Cheap fixed touring wheelset

I’m looking for a fixed/free wheelset for light touring with up to 35mm tires.

So far I checked out VO’s wheelset (Formula + Sun CR18) since I’m already placing an order with them, but is there anything else I should be looking at? There are so many cheap but decent sets out there (Formula hubs and Alex, Sun or Weinmann rims) with mostly negligible differences. VO is a bit overpriced at $164 compared to the best deals, but I’m not looking to pinch my pennies too hard.

A pair of said cheap wheelsets hand built with double butted spokes would be preferable. Rims make less difference than build quality and spokes in my experience.

going by my previous wheelsets, i’d stear clear of the Weinmann LP-18 to loose ball Formulas.

Ordered from an LBS, got 'em tensioned, and they were always getting whacky

As far as I know, no one offers the Formula loose-ball track hubs in a pre-built wheelset, and if they did, I imagine they’d come on a somewhat more high-zoot rim for track racing purposes.

Also, I don’t think any of these wheels use butted spokes - all straight gauge.

i’ll be the first to say build them yourself.

And I the second. CR18 is a great rim. find some good hubs and go from there. If you’re not looking to pinch your pennies too hard, the velo solo setup offers the singlespeed/double fixed dingle setup i believe. I’m pretty sure though that they said they wouldn’t run fixed dingle, only free. But I would.

[quote=bonechilling]As far as I know, no one offers the Formula loose-ball track hubs in a pre-built wheelset, and if they did, I imagine they’d come on a somewhat more high-zoot rim for track racing purposes.

Also, I don’t think any of these wheels use butted spokes - all straight gauge.[/quote]

http://www.bicyclewheels.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=FGW1&Category_Code=FGW

Parts and tools are too expensive here. Even if I had the rims, hubs, spokes and tools would cost more than getting a new wheel set shipped from the US or UK.

bold, are you talking about their disc hub? I was initially considering that, but doing double fixed/double free isn’t possible.

Good to know that the Sun CR18’s are fine. And I’m okay with Formulas, so I may just eat the Velo Orange overpricing since I’m having them ship a big box anyway. I’ll look into UK online retailers too.

I personally think doing double fixed would be fine on the velosolo hub would be fine, and this also means you could do double single as well. I wouldn’t do the cross chainline thing on it though. Did you look for stuff on london or make a thread there?
fixie-king.dk and fixedgear.se might also have stuff, just ask.

Though I agree with other peoples sentiment, it wont really be cheaper to build it yourself. The spokes will be about $80 to get some nice double butted spokes unless you can get a deal. I think i paid 89 cents a piece for my sapin lasers butwe bought a lot of them (enough for four or six wheels) .

That site linked above has some alright deals, but i also think it will be hard for you to find a premade wheelset with double butted spoked without going with something a little spendier than weinman, alex, etc. I’d stay away from weinmans (but i also think theyre kinda ugly), go with open pros, or cheaper a sun rim. They’ll be sturdy, light, and durable… That site above has some good deals… i spent $150 on my back wheel alone in parts…

http://www.bicyclewheels.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=FGM1&Category_Code=FGM

http://www.bicyclewheels.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=FGS1&Category_Code=FGS

i used to have that same rim, the m13II, i liked it… only had one though and it was laced to a suzue promax at the time.

buying online is fine just make sure you check the tension on the wheels when you get them.

[quote=bexley] VO is a bit overpriced at $164 compared to the best deals, but I’m not looking to pinch my pennies too hard.

A pair of said cheap wheelsets hand built with double butted spokes would be preferable. Rims make less difference than build quality and spokes in my experience.[/quote]

[quote=aeroboobs]Though I agree with other peoples sentiment, it wont really be cheaper to build it yourself. The spokes will be about $80 to get some nice double butted spokes unless you can get a deal. I think i paid 89 cents a piece for my sapin lasers butwe bought a lot of them (enough for four or six wheels) .
[/quote]

iro hubs- $20
double butted spokes- $60 http://cgi.ebay.com/DT-SWISS-Revolution-Spoke-Black-2-0-1-5-2-0_W0QQitemZ200293056265QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCycling_Parts_Accessories?hash=item200293056265&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50
gives you around $80-$100 to spend on rims and you get the wheelset you were looking for.

let me just follow up and say that CR18s are fucking amazing rims. get those or salsa delgados. they are inexpensive but not cheap, and will fit a wider tire than an OP.

factoring in shipping on those items youre realy limitted on rims.

honestly it might be better just to spend a tad more and get them built, if you are really particular. i also forgot to mention my spokes were black, so they were more expensive (and i think they were 94 cents not 89. i think 89 was for silver. can’t remember). if you look hard enough you can get your spokes cheap enough. but it will still be $60-80

also, since when are IRO hubs $20? are they on sale somewhere? am i just missing something…

[quote=aeroboobs]factoring in shipping on those items youre realy limitted on rims.

honestly it might be better just to spend a tad more and get them built, if you are really particular. i also forgot to mention my spokes were black, so they were more expensive (and i think they were 94 cents not 89. i think 89 was for silver. can’t remember). if you look hard enough you can get your spokes cheap enough. but it will still be $60-80

also, since when are IRO hubs $20? are they on sale somewhere? am i just missing something…[/quote]
http://shop.irocycle.com/shop/product.php?prod=IRO%20Low%20Flange%20Hubs&productid=16435&cat=30&page=1
so it’s a $200 wheelset instead of a $164 plus shipping wheelset, with the particulars like DB spokes and handbuilt

Holy shit. IRO hubs are $20. But with shipping on the hubs and spokes plus the overpricing of rims locally (I really doubt I can get a pair for 100 US here, let alone something nice like OP’s) it’ll still be hard to come out under the $164 of the Velo Orange wheel set. That said, I should try to find some rims from the UK maybe.

Good call, bold, I’ll post at londonssfg and those Swedish forums. Mmm, gonna ask those guys to throw in a car of pickled herring.

ribblecycles.co.uk

for a while there was a dude selling 72 sapim spokes with nipples shipped in the US for $36 off ebay.
i think i built three wheelsets using them.
but they aren’t listed anymore which sucks.

http://www.bicyclewheels.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=FGS4&Category_Code=FGS

cr18 is nice and wide, you get 36 spokes, BOOM what more do you want

i have a similar question
how are these for a geared all arounder type setup
never seen the lp18 rims, but they’re more than half the price of velo-orange’s offering, which is 105 to cr18
http://www.bicyclewheels.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=RWO1&Category_Code=RWO

[quote=toast]http://www.bicyclewheels.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=FGS4&Category_Code=FGS

cr18 is nice and wide, you get 36 spokes, BOOM what more do you want[/quote]

Thanks. $44 less than VO.

Out of curiosity, what’s the widest tire size on Open Pro’s?