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Single speed wheelsets

 39 I'm looking to get a lighter single-speed wheel set for my new 2013 Specialized Langster. The standard wheel set are in-house AXIS Classic Track wheels. Nice, but short of taking them off the bike and weighing them there's no information on their weight. Three questions I'd like help answering. First, does anyone know the weight of the AXIS Classics? Second, has anyone got feedback on the
Mavic Ellipse single speed wheels? Third, any recommendations on other good, lightweight, single speed wheels. Need to be good on and off the track. Thanks in advance for your help.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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7 comments

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deanhooper | 10 years ago
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@paulharraghy

Honestly I have no idea about the weight of the AXIS Classics, but You can surely find some good, lightweight, single speed wheels here http://www.retrospecbicycles.com/wheels.html

Please do let me know if it helps.

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glynr36 | 10 years ago
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I run Ellipses on my fixed gear, which gets used for the commute, training etc.
Had them about 2.5 years, still as true as the day I put them on.

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Jimbonic | 10 years ago
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I've got AL30s on my (funnily enough) Planet X. They're pretty good. Not quite as sprightly as the Xero XCR1s I had on my old Cannondale. But, they've been fine on the rides I do: not held me back on the hills and they kept me sunny side up when I hit a fast decent way (WAY!) too fast.

On building your own wheels, don't be shy. Sheldon Brown does a really easy to follow guide. The first wheel I did was (quite by chance) pretty much spot on true, just needed tensioning. The next couple were a bit more off, probably because I tried to get them right!

The Mavic Ellipse sounds entirely the wrong shape!  35

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paulharraghy | 10 years ago
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Thanks everyone. Really helpful feedback. I'm not really up to building my own wheels, but the Planet X AL30s with On-One 32h hubs look great value. I like the look of the Mavic Ellipse as well, but 3x the price and the same weight!

Also, just to clarify I won't be taking these wheels on the track. Most of the single-speed wheel sets I've seen are described as track wheels, but I need to be sure they're good for the road too, as they'll be used for commuting and training.

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Jaltham | 10 years ago
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Planet X On One hub laced to the best rim you can afford... Different tyres for different uses. It's what I'm running and it's held up well, especially seeing as I'm the idiot that built it!

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Jimbonic replied to Jaltham | 10 years ago
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Jaltham wrote:

Planet X On One hub laced to the best rim you can afford... Different tyres for different uses. It's what I'm running and it's held up well, especially seeing as I'm the idiot that built it!

+1 that. I had 28H OnOne hubs laced to DT Swiss R450 rims. They were strong, pretty light and stayed very straight, except when I got attacked by a taxi! IMHO better than the de rigeur Mavic Open Pros. I built them myself and got final truing and tensioning done by the LBS.

They look good too...

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Cycle_Jim | 10 years ago
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single speed on track?

I was eying up miche xpresso, but that's for commuting and fixed gear- not entirely sure as far as track use.

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