fmw

My Speedcific wheels arrived today from Mike Garcia. I wish I could tell you how they perform but I will when I get a chance to ride them. I bought them for a build and finished the build this evening. When I finished the build the temperature was 28 degrees. It may be a while before I can actually screw up the courage to test them.

I got the semi aero DT Swiss rims with 28 bladed (football shaped cross section) spokes front and rear with heavier spokes on the rear drive side. I also chose brass nipples and had the whole thing done in black. They weigh in at 1500 grams and change and are as true as anybody can make bicycle wheels true. A small but important feature also is the fact that you can hear the pawls in the rear hub clicking when the wheel coasts. I like that and miss it in my dead silent Neuvations.

I put these wheels on a 3 lb. aluminum frame with Ultegra drive train and wound up with a bike that weighs only 16 lb. 7 oz. They are really quite light. I'll let you know how they feel when I can dress warm enough to put them to the road.

55/Rad

Good job - congrats on the new MG's.

I had the same issue with silent M28 Aeros. I found that the pawls had too much grease. After opening up and cleaning, regrease with a normal (as opposed to way too much) amount of grease. Pawls become noticeable but not overly loud.

55/Rad

fmw

Thanks for the tip. I'll work on it tomorrow after we finish shipping.

53-11_alltheway

I just wonder how these Speedcific hubs are working out for everbody?

I like the idea of an affordable lightweight hubset, but it's just the Shimano stuff is so bulletproof as well as being a known quantity.

duckliondog

I think if you look around here enough you'll find that the wheels stand up. After reading the posts of the guys who have his wheels I decided to get myself a pair of Aeroheads. I've been riding on them for a couple months now and they feel great. Took a bunch of weight off my bike and made it prettier in one move. The Speedcific hubs use needle bearings, so their durability should be much better than any ball bearing wheels. If you do have a problem, one of the best things about his wheels is the customer support. He really backs up his product.

killsoft

Why are needle bearings hubsets more durable than ball bearing hubsets?
Thanks.

fmw

His wheels are custom builds. He'll put Shimano hubs if you want or DT Swiss or whatever. His hubs just happen to be affordable and have a good reputation. They were $100 less than the DT Swiss hubs so I went with them.

Grasschopper

53-11 - I have had my O&E wheels with SpeedCific hubs since mid July and have like 1500+ miles on them. Not a single issue here.

For the Mike Garcia fans, I was talking to him last week (he was changing my rear from Shimano to Campy) and he said that he will soon have a new hub that is even lighter.

Also there was some speculation earlier in the year that O&E and SpeedCific were one and the same and that is true. I believe there are several other companies using these same hubs...for instance see the Fetish wheels, they seem to use the same front but a different rear hub. Surely someone in Taiwan is OEMing decent hubs (I would assume along with other items).



Not that great a pic but in others I have seen you can see the similarities better.

fmw

I still haven't ridden them but, at least, I have an image now:

fmw

The temperature went barely above freezing so I bundled up and gave the new wheels (and new build) their first ride. The saddle needs to go backward about 1 1/2" and the cable tension on the RD needs to be increased. Otherwise the build is fine.

I was actually blown away by the wheels. Why? Well, this frame is the harshest riding frame I have. It is generally a tooth rattler. I used to have Campy Vento wheels on it and it really transmitted every little bump in the road to my body directly. My impression this morning was that the new wheels were quite different in that they seemed to insulate me more from the jostling and bumps of the rough country roads I ride. I thought the frame really improved its ride. It didn't, of course, but I think the wheels did when compared to the Ventos.

I'm not suggesting these wheels are flexible or soft. They aren't. I couldn't feel them absorb anything when I stood up and pedalled hard to handle a steep hill. All the pedalling power seemed to go toward forward motion. They seemed quite sturdy in the corners. But the ride was more pleasant. Same tires, by the way. I moved them over from the Ventos when I put the Ventos on my Basso. Perhaps more lighter spokes makes for a better ride than fewer heavier ones. I don't know but I sure do like these wheels. I view them as a true upgrade from what I had.

duckliondog

You can probably find a better explanation somewhere else on this site, but I'll do my best. Needle bearings distribute the load across a large surface area, due to their cylindrical shape. Conversely, each individual ball bearing only carries weight at a single point, rather than a line. If they get hit hard, the concentrated force can flatten them out a bit, resulting in a bumpy spin instead of a smooth one. The extra surface area of the needle bearings dissipates the force to the point where it won't damage the bearing (most of the time).

SDRider

I bought a pair of Mike Garcia built wheels about a month or so ago and I have a couple hundred miles on them now and they are as perfect as the day I unpacked them. Smooth, strong and light. In fact, my fist ride on them was 30+ miles with the last 8 or so in a heavy downpour.

I have the Aerohead rims (powder coated blue) with Speedcific silver hubs and silver spokes/nipples.

These are much better than the crappy ALEX ALX220 wheels that were on my bike when I bought it.

blandin

I've had my MG Aeroheads for 10 months. Light, strong and true as the day I got them. I don't know how I could be any more satisfied.

fmw

I adjusted the bike and did 25 miles on the wheels yesterday. No doubt about it. More light spokes provide a nicer ride on rough roads than fewer heavy ones. Strong, light and affordable in a single package. Super wheels.

Trekke

can you provide a close up pic of the wheel?

Grasschopper

Here I have the same wheels.

Nessism

The Speedcific front hub uses two ball bearings, the rear uses three ball bearings and one needle bearing. The rear hub does seem to be a good design from what I can guess except for the aluminum freehub body; aluminum splines tend to get gouged up over time which is why Shimano does not use aluminum for this critical part (until 10 speed Dura Ace which uses deeper splines).

Aluminum spoke nipples and aluminum freehub bodies make the wheels lighter but can compromise long term durability. Don't take me wrong, I like the O&E wheels. Just realize that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

fmw

In case you missed the comment above, Mike is a custom wheel builder. He will put any kind of hubs you like on the wheels. You are certainly not limited to his.