Light weight Aluminum Clinchers

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rruff
Shop Owner
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Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:12 am
Location: Alto, NM

by rruff

Do 1x NDS (heads in), 3x DS for triplet. 1x will be easier on the flange.

So long as the spokes have *some* tension, higher tension doesn't help anything.

by Weenie


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KLabs
Posts: 380
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:29 am

by KLabs

rruff wrote:Do 1x NDS (heads in), 3x DS for triplet. 1x will be easier on the flange.
So long as the spokes have *some* tension, higher tension doesn't help anything.

Hi rruff, what would be your thoughts for a non triplet ... thanks

rruff
Shop Owner
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:12 am
Location: Alto, NM

by rruff

If it's the hub with poor DS offset and a big offset ratio, 1x heads-in DS and 2x NDS would probably work best.

KLabs
Posts: 380
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:29 am

by KLabs

rruff wrote:If it's the hub with poor DS offset and a big offset ratio, 1x heads-in DS and 2x NDS would probably work best.

Hi rruff, by 'poor DS offset and a big offset ratio' do you mean a wide flanged hub with a small DS flange or ??? ... thanks

rruff
Shop Owner
Posts: 2196
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:12 am
Location: Alto, NM

by rruff

Poor DS offset means it is significantly less than it could be. ~19mm for S and ~17mm for C.

LAM
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 08, 2013 9:10 pm

by LAM

I've been eying the Canyon CF SLX. I'm not really settled on the Mavic Ksyrium SLR wheels, so will probably look to move these on and replace them.

I already own Campagnolo Neutrons, but they're starting to show their age and I'm not sure I want to put them on a beautiful new bike. Instead I'll look to retain these on the winter / all weather bike.

I'm 66-kg and no power house in a big gear. I tend to get my buzz in the climbs. So I'm looking for something responsive and light, with aero being slightly lower on the agenda (I know, I just described the Mavics).

A couple of alternative I'm considering:
HyperClinch SP - 1190g - £850
CERO AR30 - 1360g - £350

I have zero experience with these wheels and would welcome some feedback from anyone with experience. Clearly a significant price difference.

Thanks.

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Zen Cyclery
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Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 5:27 am
Location: McCall, ID
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by Zen Cyclery

How much do you weigh? What type of terrain are you riding? What do you expect to gain by getting new wheels?

zx9rmal
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 1:24 am

by zx9rmal

Hi. New guy here. I ride a Merlin Extralight that I built around 1993. It weighs in at 15.8 lbs. and has 130mm dropout spacing. I LOVE this bike. It rides on Spinergy Rev-X tubular wheels using a 7 speed freewheel. The wheels and the bike are in exceptional shape and I love the trick look, so I want to keep them. I know these wheels are not particularly light, so I was thinking of having a second set of lightweight wheels for a different kind of riding experience, e.g., bursts of acceleration and quick spin ups. I weigh 135 lbs. so I don't need a gorilla strong wheelset. I'd like the wheelset to be as light as possible but roadworthy, on good quality roads.

What do you knowledgeable folks recommend? Are any wheels currently made that will work with my setup? I don't mind buying new.

Thanks for the help.
Mal
Weston, FL
'92 Merlin Extralight, 14.6 lbs.
'14 Giant Propel Advanced 2

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btompkins0112
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Joined: Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:04 am
Location: Mississippi

by btompkins0112

I would go with a custom build of NOS Dura Ace 7400 hubs and H Plus Son TB14 rims, unless you want to stick tubular and you could go Ambrosio rims. CXRay spokes of course.

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Zen Cyclery
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Location: McCall, ID
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by Zen Cyclery

Are you set on running clinchers, or would you be willing to give tubulars a try? What is your price range?

zx9rmal
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat May 04, 2013 1:24 am

by zx9rmal

I'm currently on tubulars. I'm not opposed to staying with tubulars, but I wouldn't mind going back to clinchers either, if there isn't much of a weight penalty. My price range? Not sure how much $$ I'm willing to put into this. Depends on what's available.
Mal
Weston, FL
'92 Merlin Extralight, 14.6 lbs.
'14 Giant Propel Advanced 2

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WMW
in the industry
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Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:59 pm
Location: Ruidoso, NM

by WMW

If you really want to experience light, then carbon tubular rims are the way to go. Unfortunately there aren't any light aluminum tubulars around. The Stan's 340 is just as light, and if you put light tires and tubes on there is really no penalty... except you will lose that tubular magic I guess...
formerly rruff...

igotyofire
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:21 am

by igotyofire

I am new here and 1200...1300grams is light for 500.00...why don't more people go this route? Everything else i see is atleast twice that price and still low-mid 1400grams

Snowstorm
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:03 pm

by Snowstorm

Hi all. I took a brief 2 year hiatus from the forums. No, it was not due to a prolonged hospitalization from these wheels exploding on me whilst careening down a descent. Simply chose to focus my time on actually riding.

I have put about 8000 miles on these wheels. What brought me back to this post is that I just now finished the first truing on these wheels (granted they probably needed it about 500 miles ago). As I sat their truing it I remembered that I shared this build on this forum 2 years ago. Over this period I initially used them just for road races, but gradually worked them into daily usage. I even raced these tubeless in a couple cross races last year. Never broke a spoke.

As far as upside: These are cheap, light and braking is excellent and predictable.

Negatives: After upgrading my crit wheels to 808 tubies, there is a huge difference between my wheelsets. Feels like the difference between riding an aluminum road bike on the hoods and a carbon time trial bike on my forearms. It always take a few minutes to get used to the feel again just swapping these wheels on the same bike. The aluminum clinchers definitely have flex hammering out of the saddle and the bike itself, predictably, feels twitchier. I don't find it spooky. Unfortunately, I don't have any other super light, shallow depth rims to compare these to. My comparisons are to my training anchors or to 50mm + deep carbon wheels. Comparing apples to oranges.

I would remiss if I didn't mention that my build inspired two of my mates to build the same. One assembled them himself, one went to a different builder in town. They both were 120-140lb mountain goats. They guy that built them himself has yet to break a spoke, but has trued them at least monthly since putting them together (I think he also used CX-rays). The other guy broke a number of spokes. I think 4-6 of them. He laced them with DT revolutions initially and I believe he eventually just sold the wheels off to someone rather than having them rebuilt.

Given that I outweigh these guys by 60-80 lbs, I think I owe about 99% of the credit for longevity to my builder. If anyone lives in Connecticut and wants his name, let me know.

-Snowstorm
"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement"

by Weenie


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stripes
Posts: 51
Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:58 am

by stripes

I currently have a set of:

Kinlin XR-270
20/24 Sapim CX-Ray
DT240s front hub
PowerTap Pro+ rear hub

Thinking about getting a new wheelset for training and perhaps racing. I live an area with climbs nearby so ideally they'll be light and probably aluminum so I don't have to worry about blowouts? Additional requirements:

11-speed compatible
Lightweight
No PowerTap needed as I'm considering a Stages
Looks pretty :D
Budget ~$1k USD would be nice but if < $2k can get me something arguably nicer I'd consider it

What wheels would you recommend as an improvement over my current setup? What benefits would I be seeing? Overall I'm looking for a better ride experience. Should I go for custom or pre-built? Thanks!

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