Latest Custom Builds

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,...

Simon rides locally, on a beautiful late 80s Colnago. He's not afraid of hitting the dirt and gravel roads on his old(er) classic ride. He had wheel problems, and came to XLR8 for advice and some suggestions on the right rim for his needs - both performance, and aesthetics - to couple with his immaculate Dura Ace 7400 hubs. The H Plus Son TB14 is an excellent rim - wide, strong and beautifully made. All of that, and a fantastic retro box section. These rims result in a very comfortable ride as box section rims are a little more radially compliant...

  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...

We've built a pair of wheels for Paul in the past, and he came to us to help with his latest project. He's rebuilding a beautiful old steel Paconi in the "restomod" style - classic frame, with mostly modern (read far better to use and more reliable) components. In this case he has selected a lovely silver Campagnolo Centaur 11s group. He had found a pair of late 80s Mavic Open rims, laced to beautiful Suntour Superbe Pro hubs. Whilst the rims were absolutely perfect for the aesthetic he was looking for, 30 year old hubs just weren't going to...