hubs Superstar are using any good?

ugo.santalucia

PhilClubman wrote:

Also, Ugo, I know some wheel builders build Kinlin rims and Novatec hubs with sapim spokes. Are these better than the Superstar wheels? Would they be better with Pillar spokes?

KInlin come in a lot of forms of shapes and branded in many ways, including Planet X, I think. In fact the AL 30 are Kinlin XR 300 built on Novatec (162 rear, front is 141 or 291?).
I don't build many Kinlin, not a big fan... they are OK for racing, but they have mediocre finish and look cheap and looks matter to many, whether you like it or not. There is nothing wrong with Planet X wheels, except the quality of their builds is patchy.

cycleclinic

Kinlin rims are not bad at all but soft brake are best used if you ride them in the wet. They are actually reliably round but the XR-270 being the cheapest at trade also has the biggest variation in roundness and weight of the rim.

The Kinlin XC-279 is 28mm deep 18mm internal width 500g unfortunately but it is wide and very stiff. Think of it like a cheap Pacenti SL23. Decent rims for the money which is not alot. As ugo said great for cheap racing wheels.

g00se

I think Halo Mercury rims are Kinlin 30mm rims too. They're a bit more pretty and you can sometimes get a pair of discounted Mercury wheels for around £200.

http://www.halowheels.com/products/part/RMHAMR20

http://www.halowheels.com/products/part/RMHAMS24KE

navrig2

http://www.wheelcraft.net/

Nack

You could try Velo-Smith from Plymouth. Got a couple of hand built wheels from them, including Gigantex 55m wide on Hope hubs, which are very nice. You'll get good advice and I can vouch for the quality of the builds (not had to true my wheels in three years, and I weigh 84 kilos !)

https://www.velo-smith.com/

MattFT

Nack wrote:

You could try Velo-Smith from Plymouth. Got a couple of hand built wheels from them, including Gigantex 55m wide on Hope hubs, which are very nice. You'll get good advice and I can vouch for the quality of the builds (not had to true my wheels in three years, and I weigh 84 kilos !)

https://www.velo-smith.com/

Navrig2 wrote:

http://www.wheelcraft.net/

Thanks both, will check them out.

g00se

Some others to try are, of course, Ugo and Cycleclinic who have posted on this thread.

Another, who may be able to turn something round quick, is Phil Hargreaves from Norwich Wheel Systems- have a search on Facebook.

drlodge

Ugo is busy doing my wheels

Grill

Also check out Colbert Cycles. He uses CX-Rays and Soul Kozak hubs.
http://www.colbertcycles.co.uk/cc38-cc58.aspx

mattythemod

Just riding along are pretty good . Had some wheels built there last year and they have been fantastic .

MattFT

Thanks all! Also considering the Tune's in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=40091&t=12962356

top_bhoy

Navrig2 wrote:

http://www.wheelcraft.net/

Good to see Big Al is still around. I've had him build me 2 pairs of road wheels and both are still going strong and neither have had any issues.

If you tell him your weight and the purpose of the wheels, he'll give you options and recommendations suitable for you. I'm over in the summer and dropping in for a Wheelcraft coffee is on the agenda.