Shimano Ultegra SL Wheelset
- Thread starter rosborn
- Start date
rosborn said:
If you are asking this probably you need a wheelbuilder to design a reliable wheel specifically for you and your needs..Not a wheelouttaabox.
IMO any factory "weight-limit" is just going to be an arbitrary figure, based on some notion of "average" road conditions and terrain, what kind of riding you do, how hard you ride, your annual mileage, as well as what "acceptable life" for a wheel is.rosborn said:
Agree with Peter that seeking out the advice of a good builder is your best bet if you really want a reliable wheelset that will hold up for a long time. Shimano certainly knows the marketing value of "SL", but the lightweight Ultegra wheelset may not be a good investment for you.
Spoke with my LBS this evening and my guy suggested a Mavic Aksium wheelset. Funny thing is, I used to own a 2005 Specialized Tarmac which had Alex ALX 330 wheels on it with 16 spokes in the front and 20 in the rear which is exactly the same spoke count that the Ultegras have. I weighed a lot more then and never had a problem with the wheels.
rosborn said:
You are the perfect candidate for a custom wheelset. There are hoards of wheel builders that can build you a set of wheels with an appropriate spoke count, fancy pants rims, and top end hubs for a price that will most times beat the pants off the price of any factory bike. Kinlin 25-30 mm rims w/ DT Aerolites and DT 240s hubs would likely set you back in the ballpark of $600. Such wheels would come to you tensioned correctly (a hit or miss thing with a lot of factory wheels) and built the way you wanted. Plus, you could sell your current wheels on FleaBay and recoup some of the money spent on the customs.
I had a custom set built with Alex Crostini 3.1/3.2 rims, Sapim CX-Ray spokes, and White Industries H1 hubs. Spokes were 24 2x in front and 28 2x in the rear. When the rear Alex rim started cracking at most spoke holes (a factory and design problem), the wheelbuilder replaced both of my rims for free (Kinlin rims instead of Alex). That sort of service can be hard to come by with the factories.
rosborn said:
ahhh, no wheelbuilders there I guess. shimano or Campagnolo hubs DT, Velocity or Mavic rims, double butted spokes, 36 of them, built well. Low spoke count on a heavy rim is not the way to go. Proper rim, built well, is.
