Kinesis CX Disc

On_What
On_What Posts: 516
edited November 2014 in Cyclocross
All, just bought a pair of these, and wished to share a few things I've learned regarding these wheels;

- The rim tape is useless, it's about 2mm too wide, and also a very sloppy fit to the rim.
- The hubs are good quality, but the freehub body gets cut up very easily, mine already showing indentations from cassette
-It's a real struggle to get Challenge Grifo's onto these rims, and get them to sit in the hook. Originally the rim tape as getting caught up and preventing the tyre sitting straight, but now I am finding the rim is simply a very tight fit, catering for the tubeless users?

Having said all that, they are very light, and well built. They are a big improvement on the wheels with my bike, and bang for buck offer the best upgrade around.

Comments

  • Fabius
    Fabius Posts: 56
    This makes me happy that I snubbed these wheels in favour of a handbuilt pair of race25s from Wheelsmith.

    They are awesome, although at £360 for the pair they were a step up in budget.
  • luv2ride
    luv2ride Posts: 2,367
    Have to say, doesn't match my experience at all, Perhaps you got a rogue pair? Mind you, you might be right about the freehub body getting chewed up as I haven't changed or removed the cassette since fitting - seem to recall a comment on this forum suggesting they were made from butter.
    Titus Silk Road Ti rigid 29er - Scott Solace 10 disc - Kinesis Crosslight Pro6 disc - Scott CR1 SL - Pinnacle Arkose X 650b - Pinnacle Arkose singlespeed - Specialized Singlecross...& an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 4 string...
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Fabius wrote:
    This makes me happy that I snubbed these wheels<...>

    Why?

    Because the rim tape is useless? Big deal...

    Because the alloy freehub gets cut up? This happens to all light hubs because unless you use steel they are inherently soft. The only possible solution that gives light weight and reduce cutting is like American Classic where they have a thin steel band where the casette contacts the alloy hub. I would hazard a guess that your handbuilt hubs will do the same.

    Because they are tricky to get tyres on? Most tubeless ready rims seem to have this issue.

    The OP was saying that there were a few niggles but they are still awesome and great value. And the niggles could just as easily affect a handbuilt wheelset.

    There are other reasons why you could criticise them, but they werent stated here so dont see how the OPs post makes you glad you snubbed them, unless you just dont like them and are looking for reasons to bash them...?

    I have a pair that I got cheap for around £220 for trashing in winter to keep my handbuilts nice, yet to fit them but will be soon. My slight niggles are that they dont use pillar spokes and alloy nipples, which may not last as well as they could, but hey they are cheap and cheerful. See UGOs thoughts here: http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... s-any-good I think he is perhaps a little overly picky but have enough respect for his reputation to listen and consider his points. I still thought them worth a punt at the price/weight and if I get spokes breaking it wont cost alot to respoke them with something stronger.
  • On_What
    On_What Posts: 516
    edited December 2014
    £360 was over budget for me, from what I read these were decent wheels, but it's worth pointing out that there are a few minor niggles that need to be considered for the end user, and this info was not available to me when I purchased.

    Rim tape is cheap, freehubs probably don't matter in reality, but it's worth noting tyres can be a bitch to get on and off.
  • Happy with "Switch ULTRA Black Dragon Wheelset" at Superstar for £130, mine were 1793g for the pair.

    Running smoothly at the moment, done some MTB red runs ok.
  • Fabius
    Fabius Posts: 56
    edited November 2014
    apreading wrote:
    Fabius wrote:
    This makes me happy that I snubbed these wheels<...>

    Why?

    Because the first three points were negative, which suggests that the OP was less than happy with them else the positives would have been the first bits of feedback, rather than being a 'despite this' throwaway at the end of the post.

    I read Ugo's review, that was what informed me to look for something else. I have absolutely zero complaints about the wheels I chose to buy.
  • Fabius
    Fabius Posts: 56
    On_What wrote:
    £360 was over budget for me

    Yes I'll concede that I did upgrade in budget a bit (I think these can be found for about £250), but I had also read a couple of reviews that suggested that finding the extra cash instead of buying these would be worth the outlay - mine was not an upgrade, new wheels for a new build.