Time to start hoarding rim brake wheelsets?

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choochoo46
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:19 am

by choochoo46

I think I will be riding rim brake bikes for a couple decades, so I've been wondering if/when I should start hoarding rim brake wheelsets.

I've been thinking about getting a couple sets of Bora WTO wheels (both the 45 and 60) but they're still very pricey.

It could probably go a couple ways...

A) as demand drops for rim brake wheels, prices will drop too and you'll be able to pick them up for cheap
B) if you're looking for new (not used) WTOs, they become very scarce and the price goes way up

First world problem, I know...

blaugrana
Posts: 455
Joined: Wed May 24, 2017 9:49 pm

by blaugrana

I don't think the price will go way up, but some time after they are discontinued it will become harder and harder to find them anywhere. If you mean buying them new in the second hand market (from someone who has kept them but never used them), then yeah, maybe they will become pricey at some point in the future, but it would take quite a long time before that, because in the next few years they simply won't be that rare.

by Weenie


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usr
Posts: 871
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:58 pm

by usr

I've been caught by this myself: I was moderately interested in WTO 60 (looking into them, but unlikely to buy), noticed availability going down, then ended up abandoning all undecidedness and panic-buying some "only one item left", Shimano issue despite needing campag pads and FHB. From Amazon, of all shops where I'd really not want to buy expensive bike stuff. Been sporadically observing ever since, turns out new batches are occasionally arriving, there's still some movement in the market. Could be wholesaler stocks moving about though.

I'm a bit surprised to also see availability of penultimate generation wheels (one comes before wto, right?) also dwindle, I'd have expected them to happily sit in shelves forever while rim diehards rush you get their hands on the last final generation wheels.

Nickldn
Posts: 1863
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:35 am

by Nickldn

Probably a good time to buy second hand, low use, rim brake wheelsets from riders who have 'switched to disk' and have old kit to dispose of.

I'm sure these wheels will all fall into the hands of rim die-hards soon and be hoarded. :D
Giant Propel Advanced SL Red Etap 11s Easton EC90 wheels CeramicSpeed BB Zipp SL70 bars 6.5kg

Vitus ZX1 CRS Campy Chorus 12s Bora WTO 45 disk brake wheels Zipp SL70 bars 7.5kg

SL8 build with Craft CS5060 Wheels in progress

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

It's been a buyer's market for quite some time, especially for fundamentalists like me who like tubulars.

...and since I had three pairs of wheels stolen from our basement last week, I'll be in the market for more. Oh, how I would have love to be a fly on the wall when the fence get them; "Three pairs of fancy wheels, you say. Tubulars. Rim brake. For 10-speed Campag..."

usr
Posts: 871
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:58 pm

by usr

Nickldn wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:20 pm
Probably a good time to buy second hand, low use, rim brake wheelsets from riders who have 'switched to disk' and have old kit to dispose of.
I see no signs that this has already started. They are either sold in complete bikes (no better time than in this time of goods undersupply and emergency relief money oversupply) or held by bike stuff hoarders who will need a rather high value of m in m+1 disc brake bikes before relieving themselves of the n rim brake bikes they accumulated before (and accompanying extra wheelsets)

Nickldn
Posts: 1863
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:35 am

by Nickldn

Yeah, I'm a fan of tubulars too.

Not many manufacturers make these wheels new now, but luckily used market is still quite good and tyres are available.

Sorry to hear about your wheels being stolen, too many horrible horrible people out there. Will you get more tubular wheels to replace these, or move to tubless?

I have tried tubless in the past and think they are better than clinchers in terms of road feel, but the prices are too high compared to used tubular!
Giant Propel Advanced SL Red Etap 11s Easton EC90 wheels CeramicSpeed BB Zipp SL70 bars 6.5kg

Vitus ZX1 CRS Campy Chorus 12s Bora WTO 45 disk brake wheels Zipp SL70 bars 7.5kg

SL8 build with Craft CS5060 Wheels in progress

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

Nickldn wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:18 pm
Yeah, I'm a fan of tubulars too.

Not many manufacturers make these wheels new now, but luckily used market is still quite good and tyres are available.

Sorry to hear about your wheels being stolen, too many horrible horrible people out there. Will you get more tubular wheels to replace these, or move to tubless?

I have tried tubless in the past and think they are better than clinchers in terms of road feel, but the prices are too high compared to used tubular!
Ah, I'm almost more sorry for the bloke(s) who took them - you know, I sit right now warm and fed in a comfy chair complaining about three sets of wheels (of many...) for my hobby being nicked and for someone else the only way to survive the day is to crack open a heavy steel door with a big ol crowbar to steal whatever can be found. I would of course have liked my things still there, but I would to a much greater extent like that the or those who did it does not have to live that way.

One the pairs was a CX racing set, so that will most likely be replaced with tubs. For the other two...ah, nah, maybe not. Tubeless/clincher is so much easier to live with (and are so good and light nowadays...).

AJS914
Posts: 5392
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

choochoo46 wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:50 am
I think I will be riding rim brake bikes for a couple decades, so I've been wondering if/when I should start hoarding rim brake wheelsets.

I've been thinking about getting a couple sets of Bora WTO wheels (both the 45 and 60) but they're still very pricey.

It could probably go a couple ways...

A) as demand drops for rim brake wheels, prices will drop too and you'll be able to pick them up for cheap
B) if you're looking for new (not used) WTOs, they become very scarce and the price goes way up
A) There's probably not enough rim brake product on shelves such that you'll see big sales. There might be a brief window of them being on sale and then them being out of stock.

When specialized first discontinued the SL6 Tarmac, they blew them at at 50% off. Now it's impossible to find a new rim brake SL6, let alone one at half price.

B) They will probably just hold their value well. I can't see people paying $4,000 for a set of these wheels.

For a couple of decades, you'd probably be better off buying 5-6 pairs of Farsports wheels over two pairs of WTOs. Or just stock pile a few pairs of rims for future use. The Chinese companies will probably give you a deal on a larger order.

Nickldn
Posts: 1863
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:35 am

by Nickldn

Singular wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:50 pm
Nickldn wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:18 pm
Yeah, I'm a fan of tubulars too.

Not many manufacturers make these wheels new now, but luckily used market is still quite good and tyres are available.

Sorry to hear about your wheels being stolen, too many horrible horrible people out there. Will you get more tubular wheels to replace these, or move to tubless?

I have tried tubless in the past and think they are better than clinchers in terms of road feel, but the prices are too high compared to used tubular!
Ah, I'm almost more sorry for the bloke(s) who took them - you know, I sit right now warm and fed in a comfy chair complaining about three sets of wheels (of many...) for my hobby being nicked and for someone else the only way to survive the day is to crack open a heavy steel door with a big ol crowbar to steal whatever can be found. I would of course have liked my things still there, but I would to a much greater extent like that the or those who did it does not have to live that way.

One the pairs was a CX racing set, so that will most likely be replaced with tubs. For the other two...ah, nah, maybe not. Tubeless/clincher is so much easier to live with (and are so good and light nowadays...).
Nah, no excuse for that sort of outrage. Bike criminals are scum full stop.

If still think tubular with latex is safer for carbon rims than clinchers with latex, but tubless makes a lot of sense as well.

As for being easier to live with, I don't mind tubulars now, it takes me literally minutes to glue a tub on with Vittoria mastik. It is messy though and curing time means it's not a glue and go world. Then again I don't think fitting tubless is totally straightforward either.
Giant Propel Advanced SL Red Etap 11s Easton EC90 wheels CeramicSpeed BB Zipp SL70 bars 6.5kg

Vitus ZX1 CRS Campy Chorus 12s Bora WTO 45 disk brake wheels Zipp SL70 bars 7.5kg

SL8 build with Craft CS5060 Wheels in progress

robertbb
Posts: 2179
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:35 am

by robertbb

Interesting question, OP, RE: hoarding.

I'm personally not interested in tubulars (anymore) nor am I interested in carbon rims. Clincher (open tubular), latex tube and aluminium for me.

I'm also really into Campagnolo wheels, because they're the mutts nuts, but unfortunately there is no aluminium rim brake wheel wider than C17.

SO, regretfully, I have gone down the path of hoarding rim brake rims and hubs as I have been bitten by the "wider rim" bug. Of the plethora of new-tech (electronic groupsets, disc brakes, tubeless tyres and wider rims) only the wider rims has struck me as a truly transformational upgrade.

If you are OK with carbon rims and rim brakes, then the C19 WTO's are likely to be as good as it gets from Campy in that regard.

PoorCyclist
Posts: 783
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:26 am
Location: California's country side

by PoorCyclist

I had tried to sell my almost new zipp 404 rim brake locally, there was no interest. The shoppers currently seems to have bought bikes with disc brakes so they are not looking for this rim brake wheels. So there seems to be no demand for them, thus the price should be down.
I have decided to keep mine since I have rim brake bikes. I don't horde them but I probably have enough variety of them for the next 20 years.

I used to see people riding high end rim brake frames when road bikes were pretty much rim brakes only. Now I don't see them any more, all bikes have disc brakes, I wonder what happened to them? Crashed or sold to a less frequent rider?

spdntrxi
Posts: 5782
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 6:11 pm

by spdntrxi

that's probably one bike component not worth hoarding.
2024 BMC TeamMachine R Building
2018 BMC TImeMachine Road
2002 Moots Compact-SL- getting aero look makeover
2019 Parlee Z0XD - "classified"
2023 Pivot E-Vault - completed project, full Xplr package

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

Nickldn wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 11:31 pm

Nah, no excuse for that sort of outrage. Bike criminals are scum full stop.

If still think tubular with latex is safer for carbon rims than clinchers with latex, but tubless makes a lot of sense as well.

As for being easier to live with, I don't mind tubulars now, it takes me literally minutes to glue a tub on with Vittoria mastik. It is messy though and curing time means it's not a glue and go world. Then again I don't think fitting tubless is totally straightforward either.
Gluing is one thing (it is an almost enjoyable weekend task and I like the old-world hands-on nature of it), but for me it is a few other things that make tubulars stay on the special occasions side of things;

The price of tubular tyres - approx double that of comparable clincher quality (and with a lot less availability and choice. How I'd love a wide GP5000 tubular...)
The inability to change tyres (swiftly)
The added hassle of potential flats - with clinchers I can stuff a tube in (also on TL), and if all evil aligns and things get really bad I can patch tubes and put in a wrapper/tyre boot (if cutting the sidewall) to limp home. And I'm not really keen on lugging a complete spare tub around effectively offsetting any weight savings in addition to the fiddly nature of it (sure, it's that ol school cool thing that I adore and all, but...)

Light weight and ride quality are sure there as great things for tubulars (and the potential of riding carbon wheels, but that's a thing of the past with the way carbon clincher technology has evolved), but there are compromises that are maybe not as tempting for everyday use.

smokva
Posts: 276
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2009 9:13 pm

by smokva

I think it is time to get one spare frameset, while they are still few models available for rim brakes.

by Weenie


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

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