We all know that a nice set of wheels can transform an ugly duckling FG into a swan, but often times the cost is prohibitive. After building my latest FG, I was pretty pleased with the result, except for the old beat-up rusty cheap wheels that I put on it just to get it on the road. I was looking for a set of carbon tubular track wheels that didn't cost a fortune and didn't weight a ton, and found these for about 1/4 the cost of a set of Zip 404 track wheels:

https://shop.vendio.com/benscycle/ite...960/index.html

I think they'll look great on my FG with it's narrow tire black aero TT theme. I've got a pair of narrow 21mm Tufo S33 Special tubulars that I think will fit perfectly and look right.

Anyone who has done something similar, please add it to this thread.

Those wheels are going to cost twice the amount of that frame. Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing or trying to rag on you or anything, just thought it was funny. But it's a nice looking bike what is it's intended purpose? I was thinking track use but not with brakes.

More like 10 times the cost, since I only paid $51 for the frame haha. The intended purpose is 100% road; it will never put a wheel down at the track. Mostly, I take this bike out for 10-30 mile rides on country roads for a workout. Actually, I have two other track bikes that are brakeless and I use 99% of the time on the track, and I can share these wheels with them. But you're right, spending that much on wheels just for that frame makes little sense.

Well since you may be sharing them for track use, and you sound like you will be using these for longer rides, it makes sense if you have the money to afford $500 wheels. And that's a steal on that frame, I missed when it was selling for that cheap otherwise I would have jumped on it.

Yeah, I really lucked out on this one. It was last year in June when the seller had a bunch of these on auction with a starting bid price of $1 and no reserve. Anyway, I kept putting in bids for $75, and they kept selling for over $100, until this one came along and had a highest competing bid of $50, so I got it for $51. Now they are selling BIN for $140, which is not such a great deal, although now they include a seatpost and clamp, and stem spacers. Also, the new ones have a more conventional curved fork, and I kinda like the funky flat aero fork on mine.

That's awesome. I salute you. I just mounted my first pair of tubulars last night. Hopefully they don't kill me.

You lucky bastard..... that frame was an absolute steal then

My friend Has that frame we think its made by the same Folks who Make that Denali Wal- mart bike. It is Junk. But If you want to put those wheels on it Have at it. and Upgrade the frame when you feel like it. I would not personally run Carbon wheels on the road. But if you like it Sure.

Its your bike

Why so?

those VISP bikes are super heavy for being aluminum, with big fugly welds. i got to check out one of the framesets when a guy brought one into a bike shop i was at. $100 is reasonable though, you can make a decent aero-style track bike for $300 total.

Why tubulars if all you are doing is workout rides? Clinches seem like they'd be a lot cheaper and a lot less hassle when you are 15 miles out and get a flat. Since you aren't racing this bike you don't need peak performance do you?

"building my latest FG...I was looking for a set of carbon tubular track wheels"

Cool

"Actually, I have two other track bikes that are brakeless and I use 99% of the time on the track, and I can share these wheels with them. "

Oh. So...you were just having fun with us.

I already have a large inventory of tubulars and use them for both racing and training on the road and track. As far as flats are concerned, I rarely get them on tubulars, but if I do while riding, I simply remove the flatted one and put on the spare, pump it up and I'm on my way. Clinchers take longer to replace or patch a tube, and sometimes the tube gets pinched when re-mounting the tire, resulting in another flat. As far as performance is concerned, there really is no difference between clinchers and tubulars that are the same width when used on the road. On the track it's a different matter, because you can pump a tubular up to a much higher pressure without worrying about a rough ride, since a track is very smooth. I will be sharing these wheels with my 2 track bikes, where I can benefit from the high pressure performance of tubulars.

Following up, I just got the wheels today and put the tires on without glue so I could check them out on the bike. It's pouring rain outside right now, so this is the best photo I could get inside my garage. I put a 16T x 1/8 Campy cog on it and a 1/8 Regina track chain with silver outer links. The neat thing is that the rear hub is a fixed/fixed flip flop, so when I use these on the track with my Concept I can warm up on the 16T and then flip it over and race on a 14T. The quality of these wheels is very good, the hubs are super smooth and all the hardware is top quality. The only issue I had was that the rear wheel was not very true and was 3-4mm off center, so I had to true it up. The front wheel also needed some minor tweaking. I'll take an easy ride without the tires glued on so I can see if they need any further truing, since they have internal spoke nipples that require tire removal for access. I think my FG looks much better w/o the beater wheels, and these carbon deep Vs go real well with the aero tubing on the frame. It will be interesting to see how much if any difference they will make aerodynamically.

[QUOTE]The only issue I had was that the rear wheel was not very true and was 3-4mm off center, so I had to true it up.[QUOTE]

dish was off?

[QUOTE=Soil_Sampler;10331798][QUOTE]The only issue I had was that the rear wheel was not very true and was 3-4mm off center, so I had to true it up.Yes, should be zero dish on a track wheel. It was neither centered nor true.

[QUOTE=TejanoTrackie;10331838][QUOTE=Soil_Sampler;10331798]some have dish.
example: single sided Phil Wood and single sided Miche.

https://www.philwood.com/wp-content/d...ding_break.pdf

[QUOTE=Soil_Sampler;10331906][QUOTE=TejanoTrackie;10331838]Well, this is a symmetric fixed/fixed hub so it is definitely zero dish, but regardless I checked it with a centering (dishing) tool, and the rim was not centered between the dropouts.

Well, I've decided after all not to put these nice carbon wheels on the lowly VISP and instead use them on the Concept, which is far more worthy. Also, being that the rear hub is fixed/fixed flipflop, I can use it better on the track by putting a 16T on one side for warmup and a 14T on the other side for racing. Meanwhile, I've put the Concept's Cane Creek Volos wheels on the VISP, which is a major upgrade from the POS wheels I had on there before. These wheels already have heavy road tires on them and the front wheel rim has flat sides for braking.