Postmanhat
Senior Member
- Location
- Derby
Thanks, that's good to hear. The quality of the build is a bit of a concern. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless one of the spokes was hanging off
New wheels! (Fulcrum Racing 5)
- Thread starter bonsaibilly
- Start date
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Thanks, that's good to hear. The quality of the build is a bit of a concern. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless one of the spokes was hanging off
Spoked Wheels
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bournemouth
If the wheels are for a modern carbon frame then why not go for a wider rim, most of the wheels I build are 23mm wide, that is the trend ATM but I'm sure they are here to stay.
Spoked Wheels
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bournemouth
Well, when I wrote that post I didn't know the wheels were for a modern carbon frame....... I already posted my suggestion
I can build your wheels if you like.
bonsaibilly
Guest
Anything "good" for climbing (light) will be crap for descending (heavier the better) so save your money and either buy my second hand Fulcrum R5s or just get a set of new Shimano R500s for 70 quid and you won't be any the worse off.
(Except you'll have a lot more money left over for cake / CPU upgrades / DVDs / Adidas hoodies etc etc. BB)
bonsaibilly
Guest
PS there's talk of durability which *is* important if you're planning to keep the wheels/bike for a decade, but most people aren't these days and a pair of wheels is so cheap in this country now that it doesn't really matter how long they will last. (Assuming they are not defective from day one.)
Spoked Wheels
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bournemouth
Absolutely, best advice...... silly me giving an opinion on the wheels the OP was asking about..... I withdraw my offer to build the OP's wheels too
As for durability, some people actually do ride their bikes and don't need 10 years to replace the wheels.
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
The website nor video tells you what you really want to know. This is what you want to know in addition to the obvious.
1) Are the nipples brass?
2) Were the wheels stress relieved.
I saw from the video that the spokes were not stress relieved but I'm sure if you phone Wiggle and ask, you'll get a huh? and then followed by of course.
If the wheels have brass nipples, you have a potential go. All you need then is for another wheelbuilder to quickly stress relieve them for you and retrue them.
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
I've seen that question before on this forum but apparently it is illegal to ask the question.
Last edited:
NewRoadie
New Member
- Location
- Sutton Coldfield
Hi,
I am fairly new to Road cycling (3 years in now). I have a Bianchi Nirone 2014 fitted with basic Reparto corse wheels. I have been offered a set of 3T Acccelero 60 Team Carbon/Aluminium Shimano Clincher Wheelset. Can anyone help me out and let me know if these are compatible with my bike?
Appreciate anyone's help.
Thanks
I am fairly new to Road cycling (3 years in now). I have a Bianchi Nirone 2014 fitted with basic Reparto corse wheels. I have been offered a set of 3T Acccelero 60 Team Carbon/Aluminium Shimano Clincher Wheelset. Can anyone help me out and let me know if these are compatible with my bike?
Appreciate anyone's help.
Thanks
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
Stay away. Those wheels are fitted with proprietary spokes and rubbish skewers.
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
What does this mean?
They come with Sapim spokes as far as I can tell and you recommended those to me earlier in this same thread...
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
SAPIM makes good spokes but that doesn't mean that all of it's styles and configurations are freely available. Those wheels have straight-pull spokes. Straight-pull is a spoke without an elbow - the commonest type. Bike shops don't stock straight-pull in various lengths and have to order them in specially for a job. A box of exotica is typically 72 spokes and about four times the price of a similar, standard, elbowed spokes. The dealer then orders a box of spokes, makes you pay the price of the entire box for the three you need and keeps the rest in stock for ever and ever. He/she has to do it in order to at least break even on the deal. There is virually no chance that they'll ever use the rest of the box. This is because a) the spokes are straight-pull and seldom used, b) black instead of silver and c) flat instead of round and d) very short, thanks to the deep section rim and radial lacing. The only time they will sell that length again is when another customer with the same wheels requires any.
So, strictly speaking they are not proprietary but stock. However, it is a rare item and breaking one will leave you without a wheel for weeks. True proprietary spokes are such as found on Mavic's Ksyrium wheels and the ultra-stupid Spinnergy Spox wheels.
The best wheels are ones that use regular round spokes with elbows in a 2.0mm, 1.8mm 2.0mm butting configuration. Some manufacturers have now gone and done something incredibly stupid and added a 1.8mm - 1.6mm 2.0mm spoke to their line-up (DT Swiss) and the likes of Specialized uses it on their Roval branded wheels. This is very problematic since a single spoke can cost you a staggering amount, for the reasons given above. Customers often feel compelled to not consider alternative replacement options because of a further complication - nipple colour.
Having said all that, if forward thinking is not your obsession, go for it. I'll admit, those wheels sure do look fast.
EasyPeez
Veteran
- Location
- Cottingham, East Yorkshire
Ok. So availability is an issue then, thanks for explaining that.
Are there some advantages/disadvantages to a straight-pull configuration in terms of aerodynamics or durability? As you can probably tell, I don't really understand the thinking behind straight-pull beyond aesthetics.
Also, are the CX-Ray spokes (such as on those Accelero wheels) only made as straight-pull? Only on the Sapim website they seem to have an elbow just like the standard double-butted Race spokes, unless I've misunderstood what the elbow is.
http://www.sapim.be/spokes/butted/race
http://www.sapim.be/spokes/aero/cx-ray
I ask because I was considering getting CX-Ray spokes on my new wheels. I had thought that they conformed to all of your earlier suggested criteria, viz "spokes with elbows, mushroom heads and threads. These will be made from stainless steel, double-butted and from one of the recognized nd proven manufacturers namely DT Swiss, Sapim, Wheelsmith, WTB or Pillar. They will have a 2mm thread so that any standard nipple will work with it." whilst also claiming the best fatigue testing results of any spoke.
(And re: availability, I was planning on order a few spare spokes, no matter which I decide to buy).
Cheers, Andy
Yellow Saddle
Guru
- Location
- Loch side.
Andy, straight-pull spokes have a disadvantage in that the tension is held by the weakest part of the spoke - that being the mushroomed head. An elbow is stronger and more durable. Straight-pull spokes are almost always necessitated by a design quirk without a reason, usually aesthetics or marketing differentiation. Elbow spokes wheels are better but don't look exotic.
CX-Ray are available in both types i.e. straight pull and elbow, as well as black and silver. CX-Ray are excellent spokes but extremely expensive. I am not quoting in GBP units here but in another currency in which I have experience. Where a standard silver double-butted spoke would cost X4, the same length, same colour CX-ray would cost X40. This obviously varies a bit but expect to pay ten times more if the retailer has to get a box of it in just to satisfy a small need. Often wheel manufacturers such as Zipp would sell CX-Rays as Zipp part numbers and then you pay much more as well.
Sapim supplies spokes to many wheel manufacturers.
Having said that, they are excellent spokes. If you are considering having wheels built with CX-Rays, rather spec Sapim Laser spokes. These are the rounded version of CX-Ray. CX-Ray as you know, are bladed. Laser spokes have the dimensions 2.0 - 1.5 - 2.0mm and similar durability to CX-Rays but none of the disadvantages of bladed spokes. These are their tendency to twist in use and lie flat against the wind. I'm not saying that's a big problem, it isn't, but they do that. They are also awkward to clean since they tend to hurt your cold wet hands if you're cleaning inside the wheel between the spokes.
Never fit spokes, especially expensive spokes, with aluminium nipples. These corrode and freeze onto the spoke, with the result that you have to cut your expensive spoke and replace it, just to tune the wheel.
The DT Swiss equivalent to Sapim Laser is DT Revolution and the Wheelsmith equivalent is, IIRC X-Lite or somesuch.
