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Hey All,
I'm trying to find wheels for my Jamis Nova and I don't want to pay more than $150 per wheel. Additionally the front wheel is actually a 26 inch mountain bike wheel and the back is a standard road wheel (700), because the bike is set up like a Terry bike with different sized wheels to give me the necessary standover hieght. I'm really light too, so I'm not sure I need cross-specific wheel for the back, or if not which road wheel would work. Then for the 26 inch front, which mountain bike wheel would be nice and light, and work for cyclocross. I would love your input on this, because the vast array of possible wheels is a bit overwhelming for someone who is a bit of a newbie.
Thanks! :D
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Your requirements are a bit unique, so I recommend the wheel builder at your local lbs. For $300, he or she should be able to provide exactly what's needed, including matching up components so the wheelset looks decent (It's likely same brand/model 700 & 650 rims can be used). The builder should be able to show you a wide selection of hubs, rims, and spokes/nipples. In my experience, the best 'cross set-up is 36H, X4 with brass nipples, especially if you only have one set of wheels; but in your case 32H, 3X should be fine. Good luck!
I'd get hand built ones from your LBS. They last a lot longer and depending on if you use the old hubs, 300 bucks be enough.
Yep, that sounds smart. Thanks!
Yep, that sounds like what I'm going to have to do. Thanks!
What to ask for-
1) not too pricey, cross wheels take a beating, not worth the high zoot stuff (105 hubs rule!)
2) machined or ceramic braking surfaces on the rims for stopping in the mud
3) rims with eyelets are ideal, spokes are less likely to pull out, and you don't get water and grit getting inside the rim at the nipples
4) Aero profile is nice for slicing through snow, sand and mud
5) not superlight, but ordinary road wheels for training work fine for cross, especially if you're not a big rider
6) You will be challenged to find good cross tires for your 26in. wheel. You already have the wheels and the bike, and this will work for races that dont follow UCI rules (if you are in fact planning to race) but very few 26in. tires are narrower than the max. allowed for these races.
*off topic* I noticed that some pro riders doing cyclocross were using kysriums, while cyclo crocc, are those wheel special edition or same as the road ones. *off topic*
Thanks. I never thought aero rims would help that much given the slower speeds, interesting. This bike's wheels are built with LX hubs. Should I ditch them for the 105s? By the way, according to my lbs I could put a 650 on the front, which opens up my options a bit.
Nashbar.com has cheap wheel sets for sale. I got my front wheels there Mavic T519s with Shimano 105 hubs for about $70 about 6 months ago.
Check it out.
Cro_Moly_Body
Get some XT hubs, double butted spokes and some free ride rims, they will be beefy, XT is a great bang for the buck too
Thanks. I never thought aero rims would help that much given the slower speeds, interesting. This bike's wheels are built with LX hubs. Should I ditch them for the 105s? By the way, according to my lbs I could put a 650 on the front, which opens up my options a bit.
Hey Shorty,
I have a Jamis Nova too. Haven't ridden it yet, but it seems like a sweet bike.
Regarding wheels, if you are light, you don't need a ton of spokes or brass nipples, etc. You can have a very strong set of wheels built using 32H (even less in the front) rims.
Stick with good brands for the rims like Mavic, Velocity, Sun, etc. Use 3X crossing, etc. Aero rims provide no wind resistance advantage in cross. They do shed mud/water better though, so an aero rim may still have some benefit.
LX and 105 hubs are pretty much equivalent in quality. The LX is generally intended as a mountain hub (wider spacing, bigger seals, etc) and the 105 is branded a road hub. Either will work fine, but check the rear spacing... 135mm vs 130mm. I'll have to check mine.
When choosing the front wheel size, tire selection should help dictate that. I know of very few 650c size knobby tires. There is a better selection of knobbies in 26 inch, but still pretty limited in narrow sizes (i.e. 1.5 inches or less).
Some reputable wheel builders: Colorado Cyclist, Wheelsmith, Peter White Cycles (they are mail order though). All have good warranties, service, etc.
If you can find a Wheelsmith dealer around you (bound to be one in the Bay Area, such as Mike's Bikes, maybe Palo Alto bikes), they offer lifetime trueing. Just bring the wheel in, they see the Wheelmsith sticker, on the trueing stand it goes, spokes are checked and replaced if needed, wheel gets trued... no charge.
And lastly, if your LX hubs are still good, by all means re-use them! 105 hubs are real nice, but they are not better!
LX and 105 hubs are pretty much equivalent in quality. The LX is generally intended as a mountain hub (wider spacing, bigger seals, etc) and the 105 is branded a road hub. Either will work fine, but check the rear spacing... 135mm vs 130mm. I'll have to check mine.
I just checked the spacing on my Jamis Nova (it's a 2003 model). The rear spacing is 135mm. So if yours is the same you would have to use a mountain hub, or respace a road hub (using a wider axle, etc).
Best thing is to reuse your LX hubs if they're still good. The seals are better for the wet stuff anyways.
Hey dessert1st,
That was a big help. Thanks! I think I'm going to go open pro rims and (as you suggested) stay with the LX hubs, or get some new LX hubs so I can have a back up set of wheels (maybe with studded tires for the ice). THat means limited tires, so I'll check the parts cataloge at my lbs before I settle for sure, to make sure I have some selection. Have you jumped on the Nova yet? A lot of the review say it is a bit "twitchy," and this seems true, but its a nice tuff little bike, which is good, because there were only a few brands that had a cross bike in my size. *sigh* I guess I'll go custom next.
i think the tall aero rims are used for their stiffness in cross more than aerodynamics
Hey dessert1st,
That was a big help. Thanks! I think I'm going to go open pro rims and (as you suggested) stay with the LX hubs, or get some new LX hubs so I can have a back up set of wheels (maybe with studded tires for the ice). THat means limited tires, so I'll check the parts cataloge at my lbs before I settle for sure, to make sure I have some selection. Have you jumped on the Nova yet? A lot of the review say it is a bit "twitchy," and this seems true, but its a nice tuff little bike, which is good, because there were only a few brands that had a cross bike in my size. *sigh* I guess I'll go custom next.
Hey Shorty, good luck with the wheels. Open Pros are real good rims too (they set the standard).
PS Still haven't ridden my Nova, hopefully twitchiness isn't a problem (I'm used to that on my road bikes anyways). :-)
A lot of the review say it is a bit "twitchy," and this seems true, but its a nice tuff little bike, which is good, because there were only a few brands that had a cross bike in my size. *sigh* I guess I'll go custom next.
Hey again Shorty,
This came to mind the other day... how is it that you're able to fit a smaller wheel on the front of your bike? Is brake pad reach a problem? Or did you have the fork swapped out?
Another thought: if the front wheel is smaller than the back, wouldn't that change the geometry of the bike (resulting in steeper steering angles) and tend to make the bike more "twitchy"?
Just a thought. Take care. I'll let you know what I think of mine after I ride it.
I thought that aero rims were used in CX to reduce the amount of mud clinging to the rim. There is no horizontal surface to pick up crud.
Yeah, I know its weird to have 2 different sized wheels, the bike comes that way though. I guess it is the only way to make the bike with a low enough standover height for my 5 ft stature. I think they only do it on the 46" frame. So, anyway, the fork is a the stock fork and they made the bike so it doesn't slant. Honestly I didn't even notice it had two different sized wheels for about a week. My lbs refers to it as the "weird bike" now. Heh. I was actually thinking of getting a new steel custom fork from Independent Fabrications with more rake to decrease the twitchyness, although I really don't mind its handleing that much, I just love the work IF does.
Yeah, I know its weird to have 2 different sized wheels, the bike comes that way though. I guess it is the only way to make the bike with a low enough standover height for my 5 ft stature. I think they only do it on the 46" frame. So, anyway, the fork is a the stock fork and they made the bike so it doesn't slant. Honestly I didn't even notice it had two different sized wheels for about a week. My lbs refers to it as the "weird bike" now. Heh. I was actually thinking of getting a new steel custom fork from Independent Fabrications with more rake to decrease the twitchyness, although I really don't mind its handleing that much, I just love the work IF does.
Okay now I understand. If the Jamis came that way, then I'm sure the geometry is correct.
BTW, if you're not 100% sold on Indepedent Fabrications and you live in the Bay Area, you might want to check out Brent Steelman's bikes (located in Redwood City). He builds customs in steel, already does a cross bike called the Eurocross, and is starting to do carbon and carbon/steel mix in the road bikes. Check out his website, I think he makes some mention of bikes for women using 650c wheels (www.steelmancycles.com).
I happened to be over at his shop yesterday. Great guy. I have one of his road bikes, and it rides just as good as any bike I've ever ridden (including carbon, titanium bikes, etc). It just goes in the direction you point it (no questions asked), and rides very smooth. Weighs 18.5 lbs with Campy triple, could be built to 17 lbs if I wanted to get stupid. ;-)
sweet. I will check him out, but I work at a store that sells IF, so I get them nice and cheap. Another big plus! I should know more about the other custom makers out there. I take it your bike is a steel frame? Sounds nice!
sweet. I will check him out, but I work at a store that sells IF, so I get them nice and cheap. Another big plus! I should know more about the other custom makers out there. I take it your bike is a steel frame? Sounds nice!
The IF's are nice too (pretty similar to Steelman), and if you can get a deal on one, then hey.... :-)
BTW, 8 of my bikes have steel frames, 2 have aluminum.
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