MartinB123
Senior Retro Guru
I have a set of 9 speed Shimano wheels, in grey though as opposed to black. I put a post up yesterday about them. Laced to Shimano 600 hubs. Get in touch if you require any more info etc.
Factory wheels, recommendations please
- Thread starter Mike Muz
- Start date
In my experience, unless you are building a bike for racing, you should avoid factory wheels.
They are expensive, and spares are difficult to get hold of; often, by the time you need spares for these wheels, the model is no longer made which makes things difficult.
Cheaper factory wheels such as the Mavic Aksium you really need to avoid; I had a pair as they were advised as being a good winter wheel but they barely lasted half a year. The problem is that the basic design of factory wheels is around the idea of lighter is better for wheels, which is totally marketing led. Do you really need lightness in wheels if you are not racing?
It is much better to go for a pair of hand built wheels, so Dura-Ace/Record hubs on Mavic Open Pro or similar. You will be surprised how little of a weight penalty you have over factory wheels. They will last far longer and are simpler to maintain; and critically for a retro bike look the part too.
They are expensive, and spares are difficult to get hold of; often, by the time you need spares for these wheels, the model is no longer made which makes things difficult.
Cheaper factory wheels such as the Mavic Aksium you really need to avoid; I had a pair as they were advised as being a good winter wheel but they barely lasted half a year. The problem is that the basic design of factory wheels is around the idea of lighter is better for wheels, which is totally marketing led. Do you really need lightness in wheels if you are not racing?
It is much better to go for a pair of hand built wheels, so Dura-Ace/Record hubs on Mavic Open Pro or similar. You will be surprised how little of a weight penalty you have over factory wheels. They will last far longer and are simpler to maintain; and critically for a retro bike look the part too.
I use Campag factory wheels almost exclusively - Khamsins and Ventosm mainly, though I have used minimal spoke count Zondas as well, I decided they might be pushing the envelope a bit far.
First thing to note is that when I got my first set I weighed 121Kg, and they went on a bike being used year round to commute into East London, including some bad tarmac sections, and some cobbles. with panniers / laptop etc on top of my sprightly weight. After about 6 months of reliable use, I was reading the instructions which I hadn't actually opened till then (as you do before you throw them away...), and found the bit where it says "max weight 82Kg"...
Well, as I'd had no issues, I kept on using them. This was 2006/7 ish, bought them in 2005/6 ish. Not entirely sure.
Anyhoo, they served reliable for tens of thousands of miles and I acquired a coupe more similar sets (the Khamsins are identical to the original 3G Vento). My original back wheel is currently my turbo wheel, having run through the braking track with crapped up brake blocks across multiple winter commutes, It must have done 20-30,000 km commuting and riding in all weathers, and has done another 4 winters on the turbo.
Never had a problem with any of them, not even trued them. I believe they come in both Campag and Shimano fittings, and would highly recommend them.
Mind you I'm still racing on 1995 era deep rim Alloy Zondas...
First thing to note is that when I got my first set I weighed 121Kg, and they went on a bike being used year round to commute into East London, including some bad tarmac sections, and some cobbles. with panniers / laptop etc on top of my sprightly weight. After about 6 months of reliable use, I was reading the instructions which I hadn't actually opened till then (as you do before you throw them away...), and found the bit where it says "max weight 82Kg"...
Well, as I'd had no issues, I kept on using them. This was 2006/7 ish, bought them in 2005/6 ish. Not entirely sure.
Anyhoo, they served reliable for tens of thousands of miles and I acquired a coupe more similar sets (the Khamsins are identical to the original 3G Vento). My original back wheel is currently my turbo wheel, having run through the braking track with crapped up brake blocks across multiple winter commutes, It must have done 20-30,000 km commuting and riding in all weathers, and has done another 4 winters on the turbo.
Never had a problem with any of them, not even trued them. I believe they come in both Campag and Shimano fittings, and would highly recommend them.
Mind you I'm still racing on 1995 era deep rim Alloy Zondas...
cherrybomb
Old School Grand Master
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Re:
I'm not sure about Campag, but Fulcrum wheels are very nicely built.
However- spares are not available apart from bearings and spokes, so if you damage a rim you will have to buy a new pair of wheels or try to find a single replacement on ebay etc as you can't buy rims, or even individual wheels. I would imagine Campag are the same as they're essentially the same wheels with different decals (OK not quite, but Fulcrum are essentially Campag wheels for people with Shimano/Sram groupsets- I know!!! why would you do that?).
I'm not sure about Campag, but Fulcrum wheels are very nicely built.
However- spares are not available apart from bearings and spokes, so if you damage a rim you will have to buy a new pair of wheels or try to find a single replacement on ebay etc as you can't buy rims, or even individual wheels. I would imagine Campag are the same as they're essentially the same wheels with different decals (OK not quite, but Fulcrum are essentially Campag wheels for people with Shimano/Sram groupsets- I know!!! why would you do that?).
Re:
Thanks for all your input folks, most appreciated.
I remembered, I had a pair of spare Bontrager ones in the loft :facepalm:
So with a bit of swapping about, I got some others on the current project. I was originally looking at some Cosmics, same as the ones pictured in the build thread,
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=361705
until I remembered I don't race anymore, and I'm 49 !
Ta-da
WP_20170107_17_09_20_Pro by Michael Murray, on Flickr
Mike
Thanks for all your input folks, most appreciated.
I remembered, I had a pair of spare Bontrager ones in the loft :facepalm:
So with a bit of swapping about, I got some others on the current project. I was originally looking at some Cosmics, same as the ones pictured in the build thread,
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=361705
until I remembered I don't race anymore, and I'm 49 !
Ta-da
WP_20170107_17_09_20_Pro by Michael Murray, on FlickrMike
jackosbournesnr
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
Prolite Bracciano. Wait until they're on sale and you can grab a bargain.
I have an old pair that have done thousands of miles over 5 or 6 years and have remained true and smooth.
I also have a younger pair (now called Briaciano A27) which have performed similarly well.
One negative - The skewers supplied are not great. They're fine on painted frames but useless on titanium. I had to change skewers to use the wheels on my Ti audax bike if climbing out of the saddle was even a vague possibility.
Prolite Bracciano. Wait until they're on sale and you can grab a bargain.
I have an old pair that have done thousands of miles over 5 or 6 years and have remained true and smooth.
I also have a younger pair (now called Briaciano A27) which have performed similarly well.
One negative - The skewers supplied are not great. They're fine on painted frames but useless on titanium. I had to change skewers to use the wheels on my Ti audax bike if climbing out of the saddle was even a vague possibility.
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