Latest Custom Builds — Gravel

Matt had decided that one road/gravel bike was needed to replace multiple big wheeled bikes he owned. He was planning to ride this new OPEN Upper for a long time, and approached us to discuss an absolutely "no compromises" build. Specifically - light, strong, fast and able to manage up to a 44c tyre (and also back down to a 28c for the occasional bunch ride). As we often do, we met face to face and discussed the options, starting with hubs. DT Swiss and White Industries nearly made the cut, Project 321 almost got there too, but in the end, Matt just...

Neil is a very frequent flyer here at XLR8 Wheels. We've built some cool wheels for him (and there are more to come). That's the greatest compliment we can get - repeat business from astute customers. Always working on a new bike project, he got in contact with a plan to have some Hope RS4 road hubs built onto some DT Swiss R500 rims. We agreed, both solid component choices. Neil also likes the fact that the hubs are easily convertible to 12mm thru axles if he ever needs to do so in the future. As is often the case,...

Luke got in contact, and claimed that he'd been "breaking wheels for ten years now". His most recent purchase had been an Italian mid level factory wheelset, and he came to us after these had broken quite quickly. He's a bigger guy, and uses his wheels for both commuting and weekend rides. He needed 100% reliability, but was on a bit of a budget. We worked with him to come to a spec based on a Bitex lightweight front hub, and a Shimano 105 11s rear hub. We love Shimano hubs. The cup and cone system works really well and...

David contacted us via Facebook, looking for some assistance and advice for his new wheelset. His titanium Lynskey was being moved across to commuter and gravel duties, and the old road focussed wheels were just not going to cut it. As usual, we discussed his budget, riding and specific needs, the differing options, and their features and benefits. He was looking for ultimate hub reliability, and low rotational weight.  The White Industries XMR is the hub of choice in such a case. Light, super well built and ultra reliable, we think there are few better hubs (if any) out there. There...

Andy is a great repeat customer. He's had a few pairs of our hoops and got in contact one morning requiring a new rear wheel ASAP. We scoured the XLR8 labs and found a few choice parts in order to put together a reliable and race worth wheel, that he could pick up at the end of the day, but that would also not break the bank! The tried and true Alex SX44 29er rim was laced to the silver Deore XT Centrelock hub (oversized alloy axle) with Sapim Race spokes and brass nipples. We also converted the wheel to...