So I've been riding mine now for 5 months with no washers & no problems.

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dangerous curves ahead

I am having build a set of climbing wheels on Alpha 340's - and have a couple of questions.

The only things I have ordered are the BHS hubs - SL211 (16:8) and ULF66 (20).

I am planning on going with radial lacing in the front and 2X DS and radial NDS in the back. I will be using Sapim CX-Rays. Some places it's mentioned they don't work well with the 340's - both others would disagree on that.

Wheels will be used for climbing - and I usually do my climbs sitting down. No particularly sprinting is intended

According to this article (http://www.bikerumor.com/2010/06/07/sta ... rst-rides/) there shouldn't be any problems with my <80 kg. The wheel set they are testing has more or less the same specs as I am about to build - even though it only has 18 spokes in the front.

- Will they be okay for me?
- Will it be the best option to lace them "heads-in", regarding the radial laced front, and the radial laced NDS?
- Should I go with 2X or 3X on the DS?
- I have the option of going with the older (and lighter) rims weighing around 350 grams each or the new ones weighing around 385 grams each. Would love to save 70 grams over all - but am I better suited with the heavier rims?
- Would the CX-Rays be fine, or am I better of with DT Aerolites?

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2012 Canyon Aeroad CF 8.0 Di2 (6.250 grams)
2010 Canyon Grand Canyon F6
2012 (2013?) Canyon Speedmax Evo (is ordered)

I have the lighter rim on the front 18s and the heavier rim on the rear 24s

Sounds like a reasonable compromise...

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2012 Canyon Aeroad CF 8.0 Di2 (6.250 grams)
2010 Canyon Grand Canyon F6
2012 (2013?) Canyon Speedmax Evo (is ordered)

So far so good . I did have a 20 spoke at the front but I found a lighter rim so I went down to 18 spokes and the weight gained from that change meant I could go for the new heavier rim at the rear and stay at my original weight 1182grms . If you have the means it really is worth weighing a few rims as there can be a 10/20grm difference .

My thread discussing my experience is here http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=97281

They have now survived 10 months. Required a couple of retensionings. Other than that, no cracks, dents or blowoffs (touch wood).

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dangerous curves ahead

I will be ordering them from Germany - so unfortunately no possibility of looking at several rims.

I have no experience with alloy rims, but it seems I have to expect re-tensioning already after the first ride - and maybe even several times after that. Is that common, or just the case with these rims?

I haven't decided on who is going to build the wheels - but one of the options are 1 hour ride away, and that makes it kind of a PITA, if it needs re-tensioning several times.

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2012 Canyon Aeroad CF 8.0 Di2 (6.250 grams)
2010 Canyon Grand Canyon F6
2012 (2013?) Canyon Speedmax Evo (is ordered)

I use bhs superlight set 24/28, 1x head in front, 2x 2x rear with DT rev front and NDS, DT comp DS
with fushion3 tubeless for 2000k, wheel is still true for me at 135lb.
The only problem is some water get in the rear hub and cassette body kind of junk up.
Dissemble, clean up, lube and put it back is easy with two 5mm hex and latex glove.

These rims definitely are a bit finicky, but if they are built correctly you shouldn't have to retension them. The first set I built, I had to add some tension after my first ride, but since then it hasnt been an issue. I usually go slightly over the recommended tension though (5kgf ish).

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http://www.zencyclery.com

http://www.wheelbuilder.org

No... they shouldn't need retensioning if done right. One thing that is different about these is that the tire bead cinches down hard on the rim "bench" when inflated... which reduces the tension quite a lot. Unfortunately, how much depends on the tire... and how stretched the tire bead is. But if you start with 120kg on the DS (no tire), stress relieve the spokes well, and dish it slightly towards the NDS, it should be fine.

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formerly rruff...