Light weight Aluminum Clinchers

[Snowstorm]

I know a lot of people seem to ask about lightweight aluminum clinchers from time to time. So, I thought I would post my most recent build here.

Me: 6'4" 195lbs. Sprinter and generally suffer on the climbs. I was looking to build a cheap, light, and reliable (yeah....I know) aluminum clincher wheelset for the road races.
Budget: $500 (all-inclusive)

Build:
Stan's 340 Alpha Rims (24H/28H)
Bikehubstore.com Superlight Hubs
Sapim CX-Ray Spokes
Brass Nipples

Total weight: 1230 grams (verified on my luggage scale and a Park scale at my LBS). More weight could obviously be saved with a lower spoke count. A 20/24 build would be sub-1200 grams.

Total cost: $502. This includes all shipping, labor and tax. The wheels were built by a very experienced wheel builder at my LBS.

Thoughts: I am sure there are cheaper options out there, but this is the cheapest and lightest that I could put together that would be reliable at my weight.




I debadged the rims because the graphics that came on them were hideous

[rainbowstripes]

Will be nice to know how those go for you....if you don't rip them apart....your builder is good.

[Snowstorm]

Will be nice to know how those go for you....if you don't rip them apart....your builder is good.

Haha. Well these are not going to see any crit work, so I am hoping for at least some longevity. Although I put down a pretty good sprint (wattage-wise), I really haven't been too hard on wheels over the years. However, I generally am riding 50mm+ deep carbon wheels. I fully anticipate a noticeable decrease in stiffness if I get on it.

[weaverdcivw]

I'd love to hear your feedback on the rear wheel when you get some rides on it. I'm the same weight and also put down some decent power. Rebuilding my rear wheel in a couple months (same spoke count and hub as yours) and have been mulling over using this rim. I'm using a 28h xr200 in the front and that's light/stiff enough for me. The rear will either be that Stans or an xr270, depending on how soft these end up being. I've been having a hard time tracking down feedback on these rims amongst the heavier folk.

[KLabs]

Hi Snowstorm, very nice ... do you think it would have been ok to do a 28H rear and 20H front for your weight?

[MrMojo]

Nice build there at a good price. I've just gone for a similar build, not received yet but hoping for about 1175g to 1200g max. They've cost £700 from Just Riding Along in Sheffield. I'm about 172lb's and not a sprinter

Build:
Stan's 340 Alpha Rims (20H/28H)
Tune Mig70 Mag170 Hubs
Sapim CX-Ray Spokes
Alloy Nipples

[quattrings]

Can people stop referring to their opbjects of minimal mass as Lightweight?
It is light weight, not lightweight and definatly not Lightweight, as this is something different entirely.

Thank you.


Nice wheels none the less.

[jbf]

I will look forward to your experience with the rear 28H. I have built front wheels with the Alpha 340 with great success. I have held back from using the BHS rear with the Alpha 340 due to the combination of flange spacing/low max tension seemed to provide NDS spokes with too low tension for my taste.

[weaverdcivw]

Can people stop referring to their opbjects of minimal mass as Lightweight?
It is light weight, not lightweight and definatly not Lightweight, as this is something different entirely.

Thank you.


Nice wheels none the less.

Actually, Lightweight is correct. It's the beginning of a topic so the L should be in upper case. And light weight is correctly spelled as lightweight. See:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ... 1327719297

I suppose you could nitpick at the capitalization of aluminum and clinchers but, who cares.

[bricky21]

[2ndgen]

Soul S2.0
1330g
$500./shipped
210lb rider limit
I've only read good things about them.

Rim: N'litened Alloy rims. Machined braking surface with wear indicator.
Bearings: Japanese High Grade Stainless Steel sealed bearings.
Hubs: SOUL Prodigy hubs, 2 sealed bearings front + 4 sealed bearings rear.
Spokes: Double Butted and bladed 2.3mm X5 CrNi stainless steel spokes.
20 radial laced Front + 24 2 x cross driveside, radial non-driveside Rear.
Nipples: Brass, Aluminium (Black)
Skewers: 90g Lightweight Hollow Chromoly Axle (included)
Weight: 580g (Front) 750g (Rear), 1.330kg pair ( weight without skewers)
Weight Limit: 95kg/ 210lbs

http://bikesoul.com/2009/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=10

[2ndgen]

I know a lot of people seem to ask about lightweight aluminum clinchers from time to time. So, I thought I would post my most recent build here.

Me: 6'4" 195lbs. Sprinter and generally suffer on the climbs. I was looking to build a cheap, light, and reliable (yeah....I know) aluminum clincher wheelset for the road races.
Budget: $500 (all-inclusive)

Build:
Stan's 340 Alpha Rims (24H/28H)
Bikehubstore.com Superlight Hubs
Sapim CX-Ray Spokes
Brass Nipples

Total weight: 1230 grams (verified on my luggage scale and a Park scale at my LBS). More weight could obviously be saved with a lower spoke count. A 20/24 build would be sub-1200 grams.

Total cost: $502. This includes all shipping, labor and tax. The wheels were built by a very experienced wheel builder at my LBS.

Thoughts: I am sure there are cheaper options out there, but this is the cheapest and lightest that I could put together that would be reliable at my weight.




I debadged the rims because the graphics that came on them were hideous

I'd call those a "peace of mind" wheelset because you know EXACTLY what you got.

[prendrefeu]

Can people stop referring to their opbjects of minimal mass as Lightweight?
It is light weight, not lightweight and definatly not Lightweight, as this is something different entirely.

Thank you.


Nice wheels none the less.

Actually, Lightweight is correct. It's the beginning of a topic so the L should be in upper case. And light weight is correctly spelled as lightweight. See:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ... 1327719297" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I suppose you could nitpick at the capitalization of aluminum and clinchers but, who cares.

I'm sorry, but no. You're missing something absolutely vital in your argument: CONTEXT.
In this forum, Lightweight (whether or not it is beginning a sentence) as one word references the brand Lightweight by CarbonSports, Ltd. That is the context of this forum. When we see "Lightweight" as one word, especially capitalized, we look for products under the Lightweight brand. You can search plenty on this site, you'll find this has continually been an issue.

As you also pointed out, "light weight" as two separate words is acceptable - so please just change the thread title and we'll all be satisfied. Thanks.

[weaverdcivw]

Can people stop referring to their opbjects of minimal mass as Lightweight?
It is light weight, not lightweight and definatly not Lightweight, as this is something different entirely.

Thank you.


Nice wheels none the less.

Actually, Lightweight is correct. It's the beginning of a topic so the L should be in upper case. And light weight is correctly spelled as lightweight. See:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona ... 1327719297" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I suppose you could nitpick at the capitalization of aluminum and clinchers but, who cares.

I'm sorry, but no. You're missing something absolutely vital in your argument: CONTEXT.
In this forum, Lightweight (whether or not it is beginning a sentence) as one word references the brand Lightweight by CarbonSports, Ltd.

No, it's called proper spelling.

[weaverdcivw]

I'm pretty sure a wheel company did not invent the word "lightweight".