Custom Reynolds wheels

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Delorre
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Joined: Sat May 24, 2014 12:09 pm

by Delorre

First, let me draw some background : wheels will be used on daily basis. Terrain varies from +/- 700m eleavtion / 100km till 2000m/100km. No real mountains. I weight 72kg and no gear macher. EU based!

I'm about to pull the trigger for a custom wheelset based on Reynolds-ish rims (35mm x 24mm wide with Ctg brake track, +/- 440gr ,the same rims in fact as used on some Edco wheels in 2015) laced to DT240 hubs (20F & 24R). with CX-ray / CX sprint on DS. Will be build by a local wheel builder CY. Any thoughts on such a build?

As a lighter alternative, they propose a similar build, but with Reynolds Attack rims. They will be roughly 100gr lighter, but I'm a little worried about those, as, according to some reviews, the regular Reynolds Attack wheels are lacking some stiffness. Being custom, i'm free too build it up with other hubs/ spokes to get more stiffness out of them. Any recomendations here? Do I have to worry about lack of stiffness with the proposed build.

For the same price, there is off course the bora one 35, but my bike is a DI2 equiped Scott Addict, so mismatch of drivetrain & carbon fibre finish (UD all around vs 3K wheels). The new and wider Xentis Squad 4.2 are out of budget, and I have doubts about the claiemed weight of 1307gr....

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bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I'd use the WI T11's but that because the T11 is the best all round light weight hub.

I would also go with deeper rims but hey it not going to my wheels. What you suggest will work well but I think a deeper set with hub like the WI would be a better wheelset what what you are doing overall.

Delorre
Posts: 967
Joined: Sat May 24, 2014 12:09 pm

by Delorre

bm0p700f wrote:I'd use the WI T11's but that because the T11 is the best all round light weight hub.

I would also go with deeper rims but hey it not going to my wheels. What you suggest will work well but I think a deeper set with hub like the WI would be a better wheelset what what you are doing overall.


Based on what do you prefer the WI hubs? I've got them in my hands, and they are really, really smooth, especially the freewheel, and are nice to look at, but are they worth the extra €'s and the small weight penalty? Do they have a better geometry maybe?

Concerning deepter rims : I prefer something <35 mm for weight, crosswind and less harshness reasons. The roads surfaces here in Belgium are not great at all in general :shock: And my avg speed's (20 - 22 mph) don't justify real deep wheels I guess :wink:

mimason
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Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:43 pm
Location: Florida

by mimason

T11s will build up stiffer than most other hubs due to good bracing angle and they are easy to maintenance, so yes they are worth a weight penalty. I have some Reynolds wheels and they are not as stiff as I would want them. They are a little older, the UL32s with DT hubs though. Bmop700f has a good suggestion to go a little deeper, they would be stiffer for you.

If I were going to build up those rims it would be T11s too but honestly, I have Bora One 50s and they are so nice and stiff I can't see anything in that budget coming close to the same performance.....damn the matchy match to hell.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

The WI hubs are really smooth too. There is alot more to a hub than being smooth (all hubs are smooth so long as they are shimano 2300). Try looking up measurements and think about bracing angles and make your decession.

You may also need to think about physics some more if you think deeper wheels are of no benefit. Aero gains benefit all riders regardless of how fast they ride. Do the sums or use an on line calculator to calculate time saved over a fictitious flat course to see. You will find the more aero the wheel even at 20 mph the bigger the gain. You will also find the magnitude of the time saved is bigger for the slower rider than the faster one but expressed as a % time saved the result is reversed. This has been discussed so many time before and is A-level/college physics.

Check out aeroweenies for a proper treatment of the physics and a mathamatical model all the online calculators use. Ultimatley aero gains are going to be small but if are going for them you might as well have the biggest gain you can have. You are no climbing mountains and even then aero wheels are still of benefit as generally the whole ride is not just up.

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