Talk to me about Track Wheels

Kinlin 270's are my weapon of choice.

Too much messing with cogs this weekend dan?

actually, yes :) Overthinking gearing choice as usual.

To answer your question:

You should look for rims that are round. Oblong or symmetric rims tend not to work quite as well as their circular counterparts.

Spokes should be straight. Spokes of any other kind will not give you the intended results ie. lacing the rim to the hub. You want at least SOME spokes in there.

Hubs should be the most expensive you can afford. If in doubt that you've spent enough money, head down to your LBS looking like a bewildered deer with cash in your hand and they will help you generously.

Hope this helps.

http://hubjub.co.uk/index.php/store/rims/kinlin-tb25-detail, with ACI spokes the whole lot will be barely over £100. You could build them in 32H instead, but given the strength of the Kinlin rims that's probably overkill unless you're huge.

TB25s are rather boring Chinese rims. May I suggest as a standard track wheel something like DA 7600, Campa Pista or Suze Pro-Max hubs laced to Mavic Piste, Ambrosio Chrono or some other shallow tubular rim. If you want them to be bullet-proof instead of increasing section you could also grab from one of the Pavè rims such as the Ambrosio Nemsis... These kind of wheels have been the mainstay of 6 days since the 1960s... Unless you are a sprinter I would not worry right now about wheel aerodynamics.. and when you do you'll be looking at a different class of wheels, bars, frames and other bits (dependent on the event) anyway ..

Still spouting bollocks, I see. At least double the price of Kinlin/Novatec for an inferior wheel. Have you even watched a 6-day in the past decade? It's all about deep carbon for those events these days.

I'm riding Cane Creek Endro wheels and are hands down the smoothest hubs that i have riden. Excelerate lighten fast.

Ive just bought a pair of Volos myself to use outdoors but still waiting for shipping from Texas as they are hard to find here in Australia.

PS I dont know this seller so not trying to stich you up,

Buy my Cane Creek Volos wheels :)

A discontinued wheel with proprietary spokes? There's something for which I'd want an extension on my ten foot pole.

They are straight pull spokes and can be replaced with OTP of the right length

From the manual

Spoke Information
Crono wheels employ Cane Creek/Sapim’s Leader, Race, Laser or CX-ray depending on
the particular model. Replacement spokes and nipples are available from Cane Creek, or
proper spokes can be cut to length at a suitably equipped bicycle shop.

A discontinued wheel with proprietary spokes? There's something for which I'd want an extension on my ten foot pole.

Nothing proprietary about a straight pull spoke, rims can also be replaced with one of the velocity range a do believe if ever required but i only ride on the velodrome so hardly an issue.

What's a good set of small-budget non-machined track wheels for indoor use only? Preferably clincher as I already have nice tyres (and a less nice set for outdoors).

I'm looking at Planet X Pro Carbon 82/82 Track Wheelset £350 and Vittoria Pista CS (Track) Tubular Tyre pair £40 (Chain Reaction), total £390 ~ can anyone suggest a better combo at this price?

Nice set of wheels from njs export (ex keirin around £200 with dura ace hubs), replace the tyres with vittoria pista cs elite (£40 each approx). The standard Pista CS tubs are shit, avoid. Proper track wheels, classier than cheap carbon.

Excelerate lighten fast

hehehehe

ok, cheers, what's the problem with the tubs, grip, durability or both?

Really sluggish feeling, like clinchers, durability and grip no problem. The elite version are durable but much lighter, they feel like tubs when you use them.

That's good to know, I have the Evo CS on my wheels which I'm very happy with. Currently looking to upgrade my teenage son's bike, mainly riding at LVV but sometimes Welwyn.

Vittoria say that the Pista CS is for indoor and outdoor which sounds good but I guess it means compromise.

You could use the pista cs elite outdoors and indoors, they are sturdy. Have the Evo CL on my fast wheels, lovely tyres but indoors only.

Pista CS tubs are decent. They do not feel like clinchers. Evo CS's are great, but expensive and not durable.

I have CS's on my training and race wheels, never had a thing to complain about - outdoor or in. They also stretch well and go on the rim without much complaint.

If you are buying your son race wheels, the PX wheels are hard to beat - don't buy him £60 tyres though, he will go through them quickly if he is riding at Welwyn.

Cheers Dan and UniversalDav - all ordered now, I know it's cheap(er) carbon and not the finest tubs but it's within budget and will be a big improvement over his clincher set-up.