kmart

I'm building up my first fixed gear and I'm looking to spend about $150 on a track wheelset (I tend to go on the cheap side whenever I start a new hobby and upgrade later). I have a few options:
* My local LBS offers Formula hubs+Sun rims+32 double butted spokes for $150. They would be ordering them from a wholesaler catalog, so really I could just do this myself and skip the LBS overhead.
* bikepartusa.com: Mavic CXP22 rims+Formula hubs+32 spokes $140. Seemed like a great reliable set, but I can't find this on their site anymore and it was there a month ago.
* ebay: Vuelta wheelset from ebay: Vuelta OEM rims, hubs, spokes, cog, lockring, and tires+tubes

The last option is particularly enticing since it is complete and ready to go (the tires suck but oh well). Also the rims are red to match my frame color scheme. I have Vuelta XRP Pro wheels on my roadie. They're not light, but they've stayed true. On the track wheels my main concern is the hub and cog durability. From lurking on the fixed forum I've read a few horror stories about people stripping their cheapo hubs and lockrings. So, does anyone know anything about these?

How about this set or this one?

c_m_shooter

I've got the vuelta mountain bike rims and they are holding up so far.

mihlbach

If you don't know how to true/tension wheels, go with the LBS set. That way you can be sure you are going to get a set that is propery built with good spoke tension. This is critical if you wane the wheels to last. Sun rims have a reputation for being tough.
If you can do your own wheel maintenece...then I'm sure all of these wheels will do the job just fine.

TheSlav

bicyclewheels.com also has some pretty good deals on track wheelsets. I found them through fixedgeargallery.com

Never bought anything so i cant speak to quality but the deals look decent.

https://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/me...tegory_Code=TR

kmart

TheSlav: Thanks for the link!

mihlbach: I have had some practice with trueing and tensioning so I'm confident there. I didn't know anything about the Sun rims, but your opinion is reassuring. I will do some more research on them. Like I said though, I am more concerned with the cog or hub failing. From these forums, I gather that Formula hubs have a reputation for being dependable. As for the cog...Vuelta's is steel, so how bad could it be? Steel is pretty tough right?

BostonFixed

Couple things:

The $150 set from your LBS sounds like a good deal; is almost certainly machine built- a good lbs would check over and tension the wheels before selling them to you and back them up if anything goes screwy. You said you can true and tension wheels yourself, so maybe this isn't such a big deal.

Whatever you do, throw out the cog/lockring if one comes with the wheels and buy a new one of each- dura-ace, surly, eai, all make quality cogs and lockrings. Both will probably set you back another $30-40, but it's worth it. Check this thread for what happens if you use a cheapy cog and/or lockring:
https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/259871-why-don-t-you-guys-tell-me-about-stupid-things-before-i-do-them.html

kmart

BostonFixed: Yes, that is the horror thread I was referring to. Then again, I'm still not completely convinced...I guess I will have to decide for myself whether it is worth the risk. Then again, the "you get what you pay for" line is usually true in the bicycle world...

As for the LBS, I will have to ask them about their warranty/repair policy since the only wheel I ever bought from them came to me badly out of true. Rather than hassle them about it I just trued it up myself, but now I'm doubting that there is any advantage to the LBS..

queerpunk

don't know about those vuelta wheels, but formula hubs are not prone to stripping. like BF said, get a good cog and lockring, use a dab of grease when you install - or have a friend or mechanic who knows what s/he's doing - and you'll be fine.

BostonFixed

Another thing which you may or may not want to delve into is wheelbuilding. You won't get the completed wheels any cheaper than the pre-built ones linked, but you will have the satisfaction of building your own wheels- you say you have the tensioning and truing experience, so it shouldn't be that much of a stretch skills-wise. If you build them well, they will probably be better than any of the prebuilt sets that you are thinking of buying.

You could also order the hubs/rims online, and bring them to the lbs to have them measure the spokes for you, or maybe the shop would give you a deal on hubs/rims if you order through them.

***

All of the wheels you mention are pretty good- the cpx22 rims should be a little stronger than the others, but the quality of the wheelbuild is usually the determining factor.
www.irocycle.com for more wheels- VERY good prices, VERY good hubs/wheels.

Steve K

i guess i would consider two things with the first wheelset. are the rims doublewalled and are they eyeletted?

i'm sort of weary of cxp22s just because a guy in the shop i used to work in had a set on his road bike and they started to crack at each of the spokeholes, and well, cxp22s aren't eyeletted.

1fluffhead

I have pounded the hell out of my cxp22's and never have had a problem.

Aeroplane

LBS it. They are selling decent wheels at a fair price. Support that ethic. Plus, if anything is wrong, they should take care of it. Rapport at the local shop is a good thing.

mihlbach

Don't mess around with cheap cogs...too many post here about stripping hubs. Its just not worth taking the chance. Go with EAI, Surly, Soma, Duraace, Phil or other cogs of similar quality. The IRO cogs and Ben's Cycle cogs are probably good too, but I've never used either.

Retem

i would ask your lbs about the cxp22 formula wheels they should be able to get em if they are the quality wheel house ones I am thinking of

Gyeswho

not to be bias but id say dont go budget and get a goooood pair of rims. whats the point of going budget and then have them give you an issue. if you can, wait a lil longer and save more to get a nice pair of wheels. i would recomend you buying some deep vs but have the bike shop order and make them for you. a good deal of the wheels you buy online are machine made and you wont have the craftmanship that a person puts into that wheel. so think about it. i order rims and hubs by themselves and had my bike shop make them. my set up is deep vs and formula hubs. cost around 260 but i KNOW it is a good set up because the guy i had was a former asian champion track racer. dura ace lock ring and cog. i got goooood deal on the front rim for 35. used a old front hub and he laced to dt spokes. the rear was more expensive. 70 for the rim, 45 for the hub laced to dts. service for the front wheel was 50. for the back was 65. i did the front 1st and waited 3 or 4 months for the back. i don't regret the wait and it gave me time to save up as well. but if you cant wait id say go for the cpx's. they seem and look great plus its mavic so you can't go wrong.
i heard:
sun rims aren't too well from fixed gear gallery
vuelta i heard are heavy but i wouldn't take a chance cuz i looked on the official website and couldn't find those wheels offered on ebay.

kmart

Hm...Ben's Cycle offers a wheelset with DA cog and lockring, Suzue Jr. 28 hole hubs and Ritchey Aero rims. I haven't heard anyone badmouthing Ritchey or Suzue, so it seems like a solid package to me, but could anyone back that up?

Gyeswho: It's not that I couldn't buy a pricey wheelset right now if I wanted to, but there seem to be a lot of great options in the $150 "budget" range already. I don't have any track-related aspirations so I don't necessarily need what a former asian champion track star has.

BostonFixed

Those are suzue basic hubs. Suzue basic hubs suck. Buy something else. Search for suzue basic for more info.

kmart

Thanks for the heads up.

Gyeswho

o yea i hear ya. i dont race track at but im speakin from a street riding perspective. since streets are not the best thing to go over sometimes it may pay in the long run to have a solid pair of rims.

Retem

dude I have phil woods laced to cxp 22 on my main ride and it is fine my beater is rocking some bargain quality wheel house sheels

whatever you do go to your lbs and see what they can get for you from quality wheel house the sealed formula hubs are actuallypretty nice get a quality cog and lockring eai or something of the sort and you are on your way

kemmer

I'm thinking of buying these:
https://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/me...tegory_Code=TR

Weinmann LP-18 rims with formula hub. Are these rims any good? I think black wheels would look great on my white Maruishi and the black Mavic CXP-22 wheelset is 30 bucks more. If the Mavics are worth the extra $30, I'll do that.

mihlbach

I have no experience with Weinmann rims, but I can tell you that Mavic rims are very high quality. I've built wheels with Mavic rims (CXP33), and the rims were so straight and true to begin with that it was extremely easy to get good even spoke tension and end up with perfectly straight round wheels. I've also built wheels with Sun rims (CR-18) and they were a little more difficult in terms of getting them straight and round with even spoke tension. However, aside from one being a little more finicky to build, the result for both has been very strong and reliable wheels. Once you get into the realm of relatively decent quality rims, the quality of the build is more important to the strength and longevity of the wheel.

Retem

I just got a set of weinmanns dp-18 with formula hubs I like the cxp-22 better the weinmanns don't have eyelets and their finish is a little cheesy

talk to you lbs first most of these wheels are from wheel manufacturing or quality wheel house and you can get em often at the same prices or close to locally

BostonFixed

If you want all black, get either one of these:

https://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/me...tegory_Code=TR

https://shop.greatdealsonbikes.com/me...tegory_Code=TR

Both are around one is $120, the other $130. Both have better rims than that weinman one. Either of the sun rims on each of those wheelsets are good.

Retem

if you must go with the m13 -2 they at least have eyelets but I am telling you most lbses have these same wheels for reletively the same price and they tension and true them for you then again it helps to buy them a six pack of quality beer every now and then too