Mavic Ellipse or custom wheel build?

Hey, been looking to get a new wheelset as my current is well past their best and need some advice.

I was looking at Miche Pistard, but they don’t seems to have a front brake track, don’t quite trust myself without yet. Have also been looking at Mavic Ellipse but they seem quite pricey in comparison.

For about the same price as the Mavics could get a pair built, was looking at H Plus Son Archetype paired with something like a DT Swiss track hub with DT spokes.

What do you reckon is a better wheelset and open to any suggestions on the wheel build if that’s a better option out the two. Thanks :)

I'd go for the Archetypes on DT Swiss hubs. Mavic wheels tend to be full of proprietary parts, which is something I'd steer clear of when their future as a company is uncertain.

Ran Ellipses for a while, & they were pretty good, but found them hard to maintain. They have an awkward lockring threading too so you have to use their lockrings IIRC.

Get a custom built wheelset, in my opinion is a way better option

btw, for the price of 1 archetype you could get a pair of dt swiss rims (all within the same weight)... just saying

I have an Ellipse rear wheel.

It was free.

That was still too expensive. Its a massive ballache.

It's worth chatting to Spa Cycles if you want a built set. They ain't sexeh but build good wheels.

I concur with above. Bought a pair of Ellipses when I 'got back into cycling' as back in the 80's all the good wheels had to have Mavic rims so it must be a safe bet right? Um, no!
Quit the opposite in fact. The quality was fucking BAD! The seamless laser cut join looked like it had been done with a hacksaw and soldering iron. Proprietary bearing system which was always either too loose or too tight. Customer service absolutely terrible. Never again.
Switched to Archetypes on Dura-Ace hubs and DT Swiss Carbon on DT Swiss hubs; all hand made; WORLDS apart.
Even if you want something cheap; the HALO wheels I had on my commuter were better made than the Mavics. Nowadays would recommend getting something with a wider profile.

Sorry just seen these replies my email has been broken, thanks for the comments guys, definitely will be looking into a custom build. Did see the DT Swiss rims were a bit cheaper, but heard some great things about the archetypes so fancy giving them a go.

Is the DT Swiss Hub a good route to go down with this?

I personally think the DT Swiss track hubs are fantastic.

Have them, they are great, but being only 20/24h is a big limitation as I see it. Much depends on the type of riding the op is going to do, for street riding/commuting I see no reason not to lace 32h wheels.

Dt Swiss hubs and whatever suitable rims if the cost is ok.

It would be 90% street riding with the odd commute thrown in, do you reckon in this case a different hub that can support 32 would be a bit more bulletproof long term?

If you lace the dt swiss hubs to high profile rims they will be plenty strong, the only issue will be crosswind.
How much you weight is also quite important, at 160 pounds I had to true a 24h radial front wheel quite a few times, mind you, alu ~25mm profile rim with dt swiss rev spokes, not the best wheel setup. For ease of mind I would go 32h, I find my Mavic open pros laced to Phil hubs with the same dt swiss rev to be the right compromise between stiff and compliant.

I see thanks, I am a similar weight and have had issues with a 24 radial coming out of true a fair bit, but these were very cheap wheels, so the better components could help here?
Unfortunately my budget is not going to stretch to Phil hubs as much as I would love them, would you recommend another hub that would support the 32 at a similar budget to the DT Swiss?

It's not a cartridge bearing hub (if that matters to you) but I use 32h Dura-Ace track hubs. They are the smoothest rolling hubs I've found.
Personally I hate radial lacing and have never had any wheels made radial. Despite the amount of people who seem to ignore it, the instructions for DA hubs actually specify that they're not suitable for radial lacing.
I have two wheel sets with dura-ace / Archetype and they're both fantastic. Both gone through at least two winters and none have been re-trued.
They are however cup & cone bearings so I service them once a year (although they've never actually needed it despite having been ridden in some horrendously bad conditions)

I bought a pair of DA 7710 on Wiggle for 100£ or so, on discount of course, did not have a chance to build a wheelset with them but they should be very good. Mine have cartridge bearings, the ones @aniki has should be the DA 7600, also a very solid choice. The Dia Compe Gran Compe hubs are also well nice.

Thanks guys very useful info, the DA hubs are nearly double the price of the DT Swiss at the minute so will have to weigh up if its worth adding that to the budget of the build.

I LOLd

Aren't the 7710 cup & cone too? At least mine are.

I sure hope mine aren't, hate cleaning those damn bearings, from velodrome shop :"Shimano Dura Ace Track 7710 Hubset, the best hubs for Track Cycling. Sealed bearings for long lasting smooth running performance, suitable for use on any fixed gear wheel for Track or Road."

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/duraacetrack-7710/HB-7710.html

cup & cone bearing

Yeah, the info on velodrome shop is wrong. Your hubs are most definitely cup & cone. Don't feel bad about it, they are such a nice hubs.

Ah, I cant believe they got their info so wrong, evanscycles too. Well they were a steal and I would have bought them anyway, kind of a letdown though, thanks for letting me know so I dont ride around carefree with my hubs full of dirt.

Cup and cone, can still be sealed.
It's that word cartridge you want to look out for

Fair enough, my mistake, when I read sealed I think of cartridge bearings

Yeah, I think to some degree they know people will make this assumption.