Sub 900gm wheel build, advice?

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weeracerweenie
Posts: 500
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:48 am

by weeracerweenie

Hi all im considering building up a set or tubs that will go sub 900gm, I have some existing American classic 32hole hubs that ill recondition with new pawls, cam plate, axle, free-hub and bearings. Ill probably use DT Swiss Revolutions spokes as they cover all that i need with alloy nipples, and i'm considering putting that set up into these rims...

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/910374/ ... m-rim.html

At 210 ish grams each that's getting pretty damn light, and would put my Scott Addict in at 4.9something kg with a power meter fitted. My questions are these:

What alterations to the build would you suggest if any?
Does anyone have experience with this companies rims and could offer feedback?
Are there any other hubs i should consider?

Bearing in mind i'm 17 years old and have only the budget of a Bike mechanics bitch any help would be appreciated especially if you have alternate hubs for sale.

Thanks Guys

WW for life
I guess there's worse hobbies than making a bike light? Right?

gumgardner
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Location: Pittsburgh

by gumgardner

Are you sure these rims are coming in at 210g? The AX Lightness 24's are a real 215g.

by Weenie


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TOflat
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri May 21, 2010 5:43 am

by TOflat

I wouldn't trust those for the claimed weight. More like +-20g/rim. You may not also get there with a 32h hub. Gotta go nuts with a 20/24 or 16/20 combo to get down that low.

maxxevv
Posts: 2012
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 4:51 am

by maxxevv

Not likely to be 210g, more in the range of 250g even if the 'scales show it' ...

konky
Posts: 830
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 6:26 pm

by konky

With the combination of hub, rim, spoke count and type you have chosen your wheelset will come in between 1100g-1200g.

weeracerweenie
Posts: 500
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:48 am

by weeracerweenie

at my calculations it stood at this...

Rims 420gm
Front hub 68gm
Rear Hub 205gm
Spokes 200gm
Nipples 20gm
Total 913gm

Most of the weights are taken off the listings category. Guess im looking for some new hubs then, any suggestions.

@Konky there is no way it will go over 1000gm build other wise i just wont do it, luckily i work in a bike shop and get spokes and nipples cheap though this is only a small saving, big costs now are hubs.

Any suggestions on hubs?
I guess there's worse hobbies than making a bike light? Right?

sholiday
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:25 am
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA

by sholiday

You could go with Titanium spokes, otherwise your going to need to go with lighter hubs like TUNE 50g Ft/150g Rr
Parlee Z3 4.94kg: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=101920
Wilier Cento Uno SL 5.52kg: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=101957

Dalai
Posts: 1491
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2004 10:54 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

by Dalai

AC front hub you already have is usually around 58g, so if looking for a lighter hubs it is a new rear that you need to search for...

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theremery
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Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:56 am
Location: New Zealand

by theremery

Xiamen far and x-bikes are actually reasonably accurate with their weights. They may have re-formatted their rims with improved braking surfaces though (with 1k/3k built in and ceramic/basalt braking track "improvements" <- errrrr.....Hmmmmm.... :roll: )....and they'll be slow to alter any weight penalty upward in the adverts, I'll bet. You have to ask a LOT of questions when dealing with the traders on alibaba to end up with a good purchase. It's not for the novice if you want a safe buy.

What I'd be more concerned about is durability.

Relevant info: weeweenieracer sprints HARD and is a bit of a demon on descents...he's "gear friendly" but wattage and braking hard (and late) are known wheel killers...he's 70(ish) kg. descents here=10-15% is NOT uncommon and repetitive switchback corners at 14-18% for 5+km is one of the climbs/descents his coach (yep...thats me!) will be putting in his programme more and more as time goes by. Heat deformable rims???....not a good call (he could use other wheels on those days tho).

He has access (or will) to appropriate sets of wheels for National level races etc so these will be his "weekend fun wheels"...he can train on his "whatever" wheels.

I'd consider a slightly thicker spoke for the "tension under drive" spokes that may have fractionally less stretch for the rear wheel DS (i.e. only 1/4 of them are beefed up) if using a more traditional assymetric hub or maybe even both DS and NDS under tension spokes if using the AC (as an AC rear is essentially a symetrical build on a shimano/sram wheel). If the rim IS available in 32 hole, perhaps the plethora of spokes makes this unnecessary?
You can use a rough guide of 4.5g per spoke and nipple as an estimation of adding/removing spokes (though the REVs he is planning on using are certainly light, they are a bite stretchier than your average spoke and respond well to reasonably high spoke tensions). Rim max tension is about 180kgf for this rim, I think so could be up towards it's upper end to get a decnt rear wheel built.
^Can any engineering wizzes give some suitable numbers or Legs11, ergott et al.....your thoughts please??? (re tensions).
Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!
Edit: 2015: darn near won the best South Island series (got second in age
-group)..woo hoo Racy Theremery is back!!

Phill P
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Location: Nambucca, NSW, Australia
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by Phill P

are fronts 32hole as well? Ti spokes is a good idea. Wheel should still be stiff enough with 32 spokes.

The AC hubs aren't the most durable, and the effort you are putting into reconditioning the hub you could probably get something else. sub 200gram rear is hard to do without $$s. Tune or extra light are the only brands I can think of that will remove much weight. OK dash will but then you'd have to sell your car :lol:
Technical Director at www.TUFFcycle.com

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theremery
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Location: New Zealand

by theremery

His front hub is a 28 hole. He has access to essentially all spares to rebuild these hubs at minimal costs and I'd be surprised if a bearing rebuild took him as long as a novice would take to change a flat tyre*.
Ti spokes would probably be VERY hard to get here without making them the single most expensive part of the build.
He was looking for a budget solution to his (ever growing) weight weenie addiction.
[*I'd put money on that bet.....and win....even a back wheel with all 4 bearings done :thumbup: ]
Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!
Edit: 2015: darn near won the best South Island series (got second in age
-group)..woo hoo Racy Theremery is back!!

barlo
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2010 3:21 pm

by barlo

I have used the Xiamen Farsports foam core rims (50mm version). The weights were close in UD. Got maybe 1500 km and the rear brake track was toast. It developed several humps and my braking went from analog to digital. These were last year so I can't comment on the new brake surface. I was doing primarily long road rides so there was not a bunch of braking, probably less than average. Not sure these would be the best option if you are racing crits.

I am about 65 kg and did not go too crazy on the tensions. Never any problems with them staying true or spokes pulling through.

Also, expect a good amount of wheel hop. The tire valve stem is going to unbalance these quite bit. I lived with it (could not bear the thought of ADDING weight to a light wheel set) but it was enough that people riding next to me noticed it.

Good luck, sounds like a fun project!

Phill P
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Location: Nambucca, NSW, Australia
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by Phill P

OK I know this can get annoying when the OP is asking one thing, and people suggest something different.

But 28/32 holes, sprinter and with lots of steep hill repeats, will have nicer race wheels for big races......do you really want a questionable "cheap" CF rim?

I think this build is screaming out for some stans rims, and upgrade the spokes to aerolites or cxrays. OK might add 300-350grams taking the build to 1250-1300grams, but will be much more usable and less likely to kill you.
Shame but there doesn't seem to be any sub 400gram Al tubs that I know of.

To me the sort of hard riding being planned is not going to be too kind on cheap low profile tubs.
Technical Director at www.TUFFcycle.com

weeracerweenie
Posts: 500
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:48 am

by weeracerweenie

nope front hub is 32, both my American classic hubs are 32h and they sprint fine (theremery is right, he's my coach and i do enjoy a good bunch crushing sprint) Im after a sub 900gm wheel-set as my bike (Addict r1) weighs 5.52kg currently with power meter and alloy wheels and i wanna go sub 5kg something chronic! Personally i don't want to build up the wheels if they aren't going to be close to the target because then i'm not going to hit my goal. Im curious about the rims, and i mean they are cheap enough to be a simple loss if they ended up being shit, but i was hoping to get actual answers rather than opinions, though opinions are helpful. If anyone has links to a rear hub or hub-set that would help i would appreciate it.

Thanks keep up the discussion!
I guess there's worse hobbies than making a bike light? Right?

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theremery
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Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:56 am
Location: New Zealand

by theremery

Hub from the AC's????....go back and count. I'm sure it's a 28 (unless it's a very unusual AC 350 set). I'm fairly sure all AC350 sprints are 28/32.
Edited:
Option: follow this link:
http://www.bikehubstore.com/SuperLight-211-p/sl211.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
find the shimano 211g version and order a 16:8 if the rim can be custom drilled. So this may cost $10 US more for the hub and a few $$ more to have the rim custom drilled. Now....this brings a problem as your front rim is 28Hole (ugly to do more spokes at the front)....so get an old AC 420 front hub (18 hole) and order rim appropriate, or buy one of their $25 wonder front hubs at 20H [or make it $49 and get the extra-wide one and improve your bracing angle up front for more rigidity at 20 spoke front end].
The 2:1 spoke rear with the widely spaced flange rear hub will give decent spoke tensions but more lateral rigidity than the AC rear hub.
Edited again: OR buy a set of Dati hubs (see the same online shop) or get a 66g one for $49US. I'd favour the dati front but the superlight rear done 2:1 (the dati is narrow spaced like the AC so less laterally rigid if you do the superlight 2:1 )
Updated: Racing again! Thought this was unlikely! Eventually, I may even have a decent race!
Edit: 2015: darn near won the best South Island series (got second in age
-group)..woo hoo Racy Theremery is back!!

by Weenie


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

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