Wheels out of advertised spec?

kofsw4

I received some new wheels last week (not saying which ones until they've had a chance to respond) and was a bit disappointed to find that they were:

85g or 6.5% heavier than advertised (I weighed them without skewers and rim tape on two different scales)

Only 19mm inside width rather than the 21mm advertised (measured using calipers and the difference is also big enough to clearly be seen on a ruler)

Now i know these are fairly small differences but when we pay substantial amount of money for something that is supposed to be a bit lighter or a bit wider, I feel quite cheated and will be returning them on principal even if I probably couldn't tell the difference if they were in spec.

Does anybody have any similar experiences?

singleton

I had some wheels that were lighter than specs and some that were heavier than specs.
Although, I am surprised that wheel manufacturers cannot (or will not) give accurate weights - surely there cannot be that much difference in weight purely based on tolerances?

clc2005

Yes Mavics mostly always come out over spec weight. Example:- My 2017 Ksyrium Elites were advertised as 1550g, actual weight was 1620g or 1630g (can't remember exactly) so quite a bit over the advertised weight. I kept them as most other brands would probably be out by a similar amount. Dura Ace WH-7850 C24 Clinchers I got in 2008 were pretty close to the weight spec IIRC.

The internal width of the Mavics was in spec though.

foggymike

I weighed some 2017 Mavic Ksyrium Carbon SLs last week which were supposed to be 1390g. They were 220g more than that which is not even close. Your 85g is great in comparison!

I've found Zipp and Reynolds are always pretty much spot on the claimed weights, most other real world wheelset weights are 80-120g over claimed as standard.

All Mavic weights are quoted with Campag freehub weights (the spec sheets say the claimed weight is lightest configuration or something like that). Shimano adds 40g so you need to factor that in before you start with their wheels.

Whether you should be bothered about or will notice 85g is another debate I'll not get into. I'm sure someone will be along to tell you the error of your ways soon

sloppyschleckonds

Outrageous

timothyw

In terms of the rim width, they might be quoting the size of rim tape needed for it, rather than the rim size - 21mm tape sounds about right for a 19mm internal width.

I don't think a 6.5% weight difference is worth complaining about.

veronese68

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Outrageous

Do we still blame Wiggle or is it Merlin since Bungle's meltdown?

cycleclinic

DT Swiss $21 rims are narrower than DT Swiss advertises the OP is not alone. As for weight rim weights can vary alot. Take the Mavic open pro UST Disc rim. Advertised weight 430g but the rims I have are all 465g +/- a bit. The rim brake version though is 20g under weight.

So rim weights are always +/- a fair bit. I can list many others that are not the claimed weight.

I would not return a wheel for being 85g over weight. Also wheels are often quoted with weights in there lightest form i.e tru axles for disc brakes and alloy freehubs vs steel. There could be lots of reasons why your wheels weight a bit more but my bet is you read the spec and made an assumption on the weight but you picked a different spec to what is quoted. Of course the wheels could just be over weight. hard to tell unless we know what they are.

kofsw4

Thanks for all the replies. If not on dimensions and weight, I'm not sure how we're supposed to choose between the hundreds of wheel options available at any given price point, which makes accurate as can be measurements important in my opinion.

It turns out that the spec of these wheels has been changed and that change wasn't reflected on the website. They've gone from being hookless to hooked rims, adding weight and losing width in the process, but this information wasn't updated on the product website.

Not sure if or when it will be, so if anyone is considering Hunt 30 Carbon disc wheels, beware the information on their website isn't accurate!

svetty

How did I know you were going to say Hunt?

sloppyschleckonds

kofsw4 wrote:

Not sure if or when it will be, so if anyone is considering Hunt 30 Carbon disc wheels, beware the information on their website isn't accurate!

Yeah, its not like small details are important