"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - BD Vuelta 50mm carbon tubular wheelset?!?

Is it just me or is anyone else getting itchy to pick up one of those wheelsets offered in the BikesDirect holiday thread in the Road Cycling forum?

I can't find any information on them other than the weight of the sample he has (~1400). No reviews ANYWHERE. No information on the hubs. So what if the hubs are crap? I might end up lacing them to a PT anyway. Maybe run a plain ultegra up front.

Think they might have 90% of the performance gain of the ultra blingy Zipps for about 1/5th the price? If anything it puts me on tubulars and a lighter wheelset for 400 clams. And I won't walk away from a race crying about my trashed Zipp wheels.


Of course I want the Zipps like everyone else has, but I can't justify racing those, not as a CAT4.

These have been discussed ad nauseam in other threads. Try searching the regular road forum.

They might be Gigantex rims, laced to no-name far east hubs. There aren't any reviews about them because before this group buy, they didn't exist. Mike listened to our requests, made some calls, and set this up to meet the demand that presented itself.

If they're gigantex rims, which I have reason to believe they are, you're getting two good quality rims for $400, and some hubs of questionable value. I plan on riding them a couple of times during intervals, opening them up, and inspecting the bearings before using them in a race. If all is well, I'll use them as is, if not, the rear hub will be replaced with a DT240.

I was looking too and I think one of the last posts says "Look at post 929". The rims are manufactured by a reasonable company. The later posts indicate that perhaps the hubs are less desirable (of course, this is the internet so I can't vouch for any of the stuff out there). I'm thinking of getting the clinchers and rebuilding the rear with a Campy 32H hub (gotta love 24H rims since they lace perfectly onto a 32H hub). The front I figure should be okay, it's hard to mess up a front.

cdr

I was looking too and I think one of the last posts says "Look at post 929". The rims are manufactured by a reasonable company. The later posts indicate that perhaps the hubs are less desirable (of course, this is the internet so I can't vouch for any of the stuff out there). I'm thinking of getting the clinchers and rebuilding the rear with a Campy 32H hub (gotta love 24H rims since they lace perfectly onto a 32H hub). The front I figure should be okay, it's hard to mess up a front.

cdr

Ah, I forgot about that. F--- the 240, I'm going with the new DA in 32h. They've improved their seal quality by 400%, or so they said when the new XTR's came out...

And I think the decals are not removable if I remember correctly.

I'm getting a set. Worse comes to worse I'll relace and spend $600 on the set instead of $400. Still seems like a pretty sweet deal.

I'm going to buy a set to be my "B" set. Its going to cost me approximately the same amount of money to build a set of aluminum tubulars so why not get them and trash them.

I was looking too and I think one of the last posts says "Look at post 929". The rims are manufactured by a reasonable company. The later posts indicate that perhaps the hubs are less desirable (of course, this is the internet so I can't vouch for any of the stuff out there). I'm thinking of getting the clinchers and rebuilding the rear with a Campy 32H hub (gotta love 24H rims since they lace perfectly onto a 32H hub). The front I figure should be okay, it's hard to mess up a front.

cdr

Yeah, that sounds like a good candidate set for 8 radial NDS and 16 2x DS. Sweet.

Yeah, that sounds like a good candidate set for 8 radial NDS and 16 2x DS. Sweet.

Does any one have any pics of a set up like this?

I'm thinking it's a 50/50 crap shoot at best and I'm not pulling the trigger.

No effin' way. Mind you I'm a clyde and damn hard on wheels.

And I think the decals are not removable if I remember correctly.
Nothing is irremovable.

Nothing is irremovable.

Warranty is voided if decals are removed.

Apparently you aren't familiar with how warranties on carbon wheels work.

Generally speaking:

If the rim breaks due to a manufacturing defect, they replace it, for free. If YOU break it, as in while riding, working on your wheels, a crash; you're the liable party. You have to pay to have the rim replaced and/or rebuilt.

And, as I've never heard of a carbon rim breaking due to a manufacturing problem, odds are the warranty is next to, if not completely useless. I doubt any here is after the hubs; we want the rims.

as I've never heard of a carbon rim breaking due to a manufacturing problem, odds are the warranty is next to, if not completely useless. I doubt any here is after the hubs; we want the rims.

The carbon rim on one of my 303s cracked at the hole where the spoke connects and was replaced under warranty due to it being a manufacturer defect.

Does any one have any pics of a set up like this?

Here's how it looks on the Fulcrums. Obviously a different flange type, but the lacing would look similar:

http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/images/L1010481.jpg

From the side, the effect is very subtle:

http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/images/fu/fulcrum-racing-1-wheelset.jpg

Warranty is voided if decals are removed.

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.shtm).

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975 (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/warranty.shtm).

Even though I'm a strong advocate for removing decals (and can do so regardless of clearcoat) I'll play "Devil's Advocate" :

I thought about that, too - but in this case the decals are beneath a layer of clear coat. Should you remove clear coat on a wheel, could the MFG claim that you personally modified the working properties of the wheel?
Furthermore, there is a warning label as part of the decal set (see picture below), I wonder what it says? Should that be kept on, too?


http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t213/bikedoctor/vuelta50mmsewup.jpg

All I'm saying is what was posted on about these on some other thread (can't find it). I could care less if people take the decals off at all.

OP - I have a set of these that Fetish Cycles rebadged as their own. They are alright wheels with "meh" hubs.

I'm looking to sell them if anyone is interested. (mine are 38mm)

OP - I have a set of these that Fetish Cycles rebadged as their own. They are alright wheels with "meh" hubs.

I'm looking to sell them if anyone is interested. (mine are 38mm)


So you can really tell a difference between these and some Zipps?

I've already bought in for them. Now i'm wondering about the hubs though; Can someone estimate what a wheel builder would reasonably charge to rebuild the wheel if I brought in the parts?

I'd love to learn to build wheels, but I doubt it'd be a smart move to use this as a first project :)

I've charged $25/wheel in the past. I think an experienced builder can be done with them both in under 90 minutes, and that would be $75 at a $50/hr rate.

So you can really tell a difference between these and some Zipps?


Dunno. Mine weigh 1522 grams, so the Zipps might be lighter. Methinks the hubs on zipps would be better. The wheels I have are stiff and light, which is what I wanted for racing. Aero wasn't a huge part of my purchase reasoning.

I'm looking to ditch mine for $350 and they come with tires. So, $1500 plus tires for Zipps, or $350 total for a generic brand that works. It's up to you if it's worth it or not.

did anyone actually replace the hubs on theirs? if so, did you get a chance to weigh the rims by themselves.. i'm debating building these up with lighter spokes/hubs... didnt know how much of a difference it would make... they are working great though so I might not fuss with them.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=372664

Looks like ~450-475g for the 50mm tubulars. I recently built up a 100mm Gigantex (Planet X) and the rim weighed just over 600g.