Road Cycling - Any good reason not to?

Check out this Velomax wheelset on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1011636790&r=0&t=0&showTutorial=0&ed=1002580763&indexURL=0&rd=1

Anyone got any arguments against this wheel set? I like the Velomax spoke design (no bend), appearance and low weight. The price seems reasonable and I've read nothing but good things regarding Velomax.

Opinions please...

Thanks

It looks like spoke replacement could be difficult.....

Alex is probably right about spoke replacement, but that just means you'll have to have it shopped if you blow a spoke. If you have a #2 set of wheels, that's not THAT much of a problem -- won't keep you off the road.

At 1650g [their real weight], they're not the lightest wheels on the planet, but they'll be lighter than the wheels on your Kestrel [MAvic CXP21/Wheelsmith, right?]. You'll probably have to have them trued, or true them yourself, when they arrive. Shipping can sometimes put wheels out of whack.

From the Velomax FAQ...

Q. Where do I get a replacement spoke?

When we designed the hubs, we made sure that the threads were the same in the hub as they are in the nipple. Many shops have a machine for threading the end of a spoke. They have these so they don't have to keep a large assortment of different length spokes in stock - they can simply cut and thread one to the correct size. So, to make a Velomax twin threaded spoke, they need only cut off and thread the head of the spoke.

Our goal is that you are not dependent upon us for replacement, and you don't have to send off to some far away place and wait while the season passes by. Also, there's nothing exotic about our spokes, so replacements don't cost much more than any other quality stainless steel spoke.

There FAQ page is actually informative. Imagine that!

www.velomax.com

Regarding the weight, it's on par with Ksyriums and Spinergy Xaero's. Half the price of the Ksyrium. Something about the Spinergy's I don't trust... Don't know why.

Gee, do shops which custom-thread spokes still exist?? The shops around here don't do that. I even asked for 4 15-gauge unbutted spokes at one shop the other day, and they wanted to order them for me!!! Told me it would take 2 weeks!! I mean, really! If they didn't have a thread die fora plain-gauge spoke, I really doubt that this wheel would fare any better around here!
BTW, I live in a city of 1/2 million, so no, I'm not in the boondocks.

Solution... Order a bunch of spare velomax spokes.

Well... One hour left. Went ahead and placed a bid. Fairly new model for Velomax, so I guess I'll be the guinea pig :)

If you get them, you won't be sorry. I've got them on one of my Ti bikes. 2000 miles on them. No troubles of any kind.

Keep the faith, Alex. The shop near me will cut and thread a custom size of spoke, 36 of them, dip them in spoke prep for $20. They'll do in in a half an hour. I hope some shopkeeper near you will get a spoke threader for Christmas.

I hope that they roll threads rather than cutting them. Makes for a much stronger thread. Of course, I could do this at the school machine shop, too.

Originally posted by velocipedio
You'll probably have to have them trued, or true them yourself, when they arrive. Shipping can sometimes put wheels out of whack.

You almost jinxed me. Imagine your spanky new wheels arriving and you notice a hole the size of a baseball in one of the boxes... I was just a tad nervous when I opened up the box. I was expecting to see a group of twisted, bent up spokes. Nope. Whew! Not a scratch! Just some really perty wheels :)

#1. My bike looks absolutely awesome with these wheels!
#2. The bike has a much more solid feel to it.
#3. Acceleration is noticeably better.
#4. The ride is nice and smooth.
#5. My bike looks absolutely awesome with these wheels! :D

I put a Dura-Ace cogset on as well, so the bike has shed a nice chunk of weight with the wheels/cog combo.

Congrats Mark, they look beautiful. I'm gld you didn't have any problems.

Mark,

You have personal mail. :D

They look real nice. Why don't you give us an update on how you like 'em after a few hundred miles on them?