New rear wheel/wheelset

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simonn
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New rear wheel/wheelset

Postby simonn » Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:03 pm

Broke a spoke on the way to work on Friday ~25km from home and had to ride it back in the evening. Took it into LBS for spoke replacement and truing and the rim is a little bit worse for wear. Rideable at the moment, but certainly not worth spending any more money on - it is only a Shimano WH-R500.

So....

Need to look at getting a new rear and considering a complete wheelset.

The bike is a 2006 Giant OCR2 (bought S/H for $400) used for transport, not fun. Commuting, it has to carry my 80-83kg self and ~5-6kgs (even up to 10 for a couple of kms if I stop at shops on the way home) of pannier etc. As it is my primary means of transport, not having it working hurts, so strength, to a certain extent, is more important than light weight.

Was thinking of Velocity Deep-Vs. Any opinions? Any better options? Looseball vs sealed bearings, worth the extra ~$100?

None of my LBSs advertise that they stock them, but I have found a couple of online shops.

I assume I can just take my current cassette (still plenty of life in it) off the current wheel and install it on the new wheel(?).

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Aushiker
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Postby Aushiker » Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:13 pm

G'day

Can't help on the recommendations for new rims but was curious at the mileage on the old one. Do you have a ball park figure?

Thanks
Andrew

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Kalgrm
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Postby Kalgrm » Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:37 pm

I like the Velocity Deep-V rims I have. Solid performer at a good price.

Shops don't carry them: the way the LBS gets them is to call the maker direct when a customer places an order and Velocity ship them out immediately. You wait a day or two, then your rims are ready to pick up. Go into your LBS and ask the price they'd charge to make up a wheelset for you. The rims should cost between $90 and $110 each, depending on the LBS. The new wheels should outlast your bike if they are built well.

Sealed bearings might be worthwhile in your case, since it's your main form of transport. I assume that means you'll ride in all weather, and it might just help reduce maintenance issues. As far as rolling resistance goes, the cone and cups might be faster by a very small margin.

Cheers,
Graeme
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simonn
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Postby simonn » Mon Aug 11, 2008 3:52 pm

Aushiker wrote:Can't help on the recommendations for new rims but was curious at the mileage on the old one. Do you have a ball park figure?
4-5000km.

Kalgrm wrote:...Go into your LBS and ask the price they'd charge to make up a wheelset for you...
Called a couple earlier. One did not stock them, but I did not ask about ordering. The other said they could order them, but they were not very good and said I would be better off with Mavic Aksiums.

Hmm...

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toolonglegs
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Postby toolonglegs » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:04 pm

Mavic Aksiums better than deep v's...ha ha ha.My rear aksium lasted a few 1000 if that.

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Postby Kalgrm » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:05 pm

simonn wrote:Called a couple earlier. One did not stock them, but I did not ask about ordering. The other said they could order them, but they were not very good and said I would be better off with Mavic Aksiums.

Hmm...
Really? Did they say why? I haven't heard bad reports about them. Ah well, I guess they know their profit margins - er - products better than I do ... ;)

Cheers,
Graeme
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simonn
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Postby simonn » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:21 pm

Kalgrm wrote:Really? Did they say why?
In summary, my own words...

Bling rather than quality.

Sigh... Can't say I haven't tried to support my LBS.

Have sent emails to CTA and TWE. Hopefully they will be able to do something within a reasonable budget...?

Another question...

How safe are wheels to mail order? Should they arrive trued and ready?

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Postby m@ » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:24 pm

Kalgrm wrote:Ah well, I guess they know their profit margins - er - products better than I do ... ;)

Cheers,
Graeme
Lucky that chid has taken his bat and ball and gone home, Graham ;)

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Postby vitualis » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:27 pm

simonn wrote:How safe are wheels to mail order? Should they arrive trued and ready?
TWE has some "entry" level wheels at around $500 I think.

Mail order wheels are fine... mostly. You're not going to get the wheel trued for free though if it becomes untrue after it "sets in".

I suppose the question really is how much money you want to spend. A new rear WH500 is only $100 at Cell Bikes. Not the best wheel by a long shot but it still lasted you a few thousand kilometres!

Cheers.
Michael Tam
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Postby toolonglegs » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:31 pm

vitualis wrote:
simonn wrote:How safe are wheels to mail order? Should they arrive trued and ready?
TWE has some "entry" level wheels at around $500 I think.

Mail order wheels are fine... mostly. You're not going to get the wheel trued for free though if it becomes untrue after it "sets in".

I suppose the question really is how much money you want to spend. A new rear WH500 is only $100 at Cell Bikes. Not the best wheel by a long shot but it still lasted you a few thousand kilometres!

Cheers.
A question on the free wheel true...a well built well may (big may) need one wheel true to retension.Most wheels only go out due to slight (or not so slight) flat spots...are those covered by the free wheel true as well?.
I wish I had a TWE near me!.

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simonn
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Postby simonn » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:33 pm

simonn wrote:Not the best wheel by a long shot but it still lasted you a few thousand kilometres!
Which is not very long when you commute ~1000km/month.

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Postby vitualis » Mon Aug 11, 2008 4:53 pm

simonn wrote:
simonn wrote:Not the best wheel by a long shot but it still lasted you a few thousand kilometres!
Which is not very long when you commute ~1000km/month.
That's quite a commute! About 50 km a day?

Cheers.
Michael Tam
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2009 Pegoretti Responsorium Ciavete Custom :: 1982/3 Colnago Super :: 2006 Cannondale Six13 Pro :: Late 1980s Repco Superlite

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simonn
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Postby simonn » Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:00 pm

Kalgrm wrote:I like the Velocity Deep-V rims I have. Solid performer at a good price.
Can I ask what you have exactly, hubs etc and what sort of load you have carried and kms etc?
vitualis wrote:About 50 km a day?
Yep. Which is why I bought a roadie rather than use my MTB or get a hybrid.

Have you ordered anything from TWE yourself? I am not opposed to spending a bit of money if I get what I need.

Alternatively, anyone know a good wheel builder in Sydney near-ish to the Northern Beaches or Macquarie Park and everywhere in between?

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Postby peter » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:08 pm

simonn wrote:
vitualis wrote:About 50 km a day?
Have you ordered anything from TWE yourself? I am not opposed to spending a bit of money if I get what I need.
I think he did just recently, checkout this thread: viewtopic.php?t=7598

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Postby Kalgrm » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:25 am

simonn wrote:
Kalgrm wrote:I like the Velocity Deep-V rims I have. Solid performer at a good price.
Can I ask what you have exactly, hubs etc and what sort of load you have carried and kms etc?
I've got black Velocity Deep-V 700c rims without a machined breaking surface. They are 32 hole rims. My hubs are Shimano XT disc brake hubs (6 hole rotor). Spokes are Suisse DB, but I can't remember the gauge right now - nothing special though. These are definitely NOT bling wheels!

I got Fleet Cycles in Freo to order the rims in for me ($200), but they stuffed up my spoke order and after two weeks of phaffing about, I went down the road to Mercer Cycles and ordered the spokes through them (they arrived the next day ....) ($125). The hubs were purchased through Chain Reaction ($110). I built the wheels up myself rather than take them in to get done. (See more in this thread.)

As for the load they carry: that's a bit personal isn't it? :) My weight is 83kg, the bike's riding weight is 18kg and it's a recumbent, so there's no lessening the load over bumps (I can't unweight the wheels by lifting the bike as I can do on the MTB). I also occasionally load up panniers on the bike with up to 10kg of stuff.

I've done about 3200km on them so far. For all that, they have remained true throughout, but as TLL noted, well built wheels will last a long time, even if cheap components are used.

Cheers,
Graeme
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Postby tallywhacker » Tue Aug 12, 2008 10:12 am

I'm coming up to about 12,000km on my Velocity fusion rear and around 35,000km on my Velocity deep v front. both of them are pretty well bomb proof and require very little maintenance other than going over the braking surface on the deep v with a bit of steel wool. My only gripe is during winter they do hold water and you get a little corrosion around the spoke holes.

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