building tt bike - wheel help!

benjamess

hi - new to forum!

did a few 10's last season on my road bike, caught a bit of a bug for it and was offered a TT frame at a good price which i bought. Currently looking for some wheels to fit on it and have a budget of £400-600 but would rather keep the costs down as much as possible as will be retiring my road bike wheels end of next summer onto the TT bike.

What would be best, a brand new set or a "better" set of wheels but second hand? will be looking to ride one TT a week mainly 10-25mi with the odd 50 or 100 throughout the year!

if anyone has any suggestions for decent wheels or offers on at the moment I will owe you one! Thanks

fenix

Whatever you get = go for a disk wheel cover for the rear. Cheap gains to be had there.

smoggysteve

What type of TT frame do you have. You can't fit a disc wheel cover on many frames so you would need a proper disc. You can get the old classic HED tubular disc 10 or 11 speed hubs on eBay circa 200 quid and on the front a 60mm Planet X wheel can be found for about the same . Also your frame may not take 25mm tyres so take that into consideration

smoggysteve

Also depending on if I ever get on My TT bike again I may have a HED disc for sale.

benjamess

SmoggySteve wrote:

What type of TT frame do you have. You can't fit a disc wheel cover on many frames so you would need a proper disc. You can get the old classic HED tubular disc 10 or 11 speed hubs on eBay circa 200 quid and on the front a 60mm Planet X wheel can be found for about the same . Also your frame may not take 25mm tyres so take that into consideration

Always been wary of second hand wheels but I suppose a tt bike ridden once a week would take much less punishment than a road bike being ridden 100-200 miles a week?

Quintana Roo not sure what model i think a couple of years ago, again it's only to get me going for a season to see if I can keep interest / increase form before spending a bit more.

Well if you are ever selling let me know!

fenix

SmoggySteve wrote:

What type of TT frame do you have. You can't fit a disc wheel cover on many frames so you would need a proper disc. You can get the old classic HED tubular disc 10 or 11 speed hubs on eBay circa 200 quid and on the front a 60mm Planet X wheel can be found for about the same . Also your frame may not take 25mm tyres so take that into consideration

No you don't need to buy a proper disc. Speak to Raltech. http://www.raltech.co.uk/Prod_3-Wh-Cov.html

smoggysteve

Raltech can't fit a cover on my Scott Plasma 2. The chain stays are too narrow. Tried already. Goes forsome other brands too

fenix

Ahh works ok for my PX and I've seen them on lots of others.

smoggysteve

benjamess wrote:

SmoggySteve wrote:

What type of TT frame do you have. You can't fit a disc wheel cover on many frames so you would need a proper disc. You can get the old classic HED tubular disc 10 or 11 speed hubs on eBay circa 200 quid and on the front a 60mm Planet X wheel can be found for about the same . Also your frame may not take 25mm tyres so take that into consideration

Always been wary of second hand wheels but I suppose a tt bike ridden once a week would take much less punishment than a road bike being ridden 100-200 miles a week?

Quintana Roo not sure what model i think a couple of years ago, again it's only to get me going for a season to see if I can keep interest / increase form before spending a bit more.

Well if you are ever selling let me know!

A TT disc would get little rim wear. Hubs could be an issue but as long as it roles true it should get you buy. I Raltech are quite good if can fit it but the cost of the premium models are almost as much as a cheap full disc. As before I have seen HED discs on eBay for less than 200. Other thing with clip on covers is chances are a wheel you find to clip it on most probably will be a clincher whereas you may want tubs for TT. If you do get a set of Tubular wheels to clip it on they may cost as much as a disc so it's debatable if you save anything

smoggysteve

Fenix wrote:

Ahh works ok for my PX and I've seen them on lots of others.

Yup. I tried getting one. They said they can't make them for my particular model as the chain stays are barely wider than the spokes so adding another layer there isn't room.

benjamess

SmoggySteve wrote:

A TT disc would get little rim wear. Hubs could be an issue but as long as it roles true it should get you buy. I Raltech are quite good if can fit it but the cost of the premium models are almost as much as a cheap full disc. As before I have seen HED discs on eBay for less than 200. Other thing with clip on covers is chances are a wheel you find to clip it on most probably will be a clincher whereas you may want tubs for TT. If you do get a set of Tubular wheels to clip it on they may cost as much as a disc so it's debatable if you save anything

Thanks! I think I will go down the route of disc wheel / 60mm front wheel, can spread the spending out a bit more to buying one this month then another next month! Tubs definitely the way to go? only ever ridden clinchers.

step83

Fenix wrote:

Whatever you get = go for a disk wheel cover for the rear. Cheap gains to be had there.

smoggysteve

For competing tubs. Any wheels you like for training. I could says clinchers but that opens up a whole can of worms on here as I am sure you will find out if you stick around :-)

benjamess

SmoggySteve wrote:

For competing tubs. Any wheels you like for training. I could says clinchers but that opens up a whole can of worms on here as I am sure you will find out if you stick around :-)

thanks for the help!

benjamess

Step83 wrote:

Fenix wrote:

Whatever you get = go for a disk wheel cover for the rear. Cheap gains to be had there.

ill give that one a try......hope it doesn't rain!

sandyballs

These are in the classifieds at the moment. Assuming you have other alloy rims You can use them across both bikes without brake pad issues and within your price range.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40091&t=13074271

supermurph09

First of all you I'd suggest looking over at the timetriallingforum.co.uk you'll find some great deals in the classifieds.

Regarding wheel choice, I don't think Raltech are making covers atm, or at least they weren't. The biggest gains you'll make will be in your position and ensuring you have a good skin suit so save some budget for that. I was running some 88mm rear / 60mm front on my TT bike, sure I would have liked a disc but I would have seen bigger gains on a better front wheel, that's what hit's the wind first.

So in summary, get a good position, practice holding it, buy some chinese import wheels for now and get a good skin suit and helmet.

benjamess

Supermurph09 wrote:

First of all you I'd suggest looking over at the timetriallingforum.co.uk you'll find some great deals in the classifieds.

Regarding wheel choice, I don't think Raltech are making covers atm, or at least they weren't. The biggest gains you'll make will be in your position and ensuring you have a good skin suit so save some budget for that. I was running some 88mm rear / 60mm front on my TT bike, sure I would have liked a disc but I would have seen bigger gains on a better front wheel, that's what hit's the wind first.

So in summary, get a good position, practice holding it, buy some chinese import wheels for now and get a good skin suit and helmet.

Thanks I'll take a look at the forum, I already have an aero helmet and money / time budgeted for all the rest, I'm not particularly looking for a performance gain in the wheels and know that the biggest gains will come from learning to pace / position myself better and have a bike fit booked for when I put a groupset on. Don't fancy the Chinese wheels - seen a few sets and heard nothing but good things about them from the owners but still I've had wheels fail previously so kind of cautious.
Thanks for the reply though!

benjamess

Sandyballs wrote:

These are in the classifieds at the moment. Assuming you have other alloy rims You can use them across both bikes without brake pad issues and within your price range.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40091&t=13074271

Thanks Ill get in touch with the OP !