Has anyone used or had any experience with these? I'm trying to do my Cx project within a budget and disc brakes are a must. (Trying to have some fun with $1000 or less). Any thoughts would be great.

Shimano WH-RX05 Disc Clincher Wheelset at BikeTiresDirect

not used, but heavy & obsolete are what the specs shout, 8/9/10 speed only hub means no easy upgrade to 5800 which will be out soon, and they do weigh a lot.

Seems like a centerlock nothing weird wheel set, OK parts

but I'd still bring it by a Bike shop and have the mechanic check the tension and true . and pay them something for their time.

its a bulk ordered machine built wheel as most are . and things happen in shipping I cannot generalize on curing for you.

You can't/wont do business locally?


I doubt gravel grinders have to do run-ups carrying their bikes ..

OP lives in MN and appears to be buying a lot more local to you then him.

As far as shopping locally, The 2 shops in town are for a lack of better words are rather "Elitist". They don't have much time for us middle of the road folks and zero time fore the budget minded.

IMO disc brake wheel sets are very intelligent. Why pay big bucks for a wheel set and then have rim brakes destroy them in time. With out having a brake strip, the wheels can be made stronger, and with a more aero profile.

that unfortunate .. the town here is low key .. and not full of posh lycra sorts ,

Coast-Guard and Fishermen and when it's not raining, tourists .

As a shop owner, I never mind someone who is "budget-minded" so long as they aren't being short-sighted about it. What good is a cheap wheelset if all it is is cheap? My father-in-law has a farm, and uses power tools frequently, but just can't seem to pull the trigger on a really top end drill for $300. So he buys half a dozen cheap B&D drills a year, and spends $600 doing it, because $300 is too much! Meanwhile, my nice drills just keep going. That is what I mean by short-sighted.

I'm not ready to spend $400-$500+ for a set of wheels. Maybe if I was doing 100+ mi a week. But I don't. If you use something enough, then spend the money for the best quality. Would you spend $3000 on a pair of Binoculars? I did because I use them enough to justify the cost. No, I am not short sighted. I know when I need "The Best" and when I don't.

C Nashbar for their anniversary sale.................

again .. buy a wheel in a box , and you need to be able to see if its OK or the seller just flipped it
without anyone double checking the machine tensioning job..