Another day working on wheels (and so on).
This is a continuation of when I rebuilt the ZIPP 303 the other day.
Since I bought it as a complete wheel, I didn't know the rim weight,
but when the customer asked me to measure it, it turned out to be 346g,
which apparently wasn't as light as expected.
Separate from the ZIPP, I have an EDGE 1-45 rim,
and since this one weighs just under 300g, they asked me to build that as well.
Though this is just my personal take, I think the ZIPP is stronger against buckling.
Before rebuild
↑This is a 40-spoke build, but it was built by the old me.
The hub rotation sounds dry and rough, but the ball bearings don't seem completely shot,
so normally I would've fixed it with a grease-up,
but since this hub has a 10-speed freehub only,
I'm rebuilding it with a Tni (freehub) to convert it to 11-speed.
The rim shows a lot of wear, so I'll go ahead and clean it up.
Before the rebuild, it was an older Dura-Ace hub paired with all CX-RAY spokes.
Since spoke selection is up to me, I'm thinking of going with a half-competition build this time.
If this were hill climb-focused, I'd go with all CX-RAY,
but since this customer also has an EDGE 25 rear wheel separately (how many wheels does this person have?),
I want to build this one with a stronger road race character.
I'm reusing the rim and replacing the nipples with new ones of the same type.
The image above shows the combined weight of the hub and spokes before the rebuild.
With a half-competition build, naturally the total spoke weight increases.
The non-drive side is also changing from 24-hole radial lacing to 6-cross lacing,
so the spoke length increases, which adds more weight.
By my calculation, the weight increase from the spokes and the weight decrease from the hub should cancel each other out—
or rather, I hope they do, I really hope they do—
that's what I'm thinking.
Phew, looks about the same after all.
The weight distribution does shift slightly toward the outer edge.
And since I'll also be wrapping the spokes, the actual weight increase is probably
not just 1g, but a few grams or so.
The rim is light too.
Combined with the spoke nipples, it's only 334g.
Built.
Cleaned the rim too.
You can't tell from the photo, but the tension in the drive-side spokes has
that crisp, tight feel that's characteristic of EDGE (and ENVE).
This is my current conclusion about hand-built wheels.
Though "conclusion" is relative—depending on body weight, usage, and maintenance frequency,
full CX-RAY or Dura-Ace hubs might actually be better
for the rider. Of course that's possible.
And really, that's the whole point of hand-building.
But as far as rim choice goes,
I think this one strikes the best balance between weight and rim depth.
This is a continuation of when I rebuilt the ZIPP 303 the other day.
Since I bought it as a complete wheel, I didn't know the rim weight,
but when the customer asked me to measure it, it turned out to be 346g,
which apparently wasn't as light as expected.
Separate from the ZIPP, I have an EDGE 1-45 rim,
and since this one weighs just under 300g, they asked me to build that as well.
Though this is just my personal take, I think the ZIPP is stronger against buckling.
Before rebuild
↑This is a 40-spoke build, but it was built by the old me.
The hub rotation sounds dry and rough, but the ball bearings don't seem completely shot,
so normally I would've fixed it with a grease-up,
but since this hub has a 10-speed freehub only,
I'm rebuilding it with a Tni (freehub) to convert it to 11-speed.
The rim shows a lot of wear, so I'll go ahead and clean it up.
Before the rebuild, it was an older Dura-Ace hub paired with all CX-RAY spokes.
Since spoke selection is up to me, I'm thinking of going with a half-competition build this time.
If this were hill climb-focused, I'd go with all CX-RAY,
but since this customer also has an EDGE 25 rear wheel separately (how many wheels does this person have?),
I want to build this one with a stronger road race character.
I'm reusing the rim and replacing the nipples with new ones of the same type.
The image above shows the combined weight of the hub and spokes before the rebuild.
With a half-competition build, naturally the total spoke weight increases.
The non-drive side is also changing from 24-hole radial lacing to 6-cross lacing,
so the spoke length increases, which adds more weight.
By my calculation, the weight increase from the spokes and the weight decrease from the hub should cancel each other out—
or rather, I hope they do, I really hope they do—
that's what I'm thinking.
Phew, looks about the same after all.
The weight distribution does shift slightly toward the outer edge.
And since I'll also be wrapping the spokes, the actual weight increase is probably
not just 1g, but a few grams or so.
The rim is light too.
Combined with the spoke nipples, it's only 334g.
Built.
Cleaned the rim too.
You can't tell from the photo, but the tension in the drive-side spokes has
that crisp, tight feel that's characteristic of EDGE (and ENVE).
This is my current conclusion about hand-built wheels.
Though "conclusion" is relative—depending on body weight, usage, and maintenance frequency,
full CX-RAY or Dura-Ace hubs might actually be better
for the rider. Of course that's possible.
And really, that's the whole point of hand-building.
But as far as rim choice goes,
I think this one strikes the best balance between weight and rim depth.