Velocity B43 or Pro-Elite

[William]

Any forumites have miles on either of these rims?

If so, can you share your likes/dislikes of these?




Thanks,
William

[11.4]

Do you mean the Deep-V? The Pro-Elite is the tubular version of the Deep-V.

The '43 is vastly overkill for anything but hipsters hopping curbs and stairs. It weighs a ton. Even the Deep-V is overkill for almost all riders. Both of them also are subject to somewhat uneven wall thickness that affects both spoke hole strength and especially braking surface durability -- it stems from the use of relatively old extrusion dies, especially on the Deep-V. All of this contributes to an erratic build quality -- sometimes they build up just fine, but at other times there's a run of rims that just don't want to tension up evenly.

If you want graphics of sperm swimming along your rim sidewalls, hot pink wheels, or powdercoated rims with no braking surfaces, Deep-V's are for you. You should have no problem, and have much more fun, riding some Kinlin XR-300's. They are a similar profile, much lighter, stronger, less dent prone, and easy to get at the same or lower price. Many builders on this forum endorse them. If you really want something heavier, I'd suggest the DT 585. It's better made than the Deep-V and builds up beautifully.

[William]

Thanks 11.4.

I was just asking since it was one recommendation I received over on FGF and thought I would ask here. Basically I was asking about reliable strong mid-level wheels for track.




William

[11.4]

B43's are ridiculous for track, to be blunt. Far too heavy. Deep-V's are common on the track, but mostly because street fixie riders bring them to the track, and some trackies just don't know the alternatives.

Without question, I'd suggest the XR-300 in a deep-section alloy rim. You can get them from Alchemy in up to 36 hole, so you can do a superb 3-cross build with DT Competitions or DT Champions on Dura Ace 7600 track hubs for a reasonable price and have an immensely strong wheel. On the track, strong trumps light weight for most purposes and always for training. If you're worried about strength, I'd do 36-hole and never have to worry about them. I suggest DT Champions as an alternative for track because you'll never ride them far enough to get spoke fatigue of the kind averted by double-butting. And because they don't have butting (which is added specifically to allow some stretching), they are extremely stiff and rigid. Not a big issue either way, but if you have a choice, save a few bucks and go with the Champions on the track. If you want to go light, you can race track on these in a 24/28 configuration pretty safely, though the wheel won't feel as rock solid as the 36/36's.

This is a much better solution than Mavic Ellipses, American Classic 420 alloy track wheels, and the like. These prebuilts are all extremely heavy and some, like the Ellipses, are actually designed for a road fixie chainline with a converted road crank, which just makes track setup a PITA.

You can also build a very nice wheel at reasonable cost in a tubular, if you're so inclined, with an Ambrosio Crono (from ItalTecno). Not expensive but extremely well made. Honestly, I think you'll like the XR-300's better.

No need to get fancy on the track. Speeds are within a certain range and while aero helps, a real aero rim means carbon and then you're into much bigger money. And a deep aero rim needs to be very stiff in its own right. My first choice would be Edge 2.65's followed by 1.65's, second choice would be Reynolds 66's, third would be Zipp 808s or something like that. But at that point you want to be considering a rear disc anyway, and you can watch for a Mavic Comete on sale in mint condition on eBay. Your original question suggested that you had a price range in mind, and for that, I'd encourage the XR-300. Talk offline to Ergott or one of the other professional builders on this forum.

[uriani]

I just started using a cheap b43 set for track racing and they are decent, but pretty heavy. True their triple walls are really intended for trick riding. The DA hubs are nice and light and smooth, but terrible for street use, so if you will be doing both, a sealed hub is much better. Suzue's new sealed Pro Max hubs are cheaper and still buttery smooth. I would recommend checking out the Foer rims from the Soma people. 41.5mm deep and much lighter than b43s if you want deep profiles.

[oldpotatoe]

Thanks 11.4.

I was just asking since it was one recommendation I received over on FGF and thought I would ask here. Basically I was asking about reliable strong mid-level wheels for track.




William

ProElite, just built a set for our Cinelli, nice rims.

[zray67]

saving in my file

[11.4]

ProElites are extremely sturdy but since they are just a tubular variant of the Deep-V, share their rather excessive weight. Quality is a bit more consistent than with Deep-V's but not superb. I'd rate Kinlins higher, or just build up wheels with some Ambrosio Cronos -- low profile but light and perfect for track.

William had said these were for track, where I'd reinforce the recommendation of DA 7600 high flange hubs. You have to service those hubs regularly on the road, but they are bulletproof, very smooth, have very good threading, and parts are widely available. William also wanted mid-level. If you want to spend a little more, consider Phil Wood track hubs. They are strong, you can ride them on the road all you want (as long as you get the red standard bearings and not the low friction black or the ultra-low-friction carbonite bearings, either of which I'd recommend for the track). In high flange the spoke lengths are the same as for the DA 7600's.

There's a very different world of wheels for road fixie use, especially among the hipster set, than there is on the track. For track use you can put on some heavy and relatively rough hubs, but you'll start noticing them. Track speeds are much higher than road, and the extra weight and any mechanical quality issues will become more pronounced at speed. William, be sure you know you want track and, if so, be sure you're really getting track wheels. Mavic Ellipses, lots of the B43 or Deep-V wheels with Formula or similar hubs, and so on, are really made for road. You'll just be selling them within a year if you're seeking to ride meaningfully on the track. Not trying to be a snob about it, but while you see lots of street hipsters riding on the track in practice sessions and classes, very few of them really race and very few end up even training with dedicated track racers. If you want to share equipment with the latter (which happens all the time, once you're accepted as part of the close track infield community), don't follow the single-speed-fixed-gear street trends.

[William]

Thank you again for your recommendations.

I am looking/gathering info for a track focus, not fixie road riding...not that there's anything wrong with that. :)

Since I haven't really followed track for quite a while I'm a newb as to what is considered solid quality gear. Wheels, cranks, pedals etc.. Over the Winter I'll be putting something together as I focus my work outs.

I really appreciate your sharing info here with us. Also, props to Tomity for relighting the fire.





William