Saturday, August 3, 2013

Destro's cross wheels

This morning I finished a set of carbon tubulars that will be fitted to a friend's new cross bike. The rims are second generation Yishun carbon tubulars, which measure 23 mm and have a nice deep center channel for your sew-ups. Gluing and mounting tires on these rims is very easy.

I don't have a scale so I will take them at their word on 400 grams/rim. The weave is 3k with a matte finish. They are round, except for one or two high spots from the mould. This lack of roundness is a problem I've noticed on every carbon rim I have sourced from China. (By way of contrast, the Gigantex/Equinox rim I built up was round.) If an alloy rim arrives out of round, it is a mere annoyance. When the rim is carbon, it is a major headache and the wheel will never be radially true.

Details for Destro's wheels
Front uses a White Industries T-11 hub, black. 20 hole
Radial lacing, using 2.0 DT Swiss spokes, laced to DT Swiss brass nipples

Rear uses a White Industries T-11 hub, black, 24 hole, Shimano/SRAM
DS is 2-cross, using 2.0/1.8 Sapim Laser, laced to DT Swiss brass nipples
NDS is 0-cross, *elbows out*, using 2.0 DT Swiss spokes, laced to DT Swiss brass nipples.

Notes

  • I went with elbows out/radial for the rear NDS to increase lateral stiffness. I learned the hard way that not every hub is tolerant of this spoking pattern. Advice: make sure that hub is forged, not machined.
  • I went with straight gauge on the NDS for the same reason as above. Now that Shimano/SRAM has gone to 11 speed, the DS flange has moved inboard with the effect being a drop in lateral stiffness. This can be compensated for with lacing, spoke diameter, and rim choice.
  • The plus side for all manufacturers moving to 11 speed is that cassette bodies can now be swapped without redishing the wheel. To complete Destro's wheelset I had to swap Campy for Shimano. Took 10 minutes. That White Industries stuff is really nice.

Update: these are lighter than Mateo's cross wheels. In yo' face, Zartan!