Latest Custom Builds — Sapim

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,...

  Andy has quite a few sets of wheels from us. He's been really happy with them, so contacted us when he realised that he had ripped the valve out of his 27.5+ e-bike wheel.   A natural choice for mid quality alloy rim replacements (for OEM products) are from AleRims. In this case we needed a strong rim with a 40mm internal width. The MD40 is the perfect choice. Certainly not expensive, and the quality is great. We laced the rim up to his Shimano Deore Centerlock hub with Sapim Leader plain gauge spokes and brass nipples, and used...

Will had a pair of carbon wheels that had failed, and left him with a pair of beautiful White industries T11 hubs, in stunning anodised red. He asked us for our advice on what was the best rim to put these fantastic hubs into. We suggested a pair of Tailwind Carbon clinchers - 45mm front, and an offset 50mm rear. These rims are very high quality, with great warranty, and nicely wide for modern road tyres. The braking surface is a consistently smooth but high friction, and last extremely well. The price is competitive as well. We laced these hubs...

We built Todd a sweet set of White industries and Spank wheels several months ago. Unfortunately the bike was stolen, and has not been recovered.  Todd needed to replace the bike, and being so happy with the build we did for him, he asked us to replicate it. However, this time he decided on a different aesthetic - to suit his replacement bike (again, the same as before) that has a different colour scheme. Again, White Industries XMR+ Boost hubs, but this time in beautiful polished finish. Shimano Microspline freehub. Sapim Race double butted silver spokes, and brass nipples. A...

Sometimes you just gotta help out a mate. Tim's rear wheel is out of action so we needed to keep him rolling until his new rim arrives. We scoured the workshop for some bits and pieces that could be strung together, yet would still be appropriate for his riding. We found a Formula boost rear hub that we had pulled out of a new Commencal wheel, and laced it into a very modest AlexRims MD27 27mm wide internal rim. We love these. They are well made, not heavy, and extremely well priced. A really good choice for an XC/Trail rig...