Originally Posted by
wescollins13
i am really only looking for a rear wheel for the time being and the hubs themselves are typically around 150. i dont need a fancy rim, just a decently built wheel. weight is not an issue. the reason i posted it in this forum is because i am going to begin riding my bike on the velodrome whenever it gets built here and i want something that will be compatible for both. the budget of 200 dollars is flexible to about 300 for just a rear wheel. i just really dont want to buy a wheel set because i really just need to get the bike back and running.
A Phil Wood silver low flange single-sided track hub, the cheapest way to get into a Phil, still runs $150 plus at discounted retail. The spokes are another $18-22. There's no point in putting a junk rim on good hubs, and a inexpensive decent rim like a Mavic Open Pro Silver is still $65. Wheelbuilders vary a lot in what they charge, but figure $35 plus. If you want a wheel for track use as well, your only consideration at this point would really be to get a decent rim and decent lacing pattern that stand up to the conditions on the track. A basic 32 or 36 hole 3-cross wheel will do that fine. A double-sided fixed/fixed hub is recommended because you can simply flip the wheel to get an alternative cog (you tend to warm up in a lower gear and then switch to something higher for the meat of your workout).
As to actual sources for such a wheel, most good shops can build one for you. You can order it from John Dacey at
www.businesscycles.com. Eric at
www.ergottwheels.com also builds extremely good wheels at a good price. Depending on where you are, Dean at
www.bike-central.com can build a superb wheel, as can builders in track-oriented shops in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, etc.
Do bear in mind that you don't necessarily want the same rim, tire, cog size, etc. on your road wheel and your track wheel. Just to get out and try the track is one thing, but you'll likely end up swapping so much stuff around (especially depending on the track) that you'll just want a different wheel, so buying a road wheel inexpensively with Formula hubs and any inexpensive rim may be the better route. On a steep short track such as ADT in Los Angeles, you really don't want to be riding some kinds of tires because you can slip and bring down other riders. You can take out a pair of Formula-based wheels for your first two or three rides and see what the locals are riding. Some tracks are very much into Phil's, others are into prebuilts, others into Dura Ace hubs. You'll see everything out there and should talk to locals on the track you want to ride before you get too much invested.