Latest Custom Builds — Sapim

A mate of Colin's (Joe, actually) suggested he talk to us about some new wheels to replace some Fulcrums he'd started to wear out. Colin's Fulcrums were starting to break spokes after about 15,000km. Not great mileage, but about what you would expect. Colin needed some wheels for an upcoming trip to climb the Cols of Europe, and reliability and weight (and some added aero) were important. He was also keen to ensure more mileage from this set of hoops. The XLR8 Rouleur Mk4 is the latest generation of alloy "all round" road rims from XLR8. Made in Taiwan from...

Madi had been riding a set of ENVE carbon MTB wheels for some time, but always struggled to get tyres on and off. The final straw was a crack that appeared in one. It was time for some new rims. She approached us to rebuild her DT Swiss 240 hubs onto some wide, reliable and light 26" rims. Being lightweight (but still loving the tougher downhill tracks) we knew that the Syntace MX series of rims would be perfect for her. The Syntace W35 MX rims are 30mm internally, but impressively light. The finish is fantastic as well, with the Satin bead...

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...

Mike specifically wanted an alloy rim build, with Project 321 hubs for his Norco. After some discussion he selected the new Spank Oozy Trail 350 Vibrocore rims. Vibrocore is a biodegradable foam Spank injects into the rim. It reduces vibrations and Trail " noise". And it works! Spank states that “the low density, pressurised core performs a similar function to the soft tissue inside bones, increasing inner wall strength and absorbing vibrations.” It is also available as an option in their range of handlebars as well. Of course, Sapim Race black spokes and brass nipples completed this build, being tough, light and...

Ben is a repeat customer. We've built a couple of carbon rims for him and he has been so happy he asked us to rebuild some Bontrager wheels that came on his hardtail. They had been unreliable, and the local bike shop had been unable to keep them true for him. As with the majority of our builds, we custom cut Sapim spokes using our Morizumi spoke machine to an accuracy of +/- 0.1mm and laced the wheel in a reliable 3x pattern. The outcome is a set of much more evenly tensioned wheels, using far superior quality spokes, that...