Road Wheels & Road Wheel Recommendations?

Contact BLB?

A while back I called blb and I asked if they had A23's in stock. They said "yes, what drillings and colours". I said, "silver, and 28h". They said, "OK, they're £43 per rim. Do you want us to put them aside." I said, "thanks, I need to think about it."

True story.

It's the fact I'd then have to have them built. suppose I could order rims and hubs have a shop build them for me? I'm new to all these wheel building antics.

Gona go for ambriso hubs theyre awesome for the money possibly on Chinra rims more sturdy, wider and only weigh a little more than open pros.

Have people got opinions on headsets? I was thinking of splashing out on Chris King but am wondering whether they are worth the extra. I've had a variety of headsets, from cheap-but-strong like FSA Pigs to dearer ones that were considered as good as Chris King (but not as expensive) and have had zero problems with any. I'd imagine the demands on a headset are far more subtle in a roadbike than on a MTB.

personal opinion: ck are overengineered and not pleasing to the eye, especially on slender steel road frames

you can get decent secondhand road headsets on ebay or from hilary

tange are good

new thread perhaps?

new thread perhaps?

If you do then it needs to have a fullproof general title!..and maybe a bit of a merg. There are sooooooooooooo many, and every one deals with some little peculiarity, "recommend me a black Jap 1" headset with a stack height lower than x", etc.

I'd say just go with what you can justify to yourself. If £140 fitted seems too much then it is.

Buy the nicest one you can afford from the cane creek range.

Done!

I would have recommended Cane Creek myself.

Cheers. I figured there's a certain premium for a CK part and there's plenty of good ones out there with similar performance. I went to the Cane Creek website and did their fit finder, where you put the make, model and year and it threw out the Cane Creek 40 EC34, so now trying to find it in silver

Get a second hand CK?

Hurrah!! Great success!

Spoken to Just Riding Along.

Velocity A23 built on 32 Ultegra hub with DT Comp black spokes comes in at £284. Stronger than Mavic OP but just as light. Perfect wheelset for audax, club and commuting.

Stronger than Mavic OP but just as light.

What's that based on? I'd be surprised if they were genuinely stronger than Open Pros, being non-eyeletted (vs double eyeletted), but I'm happy to be proved wrong.

I would have still prioritised width over weight.

They are wider though aren't they?

I'm stuck whether to go for the A23s or the Chrinas now.

They are wider though aren't they?

I'm stuck whether to go for the A23s or the Chrinas now.

Just checked. Yes, a full 3.4mm wider, which sounds very little. But is in fact a decent increase.

A 25/28mm tyre is going to have a better profile on a a23.

I meant that width should be a bigger consideration. Not that the a23s lacked in this respect.

Sorry I mis understood. So would the A23 be ideal for what I want? I'm so confused when it comes to buying road wheels.

Sorry I mis understood. So would the A23 be ideal for what I want? I'm so confused when it comes to buying road wheels.

They certainly sound ideal. I havent had any experiance with them though.

hmm exactly. I don't know anything about them yet.

Alternatively Chrina rims and 105 hubs weigh 2240 or 2194 with ultegra hubs. Seems very heavy to me.

Rigida Chrina are relatively heavy budget-ish rims.

hmm exactly. I don't know anything about them yet.

Alternatively Chrina rims and 105 hubs weigh 2240 or 2194 with ultegra hubs. Seems very heavy to me.

Just my opinion/taste. But when building a nice bike, I like nice rims, and nice tyres. They are'nt mechanical parts, granted. But they have a massive effect on the feel of the bike. IMHO this is not the place to be saving money.

a23.

But they are much harder wearing than open pros aren't they?

I need a hard wearing strong rim that is happy to roll in all weathers as this will be my only bike I'll use it for commuting 40 miles each day, weekend club runs and the occasional audax ride.

Buy the A23. Do it.

DO IT.

But they are much harder wearing than open pros aren't they?

I need a hard wearing strong rim that is happy to roll in all weathers as this will be my only bike I'll use it for commuting 40 miles each day, weekend club runs and the occasional audax ride.

How do you even measure that?

Get a sensible spoke count for your use. Run a sensible tyre size for your use, and pump them up to a sensible PSI.

You'll be fine.

Do it.

I'll be getting 32 that's for sure. With either ultegra or 105 hubs. The weight saving is fuck all. Tyre size will be 25mm or 28mm haven't quite decided on that yet.

Is it worth going for 36 on the back and 32 up front? Or is that a pointless exercise?