Ultegra wheel FUBAR'd
Discussion
My rear 6700 Ultegra wheel bearings are poorly. They are grumbling loudly and there is quite a bit of lateral play on the wheel with the rim moving a few mm side to side.
I'll drop it in to the LBS tomorrow but I'm not optimistic.
So, I may need new wheels.
Budget is up to £300 and I've heard good things about Hope hubs. If I go with these, which rims should they be fitted to and is there a recommended spoke apart from flat ones
Steve
I'll drop it in to the LBS tomorrow but I'm not optimistic.
So, I may need new wheels.
Budget is up to £300 and I've heard good things about Hope hubs. If I go with these, which rims should they be fitted to and is there a recommended spoke apart from flat ones
Steve
gazza285 said:
Mavic Open Pro on Hope Pro 3 with DT Swiss double butted spokes here, not the lightest or most aerodynamic, but easy to build and repair.
I've got the same - only done a few hundred miles on them, so they are still breaking in, but happy with them so far.The noise of the hub when freewheeling is a bit marmite, but personally I like it.
Only way to get Hooe hubs for around £300 is to get a pair of factory builts.
You can currently get Mavic Open Pro or Stans Alpha rims on Hope Mono RS hubs for £330 at wiggle.
Otherwise the hubset on its on is £200.
Rim wise you're looking at ~£50 each for Open Pro, H Plus Son Archetype, Velocity A23, Stans Aplha etc.
Then spokes such as a mix of Sapim Race and Laser at around £1 each and probably £40-50 labour.
A good standard choice at £300 is Campag Zondas, Shimano RS81 C24, Mavic Kysirium or another set of Ultegra.
Your hubs should be easily serviceable though as they use ball bearings not sealed cartridge bearings.
You can currently get Mavic Open Pro or Stans Alpha rims on Hope Mono RS hubs for £330 at wiggle.
Otherwise the hubset on its on is £200.
Rim wise you're looking at ~£50 each for Open Pro, H Plus Son Archetype, Velocity A23, Stans Aplha etc.
Then spokes such as a mix of Sapim Race and Laser at around £1 each and probably £40-50 labour.
A good standard choice at £300 is Campag Zondas, Shimano RS81 C24, Mavic Kysirium or another set of Ultegra.
Your hubs should be easily serviceable though as they use ball bearings not sealed cartridge bearings.
The Pro 3 hubs are fantastic but they are really noisy, its not so bad on an mtb where there is a lot of other noise from the trails but on a road bike it would get right on my tits! Merlin do off the peg Hope wheel builds but you would be looking at around £350.
Are these for the Defy? You could probably look for something a bit more sprightly, you really dont need 32h wheels but have a look at the H plus Son 42mm rim and get them built on 6800 Ultegra hubs for well under £300 using Sapim cx ray spokes too from Strada. Cycle Surgery have the AC Victory wheelset on offer for £300 at the moment which is worth a look, 30mm and weigh <1600gs, Fulcrum 3s are a fantastic wheelset for the money too.
Are these for the Defy? You could probably look for something a bit more sprightly, you really dont need 32h wheels but have a look at the H plus Son 42mm rim and get them built on 6800 Ultegra hubs for well under £300 using Sapim cx ray spokes too from Strada. Cycle Surgery have the AC Victory wheelset on offer for £300 at the moment which is worth a look, 30mm and weigh <1600gs, Fulcrum 3s are a fantastic wheelset for the money too.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 12th September 22:34
Sorry for slight thread drift, but it is vaguely related - I have a FUBARed set of RS80 C24s. I quite liked them, but the front got biffed to the shape of a quaver and the rear has a snapped spoke.
LBS thought spare rims and spokes were too difficult/expensive for it to be worth bothering with a rebuild. Could I recycle the hubs and use them for a bespoke build though? Or is there some strange shimano quirk which renders them junk?
LBS thought spare rims and spokes were too difficult/expensive for it to be worth bothering with a rebuild. Could I recycle the hubs and use them for a bespoke build though? Or is there some strange shimano quirk which renders them junk?
@Birdthom - IIRC the factory built ultegra wheels have some pretty odd spoke counts (20/16?) whereas the standalone hubs are 30-something; so hard to get a hub other than the ultegra one in - my memory may be off on that one.
Nothing stopping you using your existing hubs with other rims, so long as the spoke counts work.. (although I'd check you can get spokes in the right length first - I don't think they use standard J bends, so that might be a limiting factor..)
@OP
Provided the hub side of the race is OK, cones can be replaced, as can the (loose) bearings. Your LBS may be able to get new hubs as a service item.
Can't for the life of me understand why there's still this obsession with building wheels on open pros, other than a nostalgic attachment to the past - its an unremarkable, old fashioned rim. Sure it's eyeleted and normally built with 30billion spokes, but unless you're going to ride half way round the world, you don't *really* need that kind of overkill - perfectly serviceable, sure, but there are more interesting alternatives that will build every bit as good a wheel. My money would (and may yet) go on the aforementioned archetypes, or possibly pacenti.
Chances are, the existing wheels should be salveagable however.
ETA - just thought about spoke availability/not being j bends.
Nothing stopping you using your existing hubs with other rims, so long as the spoke counts work.. (although I'd check you can get spokes in the right length first - I don't think they use standard J bends, so that might be a limiting factor..)
@OP
Provided the hub side of the race is OK, cones can be replaced, as can the (loose) bearings. Your LBS may be able to get new hubs as a service item.
Can't for the life of me understand why there's still this obsession with building wheels on open pros, other than a nostalgic attachment to the past - its an unremarkable, old fashioned rim. Sure it's eyeleted and normally built with 30billion spokes, but unless you're going to ride half way round the world, you don't *really* need that kind of overkill - perfectly serviceable, sure, but there are more interesting alternatives that will build every bit as good a wheel. My money would (and may yet) go on the aforementioned archetypes, or possibly pacenti.
Chances are, the existing wheels should be salveagable however.
ETA - just thought about spoke availability/not being j bends.
Edited by upsidedownmark on Saturday 13th September 00:55
upsidedownmark said:
Can't for the life of me understand why there's still this obsession with building wheels on open pros, other than a nostalgic attachment to the past - its an unremarkable, old fashioned rim. Sure it's eyeleted and normally built with 30billion spokes, but unless you're going to ride half way round the world, you don't *really* need that kind of overkill - perfectly serviceable, sure, but there are more interesting alternatives that will build every bit as good a wheel. My money would (and may yet) go on the aforementioned archetypes, or possibly pacenti.
Because they are light, strong and not too expensive?What advantages do the heavier, non eyelet, coloured brake surfaced that will wear off when you brake and look crap Archetypes have over the Open Pro? Mine are 28 hole on Hope and are built for my cyclocross bike and have been bombproof so far.
gazza285 said:
Because they are light, strong and not too expensive?
What advantages do the heavier, non eyelet, coloured brake surfaced that will wear off when you brake and look crap Archetypes have over the Open Pro? Mine are 28 hole on Hope and are built for my cyclocross bike and have been bombproof so far.
Serious answer?What advantages do the heavier, non eyelet, coloured brake surfaced that will wear off when you brake and look crap Archetypes have over the Open Pro? Mine are 28 hole on Hope and are built for my cyclocross bike and have been bombproof so far.
2.7mm of extra width over the older rim is the killer advantage that the Archetype holds.
Open Pro's were the "go-to" rim for a long time- but that time is firmly in the past now.
If you've used tubs then you'll know what you are missing out on running clincher tyres on a narrow rim - when you use a wide rim they're significantly more comfortable, lower rolling resistance etc.
I've not use the Pacenti, but I do have a pair of Flo30 - which my girlfriend appears to have stolen.
The Pacenti are tubeless ready - therefore have a very shallow inner profile, a mate of mine had to cut a GP4000-S II off as he just couldn't get it off any other way.
Brake track issue- if you want a black brake track run carbon, or discs, if you run alloy rims and calipers then you're going to have to accept that the track will (at some point or another) be silver.
I've not use the Pacenti, but I do have a pair of Flo30 - which my girlfriend appears to have stolen.
The Pacenti are tubeless ready - therefore have a very shallow inner profile, a mate of mine had to cut a GP4000-S II off as he just couldn't get it off any other way.
Brake track issue- if you want a black brake track run carbon, or discs, if you run alloy rims and calipers then you're going to have to accept that the track will (at some point or another) be silver.
Basically Dammit has covered what I'd have said, though I'd have added that the H+Son's are available in more useful spoke counts. Gazza, your build sounds quite sensible, especially for cross, but the 'normal' open pro build seems to be 32 or more spokes, 2/3 cross, which to my mind is total overkill unless you're a complete beast who puts out a ton of power, crashes through every pothole in sight, and rides millions of miles. It also rather negates the (very slight) weight advantage the open pro has over the archetype. I've never run anything more than 20/24, and never had an issue. Don't think you can get open pros in anything <28? Plus I don't like mavic on principle 
Aesthetics are personal - I agree anodized rims look a bit gash mid wearing off, but they'll be down to sliver soon enough.
OP: aside from the opinionated babble above, no - I don't think you're being daft. Spinning a wheel unloaded is a rubbish test, there's no load on the bearings, and bearing drag is slight. What it does with a 80kg (or whatever) sat on it as you roll along is very different. At least get it looked at (or do it yourself). Right now it might be that you can just change the bearings, possibly the cones.. If you leave it like that it will pit the outer races, and then the hubs will be beyond repair.
Aesthetics are personal - I agree anodized rims look a bit gash mid wearing off, but they'll be down to sliver soon enough.
OP: aside from the opinionated babble above, no - I don't think you're being daft. Spinning a wheel unloaded is a rubbish test, there's no load on the bearings, and bearing drag is slight. What it does with a 80kg (or whatever) sat on it as you roll along is very different. At least get it looked at (or do it yourself). Right now it might be that you can just change the bearings, possibly the cones.. If you leave it like that it will pit the outer races, and then the hubs will be beyond repair.
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