Another cruddy Alex DA22 wheel

[goo_mason]

Yip! Don't know if they all went together which is why I came off or after I hit ground.
Just imagine cycling along at 15mph going straight down and sliding for at least 10m on your knee whilst still attached to the pedal.

I can imagine that - in my early cycling days I came off at around 20mph and slid along on my side for about 3m. That was painful & bad enough (including the custard-like infection I got in my arm and leg afterwards )

Did you think of suing the manufacturer ?

 

[Mista Preston]

Some advice please. I looked today and both my DA22's are buckled. Is it worth me getting them trued or should I just get a new wheel set?. If so what can I get for around 150-200 quid

thanks

 

[goo_mason]

Some advice please. I looked today and both my DA22's are buckled. Is it worth me getting them trued or should I just get a new wheel set?. If so what can I get for around 150-200 quid

thanks

That's a big question; if they're just buckled and have never started snapping spokes at an alarming rate, you could just get them trued and have many more months / years of wear out of them.

Or you could get tempted and get some new wheels - I got some Mavic Aksiums which are great (although after a year of daily use the rear spokes started loosening and I found that the spokes had welded themselves to the nipples, so they'd just snap when I tightened them and tried to keep the blades straight at the same time. Rear went into the shop today to see if they can rebuild it for me or if I'll need to get a new wheel - at £2 a spoke the cost of labour + re-lacing it might just be too much considering the rims have a year of wear in them too).

I'm sure others will be along soon to advise you; if not, might be worth starting a thread of your own asking for wheel advice - that way it'll get noticed by those not reading this thread about Alex wheels.

 

[jann71]

£2 a spoke! I got a good deal then from LBS. 50p a spoke and couple of quid to true the wheel.

 

[Sittingduck]

^ thats good
Paid the LBS 50p for a spoke and seventeen quid for them, to true a wheel back in December... haven't been back there since!

 

[GrahamG]

So many arguments for simple hand-built wheels on this thread it's untrue.

 

[jann71]

Are handbuilt wheels not really expensive?

 

[John the Monkey]

MistaPreston, for that sort of budget, it might be worth looking at hand builts (if you have a good builder locally).

I got a set of DRC18 rims on Tiagra hubs from my LBS for £118 - very pleased with them. The plus of this approach is spec'ing exactly what you want - or giving your requirements to the builder and letting them come up with the best spec for your money.

I have a set of Aksiums too, but I save them for best.

Regarding your DA22s, the question is what's caused the buckle. If it's the spokes loosening during use, you should be able to true them by retightening the loose ones, and everything will be dandy. There could be more problems if the rim itself is damaged - in this case it could be hard to true the wheel and keep the spoke tension balanced. Uneven spoke tension means that the spokes flex and fatigue at different rates, with some potentially becoming overstressed and snapping (usually at the spoke elbow).

 

[palinurus]

I replanced some old DA22s on my commute bike with some handbuilts (Open Sport on 105 hubs), made quite a difference. Can't remember the price but less than £200.

Incidently the DA22s came with a road bike I bought and I immediately upgraded them and used them when putting together my commute hack, the rear lasted until the rim wore out- then I retired it. The front finally popped a spoke after a couple of years all-round use. They did me well, but the replacement wheels were very much better.

 

[goo_mason]

£2 a spoke! I got a good deal then from LBS. 50p a spoke and couple of quid to true the wheel.

Was that for the Mavic bladed spokes ? I had to get mine online as not a single shop in the area had any in stock at the time.

 

[goo_mason]

Well, the result from the bike shop is that the Aksium isn't worth rebuilding; almost all the spokes are corroded in the spoke nipples so would need cut out and replaced. Those aero spokes are expensive. In addition, they say that there are cracks starting around the spoke holes, so the rim's on its way out too. They're selling new sets of Aksiums at £175 (they were £139 last May !), so I'll not be getting any more from there.

Am thinking about Shimano RS20s or RS30s instead - have found the RS30s online at £120, with next-day-before-12 delivery bringing it to £137. I'm not sure I can trust Aksiums again if they won't last much more than a year...

Anyone used / using RS30s ?

 

[jann71]

I could save you £27 :-) Pair of RS20s for £110 or RS30s for £107.99 both with free delivery from Chain Reaction. Probikekit also have a wheel sale on.

 

[goo_mason]

I could save you £27 :-) Pair of RS20s for £110 or RS30s for £107.99 both with free delivery from Chain Reaction. Probikekit also have a wheel sale on.

Saw them, but sadly the RS30s on Chain Reaction are £174.99 a pair; £107.99's just for a rear.

 

[jann71]

Try this - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25889

In black.

It was just the RS20s, looked at wrong one for the RS30s.

 

[Mista Preston]

I am looking at Mavic Open Pros at the mo, found someone who will build wth an ultegra hub for around 200. Whats the deal with the Hubs. Seems to be lots to choose from?, also whats the difference between spokes?m ACI v DT ?