Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - SoMax, cheap wheels, and Boston

So I stopped in at Community Bicycle today (there's your Boston tie-in) where I got taken for $20 to pull my bearings and press in a new set. Ok, to be honest, it did take them a damn long time to get the bearings out.

Anyhow, while I was there, I was looking around and noticed that they're carrying a few different sets of prebuilt track wheels. They've got Pro Max on Open Pro for $300 a set, Formula + Weinmann aero rims at $200, and in the middle the SoMaxes are going for like $250.

The $200 wheelset seems like a pretty good deal, comparing favorably with the basic IRO wheels and coming in just a little less when you consider shipping.

But what really caught my attention was when I was chatting with the manager and he said, "come over here and check out these bearings on the Somas." All I can say is sweet motherloving Jesus. Those things were so smooth and free it was unbelieveable, sealed cartridges and all. Does anyone know what they've got in there?

i dont know whats in there but a bunch of the other messengers here in pittsburgh ride them in our piss poor weather conditions and love them.

the SoMax hubs look suspiciously similar to the nashbar hubs.

Ya think? Right down to the hollow axles. The Nashbar hubs do seem to have a different cutout on the flange.

What's a joke is the MSRP on those things.

http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NF-GHR.gif http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NF-GHF.gif
http://www.somafab.com/hub_trk_slv.jpg

heh. i hadn't even noticed the hollow axles.
i think the flange cutouts are the same. the nashbar pic is just taken at a funny angle

i'm not convinced that the center of the hub body is the same though. I can't tell if the somaxes taper towards the center like the nashbars

Yup, with the larger second photo, it's pretty clear that they have the same cutouts. Nashbar does seem to have more pronounced angles from flange to flange. It could just be a difference in production runs or a minor redesign.

benscycle here in Milwaukee has a few nice online deals on wheels as well. They have formula/deep v builds for $200 a set and several other good sets. Are you looking for new wheels?

http://stores.ebay.com/Bens-Cycles_Track-Fixed-Gear_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQftidZ2QQpZ2QQtZkm

Nah, I waste my time by building my own. Mostly I find it interesting that the mainstream distributors have realized that people like Tony--especially Tony--are turning a tidy profit by serving a market niche that a year or 18 months ago they would have told you didn't exist.

Way back in the dark ages, the only major distributor offering that I can think of was a cheap Suzue laced to an MA3 (I think) that QBP put out. Want better? Build 'em yourself. Now there are scads of offerings at a wide range of price points being offered through the major distributors.