sweet_johnny
04-12-2015, 06:30 PM
I just built up these wheels and I really couldn't find anyone talking about the DT Swiss R 460 rim, so I figured I'd share my experiences with the wheels. I wound up going with the R 460 because of DT Swiss's reputation for high quality products. The rims were also a great price at about $35 a hoop.
Caveat: The following are one man's experiences and observations, not a scientific study. I am in no way a professional nor a scientist. I teach English for a living, so take the following for what it's worth.
The Backstory...
Years ago when I was working for a bike shop, I was able to score a set of pink Chris King Classic Cross hubs for an awesome price. The first build was to a set of Mavic Reflex NOS ceramic coated rims. I raced them for a season and they were awful. Chattered like hell and eventually the ceramic coating chipped off. Mavic was awful to deal with so I wound relacing them to set of Velocity Escape hoops. I spent days gluing them up only to flat them on the first ride. So, they sat in my closet until a friend asked about the hoops. I delaced the wheels only to have him flake on the sale. So, the Chris King hubs sat in my closet collecting dust...
The Goal...
The goal was to build a reasonably light, everyday, bombproof wheelset using the king hubs that were collecting dust in my closet.
The Specs...
- Rims: DT Swiss R 460 (32h)
- Hubs: Chris King Classic Cross (high flange, pink)
- Spokes: Wheelsmith DB14 (2.0/1.7/2.0)
- Nipples: Sapim brass 14mm
- Rim tape: Pacenti
- Lacing pattern: 3 cross (front and back)
- Tires: Specialized S-works Turbo 23c
The Build...
I didn't really know what to expect with the R 460. After a ton of searching, I only found a handful of people talking about the rim and no one talking about their experiences with it. I wound up going with them because everyone who builds with DT Swiss products seems to have a good experience. The rims are about 10 grams heavier than the Pacenti SL23 (per rim), 1mm narrower, and about $40 cheaper (per rim).
The rims were very round and very true during the build. I was able to get spoke tension up evenly without the wheel coming out of true or round very much. Whatever imperfections in there were in trueness and round ness were easily fixed in the final true.
The rim finish was pretty good. Some of the drillings had some very slight burring that I could feel with my fingernail. The rim seem is sleeved on this wheel, not welded (a bone of contention with some people) and I'm happy to report that it is very good. I could feel one of the seems with my fingernail ever so slightly and could feel it "tic" on my first ride ever so slightly. But, by the end of the first ride, I couldn't feel it anymore. The machining of the brake track is excellent.
The Wheelsmith DB14 spokes built up just alright. Despite rounding down on the spoke length calculator, they were still a little long. (I'll admit that I don't know whose fault this is. The ERD could have been a little off. Wheelsmith spokes could be a little long. The spoke calculator could have been a little off, although I doubt that it was this). There was a little bit of wind up during the build, but everything seemed to relieve itself (tee hee) during destressing. All that being said, I don't know if I'd build with these spokes again.
First Impressions...
They look awesome. There's just something about a traditional looking, 32h, 3 cross wheel... (even more so on a steel bike).
How do they ride? Well, they ride great. On my first ride today, BMW kept coming to mind. They're stiff and quick in all the right ways without being overly harsh. On the bumps, they let me know I was riding over rough road, but then it was done. The best way I can describe them is that they soaked up the rough road, yet remained firm. Not harsh like a Ferrari, not still bouncing like a Cadillac... firm like a BMW.
On smooth roads they felt killer. Just smooth as buttah.
In corners they inspired confidence. I didn't take any corners very aggressively, but feel like I could (and will).
They spin up quickly. Again... not zipp 303 quickly, but they spun up reasonably quickly.
Overall: I'm quite happy with them. I'm planning on switching out the tires to some Veloflex Masters (25c) in the near future and I think that'll make them feel even faster.
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11145559_10104914089182781_3161429244137777933_n.j pg?oh=4646156d0b12f2bdaed9949d37102b9c&oe=55ABB868
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/11116487_10104914089167811_2226656035038156856_n.j pg?oh=63802ae5bf4ff48eceba86a4be715b27&oe=55A9107D
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/11048708_10104914089177791_7909223672744567027_n.j pg?oh=8c7854148c21cf98abd3f921e828abfb&oe=55A66498
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/t31.0-8/s960x960/11110819_10104914089187771_1210819564157669419_o.j pg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11130183_10104914089157831_6201999201567927738_n.j pg?oh=24ed8c1d83629695110875904bc319cb&oe=55A5CD9A&__gda__=1437772287_dcdf4d8c607b4a021a3cd603a06fe31 5
Caveat: The following are one man's experiences and observations, not a scientific study. I am in no way a professional nor a scientist. I teach English for a living, so take the following for what it's worth.
The Backstory...
Years ago when I was working for a bike shop, I was able to score a set of pink Chris King Classic Cross hubs for an awesome price. The first build was to a set of Mavic Reflex NOS ceramic coated rims. I raced them for a season and they were awful. Chattered like hell and eventually the ceramic coating chipped off. Mavic was awful to deal with so I wound relacing them to set of Velocity Escape hoops. I spent days gluing them up only to flat them on the first ride. So, they sat in my closet until a friend asked about the hoops. I delaced the wheels only to have him flake on the sale. So, the Chris King hubs sat in my closet collecting dust...
The Goal...
The goal was to build a reasonably light, everyday, bombproof wheelset using the king hubs that were collecting dust in my closet.
The Specs...
- Rims: DT Swiss R 460 (32h)
- Hubs: Chris King Classic Cross (high flange, pink)
- Spokes: Wheelsmith DB14 (2.0/1.7/2.0)
- Nipples: Sapim brass 14mm
- Rim tape: Pacenti
- Lacing pattern: 3 cross (front and back)
- Tires: Specialized S-works Turbo 23c
The Build...
I didn't really know what to expect with the R 460. After a ton of searching, I only found a handful of people talking about the rim and no one talking about their experiences with it. I wound up going with them because everyone who builds with DT Swiss products seems to have a good experience. The rims are about 10 grams heavier than the Pacenti SL23 (per rim), 1mm narrower, and about $40 cheaper (per rim).
The rims were very round and very true during the build. I was able to get spoke tension up evenly without the wheel coming out of true or round very much. Whatever imperfections in there were in trueness and round ness were easily fixed in the final true.
The rim finish was pretty good. Some of the drillings had some very slight burring that I could feel with my fingernail. The rim seem is sleeved on this wheel, not welded (a bone of contention with some people) and I'm happy to report that it is very good. I could feel one of the seems with my fingernail ever so slightly and could feel it "tic" on my first ride ever so slightly. But, by the end of the first ride, I couldn't feel it anymore. The machining of the brake track is excellent.
The Wheelsmith DB14 spokes built up just alright. Despite rounding down on the spoke length calculator, they were still a little long. (I'll admit that I don't know whose fault this is. The ERD could have been a little off. Wheelsmith spokes could be a little long. The spoke calculator could have been a little off, although I doubt that it was this). There was a little bit of wind up during the build, but everything seemed to relieve itself (tee hee) during destressing. All that being said, I don't know if I'd build with these spokes again.
First Impressions...
They look awesome. There's just something about a traditional looking, 32h, 3 cross wheel... (even more so on a steel bike).
How do they ride? Well, they ride great. On my first ride today, BMW kept coming to mind. They're stiff and quick in all the right ways without being overly harsh. On the bumps, they let me know I was riding over rough road, but then it was done. The best way I can describe them is that they soaked up the rough road, yet remained firm. Not harsh like a Ferrari, not still bouncing like a Cadillac... firm like a BMW.
On smooth roads they felt killer. Just smooth as buttah.
In corners they inspired confidence. I didn't take any corners very aggressively, but feel like I could (and will).
They spin up quickly. Again... not zipp 303 quickly, but they spun up reasonably quickly.
Overall: I'm quite happy with them. I'm planning on switching out the tires to some Veloflex Masters (25c) in the near future and I think that'll make them feel even faster.
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11145559_10104914089182781_3161429244137777933_n.j pg?oh=4646156d0b12f2bdaed9949d37102b9c&oe=55ABB868
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/v/t1.0-9/11116487_10104914089167811_2226656035038156856_n.j pg?oh=63802ae5bf4ff48eceba86a4be715b27&oe=55A9107D
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/11048708_10104914089177791_7909223672744567027_n.j pg?oh=8c7854148c21cf98abd3f921e828abfb&oe=55A66498
https://scontent-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/t31.0-8/s960x960/11110819_10104914089187771_1210819564157669419_o.j pg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/11130183_10104914089157831_6201999201567927738_n.j pg?oh=24ed8c1d83629695110875904bc319cb&oe=55A5CD9A&__gda__=1437772287_dcdf4d8c607b4a021a3cd603a06fe31 5