Tubular wheels

[LegendRider]

http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-4750467.html

These seem like a nice set of wheels - bombproof and 1300 grams. Is there a drawback???

[sspielman]

I am not sure that I would consider a set of wheels built with Ambrosio Chrono rims "bombproof".....one might say "generally serviceable for a lighter rider". I would have real reservations about a box section rim of that weight on a rear wheel with 9/10 speed dishing requirements. I give the builder alot of credit for using 32 spokes on the rear with a rim this light...

[LegendRider]

I am not sure that I would consider a set of wheels built with Ambrosio Chrono rims "bombproof".....one might say "generally serviceable for a lighter rider". I would have real reservations about a box section rim of that weight on a rear wheel with 9/10 speed dishing requirements. I give the builder alot of credit for using 32 spokes on the rear with a rim this light...

They are listed as 340 grams, but the actual weight of one pair I saw was 362 grams. With 32 spokes in a three cross pattern I would think it would be a solid wheel for most riders. Are the Ambrosios known for being less reliable than Reflexes? My Reflex wheelset *is* bombproof.

[maryluke]

I weigh 170lbs and just built up a pair of ambrosio crono rims laced to 32 hole chris king hubs and double butted sapim spokes, the lacing in the rear is 2x, 3x, I think that the rear flexes a little too much, I have a set of 28 hole dt swiss with supercomp spokes laced to a velocity escape rim, and the rear is only 2x , 2x and this wheelset feels stiffer to me. The guy who built both sets said he could not believe how much the ambrosio rim wanted to flex and move around when he was building it up. Maybe it is in my head, but I think the velocity escape rim feels much stiffer.

[sspielman]

They are listed as 340 grams, but the actual weight of one pair I saw was 362 grams. With 32 spokes in a three cross pattern I would think it would be a solid wheel for most riders. Are the Ambrosios known for being less reliable than Reflexes? My Reflex wheelset *is* bombproof.

The Ambrosios are good rims. I feel better about 360 grams/rim than 340, because it is close to the limit. Most Reflex rims are a bit heavier than their claimed weight. Most that I have seen are actually in the 390 g range...The problem with light rims is the dishing requirement on modern rear wheels....If you get the wheels too tight on the drive side, the rims will eventually crack at the spoke ferrule..because the tension on this side is limited in this way, it is difficult to get ADEQUATE tension on the non-drive side. As a result, the spokes will tend to loosen in use OR they will break at the spoke head from fatigue because they are losing their tension at certain spots in the rotation cycle

[saab2000]

The dish issue is big.

I can't figure out why companies like Ambrosio have not introduced an offset tubular rim.

[RPS]

The Ambrosios are good rims. I feel better about 360 grams/rim than 340, because it is close to the limit. Most Reflex rims are a bit heavier than their claimed weight. Most that I have seen are actually in the 390 g range...The problem with light rims is the dishing requirement on modern rear wheels....If you get the wheels too tight on the drive side, the rims will eventually crack at the spoke ferrule..because the tension on this side is limited in this way, it is difficult to get ADEQUATE tension on the non-drive side. As a result, the spokes will tend to loosen in use OR they will break at the spoke head from fatigue because they are losing their tension at certain spots in the rotation cycleThis is an excellent point, and makes me wonder why more companies don't balance spoke tension by running more spokes on the drive side than non-drive. Seems simpler than manufacturing different offset rims, and should produce a stronger wheel for a given weight.