Wheelsmith sale??

bianchi_dave

Hi All
I'll shortly be looking to purchase some new wheels for my Foil Premium. Narrowed it down to a few, one of which is Wheelsmith 50mm clinchers on Hope RS4 hubs. These come in at £999 and are the most expensive of my options but I can get the hubs in orange to match my black and orange bike (vain I know).
Other than the odd wheelset being reduced, does anyone know if wheelsmith has a sale around this time of year, or the best time to buy? I do however appreciate that as a small business, narrow margins and lack of economies of scale make discounting unlikely......
Also looking at Mavic Cosmic Carbon Pro Exalith and not entirely ruled out high end ksyriums yet (runs for cover).
Cheers
BD

pblakeney

My experience was that it was impossible to get a query response.
Bad timing due to lots of publicity and hype. They are likely quieter around now but no sales that I know of.

mfin

I wouldn't buy anything with orange hubs, or even coloured hubs. If you choose to sell them on ever then only a small subsection of people will be interested. Then there's the fact that if you change your bike to a new bike and move the wheels across they probably won't match. Oh, and that coloured hubs generally look crap, I don't really understand how people can't tell this, the worst looking bikes in the my bikes section are when people have tried to put bits of colour like this on them, thinking it matches (and anodised colours rarely match paint hues anyway).

I doubt they will have a sale, if the do it won't be much of one, their margins are worked out carefully and they often seem to have times where they have a lot of work on.

bianchi_dave

mfin wrote:

I wouldn't buy anything with orange hubs, or even coloured hubs. If you choose to sell them on ever then only a small subsection of people will be interested. Then there's the fact that if you change your bike to a new bike and move the wheels across they probably won't match. Oh, and that coloured hubs generally look crap, I don't really understand how people can't tell this, the worst looking bikes in the my bikes section are when people have tried to put bits of colour like this on them, thinking it matches (and anodised colours rarely match paint hues anyway).

I doubt they will have a sale, if the do it won't be much of one, their margins are worked out carefully and they often seem to have times where they have a lot of work on.

Good point regarding resale but this is my 'dream' bike so I'm unlikely to sell them anytime soon. I saw the Boyds with Chris King hubs in the classifieds on here at a cracking price, but the hubs are a pinkish red - limiting buyers as you say. Might have been interested myself if there were black (or orange!).

I know such debates are done to death but I'm still a little concerned at carbon brake tracks (hence considering exaliths). I do my local big climb a lot and whilst not a long descent by alpine standards, 60mph is possible with some sharp braking required. I think carbon brake tracks have come on quite a bit the last few years, but given the financial outlay I want something that will last many years.

daniel_b

I have the super light Exalith rimmed 125th anniversary wheels, and they are lovely - mine have one yellow hub, and one carbon hub, and the one single yellow spoke per wheel, which I absolutely love, and they match my bike perfectly.

If you are buying with your heart I(And it seems like these would be your dream wheels), I can't see the need to worry about resale - presumably if you want to change the hub colour, you simply have them rebuilt with a different hub, not the end of the world is it - or am I missing something?

These are mine:


Think Mavic might offer a wider range of hub and even nippled colours now too?

Midlands Grimpeur

As has been mentioned, Wheelsmith don't do sales as such. Always had prompt responses from Derek (within 24hrs) and he usually gets wheels built within 2-3 weeks even during busier periods.

Had a set of 45mm carbon clinchers from him for over a year and must have put around 8000km on them in all weathers, the brake track is absolutely fine, they are not quite as responsive as some alloy rims but it is only a minor difference. As you say OP, carbon wheels have developed a lot so I would not worry about durability as long as they are used correctly.

bianchi_dave

Daniel B wrote:

I have the super light Exalith rimmed 125th anniversary wheels, and they are lovely - mine have one yellow hub, and one carbon hub, and the one single yellow spoke per wheel, which I absolutely love, and they match my bike perfectly.

If you are buying with your heart I(And it seems like these would be your dream wheels), I can't see the need to worry about resale - presumably if you want to change the hub colour, you simply have them rebuilt with a different hub, not the end of the world is it - or am I missing something?

These are mine:


Think Mavic might offer a wider range of hub and even nippled colours now too?

Yes, very nice wheels. 2017 Ksyrium Exalith SL can be had for £799 currently!

However if I go factory, I am leaning more toward the cosmic pro carbon exalith, primarily due to my aero frame and the fact I've never had deep sections and eager to try them. These are reduced to around £970 at most big retailers now, and its appealing they come with tyres and brake blocks to keep extra costs down. I also have Tesco vouchers for Evans to bring cost down further and keep the other half happy(ish). Waiting to see if black Friday brings any better deals.

I should stress I don't race, but do enjoy chasing segment KOMs and trying to beat my averages over the same ride(s).

daniel_b

Bianchi Dave wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

I have the super light Exalith rimmed 125th anniversary wheels, and they are lovely - mine have one yellow hub, and one carbon hub, and the one single yellow spoke per wheel, which I absolutely love, and they match my bike perfectly.

If you are buying with your heart I(And it seems like these would be your dream wheels), I can't see the need to worry about resale - presumably if you want to change the hub colour, you simply have them rebuilt with a different hub, not the end of the world is it - or am I missing something?


Think Mavic might offer a wider range of hub and even nippled colours now too?

Yes, very nice wheels. 2017 Ksyrium Exalith SL can be had for £799 currently!

However if I go factory, I am leaning more toward the cosmic pro carbon exalith, primarily due to my aero frame and the fact I've never had deep sections and eager to try them. These are reduced to around £970 at most big retailers now, and its appealing they come with tyres and brake blocks to keep extra costs down. I also have Tesco vouchers for Evans to bring cost down further and keep the other half happy(ish). Waiting to see if black Friday brings any better deals.

I should stress I don't race, but do enjoy chasing segment KOMs and trying to beat my averages over the same ride(s).

Wow that is a good price - coincendetnally that is what I paid for mine, appreciate even at that price they are potentially over priced, but they were and are perfect for my bike, so for me, it was a price worth paying.
They must be one of the lightest clincers around, and the Exalith braking surface I think is superb.

Shame the Cosmic Carbon's are not available for as much of a discount.

bmxboy10

I got the non SL version of these from CRC a while back for £475. Exalith is brilliant when set up properly.

bianchi_dave

Well, ended up buying Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon Exalith and they went back the same day I received them - issue with the rear hub. Shop advised the freehub end cap wasn't pushed in correctly during manufacture but I didn't want them back. Too expensive a purchase to have no confidence in the wheels and if brutally honest, the wheels looked great but the carbon fairing felt very flimsy.

Looked at a few other options in the online weekend sales, inc Reynolds Assault and Zipp 302 but finally now ordered Wheelsmith Aero50 built on orange Hope RS4 hubs.

Will be my first set of custom hand builts. Quite excited tbh - probably should have ordered them in the first place! Think I'm getting a far superior wheel for my budget.

napoleond

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