Is this wheel-build good value?

KnightOfTheLongTights

I have been offered this build - but it's all double-dutch to me.
Can a wheel expert tell me how they would compare, in terms of ride-quality and durability etc, to say Ksyrium Elites which are available at roughly the same price, or to basic Ksyriums at just under £300?
I am looking to upgrade from Aksiums.

Bitex hubs built onto Pacenti Sl23’s with Sapim double-butted spokes
1450 Grams
£400 the pair

Thanks.

ugo.santalucia

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

I have been offered this build - but it's all double-dutch to me.
Can a wheel expert tell me how they would compare, in terms of ride-quality and durability etc, to say Ksyrium Elites which are available at roughly the same price, or to basic Ksyriums at just under £300?
I am looking to upgrade from Aksiums.

Bitex hubs built onto Pacenti Sl23’s with Sapim double-butted spokes
1450 Grams
£400 the pair

Thanks.

I have built a few Bitex hubs and I have reservations:

1) You can't buy spares
2) the freehub spring is basically a glorified rubber band, which is prone to failure with no availability of spares (you can try a rubber band, it might last 100 miles). Ignore the grams figure and get a good set of hubs... it'll weigh what it'll weigh and it won't make any difference.

The Ksyrium are a reasonably serviceable set of wheels with a declining quality... I see more and more cracked rims and hub flanges which are less than perfect. Last time to replace a spoke I had to file the front hub as one of the slots was defective and the spoke wouldn't sit properly

KnightOfTheLongTights

helpful, thanks

lostboysaint

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

I have been offered this build - but it's all double-dutch to me.
Can a wheel expert tell me how they would compare, in terms of ride-quality and durability etc, to say Ksyrium Elites which are available at roughly the same price, or to basic Ksyriums at just under £300?
I am looking to upgrade from Aksiums.

Bitex hubs built onto Pacenti Sl23’s with Sapim double-butted spokes
1450 Grams
£400 the pair

Thanks.

As Ugo has answered the bit about the hubs (which I didn't know) I'll jump in. A 23mm rim (A23/Archetype etc.) with Sapim Race spokes and Miche hubs (fit and forget, easily serviced) are around £300. Great wheels.

cycleclinic

If the OP is dead set on light wheels he could spec the wheels with Novatec A291/F482SB-SL hubs. You can at least buy the spares but stick to using them on drier days though not a hub for the extreme wet/winter filth like Miche.

Pacetni SL23 or Archetypes on miche hubs works very well indeed.

londoncommuter

Or you could take a chance on these:

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/p ... eelset.htm

Nobody seems to have any opinions other than guesswork on the hubs but for the price it might be worth taking the risk....

I was going to get a pair before the Wiggle Zonda price mess up intervened. Still half tempted to sell those on and try these as the allure of wider wheels and a more aero profile is still there.

letap73

£100 more than the offer above, however, fully serviceable by JRA if anything should go wrong:

http://www.justridingalong.com/wheels/i ... elset.html

londoncommuter

I saw those but they're also anonymous hubs so are you taking a gamble either way?

ugo.santalucia

londoncommuter wrote:

I saw those but they're also anonymous hubs so are you taking a gamble either way?

They are actually Bitex

cycleclinic

just like strada's and wheelsmiths own brand hubs. Bear in mind posting wheels back cost £10-£15 depending on the service you use and you need to find a box. Then you have to pay for the postage back and the spare and labour.It will end up being expensive. Being able to buy the parts and do the job your self is a lot better as a freehub body change is not hard and any competant mechanic can change bearings. No experinece of bitex hubs but the 6802 NDS rear bearing in the Novatec F482SB hub never seems to last long if exposed to water. The F482SB-SL hub has a larger bearing 5127 some something like that which fairs a bit better. However this is the only comparison I can make. White industries T11 hubs use a 6802 bearings an 6902 like the novatec F482 SB hub but it has more of them, (shimano hub has 5 bearings and the campagnolo hub has 6 bearings) these do not seem to give problems so there is more to this than just the bearing size.