Climbing wheels

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

Given a budget of, say, 3000 euros max, would you buy:

AX Lightness Ultra 24 - 800g (+/- 5%) - Extralite hubs, AX Lightness Ultra rims, CX-Ray spokes, 2636€
AX Lightness Premium 24 - 835g (+/- 5%), Extralite hubs, AX Lightness rims, CX-Ray spokes, 2151€
Extralite CyberClimb A24 - 775g (stated, Italian...) - Extralite hubs, AX Lightness Ultra rims, Pillar Megalite spokes, 2599€
Enve handbuilt - 937g (I calculate) - Extralite hubs, Enve 2.2 SES rims, Sapim superspokes, 2139€ (and I have to build them)

(I should get some discount on the AXL wheels by buying from Starbike, of course)

or

I may be able to get a pair of used Enve 25s on DT Swiss 240s (assuming the chap I know still has them). If I rebuild those with super spokes and Extralite hubs, and sell on the 240s, I should end up spending about 1300€ for an 875-ish gramme wheelset.

or

do you have other suggestions? I'm happy to build wheels, but the parts have to come to less than 3000€ including all shipping and duty (to the UK).

The goal here is to get my R5Ca (currently 6.0kg on Enve 45s with Conti Competition tubs) as light as possible. So obviously the CyberClimbs are attractive, but expensive and my experience of Italian weighs is that they can be...optimistic. Also the Megalite spokes are an unknown quantity (to me).

I think, with ee brakes (on order), Veloflex Record tubs (here, weighed at 190g each) and the Extralites (if they actually weight 775g) I can get to 5335g, which makes sub-5 a target for next year (with wholesale cockpit and post/saddle replacement with Schmolke and/or Berk). I could go lower, but would have to lose the power meter, and the rule is no loss of function.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



bm0p700f
in the industry
Posts: 5777
Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Glermsford, Suffolk U.K
Contact:

by bm0p700f

The super spoke may not be the best choice for the rear wheel witha shallow carbon rim.

Light is great but they also need to be stiff. Superspokes are fine for the front but not the rear ideally and i would use the super cx spoke as wind up with the round ones would be a bitch.

The ax lightness rims are 215g vs 280g for the enve ses 2.2. The enves are probably stiffer though. The thing is if you are thing enve rims then there are 38mm deep carnon tubilar rims that are 295g i should know i have set built up hanging up in the shop. My own set with carbon ti hubs came in at 1020g. Extralite hubs would save 40g and super cx spokes would shave more weight off.

You might as well buy the ax lightness or extralite builds of you want really light. Go the handbuilt route if you want light but not that light whole be stiffer.

tinozee
Posts: 764
Joined: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:53 am

by tinozee

Are the carbon Sapim spokes available yet?

davidw
Posts: 77
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2014 7:03 am
Location: Los Angeles, Ca

by davidw

I'd go with one of the Enve combos. I've never ridden any of the AX Lightness stuff but heard good things. I have ridden Enve and the gain in stiffness/durability are something I hold higher in value than the subtraction of grams. I love light shit but I also dont want to be ridding on noodles. I think Enve puts themselves in a great position between stiff and lightweight wheels, not to mention the quality and durability. I've done some dumb shit on my Enves and not once have I been worried about *f##k* them up. If you got the doe I'd do the 2.2s in a heartbeat. That wide profile is fire.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

The super spoke *is* the CX-Ray super spoke, unless someone knows of a different spoke by the same name.

The SES 2.2s offer very little weight saving over my existing 45s; the wide profile makes no difference to tyre shape since I ride tubs; and there's little aero benefit to a 22mm deep rim - and in any case these are climbing wheels.

Has anyone actually ridden the AX Lightness rims?

dudemanppl
Posts: 1266
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:09 am

by dudemanppl

Try and find some Reynolds KOMs or 32s laced to Reynolds labeled DT240 hubs, then buy a 11s freehub and sell the hubset for 200 or so, then buy the spokes, nips, Extralite hubs. My 945g set of Reynolds 32/Extralite/Sapim Lasers cost 850 USD. The KOM rims are supposedly around 215-225g while my rims were 280g, so just do the math there.

viratelle
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2014 11:53 am

by viratelle

Have the hyperclimb (820g, 3 yrs about 15k kms) and the cyberclimb (772g, only 1k). Both are fantastic...Have two other Extralite wheelsets that don't have the ceramic bearings option and it is very important to get the ceramic bearings. Wheels roll like 404s with ceramic...

2old4this
Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:26 am

by 2old4this

I sometimes use a combo
Front: AX Ultra 24 with CXRay and Extralight (345 gr)
Rear: Lightweight Meilinstein Obermayer (542 gr)

RyanH
Moderator
Posts: 3199
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:01 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:

by RyanH

Brake track is very poor on the older gen Enve 25's.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

bm0p700f
in the industry
Posts: 5777
Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 7:25 pm
Location: Glermsford, Suffolk U.K
Contact:

by bm0p700f

There is a round super spoke and the cx super spoke. Oddly enough i know sapims range.

http://www.sapim.be/spokes/butted/super-spokes
Sapim dont list the cx super spoke on there website.

Wider rims are stiffer and wheels need to stiff to feel like it is performing well. Lighter riders may be o.k on a 215g rim. I doubt i would be though.

If you have the enve 45's you already have climbing wheels. What you want now is something less stiff in order to climb better. It does not work that way the weight saving is not going to be big enough. The 45's can be built into a stiff 1000g wheelset. Saving another 150g is not going to make you any faster. It will get you closer to a 5kg bike though and that maybe enough for you. I think the idea of buying some renoylds koms is not a bad one at least that way if you dont like them you havd not spent too much.

I know that's is not want you want to hear it is the truth though.

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

bm0p700f wrote:There is a round super spoke and the cx super spoke. Oddly enough i know sapims range.

http://www.sapim.be/spokes/butted/super-spokes
Sapim dont list the cx super spoke on there website.

News to me, Malcolm, thanks for clearing that up. The spoke I'm thinking of is this one: http://www.starbike.com/en/sapim-super- ... ull-black/.

If you have the enve 45's you already have climbing wheels. What you want now is something less stiff in order to climb better. It does not work that way the weight saving is not going to be big enough.

Well, this is Weight Weenies... My 45s on CK are 1200g. So there's a potential 425g saving on the wheels, with another 120g to come from switching from Conti Competitions to Veloflex Records (which I grant you I could do on the 45s). A bit more saving if I glue rather than tape - did you know that one wheel's worth of Jantex 14 is 30g? I think 585g (assuming 10g of glue per wheel) of weight saving will be noticeable; that's almost 10% of the current weight of the bike (and a whole 0.6% of the total system weight - I'm an idiot, but not a moron :-))

What's disappointing me is that I have a set of DT Swiss RRC425/525Rs. They're supposed to weigh in at 950g. In fact they're 1100g. Now, I did replace the freehub with an 11sp one when I picked them up, and maybe the original was some kind of super-lightweight special item (in which case I'm once more an idiot for having moved the original on using BR for £25) but 150g seems like a big difference (in idiot-land). I might take one apart and see what the rims weigh, to see if a rebuild with Extralite hubs and Super-CXs would make the difference.

I'll keep an eye out for Reynolds KOMs, but if I'm picking up used wheels I might as well use the Enve 25s. The brake track will presumably be similar to my 45s - which is to say fine in the dry, nerve-wracking in the wet - but I'll use R-SYS SLRs in the wet, so I'm not that bothered on that score.

Extralite make bold claims for stiffness in their wheelset, citing high spoke tension. However my understanding is that stiffness (lateral, anyway) is a product of bracing angle and inherent rim stiffness, not spoke tension.

jpanspac
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 8:21 pm

by jpanspac

Don't be afraid of megalite spokes. I've got them on 2 wheelsets and have had zero problems.
My favorite components are the ones I never have to think about.

arthurf
Posts: 158
Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 9:13 pm

by arthurf

964Cup wrote:Has anyone actually ridden the AX Lightness rims?


I have a set of the AX srt24 rims on Tune hubs and they are spectacular climbers and no problems on the descents either. They really feel like they float up the hill and I've never found them wanting in stiffness. Mine were handbuilt by Strada in the UK. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend the AX rims or Strada for building a set.

User avatar
caballero
Posts: 629
Joined: Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:00 am
Location: Japan / US / Australia

by caballero

Hyperon ultra

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

caballero wrote:Hyperon ultra

So I should spend £2,200 on a set of wheels that weigh exactly the same as my current set. The benefit of which would be what, exactly?

In fact, you know what? I already have four sets of wheels that weigh around 1200g. You're right, I must have room for a fifth set.

To make the question a little clearer: does anyone have any suggestions for a sub-900g climbing wheelset other than those I have listed already & a custom build on Reynolds Koms if I can find some?

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply