DanRH 

Hey All,

I usually hang out at the Tandem forum but when I ride single, I'm riding the fixie which is a '06 Lemond Fillmore in battleship gray. Love the bike so much I've ridden from SF to LA and have will be doing my first double century on the fixie in March. You get the point...

So, I love this bike so much I decided instead of getting a new bike to make this one new. It's being painted as we speak. The wheels and other components are mostly Bontrager which is fine but I'm wanting to upgrade.

So, I'm thinking Velocity rims, White hubs, White BB, White cranks. I know the Whute stuff is expensive but I'm wanting something that will last as well as looking nice.

So, I'm open to suggestions or what do you think of my choices?

Thanks

bbattle

White is fine; get the White stuff. Velocity rims are fine; get those.

You are likely to get opinions from one end of the spectrum to the other but if you are riding a fixed gear from LA to SF you don't need any advice from people on this forum. You're doing fine.

DanRH 

Thanks but let me clarify... From SF to LA, one way. I guess that makes me a wimp, eh? I do the AIDS ride every year (the last 13 that is) and the last two I did was on the Lemond, with the single speed. Last year, I flipped my flop and rode fixie and never looked back. Out of 2,300 riders, there were around 25 of us. Now riding from LA to SF, that's a totally different story. :-O

This year I'm doing it on the tandem with my fiance.

bbattle

I got it wrong; but that's still some great riding. Obviously, riding a tandem you understand the importance of quality components, hence your choices for the Fillmore. Are you doing the wheel build? And what about brakes?

DanRH 

Thanks and no, I couldn't build a wheel to save my life. LBS all the way baby! And I've got a pair (yes a pair) of Campy Chorus calipers...

shubonker

Avoid all white so it doesn't look like a ghost bike.

stryper

Get some of these Kinlin Rims. They are about 130g lighter than velocity deep v rims and still 30mm deep. Maybe you don't want deep section rims on your ride though

https://fairwheelbikes.com/kinlin-xr3...e9fc1c1547f680

BoozyMcliverRot

anything Mavic is a good rim choice,If you just wanna do a 1500 mile round trip id go for formula hubs.If you wanna ride forever,get the formula hubs and put Phil Wood bearings in them.


End of story.

bmcginn

Awesome. I am thinking about doing this ride this June. But am afraid fixed will be too much for me to handle so I might on my roadie. What ratio do you run?

ADSR

In the "Why Phil Wood" thread people were saying some fairly negative things about White Industries components. No personal experience though.

mihlbach

+1. Whatever rims you think are the best, Kinlins are better. They are available in 20mm, 27mm, and 30mm cross sections. Get whatever depth works for you, but you aren't going to find a lower weight/depth ratio with any other aluminum clincher rim.

mihlbach

White Industries stuff looks really nice, and in some ways the products are very high quality but a lot of people, including myself, have had bad luck with their products, either due to design flaws or bad quality control. Others have had no problems. Ask yourself if its worth the risk. Formula/Surly/Novatec hubs are cheaper, very reliable, and for all practical purposes, will perform just as well (if not better) as more costly hubs. One can easily make the same argument for cranks and BBs as well.

DanRH 

I'm running a 48x19. There are a couple of very long descents (plus 5 miles). There was only one climb that was undoable at plus 16%. Most of the fixie riders walked it but one real skinny kid running a 53x12 :-O made it all the way up the .2 mile climb. That climb was the exception and was a mistake according to the ride organizers and many geared riders complained as well.

It's a great ride and if I ever do it again on a single bike, it'll be fixie. All it takes is time in the saddle.

capolover

You should spray paint it pink.

DanRH 

;-) Actually our tandem is half black fade into hot pink...

bbattle

Are these the same as the niobium rims Mike Garcia of Oddsandendos.com has been selling?