Is this normal...
 

I have had my boyd vitesse 30mm wheels now for a couple months. straight off the bat I felt there was a lot of flex in this wheel but didn't know if it was really flex or if it was the fact that it was so much lighter than my previous set and just not used to it. I posted a thread earlier asking and Mr. Boyd made a suggestion that i tighten the hub using 2 5mm allens. Which I did, but did not see any difference in the amount of movement side to side. I would guess there is 1/16 of play side to side. The skewers are TIGHT, the hub is as tight as I can get them by hand (didn't want to try to get them any tighter). There also seems to be some flex in the rear. In this video, it shoes the rear wheel moving. It is hard to show since it is such a small amount of movement. When I tried to flex/move the wheel I tried to do so without jaring the rest of the bike but as you can see in the video, there is a little bit of movement in it. If there is a better angle to which you think it would show more let me know and i will try it. the wheel is true and doesn't appear to be off balance or wobbly while I'm riding.

http://vimeo.com/28962104

is this a normal amount of play/flex???

That's normal. Are you getting brake rub or losing sprints at the velodrome?

Das ist nicht normal

Are you feeling a knocking sensation when you do that?? If you are, then there is play in the hub bearings and is not normal...Adjusting the pretension on the bearings can get rid of it, but sometimes it can't and the bearings need to be replaced...

not losing anything, just feels flexy. I was showing a couple of my friends at my LBS but they aren't mechanics so they didn't try to diagnose any problems but said its more movement than THEY think should be there. I haven't had the time to bring it in yet. was hoping to today, but my wife took the vehicle with the bike rack.

adjusting the pretension on the bearings......is that doing what I did by tighting the sides of the hub? or do I need to do something else?

Flex has got nothing to do with the play that you feel. Almost all highend wheels have some side to side play in them. Boyds, Eastons, Zipps, Pro-Lites,...
Some wheels are just flexy.

@UCIMBZ +1

There is play, there is flex they aren't related to one another.

Older wheels and some new designs let you adjust the play. Many of the new designs (assuming the 5mm bolts are snug already), the only way to remove the play, is to take the axle assembly apart and put a small shim into the assembly.

Generally once the wheel is loaded, ie you are sitting on it, you'll find that play disappears and is not something you should be worrying about or even thinking about.

Wheel flex, entirely different, it's no fun climbing or cornering with your wheel flexing and hitting the brake blocks. Is there really any way to objectively measure flex? Not really, you can put the wheel in a jig and hang a weight off the rim and measure the deflection.

At the end of the day humans are very bad a 'perceiving' things, and as individuals our perception tends to vary wildly etc. Having said that, if you aren't happy on the wheels, you aren't happy and unless you can get the notion out of your head they are flexy, then thoughts of them will probably continue to occupy your riding time. I've switched out plenty of stuff just for placebo cause for one reason or another I wasn't happy, including high end wheels.

I understand the difference between play and flex. I was saying I had play and there was ALSO flex. But I do understand what you are saying. obviously i dont know a lot since I'm posting this, so I appreciate any/all of your input. I have been in touch with Boyd about this and he said he will be in touch shortly. Since noticing the side to side play I have looked at many bike feeling the rear wheel to see if there is a similar feeling, which there hasn't been. to be honest, I'm hoping there is something wrong because then I can get it out of my head that there is something wrong with a set that is perfectly fine.