I am in the process of upgrading my QR…in exchange for building a friend’s rather extensive website, he is getting me some race wheels and cranks. Cranks seem to be pretty straight forward. But wheels…another story.
One place suggested Spinnergy. The next place told me Spinnergy was crap.
Another place (that I trust) said the same about Spinnergy and commented that if I don’t need flashy wheels they could build me a great set custom to my weight, and they would be a lot more bang for my buck.
Has anyone here purchased custom made wheels? If so, what are the pros and cons?
IMO, keep away from the Spinergy four spoke. A number of them have exploded underneath the rider. It’s rare, but has happened. This was discussed in detail on this forum a few weeks ago. Do a google search and you’ll find a number of websites discussing this.
You don’t have to spend very much money to be aero state of the art with wheels despite what some tri-geeks want to believe. . Pick up a Specialized tri spoke off ebay for a front. Can be had at less than $200 and is essentially the same as the new Hed. Slightly heavier but big deal. Get some CH Aero disc covers for an old box rim wheel and be just as aero as the most expensive disc. This has been proven in a wind tunnel.
Triathlon doesn’t have to be a rich man’s sport. Some people just want it to be.
Start with what you want to do. Race, train, combo…? Will you keep the wheels on your QR that you have now? What sort of races do you focus on?
Conventional custom road wheels are great for road racing, all-around training and riding and are also serviceable as triathlon race wheels.
Most triathletes, however, would consider “Race Wheels” to mean a deep-dish carbon wheel such as Zipp 404 or Hed Alps or Hed Tri-Spoke. These are very much a special-purpose wheel and generally not preferred for all-around riding and training. Although, lots of folks ride these types of wheels every day. I wouldn’t since they cost so much. My 404s hang on the garage wall and get ridden a few times a year.
If you want a traditional all-around road bike wheel, I would frankly skip the old-fashioned custom route. I have bought quite a few custom wheels over the years (20+ years). Before about 8-9 years ago, it was the only way to get a truly fine wheel. But, there are other choices now. The best custom wheels I ever owned (and still own) were built by a guy named Clark Rasmussen in San Diego. He was so good, he started a company called Velomax. They are, without a doubt, the finest wheels made at any price. When you pick one up and examine it, you’ll feel like you’re hold a piece of jewelry. Not expensive, either. www.velomax.com
If you choose to get a traditional, all-around wheelset, I cannot recommend Velomax highly enough. I ride them everywhere, including all non-“A” races.
If you want a truly dedicated “Race Wheel”, my choice of clincher would be Hed Alps; in tubular, I’d go with Zipp 404s.
dont buy Spinergy, I got burned with my current set of Xaero lites, both the front and rear wheel have failed me in the past 6 months. On the other hand, my Dura Ace/Open Pro/DT 14/15g setup is rock solid and 1/2 the price of my spinergys. For racing I use Corima disc/HED3 - tubulars.
I used to build a few sets of wheels over the years. Custom built wheel options have shrunk over the years, but they are still out there.
Here’s my take- you don’t drive your Champ car to the grocery store (if you’re a CART driver), and you don’t race the minivan in the CART race.
That being said, make sure you have a pair of nice, heavy training wheels.
What would bunnyman recommend? I am partial to the Nimble Fly ($800 per set), especially if you’re a nimble (sorry about the pun) and lightweight rider. This is a tubular only wheelset (“Winners Ride Tubulars!!!” was my signature for a long time) that is very light; the only way to beat this wheelset in weight is to get the Reynolds (a LOT like the old Lew). It is a go-anywhere, do anything wheel, including road race if you lace up enough spokes. If you wait around, I have a good feeling that Renn will put out a very nice wire spoked wheel that beats this price point.
This goes against everything that the aero gurus say, as the rim section is shallow (about 30mm deep), but I really don’t think that most people need anything really deep, as it can compromise control for lighter riders. Spoke count is key in aerodynamics.
Another wheelset would be a set of Velocity rims (tub) laced up with American Classic hubs, then get a Renn disc for your windless days.
I really like my Velocity rims. They are built with 28 spokes in front and 32 in the rear. They are not the lightest but are great for the "B"races, training and bad roads. I have ridden them for three years and they have needed little truing. I am about 170lbs. I think lighter folks could use fewer spokes for better aerodynamics.
“This goes against everything that the aero gurus say, as the rim section is shallow (about 30mm deep), but I really don’t think that most people need anything really deep, as it can compromise control for lighter riders. Spoke count is key in aerodynamics.”
I’ve gotta agree 100%. The shallower rim, less spoke count seems to be the approach that the Euros have been moving towards. From my own experience, it’s much nicer riding with a 12 spoke Campy Shamal and 30mm rim than it was with a 24 spoke 60mm Hed Jet on the front. The Shamal is much more stable in crosswinds and I believe it to also be faster.
“One place suggested Spinnergy. The next place told me Spinnergy was crap.”
My guess is that the first guy sold Spinergy and the second guy didn’t, right? IMO, shopping for bikes, parts, and opinions thereon is fraught with more misinformation and hype than buying a new car. One guy says one thing is great, another says it sucks; one windtunnel tester says this, and another says that.
Having said that, I have owned a set of Spinergy Xaeros for about 2 years and have about 3-4,000 miles on them. I use them as both my race and training wheels, since I am unable to justify buying two sets of wheels yet. I noticed an improvement in both my average speed and my ride quality, although arguably not a huge improvement, over my old Mavic 32 spoke wheels. I have not had any problems with the wheels. The Spinergy warranty period is less than desirable though–only 1 year. As far as I know, Spinergy no longer makes the Rev-X, 4 bladed carbon fiber wheel that has been the subject of some controversy. That whole issue, from my read, boils down to a “he said, she said” kind of deal. The riders whose wheels failed said they were undamaged prior to failing, Spinergy said they must have been. I do know people who are still happily riding them. I do think the Rev-X controversy did hurt Spinergy’s reputation, though.
Just remember, in bicycle and car purchases, as well as life, there are three sides to every story–my side, your side, and the truth (ususally somewhere in between.)
They both sold them. The one who said they were crap, sell them for variety and people ask for them. They did show me the latest and greatest Spinnergy wheel just put out. Sent to the shop as a “look how great we are” product. It was out of true! Odd I thought…the shop had to work on it and still could not get it perfect.
"And unless you have some data that no one else has seen before, rim depth always trumps spoke count. "
In that case you might find this very interesting comparing the Hed CX against the Campy Shamal. The Hed CX is essentially the same wheel as the Hed Jet 60, or at least very similiar. In fact, I’ve owned both and prefer the Campagnolo Shamal to either.
Not sure what you were getting at in regard to spoke count. The only thing I found on that page regarding spoke count was the following and it would support what I wrote earlier:
“Using aerodynamic spokes and reducing their number will decrease the drag on this type of wheel slightly, but using a standard aerodynamic rim such as the Campagnolo Omega or the Velocity aero has a greater influence on reducing drag.”
“Not sure what you were getting at in regard to spoke count.”
The most significant point in the article to me was that the Shamal is less effected by cross wind than is the CX. This is something I’ve observed while riding both. That’s why I recently sold my Jet 60. I’d assume this probably has more to do with dish rim depth than spoke count. To my mind, being less affected by cross winds, even if only a psychological issue, translates into real world speed by not having to fight with cross winds. That’s why I prefer the Shamal .
It wasn’t really that much of a problem for my 150 lbs body weight but my 110 lbs wife found the CX front on her P2K (with Hed Deep rear)could be a bit of a handful on windy days. She’s planning on replacing it with a smaller dish lower spoke wheel in the front.
“They both sold them. The one who said they were crap, sell them for variety and people ask for them.”
I think that’s sort of the same thing–one sells them as a featured item and the other just as a sideline. As far as the new products go, my philosophy is to wait a year or two after “new” innovations come out to let the bugs get worked out. Lots of stuff never makes it past that first year because they can’t get the bugs out. I guess I got that from my father–we didn’t get a color TV until 1973.
Not trying to push you towards Spinergy, just saying from my point of view I never have had any problems with the ones I got.
Spinergy wheels aren;t crap. They are value priced race wheels. You get what you pay for in race wheels. Comparing them to Zipps is not fair. They are in a totally different price category. My vote for races wheels goes strongly away from any kind of so-called “custom built” race wheel. The old paradigm of race wheels was you had a person build them from the best hubs, spokes and rims available. The product was largely a result of the sum of the components and the skill/experience of the builder. That was then. This is now: Engineers and product managers design an integrated unit that uses a synergistic approach of combining spoke, hub and rim design into one unifed unit much stronger and lighter than anything a “custom wheel builder” can put together on their own. Perhaps the most impressive and long-standing example of this is the Mavic Ksyrium. Ksyriums have been around for 13 years in various forms. An incredible amount of time and money went into their development since Claudia Chiappucci used the first set in the Tour de France in 1990. They are stronger, lighter, stiffer and more dependable as well as being faster than anything a guy in a bike shop can put together with a spoke wrench and spoke prep. Whatever integrated race wheels you get, I think you;ll be impressed with their performance. Good luck!