light wheelset on a budget

[turbogrover]

I just built up this wheelset from various ebay deals I have come across.
Stans ZTR Alpine rims, Rotaz 32 spoke hubset, DT revolution spokes and nipples.
1300 grams, and $312.
I also got the pair of KCNC rotors and skewers, and ti rotor bolts all from another ebay vendor. Finished them off with an 11-32 XTR cassette. They turned out pretty sweet. Can't wait to try them out! I don't know how long the hubs will last, but they were such a good bargain, I didn't mind being the guinea pig tester.

[irishpitbull]

Nice looking for sure

[a2gtinut]

whule looking for thses hubs found this SPECIAL: SuperLight Mountain Bike Disc Hubset - Front & Rear - 32/32 - 444 grams - Red
Too cheap to be good quality.

[TigWorld]

... I didn't mind being the guinea pig tester...

There have been other "guinea pigs".



1300g is a nice weight for the $$$ spent. As a limited use wheelset/race day type of affair I reckon you'll be happy, particularly if you spin rather than mash the pedals.

My rear hub started to develop noticeable wear after around 5000km. I've put on another 2000km while waiting for the parts for a new wheelset and its still hanging in there. Another guy destroyed his in 600 miles so YMMV.

The alloy axle is a little flexy on the bigger hits and contact can occur between the hub shell and engagement gear because of this:

[f3rg]

Nice looking wheels. Very similar to a set I'm building, except I'm using Crest rims and Super Comp spokes and brass nipples. Weight should be around 1,400g, but I suspect they'll be a little stronger overall, despite 28 spokes, since I chose not to go with Revolutions and alloy nipples.

[TigWorld]

Why 28h? Unless you're really light, when building using lightweight non-eyeleted rims, I reckon 32h is the go. Crests, Alpines, Podium MMX etc have the spoke hole as their weak point. Less spokes = more stress per spoke hole. As you lower the spoke count you need to up the strength of the rim to get the same overall wheel strength and life. cf. 24 spoke XTR rims where the spoke nipple is oversize and plenty of meat is left in the rim around the spoke hole. Take a look at how thick (thin!) the Crest rim is around the nipple seats.

IMHO you'd be better off going 32h and using alu nipples. Weight will be the same but that will produce a stronger (less prone to breakage) and stiffer (less flex) wheel. The extra 4 spokes are really worth it for lightweight non-eyeleted rims.

[turbogrover]

Nice looking wheels. Very similar to a set I'm building, except I'm using Crest rims and Super Comp spokes and brass nipples. Weight should be around 1,400g, but I suspect they'll be a little stronger overall, despite 28 spokes, since I chose not to go with Revolutions and alloy nipples.

I'm at165 lbs, and a pretty strong rider. This will be my 4th set of wheels built with the revolution spokes/alloy nipples, and the spokes have always held up great.

( you can't tell from the pics, but I hand polished the spokes to get them extra shiny. I love the look of shiny spokes. )

[TigWorld]

...
( you can't tell from the pics, but I hand polished the spokes to get them extra shiny. I love the look of shiny spokes. )

Now that you mention it, those spokes do look sweet.

[mobius911]

Nice looking wheels. You've motivated me to try building a set! Do you know if these are the newer (as I understand it) Rotaz Revolution hubs? They are supposed to be a different pawl and ratchet design (6 double-tooth pawls with 27 teeth, 54 POE). Nice increase in POE over the old 3-pawl design, and I'm hoping it could improve the durability issues shown above.

[turbogrover]

It looks like the hub has been redesigned, but whether it has been made stronger, I can't tell.
It still uses the alloy axle, but the pawl design is certainly different.
New hub:



Old hub:


My hub with 9 spd titanium cassette.

[mobius911]

I'm drooling! Good luck with it. Give an update after you have some miles on them.

[turbogrover]

Got 'em mounted up, but it's raining and 38 degrees outside. These wheels are sooo much lighter than my other Sun/Ringle wheelset. Gonna keep these for race day only, but I'll put some miles on them to see how the rear hub is going to hold up.

[TigWorld]

I just built up a replacement wheelset (1245g Tune/A2Z/Podium MMX concoction) because of my hub issues and have had a chance to look at the rear hub now with a little over 7500km on it. I must say it doesn't seem any worse than at 5000km. The pawls are wearing the freehub engagement gear on an angle but if I replaced the freehub with a new one - maybe use the Rotaz updated pawls I could probably get another 5000km out of it.

As a race day only wheelset they will probably last forever. The same hubs are used in the BWW Pure XCR wheels and guys claim they are fine (but they don't say how many km's they've done).

The real beauty about those hubs is they are very light for the price. Nothing comes close. 240s and Tune Kong seem like good alternatives, but I think the 240s might be slightly heavier. The Tune Kong is lighter, but who knows how long one of those will last (I'll let you know ). Both of those hubs alone are around the same price as what you spent to build a complete set of great wheels!

[f3rg]

Got mine built today, and total weight for wheels alone is 1,371 (623f, 748r). Veloplugs will add 8g.

[turbogrover]

Got mine built today, and total weight for wheels alone is 1,371 (623f, 748r). Veloplugs will add 8g.

Cool, let's see pics of 'em.

[sbd]

Do you think if I built these with a Stans Arch they could withstand 220 pounds of Clyde? I am a smooth rider. I have an 08 Stumpy Comp 29er and I am still riding the stock wheel set with many many miles and its still straight as an arrow but really heavy. My HT weighs 28.5 pounds!

[thickfog]

I ride with people in the 265-280 range and they have no issues with their arches.

[mobius911]

I'm in the same weight range and planning to go with Arches and dt Swiss super comps.

[sbd]

I have heard similar tales re Arches, I was wondering more about the hubs.

[turbogrover]

I took the wheels out for their 1st ride today. Rode for two hours in below-freezing temps. They are noticeably lighter, and accelerate quicker than my other wheelset. The hubs worked fine, but the freewheel sound is very quiet, and that worries me. I won't know how well they hold up for a few more months. I do like how light these wheels are very much, so I hope they last a while.

[f3rg]

Here they are on my bike. I got a 6mi test ride in yesterday, but now the cold rain and wintery mix b.s. is coming down, so more riding will have to wait.

The freehub is pretty quiet, but the sound it does make isn't as pleasant as my old Rolf's. I'm sure I'll get use to it. Rims are a b**ch to mount tires to with the Veloplugs in, but it's worth the weight savings.

[mike29erss]

Got 'em mounted up, but it's raining and 38 degrees outside. These wheels are sooo much lighter than my other Sun/Ringle wheelset. Gonna keep these for race day only, but I'll put some miles on them to see how the rear hub is going to hold up.

sweet looking bike, what kind is it? whats the weight? is it all carbon? it looks like you have a niner fork i cant tell , its nice

[bikerboyj17]

I just built up this wheelset from various ebay deals I have come across.
Stans ZTR Alpine rims, Rotaz 32 spoke hubset, DT revolution spokes and nipples.

OP, what was the weight of your Alpine rims?

[turbogrover]

OP, what was the weight of your Alpine rims?

I didn't weigh the individual components. I knew that the alpine rims were the lightest Stan's I could get. I don't have a scale at home, so I built the wheels and brought them into work to weigh them. I also removed all the stickers from the rims.
They've been working pretty good, btw. I have put in 7, 2hr. rides on these wheels in sometimes sloppy and frozen conditions, and they have been holding up just fine. I am using a Lucky Nino 11-32 ti cassette on them, and it shifts as well as any cassette. It has shift ramps machined into the cogs. I plan to put the training wheelset back on, and take the rear hub apart to check for wear.

[turbogrover]

sweet looking bike, what kind is it? whats the weight? is it all carbon? it looks like you have a niner fork i cant tell , its nice

Thanks, it's been a great bike! Here's a link to the thread when I got the frameset. It wieghs right at 17lbs. Actually it's less than 17 with this wheelset on it.
Carbonal Composite Tech SL frameset