Thanks. I assumed it would be daft to fit a 'conventional' rim onto a disk brake wheel as the braking surface is not required.
I suppose so. The extra machining makes it a bit more expensive but there's no engineering reason why you would not do it. If I want to rationalize it I would say it would future-proof the wheels when one day you need a spare wheel for your wife's bike. You could then just remove the disc and fit it to a caliper brake bike.
I guess a way around it is to buy a couple of spare rims at the point of buying the wheels, though I appreciate this hardly suggests a confidence in the product.
Accidents happen. Hitting a pothole is not a function of the wheel's quality. Rims are quasi consumables.
Re: hubs - I have been looking at Dura Ace but they are out of my budget, unless I wait until next year, which might be the sensible option. Buy well, buy once and all that. I'm not sure how good I'd be at adjusting cone bearings so cartridge do appeal in that respect. You'd recommend Hope hubs generally then?
Even Shimano 105s are superb. They have the same quality as Dura Ace in every respect, but less frills and bling. The axle is steel rather than aluminium and the anodizing is not as polished etc etc. But inside it is the same quality and dare I say, durability.
I like Hope hubs. I have several reasons for preferring them over other hubs:
1) Available in multiple colours. This was important to me because customers always wanted to match this with that. Further, the spare parts are not colour-specific and I only had to stock one of each, no matter how many colours on the market.
2) They are convertible from through axle to QR to 20mm TA to etc etc etc. All you do if you change your bike and find you have a different fork on there is buy a new end cap and pop that onto the axle.
3) You could buy them without skewers. Hope skewers are crap. I used to fit Shimano skewers if the customer allowed me to. Otherwise, colour-matched Hope skewers is what they got.
4) The bearings are large. It adds to durability but doesn't solve the inherent cartridge bearing problem.
5) The freewheel was nice and loud and this scared old ladies and little children right out of your path. Actually, I hated the sound but customers loved it.
6) The hubs have all the engineering properties that a wheelbuilder wants - chamfered spoke holes and curved flanges, for instance. Consumers don't see this but it makes for durable wheels because it is gentle on spokes.
7) The freehub is serviceable on the trail. Even if the springs fail, you can substitute the little steel leaf springs with small pieces of cable tie plastic. Also, the freehub must be made of steel, if a Shimano cassette will be used on the wheel. Titanium will also work but not aluminium.
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Yep. But they are made in Sheffield....I admit to some emotion creeping in at this point....
I understand you are only joking but regional bias plays a very important part in the bicycle games. People will chose rubbish Made in America over quality made in China. That's why there's such a big market in China for American, Swiss, Italian and British flag decals, so that they can be inserted under the final clearcoat of lacquer sprayed onto excellent Chinese carbon frames and forks. At Tesco you can find a bottle of coconut oil with a prominent Union Jack displayed on the lid. Go figure.
