I am building up a fixie and am going to have my lbs build me a set of wheels.
They have Velocity deepVs and Alex DA28 rims that they are recommending. The Alex rims are lighter (they are a bit less 'aero' which is fine with me) and cheaper...lighter really appeals to me.
The shop really likes them but I have heard some unflattering comments about Alex rims.

Anyone with advice about this?

By the way, Probikekit has a house brand (Raceface) carbon seat post for only $30---any thoughts on this?

thanks

What type of riding are you going to do?

If you are riding on pothole infested urban streets, go with the Deep V. They are bullet proof.

If you are riding on smooth roads and are easy on equipment, go with the Alex

I am building up a fixie and am going to have my lbs build me a set of wheels.
They have Velocity deepVs and Alex DA28 rims that they are recommending. The Alex rims are lighter (they are a bit less 'aero' which is fine with me) and cheaper...lighter really appeals to me.
The shop really likes them but I have heard some unflattering comments about Alex rims.

Anyone with advice about this?



thanks

YES
I do

The Alex DA28 is their most popular rim and is 480 grams
The rim is made in both Taiwan and China -- some think this does not matter; and in the case of rims it is not as big of a deal as the hubs. Hubs it is a big deal.

Hubs can be sourced from China or Taiwan with the same exact name on them. Difference is: hubs sourced from China use bearings made in China; most Taiwan made hubs use the old school apporach of importing bearings from Japan [about the best made anywhere].

I would check the hub box before allowing the dealer to build the wheels, if it were me. If the boc said made ion China on the hubs; I would move on.

You can get brand new high grade track wheels on ebay for $99; made in Taiwan with precision bearings from Japan. Therefore not much reason to spend much over that. After all, it is easay to mount your own tires and bolt your wheels on; right?

Good luck
and
happy trails

I'd go with the deep V's too. Any reason why you're having your LBS build the wheelset instead of you buying a pre-built set with Formula hubs for a lot less money, for instance? What hubs were you looking at?

Thanks for the advice so far.
I am using Formula hubs.
I have checked ebay and I don't see any really great deals.

I can have these built here by a reputable builder for $165. The wheels on ebay are $130 to over $200 and people are charging $65 to ship to Canada (where I happen to be) so my local shop is as cheap or cheaper than ebay.

I just spoke to the shop and they have the following rims:
Sun
Mavic
Velocity deep V
Alex DA28.
The builder says he races and rides over 20 hours weekly and he uses the DA28 and loves them.

I would, however, like an opinion from someone who isn't actually selling them.
thanks again

i've had very good luck with my open pro rims.

If you are not running brakes, you don't need machined rims. If you go with the deep Vs, I recommend not getting carried away with crazy colors.

I am building up a fixie and am going to have my lbs build me a set of wheels.
They have Velocity deepVs and Alex DA28 rims that they are recommending. The Alex rims are lighter (they are a bit less 'aero' which is fine with me) and cheaper...lighter really appeals to me.
The shop really likes them but I have heard some unflattering comments about Alex rims.

Anyone with advice about this?

By the way, Probikekit has a house brand (Raceface) carbon seat post for only $30---any thoughts on this?

thanks

Now that you threw in Open Pros as another option, I prefer them too.

Well....as long as we're throwing out new options......

Unless you are a wheel abuser, the Deep V's are likely overkill. They are heavy but bombproof.

I haven't used the Alex D28, but I have used the Alex R390, which was OK, but the brake track wasn't all that great (had some bulges in it that caused pulsating braking).

I've also used the Velocity Aerohead, which I liked, but didn't prove to be very durable for me. I'v been a long time user of velocity rims, but the Aeroheads didn't hold up like I had heard they would (on par with Open Pros).

I would look into the Velocity Fusion, which is a pretty good compromise between the Deep V and Aerohead in terms of profile, durability, and weight, and should be roughly comparable in cost. Only comes in black IIRC.

The velocity rims don't have eyelets (except the disc specific rims), but I've never had problem with durability becuase of that. It's just more of a pain to build wheels on a rim without eyelets (much easier to drop a nipple down into the rim and then have to fish it out).

Open pro's are a pretty good bet, but they are a bit more $$.

[QUOTE=fredfI have checked ebay and I don't see any really great deals.

I can have these built here by a reputable builder for $165. The wheels on ebay are $130 to over $200 and people are charging $65 to ship to Canada (where I happen to be) so my local shop is as cheap or cheaper than ebay.

[/QUOTE]


You are correct; if you are in Canada
shipping and duty eats up a lot of the ebay advantage

for USA buyers ebay often has by far the best deals
but once you have to ship outside the USA and pay duty -- there so the advantage

Mavic or Alex are great rims

I am running a set of Weinmann DP18s. Basically Chinese knockoff's of the Deep V. I weigh 300 pounds and I am rough on my wheelsets. They are holding up very well.

I was also told that the Sun CR18 is a very good rim and vey reasonably priced as well.

Open Pros are great all around rims. They have a little less bling factor than others, however.

i've also had good luck with Velocity Aeroheads.

Speaking of building wheels - is it cheaper to build the wheel and get the experience of building the wheel yourself (if you have or can borrow all the necessary tools) or just to cough up the extra bucks and buy a pre-biult wheel?

Depends on how much you can get the spokes/nipples you need for and how much your time is worth. If you want to try it, go for it.

Speaking of building wheels - is it cheaper to build the wheel and get the experience of building the wheel yourself (if you have or can borrow all the necessary tools) or just to cough up the extra bucks and buy a pre-biult wheel?
From what I understand, wheel building is tedious, difficult, painstaking, and in many ways, an art. If you want to learn, by all means, if it's worth your time and trouble, have at it, but don't expect top-level results right away.

Also, "pre-built wheels" implies that they were built at the factory. "Handbuilt wheels" implies that a local bike shop guy put them together for you.

Wheelbuilding is not the mysterious craft that some people make it out to be. The first wheel I ever built took less than 30 minutes to lace up maybe 45 minutes to tension, stress, true, etc, just be sure to build something simple like 32 spoke cross 3. Be sure to read Sheldon browns article a few time as well

Speaking of building wheels - is it cheaper to build the wheel and get the experience of building the wheel yourself (if you have or can borrow all the necessary tools) or just to cough up the extra bucks and buy a pre-biult wheel?

Cheaper?.....No. Generally, you can find a built set of wheels for cheaper than you can assemble the components. For example, compare the price of say an ultegra/open pro wheelset from Performance to assembling the same parts.

Now, comparing the quality of build is another thing. IMHO, pre-built (i.e. machine built) wheels are crap compared to properly done hand built wheels. Honestly, I bought a set of Ultegra/OP wheels from Performance 2 years ago for like $170 with the intent of retensioning and retruing them right out of the box since it was cheaper than buying the parts and building myself. I never got around to doing that and they've held up just fine. Honestly, I don't recall if the performace wheels are hand-built or machine built.

Wheelbuilding is a great skill to have, considering that you use the exact same skills to true up a wheel when needed.

It is addicting though, since once you learn, you'll think up excuses to build new wheels.
There is also something to be said for the pride in having a hand-built set of wheels that you built yourself.

where are you located in Canada?

I'm in Toronto.
I think I've decided to go with the Alex DA28 with formula flip/flop hubs from Urbane Cycle. I hear they have a really good wheel builder there and it's convenient.
thanks for the advice.

Check out the Niobium 30 rims made by Kinlin and sold under various names. You get Deep V depth at 450-460 grams a rim. Very popular in road wheelbuilds and durable.

I'm in Toronto.
I think I've decided to go with the Alex DA28 with formula flip/flop hubs from Urbane Cycle. I hear they have a really good wheel builder there and it's convenient.
thanks for the advice.

My experience with different wheelsets is quite limited. Currently am commuting daily on an Alex DA28 set that I bought from Urbane last year and have had no problems with the wheelset. It stood up to last winter's salt without problem. They said to bring it in for truing after a month or so, but from what I can see it is still perfect and as I am about 90 miles outside of Toronto and without any other reason to head to Toronto I have procrastinated bringing the wheels in for truing.

buy a front wheel on eBay and have you builder build the rear. should come out cheaper.