Re: custom wheels...off topic: Bikefanclub.com

Hello Forum,
Having noted all the posts in this article, something becomes really apparent here, from the replies written it seems that most people here dont build wheels themselves, and to this end, it must be considered a "dark art" for them.Its really its quite simple and you can quickly learn to build or maintain your own wheelsets if you take the time to figure out the art of wheel building.
Also noted here is that everyone is obsessed with saving that extra few minor grams of weight as if it makes such a super difference.
The issues of reliability and slightly heavier wheels versus ultra lightweight racing ones?? are coming to the forefront here and this old debate can go on forever.
Ok lets look at something in perspective here, you save 1000 grams on the newest latest superlight wheelset, and then you put on two full water bottles on the bike???? now what, the bike gained back all the weight and then some.
For speciality events such as time trials, aero wheel sets are a must,basically because you need to be as aerodynamic as possible and create minimum drag, but for bunch racing and general riding its possible to build a decent set of racing/training wheels for a reasonable price at a reasonable weight, and still keep spoke count at 28 in the rear and front.
At least this way the standard issue parts you select are not going to be some super exotic unobtainium in a few years, that will render your investment obsolete.
The few boutique wheels i did buy and promptly sold off were a royal pain right out of the box, either dished wrong or the spokes were too slack or too tight, or just plain wobbling, needless to say i had to literally set them up properly before a first ride on them.
I like building my own wheels, and in all the years ive worked on them ive never had a wheelset of mine fail,not counting the odd spoke or two that will break eventually with high mileage. Its therefore possible to have two good sets of wheels built up for less than the price of some exotic boutique wheelsets,but then again for some riders this just wont do, as there is no WOW factor.

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Its time to ride.

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