Williams wheels



grahamspringett

New Member
Feb 26, 2004
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They're really, er, reasonably priced. But are they any good? Anybody got any long-term experience? I'd like some bling PowerTap wheels but Zipps are a bit pricey. Williams wheels look good, but are they? Would I be wasting money?
 
Absolutely no idea. Hopefully someone drops in with first-hand experience with them. Only thing I can say is that in my experience, you get what you pay for quality-wise, and that's certainly true with carbon. I agree that bike parts in general are way overpriced, but that's another story.

Good luck!
 
I race in NorCal, and my team is sponsored by Williams Wheels so I can give you a fair amount of input. And before you say, "Oh, he's just a shill", that's not the case. I'll tell you exactly how I feel about them.

Durability

We have about 45 members on our team, and about 15 of us ride Williams. One bloke, a heavy masher, broke some spokes on the old models with the old hubs. He would break a spoke, spend the wheel back, and the owner would just give him a new wheel... and then he'd break a spoke again.

So, he was very impressed by the customer service, but not so impressed by the spoke breakage. That said, that was the old spoke/hub design. The new design, the 2008 models, are much, much better. He has had zero problems. And I should also add that he's the only guy on our team with the spoke breakage problem, even with the old models.

I've been riding the 30s for about a year now. I race and train on them, about 200 miles per week. They are still perfectly true. I had an issue for one week when, suddenly, I had a few tire blowouts. I re did the rim tape, and that never happened again.

My teammate uses Williams 30x for cross racing in the As, and they've been bombproof for him. The summation is that, despite a few issues with the discontinued design, these are extremely bombproof, and the owner goes waaay out of his way to please.

Performance

I am really happy from this angle. Stiff, light, cheap. They say "pick only two", but it's not. These really are all 3. Of course, we get a team deal, but even minus the team deal I'd be a customer. Sprinting, climbing, flats... I have zero complaints. These are wheels that you never have to think about, and they just "feel fast". In the NorCal scene, there are now tons of racers on these hoops. They are really catching on.

I have not tried the 19s yet, but my buddy, a Cat1 climbing phenom, has been leaving his carbon tubulars at home, and just racing the 19s at hilly road races. He says that he loses no advantage, only a very small amount of weight, and that these just feel better to him. Again, this is second hand so who knows.

Summation

Personally, I'd like to try the carbon 38s as those will be my next purchase. I hope all this helped. I'll keep riding these wheels. They look pretty fantastic in person as well even though I'm not a huge fan of the font in the logo. Still better then something like Neuvation though IMHO. Super impressed by these wheels, and I've been riding them for quite some time now.




grahamspringett said:
They're really, er, reasonably priced. But are they any good? Anybody got any long-term experience? I'd like some bling PowerTap wheels but Zipps are a bit pricey. Williams wheels look good, but are they? Would I be wasting money?
 
grahamspringett said:
They're really, er, reasonably priced. But are they any good? Anybody got any long-term experience? I'd like some bling PowerTap wheels but Zipps are a bit pricey. Williams wheels look good, but are they? Would I be wasting money?

They achieve the price point by sourcing the hubs and rims, not using DT/Campag/shimano hubs , etc nor Velocity/Ambrosio/DT/Mavic rims.

Probably the same for ceramic bearings altho I think that is more marketing than performance.

Pretty conventional design, probably good build and smart to give rider weight limits on lighter wheelsets.

Hopefully they will maintain hub innards for older hubs so these don't become obsolete. Rims wear out, decent hubs last for years.
 
grahamspringett said:
They're really, er, reasonably priced. But are they any good? Anybody got any long-term experience? I'd like some bling PowerTap wheels but Zipps are a bit pricey. Williams wheels look good, but are they? Would I be wasting money?
One measure I like to point out about wheels: Servicability
Rims are subject to damage and wear. When a rim needs repacement what are the costs in time & $?
Are the spokes (and nipples) proprietary? Can they be easily found/substituted/and replaced with standard tools?
Hubs, can they be easily lubricated and adjusted with standard tools available in the local bicycle shop? Are wear parts available and reasonably priced.
Cost and availability of service are product lifetime costs. If you want to venture into the purchase, you should think about the overall costs. If you have a team that suplies and supports what you ride, that is very nice...

I see lots of Cat 1 & 2 Racers with high bling wheels, but most have a reliable and servicable back up set that are more conventional built.
 
I have a set of 30's. they accelerate very well, and appear to be pretty stout, if hitting a curb head-on at ~18 mph is any indication. they are also pretty light. I'm right at the weight limit, but they still feel solid and stiff (enough). I don't feel any brake rub, and they have been true for the last year.

So yeah, I recommend them.
 
daveornee said:
One measure I like to point out about wheels: Servicability
Rims are subject to damage and wear. When a rim needs repacement what are the costs in time & $?
Are the spokes (and nipples) proprietary? Can they be easily found/substituted/and replaced with standard tools?.....
Yep, good point. I know plenty of guys who've had to wait ages for 'special' replacement spokes, which often cost a bucket.

Good old DTs, baby :D
 
daveornee said:
One measure I like to point out about wheels: Servicability
Rims are subject to damage and wear. When a rim needs repacement what are the costs in time & $?
Are the spokes (and nipples) proprietary? Can they be easily found/substituted/and replaced with standard tools?
Hubs, can they be easily lubricated and adjusted with standard tools available in the local bicycle shop? Are wear parts available and reasonably priced.
Cost and availability of service are product lifetime costs. If you want to venture into the purchase, you should think about the overall costs. If you have a team that suplies and supports what you ride, that is very nice...

I see lots of Cat 1 & 2 Racers with high bling wheels, but most have a reliable and servicable back up set that are more conventional built.

Did you send a guy named 'Ju-Ju' to me for a wheelset build? I think so, so thanks, he picked them up yesterday, the same day he became a US Citizen(good for him...now pay your taxes!!).

Kris Holm Unicycle rims(HUGE, wide), Phil disc hubs plus a XT front for his trailer. Worldwide trip onna bike I guess..thanks again. He even opted for tye and solder thruout.
 
daveornee said:
One measure I like to point out about wheels: Servicability
Rims are subject to damage and wear. When a rim needs repacement what are the costs in time & $?
Are the spokes (and nipples) proprietary? Can they be easily found/substituted/and replaced with standard tools?
Hubs, can they be easily lubricated and adjusted with standard tools available in the local bicycle shop? Are wear parts available and reasonably priced.
Cost and availability of service are product lifetime costs. If you want to venture into the purchase, you should think about the overall costs. If you have a team that suplies and supports what you ride, that is very nice...

I see lots of Cat 1 & 2 Racers with high bling wheels, but most have a reliable and servicable back up set that are more conventional built.
Go to the Williams website. It's all there. easily serviceable. read. simple.
 
I've had the 30's for about 4 months (1500 or so miles) and love them. Light, comfortable, and solid. I've hit a few potholes and they are still perfectly true. Noticed a huge difference on my first ride from my Open Pros comfort wise and especially weight wise when I accelerated.
 
I have been riding on Williams wheels for a few months now. They are a new sponsor for my team, so I admit they were my first choice mainly due to price. I am using the 58 Carbon Clinchers front and rear, for my road, and a Williams disc on the rear of my TT bike with a HED3 trispoke upfront. I have not had any problems with them at all. I weigh about 220lbs and put about 150-200mi a week on them, hitting the occasional pothole, and they still turn true. I know a guy that switched to the 58's from Zipp 404s and is in love with them.
My only complaint was that it took some time getting used to a deep dish (but this applies to any deep wheel, so its not a complaint with the williams wheels specifically). Even with my size, I still get blown around some in crosswinds. They might be a hair heavier than other comperable brands, but again, i weigh 220lbs so Im not gonna fret it over a few grams
Overall, I absolutely love these wheels and would recommend them to anyone in the market for new wheels. Even without a team discount, they are much cheaper than Zipps
 
I have a set of 38's, tubulars, which have been in use recreationally the past 1 1/2 yrs. They are straight, light and bomb proof. Not sure how they would perform with a heavy rider as I am only 130 lbs. Have hit some major sharp edged potholes at 40kph (25mph) bending my bars but no flats and no damage to the rims. Nothing like a good set of continental tubulars! The only draw back is brake performance in the rain, common to all carbon rims, stay on the front!
orrie
Toronto, Ontario
 
Well this is abit off thread but folks should know keith Williams is the best person in the biking industry I have ever dealt with- periood there isn't even a second place! I emailed him on a Sunday night at 8:30 Colorado time and he replied within 5 minutes- OK so that could have been a fluke right? well I called with some questions and he called me right back and then when I needed a different freehub body he sent it to me the very next day( oh I ordered it at 8:00 pm on a Tuesday) without any payment! he said I could send him a check or give him my cc info. Now honestly how many of you have had an experience like that- Oh yeah Carbon 38 clinchers- I thought I would never like anything as much as my Campy Shamals but I am proven wrong these wheels are lightning!
 
85mm-road-set.jpg

ws85.jpg



Full Carbon tubulars: 1697g

I have been riding these rims for 3 months already and Wow! they are fast. I ordering the the disc today, I will right back to tell what I think about being fully arrowed. I am going to be using these on my next Tri. Wish me luck on beating my PR.
 
Hi Joey rocs, do you use the WS85's for climbing, they are light enough. Also, what other wheelsets are you comparing them too ... thanks
 

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