Originally Posted by noodle soup

I wanted to go wider(for my Domane Disc), and these aren't the old school V shape. Compare the LB profile to these from Enve.

https://www.enve.com/en/products/ses-4-5-ar/

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

You're still in Bangalore, India? It probably won't effect you. If you're in the USA--it is complicated.

A) The headline tariffs of "25%" on aluminum and steel....are for unfinished raw metal (as quantified by value/weight)--NOT finished or quasi-finished product. Meaning if you import a 500kg steel brick, you pay and extra 25%. If you import 500kg of steel spokes--you don't pay that particular tariff. If you order a set of bicycle wheels--you don't pay these either. UNFINISHED here is the key. There's an entire field in business called "tariff engineering" intended to find ways to bypass tariffs (see the Chicken Tax)

B) Lots of bicycle related tariffs got added--more likely to hit home that the raw metal tariffs. On things like ball bearings, bicycle components, etc.

D) It is up to the shipper to correctly file the bill of shipping as to what as in the box and to correctly ding it for tariffs. Something FedEx/UPS/DHL are renowned for not doing.

E) Now if you're in the USA and are ordering Light-Bicycle wheels...it depends on if you order from their US distributor, or are doing a custom order shipping from China. My set came from their USA warehouse, no extra tariffs. Cannot speak for direct-from-China.

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

Didn't know how to tag a person, so quoted instead.

Any reason you guys didn't prefer to get the 45 and 55 rims which have the U shape? Isn't U supposed to be better in wind?

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

Thanks everyone for the help and advise. Just ordered the 56mm with white decals.

Originally Posted by noodle soup

I got a reply from LB about the lack of progress(8 days in "sanding" process). They said the black/stealth decals I ordered were out of stock, but that they are now back, and the wheelset will ship out on Wednesday.

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

How many days from the preparation to the sanding?

Interesting the way one can follow the build.

Originally Posted by noodle soup

It took 6 days to get to the sanding. When I placed the order, I asked them how long to expect the build to take. They said it would be 10-13 days to build, and 5-7 days for shipping.

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

For me, the time is crucial. My wife is making a trip to Philly first week April. If I miss this, I can collect it only in Nov, when we will also be doing local flights in the US, and I'll have to pay for each local flight for the wheels. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

Have you asked if they'll ship direct to you? You risk paying 2X sets of import tariffs, in addition to shipping 2-3X.

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

I thought that thereb is no import duty in the US upto 800 dollars? I often ship from bike24 to the US.

In India, the customs is over 50%, unreliable as to time, and the shipping to India is almost double of the shipping to the US. I might as well buy a big brand name wheelset ;-)

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

Okay, now what you're doing, and your questions, make sense.

The duty "de minimis" value was raised to $800USD in 2016....now so much of this tariff war crap is being written practically on the back of a napkin, I cannot find accurate reporting as to what it is now. The USA bicycle industry has been pushing to lower the minimis value to 1/10 that since the trade war started.

People can tell you with US importing...even before the trade war--shipper like FedEx and UPS and DHL (from the EU) were routinely charging inapplicable tariffs when they shouldn't have--and demanding exhorbitant "convenience" and "brokerage fees" for doing so...and holding your goods hostage until you paid. It was fairly common internet knowledge if buying Campagnolo from the UK (cheap) to always ask for Royal Mail shipping and NOT UPS/FedEx/etc due to this.

Welcome to the wonderful world of import/export law.

Originally Posted by deepakvrao

Still didn't get why you said I m ight risk double import duties?

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

My thought was....You (might) get dinged on import duties into the US...but you might also get dinged for import duties into India too. I don't know India import/export law or their duties enforcement....but I'd expect that, carrying a large box with wheels in it through an airport, India customs will ask you (or your wife) what is in the box...and its value.

If you've done this before...and gotten away with it (because, legally, you are "getting away with it")...then feel free to ignore

Originally Posted by maartendc

Very interested in getting one of these wheelsets myself.

What do you all make of this "review" from 2015 of the LB wheelsets? One of the only reviews I could find online, but it is a mountainbike wheelset:

https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mt...er-rim-review/

Thanks!

Originally Posted by maartendc

Very interested in getting one of these wheelsets myself.

What do you all make of this "review" from 2015 of the LB wheelsets? One of the only reviews I could find online, but it is a mountainbike wheelset:

https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mt...er-rim-review/

Thanks!

Originally Posted by maartendc

Very interested in getting one of these wheelsets myself.

What do you all make of this "review" from 2015 of the LB wheelsets? One of the only reviews I could find online, but it is a mountainbike wheelset:

https://www.singletracks.com/blog/mt...er-rim-review/

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

The reviewer (rightly) sounds accepting of the fact he killed wheels--not that they failed. That the lasted such abuse and improper repair ends up being a compliment.

As is common with all bleeding edge products...old reviews skew things because products change so fast.

Originally Posted by noodle soup

I’d put most of the blame on the reviewer(he blamed himself), and from the sound of it, an Aluminium hoop would be trashed as well.

Originally Posted by Rides4Beer

I saw that when I was researching LB wheels, I take it as a testament to the build quality. He ran the pressure too low, even for a mountain bike, and cracked the wheel, but it still didn't fail completely and he was able to keep riding.

Originally Posted by maartendc

Interesting. I don't really have experience with breaking rims, so good to hear that this kind of damage is not out of the ordinary when abused.

What hubs would you recommend for a rim brake version? I am looking for a cheapish build. Bitex or Novatec hubs? Or stick with DT Swiss 350, although they are about 150g heavier? DT 240 is out of the question in terms of budget I think.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

I have a set of Bitex laced Pacenti SL25 hoops....and the Bitex, for what they are--they're not bad. What they are, is bottom-dollar cartridge bearing hubs. But the freehub isn't that durable, even "anti-notch" revision will notch because they only reinforce one side of the splines. But cheap hub, there you go. The ratchet/pawl engagement is okay but I've found it hit/miss on one of the pawls.....resulting in one pawl not fully seating sometimes--resulting in a frustrating loud "BANG" when applying power--as the pawl fully seats.....They work and spin well, but they won't put a grin on your face as much as a nice hub probably would.

Faint praise is faint, as you may have noticed.

Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti

IMHO...TL;DR if you have the money get the DT350s. They are nice durable hubs that make for nice strong wheels.

I have a set of Bitex laced Pacenti SL25 hoops....and the Bitex, for what they are--they're not bad. What they are, is bottom-dollar cartridge bearing hubs. But the freehub isn't that durable, even "anti-notch" revision will notch because they only reinforce one side of the splines. But cheap hub, there you go. The ratchet/pawl engagement is okay but I've found it hit/miss on one of the pawls.....resulting in one pawl not fully seating sometimes--resulting in a frustrating loud "BANG" when applying power--as the pawl fully seats.....They work and spin well, but they won't put a grin on your face as much as a nice hub probably would.

Faint praise is faint, as you may have noticed.

Originally Posted by noodle soup

+1 about Bitex hubs.Both Bitex, and Novatec use tiny bearings, so wear can be an issue for heavier riders(or off-road use). Luckily it's cheap + easy to replace them.

I've used Novatec hubs(291/482 SB, and 291/482 SB-SL) for several builds, with very good results. I chose Novatec 411/412 hubs because I'll be using this wheelset for road only, and most of the roads in my are are quite good.

The DT350 upgade is a pretty good value through LB, but it would put you slightly over budget.

Originally Posted by maartendc

Ok thanks so much for the honest feedback guys! I had heard mainly good things about Bitex hubs before. I guess they are good for the money, but you get what you pay for.

Hmmm, I was looking at the Bitex and Novatec hubs mainly for their reduced weight.. they are about 150g lighter than the DT Swiss 350. The cost is not that significant only $100 more for the DT Swiss.

I guess the weight and cost savings are not worth it for the reduced durability and lackluster performance?

What about the spokes? They offer both Sapim CX Ray and Pillar Aero X-tra. About $40 between them, same weight. I am tempted to just go for the name brand of Sapim here. Any experience with the Pillar spokes?

Thanks!