Mid- Level 650c Race Wheel Sets

@TDB 10425 wrote:

Update: Found a seller offering a spinergy rev-x carbon clincher rear wheel for 80, says its got no cracks or damage. Is this a good buy?
Thanks,
TDB

Those are somewhat notorious for exploding. I think there was a revision to the construction at some point but there’s got to be someone out there who knows more about it than me.

@DaveK 10450 wrote:

Those are somewhat notorious for exploding. I think there was a revision to the construction at some point but there’s got to be someone out there who knows more about it than me.

They have more urban legend than actual failures. It’s always someone’s mothers brothers uncles friend too. I ran a set on a tri bike with no issues at all, and sold them to someone else that’s still running them.

There were some hub/bearing issues in the early gens, and they need to be checked for cracks where the cross spoke transition is. Last gen ones have a small rivet in the center of the spoke at the rim.

Carbon frames explode without warning in the cold from what I hear too

@TDB 13057 wrote:

Update:
I found a guy selling a pair of 650c Velocity Aerohead Deep V laced to Quintana Roo hubs, with tubes, tires (that he claims are in good condition), and cassette for 200. Can anyone speak to the quality of this setup, and whether or not they’re worth the asking $? These would be replacing the Sun Me14A rim / ultegra hub wheels that came with the bike.

Here are some pictures sent by the seller.

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Many thanks,
TDB

Those are just the stock wheels off someone else’s bike, and your Ultegra hubs are better than those no-names.

Just doing a quick eBay search, I found a few good deals on tubulars and a few good sets of Rolf Primas, Mavic Ksyrium Elites and the like. Depending on the vintage of the Rolf Primas, they used DT hub internals with their own proprietary hub bodies (due to the opposed-pair lacing pattern). For people in the designated weight range (Rolf was always good about saying which weight range should ride particular wheels) they have proven quite good. I’ve got a friend who did loaded touring on a set of Rolf Primas…. he did the Trans-America route and had no problems at all. He raced for a few more seasons on those wheels.

Mavic probably does more real-world testing of their rims than most manufacturers. They’re rarely the lightest, but they’re often the most durable. They also generally have a good feel for them. I’ve had 5 or 6 sets of Mavic wheels over the years (2 sets in the Ksyrium line, and the rest were different versions of the Cosmics) and never had a tiny problem with them.

I’d check a few things with any used wheelset that I buy… Naturally check them to see if they’re true and round on an actual truing stand. If dude will let you, take a very short ride on them. If the spokes make a “PLINK” sound when you roll the first 15 feet, it means that the wheel was recently rebuilt or had some serious retensioning of the spokes. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is something to ask about. If you can’t ride them, sometimes you can get the same sound by just leaning your weight on the rim while it is on the ground. That sound is the spokes settling in after being twisted and adjusted in the truing process. It isn’t a bad sound. It doesn’t always happen after building/truing. Just something to listen for.

I’d ask when the hubs were serviced last. If they don’t know, you might factor getting the bearings checked/changed into the price of the wheels. Some wheels really need very little maintenance and might not really need service.

Hope that is a little help.

Pete