Richard has several pairs of wheels in his man cave, and came to us seeking an all-round tubular wheelset, that he thought would combine the best attributes of his “quiver” of wheels.
He races in Adelaide, where the roads are good, but the hills can be steep. He keeps up with the bunch in the hills, but has a fast sprint – stiffness is a key requirement.
Of course , light weight is always a goal, and a little bit of aero advantage is nice as well.
We tweaked our usual Mistral T38 build to accommodate his needs.
The XLR8 Mistral T38 is a Taiwanese carbon tubular rim, that is 38mm deep, and has a unidirectional carbon finish. We selected a 20h rim for the front, and a 24h for the rear.
White Industries T11 hubs are the natural choice – very reliable, long lasting, and the pricing is excellent. Black of course.
To ensure sprinting stiffness, Sapim Leader plain gauge spokes were custom cut to length for the rear. The penalty over double butted spokes is about 24g, but stiffness is noticeably increased. A very reasonable compromise.
On the front, radial Sapim Race double butted spokes will provide more than adequate stiffness.
No excuses now Richard!