Custom Built Rim Recommendations - Page 2

Tubulars are like anything else, some people love them, some people hate them, and then there are a whole lot of people in between. The only way for you to make your decision is to ride the tubulars and see if they float your boat. Once you have ridden them, compare them to clinchers and see which one is best for you. In my personal experience, I did not detect much difference in the ride between good tubulars and good clinchers. Since I am terrible at sewing and usually get more glue on me than what I am glueing, I decided that I would go with clinchers. From these forums, it appears that there is tape now that you can use instead of glue, which makes it a little easier to use tubulars, but I also like to be able to throw a set of tires on a bike and ride right away which is something that I am pretty sure you cannot do with tubulars. That's my two cents. If you want to search the forums, there are many many many....... threads concerning tubulars versus clinchers.

Concerning the hubs, it sounds like a good idea if you want your ride to be a 10 speed bike. You might want your LBS to respace your frame for you if your bike uses a RD hanger that is integral to the dropout, just to ensure that the hanger alignment is correct. I don't know how well the appearance of a modern rear DA hub will compare to the appearance of a 80's vintage front hub, but really, who is gonna notice ?

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hi kdelong, really appreciate your comments!

Tubulars or clinchers, you are right, there is simply too much information out there that really does not guide me to one or the other. Its to the point of intangibility, like the 'force' The user need a 'feel' for it himself.

My ride was originally with those ambrosio tubulars but I got it respaced as I wanted to transfer my newer Ultegra 10spd gear from my cracked GT road bike to the restored steel bike. So I'm left with these ambrosios (which look very nice IMHO, in a vintage kind of way, an in my opinion very strong, compared to the Shimano R540 which I'm currently using) lying around doing nothing, it's be a shame to try to ebay it off for pennies too.....hence the thought of converting them to fit the respaced 130mm frame (and also the 10spd cassette!).

CK hubs are a $100 answer to a $10 question. No bicycle hubv needs to be so complicated, not so expensive. Phil hubs are very durable, pretty heavy and shimano compatible only.

If you not after a weebit of bling and weight savings, Ultegra hubs are bard to beat.

Thanks for the Reply Peter. After much consideration I have decided against the King hubs. I have also thought more about what I want to do with this new bike and that includes some loaded touring on the C&O Canal and Allegheny Highlands trail. That is pretty harsh riding conditions for any hub and I would really be a shame to break down on the trail miles from anywhere. So, am now looking at Hadley hubs due to LBS recommendation. Hadleys are supposedly bomb proof and extremely reliable. Yeah, they are heavy hubs but I am willing to take on some weight for the reliability factor.

Anyone have experience with the Hadley hubs? Any thoughts on those?

Looks like its more than likely I'll stick with Ultegras....over here, the Dura Ace hubs are like USD10 more compared to Ultegra (F+R) amazing.....

Ok, I've done a little phone marketing research here are there and here are the options for RIMS that I have now....

- DT Swiss RR 1.1 (recommended by another LBS, prob because they carry it...)
- Velocity Deep V (seems like some guys swear by these rims...Aussies ones right?)
- Mavic Open Pro (recommended by the builder I intend to use)

All the rims above cost about the same.

I want a strong wheel that will last me a long long time, and I don't race....appreciate absolutely any ideas on the above rims...THANKS!

What is the spacing in the frame: 130 or 135?
We had Hadley hubs that came with our Santana tandem, but have gone to Shimano and Phil Wood now.
The engagement system and bearing retaining systems both gave us problems after a few months of mostly dry road riding.
I think that conventional Shimano hubs are hard to beat for reliability and serviceabilty... with easy to find parts and tools.
If you go with Hadley, I suggest you carry your own spare parts and special tools as a breakdown will strand you in most places, as the parts (especially the cartridge needle bearings) are not easy to find; and there is a wrench size (I think it is 21 mm) that isn't all that easy to find either.
If your frame has 135 mm spacing it is hard to beat Shimano XT for reliability, servicability, and Total Cost of Ownership. Botique hubs may display some interesting features, but it is hard to beat the industry leader: Shimano.

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David Ornee, Western Springs, IL USA

I still think you should look at Mavic CXP-33 rims, laced to Ultegra hubs with DT Swiss double-butted spokes.

That is my definition of bomb-proof wheels.

Super

Thanks for the reply Daveornee. Spacing is 135. I find it very interesting that the Hadleys gave you problems on your tandem. I have only heard positive reports about Hadleys and thought that Santana spec'd them because of their reliability. I love the Santana tandems btw...they would be on the top of my list if I could find a stoker.

The LBS originally recommended the Shimano XTs. They sure are alot cheaper than the Hadleys. I am headed the LBS for a fitting tomorrow and will chat with the owner more about this issue.

All the best,

Mister C

Funny how this thread sort of went off in two different directions at the same time .

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Sorry about that. I had a very similar issue and was hoping it wasn't too much of a threadjack. I appreciate the advice given to jackchoo as it helps me understand custom wheelbuilding.

No problem, no harm, although it did get confusing trying to figure out who was answering whom at times .

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still need inputs.....

- DT Swiss RR 1.1 (recommended by another LBS, prob because they carry it...)
- Velocity Deep V (seems like some guys swear by these rims...Aussies ones right?)
- Mavic Open Pro (recommended by the builder I intend to use)

Velocity Deep is the strongest, but the heaviest of this group.
DT Swiss RR 1.1 and Velocity Fusion are about the same in weight and rim height. DT uses either single eyelet or eyelet + socket; Velocity uses neither on the Fusion. I like them equally and find the performance of them about the same.
I don't have much good to say about Mavic, so I will refrain from further comments.

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David Ornee, Western Springs, IL USA

The three rims are much different. Mavic is not the most reliable, Deep Vs are more akin to Dt 1.2. DT 1.1 a great rim but double eyelet is 32h only(36 and 28 are single eyelet.

I would recommend the DT 1.2.......

I never got this arguement either. I used to ride, in training, 36 spoke wheels all the time, even though I was only 145lb. (Chorus hubs, 7 speed freewheel, Mavic Open 4CD rims). I still have those wheels, even though they were built in 1989, and the only battlescar they've collected is a slight 'ding' in the edge of the rim where a pothole the size of the meteor crater in Arizona, took a bite at it at 50mph. All those "wasted miles" done during weekend clubruns through the crappy roads of North Western England and off into the hills were no match for these wheels. The only maintenance they ever required was regreasing 4 or 5 times a year and new rim tape once a year "just because". Then again Paul Hewitt is a damn good wheel builder.