Road Wheels & Road Wheel Recommendations?

I think I’d be speaking to Mavic about that personally.

Unfortunately I bought them 2nd hand albeit with a new rear rim fitted, I might try a hunt on my phone to see if I still have the sellers details but sense it’d end up a lost cause.

If it’s a catastrophic failure that’s put you in danger I’d still get in touch.

Since Shimano have finally brought out some rims in a modern width, the answer to what wheels you should buy probably just got a whole lot simpler, unless you want full weenie spec.

For real world kit that's better engineered than anything else, now it's Shimano hands down.

only if you prefer cup n cone bearings

A, why wouldn't you, if you know one end of a spanner from the other? Can't remember if I've ever even seen a cartridge bearing hub with adjustable preload and angular contact. They often have crap sealing too.

ii) Shimano are the only ones aside from cheap copies like Alex and Joytech who make proper freehubs which employ the cassette body as a stressed member to put the drive side axle bearing where it belongs.

3, Shimano is like Giant or Toyota; a huge company with engineering resources to burn. They invented almost every major improvement to road bikes in the last forty years, and continue to kick arse.

Shimano are the only ones

Apart from Mavic 🙂
Whatever the flaws of the FTS design, it does extend the monolithic hub shell to a drive side bearing housing close to the dropout.

I've ever even seen a cartridge bearing hub with adjustable preload and angular contact.

Several designs explicitly use deep groove radial bearings as an opposed pair of ACBs. Others implicitly do so by virtue of initial assembly clearances, but with no means of adjusting preload.

you are talking to the biggest shimano fan alive (possibly).

I dont mind cup and cone as I sell bikes quicker than the bearings need service.

Do you have a Shimano tat?

He has plenty of Shimano tat

Looking for any recommendations for a new winter wheelset.

For rim brakes, suitable for 25-28mm tyres, good if they are TL ready as may switch as some point (not a deal-breaker), and can take a real kicking on dirty UK roads. Budget around £500.

The Hunt Race Aero Superdura tick a lot of boxes but have read conflicting reports. Any other recommends appreciated, cheers.

Arkane wheel works (Martin on here)
has built wheels for me, lots of people i know and lots of people i don’t know on this forum.

+1 for Arkane
Great wheels, very knowledgeable and always happy to advise

Yeah, spending 500 quid on factory alloy wheels is not the vibe. To spend that much you need to be buying handbuilt's with boutique hubs or you just buy Campagnolo Zonda's or Fulcrum Racing 3's.

I would get a wheelbuilder to spec out some rims on hope rs4 hubs. this will get you something way better than Hunt, and when the rims wear out in over a year, rebuilding them will feel cheap.

Hope are great, but if you have an aversion to loud hubs, they're the worst. I've grown to absolutely hate loud hubs. Just criminal how loud some hubs are.

Hope are great, but if you have an aversion to loud hubs, they're the worst.

Tried the RS4? A bit clicky in hand but barely noticeable on the road. Much quieter than Pro4, etc.

Yeah RS4s are pretty quiet. For ultimate ninja drafting, get some shimano hubs

Yes, centrelock RS4. Did have the stainless steel FHB though which has 4 pawls instead of 2. Outrageously loud. I could use that thing like a bell - in New York - the loudest city I've ever lived in.

Sorry: edit. It was a Pro 4. Oopsy doopsy.

In my experience, Hope rs4 are a good middle ground, you don't need a bell on trails but they are not obnoxious like novatec on carbon rims

I had the RS4 and the stainless freehub had 4 very noisy pawls. As loud as my Pro2 EVO and just a bit much for quiet lanes

@pastry_bot bought them, I think?

Cheers all, hadn't really considered handbuilt so will check out those hubs and options.

I never stop pedalling so no problem.

A bit louder than I was used to but I find it doesn't bother me.

Still a banging set of wheels!