November 15, 2008

My latest Project...

My latest project had me building a set of WTB wheels. I've been building on Mavic rims for the most part and I wanted the experience of different rims. WTB laserdisc rims have gotten pretty good reviews so I decided it was time to build a set. I opted to build the lightest front wheel I could make using a
WTB Laserdisc Lite hub in front. I also decided to make it a versatile wheel set which can get some use during the winter by building to a WTB Laserdisc Single Duty rear hub.

Here's the catch, These is a disc specific set of wheels for a single speed. I however, do not have the set up to ride them. As I said, I was looking only for the experience of building a set of WTB wheels.

The lowdown on this wheel set is that the price is right, the weight is pretty good, and the reputations seems to be good. From a builders perspective, this wasn't the easiest set of wheels to build.

I'm guessing it was more difficult to dial in because of the ibeam the WTB rim has down the center of the rim. This makes it a super stiff rim, but doesn't make it easy to make super sensitive adjustments when dialing in the wheels. It took me significantly longer and several more passes through the truing process to dial it in the way I wanted to. I won't hold that against the wheels though. As I said, the price is right on these wheels and now that they are dialed in I'm wishing I was set up to give 'em a test ride. These wheels will be able to take some punishment as every good single speed wheel set should!

Bottom line: These wheels are inexpensive enough to use as training wheels while being durable and light enough to race on.

If you are interested in a set, these are for sale. I'm asking $310 for the set.
"Pennies do not come from heaven. They have to be earned here on earth."
~Margaret Thatcher