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nick_the_wheelbuilder

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  1. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    Lightest MTB rim in the world? Nextie has just launched their lightest 29er MTB rim ever, at 245g. Instead of drilling holes for spokes and valves, they are molding the holes, to prevent structural implications from drilling. This not only saves weight but also improves durability. With bladed spokes, brass nipples and Nextie's Rollingstar II hubs, it's now possible to build a wheelset weighing less than 1150g. I'll be offering these as an option for custom wheel builds from now on. Pricing is expected to be around R10k per rim, but this is TBC.
  2. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    Yes I do - it's like a false axle. Here's a pic.
  3. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    24h rim to a 32h hub? I'm keen to hear how you laced that one up. Did you skip every 3rd spoke hole on the hub?
  4. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    In the old days the spoke hols in the hubs were inconsistent sizes or oversized, or the hub flanges were not at ideal angles. Or spokes had variable thicknesses. The spoke washers helped the spokes seat more evenly in the spoke holes. Today's hub and spoke tolerances are incredibly good, so we don't need spoke head washers. In 10 years of building wheels I've never felt the need to use them. Maybe @David Marshall can also weigh in here?
  5. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    It's been a "weird hub week" here in Wilderness... 2x electric hub motors built onto new rims. A dynamo hub front wheel build A Lefty hub front wheel build
  6. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    I have thousands of alloy nipples in my workshop. Specifically, the silver anodized squorx ones that come with DT Swiss rims. The thing is though, the alloy nipples stay in the workshop while the wheels leave after being assembled with brass 😆
  7. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    Mountain bikes. The rotate through 3 or 4 chains thing is a game changer. The only con is you need to start with new chainrings, cassette and the 3 or 4 chains all at the same time.
  8. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    You could just use regular non-Mavic bladed spokes and nipples.... Shout if you need a hand sourcing any.
  9. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    How many km's are you guys getting out of the chainrings? I've been on the same alloy chainring on my own bike for over 20 000km and it's almost like new. (Absolute Black 34t oval) I am however hyper-pedantic about replacing chains as soon as they reach 0.75%. For even better wear over time, use 3 chains and rotate them every 250km. This will extend the life of your cassette and chainrings 3x.
  10. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    I can't quote the science behind it, but I'm a huge believer in oval rings and will never ride a round chainring if I can help it. I was chatting to someone else about this the other day. I notice little difference moving from a round to an oval ring BUT when switching back, it's very noticable. On a road bike, when getting out of the saddle to hit a steep climb, with a round ring it feels like the back wheel slips under power. Strange, I know. The oval ring's "peak" in the power zone helps and the "squashed" part helps you get through the non-power part of the pedal cycle more easily. I'm a total convert, never going back to round rings.
  11. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    I can't believe I've not shared these pics here yet! Since the OneUp Components hubs launched last year I've been absolutely aching to get my hands on a set, and build some cool wheels with them. After a few phone calls I arranged a gorgeous red set, and a set of incredible South Industries rims to, literally, round out the build. To keep the already low weight as low as possible, I opted for Pillar's PBA1420 bladed spokes, but as usual insisted on brass nipples. Enough words, enjoy the pics. P.S. these are currently the only set like them in the world, and they're for sale on the website:
  12. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    I've just been asked to compare some very good and very light XC racing wheels from two big brands with what I can build and supply - and the results are interesting! The 3 wheelsets in question are: Roval Control SL 29 Bontrager Kovee RSL 30 Nextie Supreme 30 All sets feature carbon rims with 30mm inner width, boost hubs with centerlock brake rotor interface, star ratchet freehub mechanisms, and bladed steel spokes. I've tabulated the data for easy analysis. It's kinda cool that I can build wheels equivalent to the world's best, for almost half price... Keen to hear your thoughts on why you'd choose either of these 3 options over the rest...
  13. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    Finally we're able to get DT Swiss gravel bike rims and hubs again, and I'm so happy! The GR531 rims and non-boost, centerlock DT350 hubs are in stock and available to build some killer wheels. More info here: https://wheelbuilder.co.za/product/dt-swiss-350-gr531-gravel-wheelset/
  14. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    UPDATE: The BOOST Alloy MTB wheelset customizer is now ready on the website. (Carbon wheel customizer and Gravel wheel customizer coming soon!) At the moment you can choose from the following components, with more being added all the time. - Hubs from DT Swiss, Hope, OneUp, Spank and Cure. - Rims from DT Swiss, Spank and Stans - DT Swiss, Pillar or Sapim spokes Do you remember click-click-ding-dong? Yup, just like that! Please click through and check it out, and let me know if there are any snags. https://wheelbuilder.co.za/.../custom-boost-alloy-mtb.../
  15. nick_the_wheelbuilder
    You'll look 80 - 200% cooler with a new wheelset. 😀 In all seriousness, a new wheelset MIGHT save you loads of time during a race if you don't break spokes, your tubeless tyres don't burp, or if you don't have another mechanical failure. While riding, new better wheels might save a few seconds here and there if they're lighter and more aero... Performance gains with wheels, like any other bike component are normally pretty marginal. New wheels might look a lot nicer than the old ones. Stronger wheels will be more durable and reliable and need less maintenance. Pick your favorite reason that justifies your investment
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