Latest Custom Builds — Sapim

Jett is a little 11 year old who loves to run, surf and ride. As a result, he's pretty bloody quick in Triathlon, even riding his MTB! Keen for more speed, he came to us and asked what we could do. We found an old 650c road bike on the local classifieds, and stripped and rebuilt it with smarter and lighter parts (but nothing too special, as he will grow out of this bike pretty soon). Being in an age group where he's not yet allowed to use aero bars, fast wheels and tyres are his only real aero advantage....

Michael is a local rider that we've ridden with over the years. He's certainly handy on the bike and uses his equipment hard. He contacted us when the alloy nipples started cracking on his Spank Oozy Trail 395 wheelset (supplied as original equipment on his bike). This is not uncommon, especially with the lower quality alloy nipples used as OEM (Original Equipment of Manufacture). It is certainly exacerbated when the nipples and spokes are not prepared correctly, nor the threads sealed following the build process. Keen for a pragmatic solution, that ensures better long term reliability, we suggested plain gauge Sapim...

Carl found us on the internet, searching for someone to build his dream wheelset. Like us, he was impressed with the depth and weight of the AForce AL33 rims, and was keen to try them out as an all purpose wheelset for riding on Sydney's North Shore. These rims are a good option if you want some aero depth, tubeless capability, and aren't super heavy. We laced these up to the White Industries T11 hubs with Sapim D-Light spokes on the front wheel and the rear non driveside, and slightly heavier gauge Race spokes on the rear driveside to ensure...

Bob came to use with a need to replace his carbon Reynolds wheels. He was unhappy with their lateral stiffness, and unsure of their longevity on the rough roads he rides around Armidale.  He knew that an Archetype build would be just the ticket, having read our musings on these rims. A pair of White Industries T11 hubs also seemed to make sense - tough, light, and super reliable. We had a couple of conversations with him to ascertain the best solution for his 95kgs weight. As a result, we specified 24 light weight Sapim D-Light spokes on the front...

Andy is a known bike trasher. He rides hard, and often. After smashing quite a few wheels that came as original equipment on his bikes, he asked us to build some solid Trail wheels for an upcoming race in Canada. Knowing how he rides, we suggested the super reliable Spank Oozy Trail 350 rims. They are lightish, super stiff, look great and robust. Not expensive either. DT Swiss 350 hubs are a wise choice too. Easy to get parts for, and a reasonable weight, once upgraded to the 54t freehub ratchet system, they are a solid workhorse. Sapim Race spokes...