BTLOS 30mm wheels for pure climbing?

[shinomaster]

I noticed they have free shipping and the weight of these is pretty crazy. I'v come to realize I mostly climb (it's very hilly in PDX) and don't do any fast pacelines any more and at 50 years old I am not getting any faster. What I do enjoy is having a light bike and climbing. I weigh around 155 depending on the years. I should weigh 144 and am hoping to bet back down to that soon when I switch from solid foods to lettuce and Soilent (JK). Has anyone been using the 30mm premium wheels for just a climbing bike? Are they any less durable than 35 or 40mm? Thanks!

Also these are rim brake as I have become an old retro grouch evidently.

[nmrt]

funny you ask whether 30 mm are good for climbing/durability. whenever i buy/build my climbing wheels, i do not go above 30 mm. :-).

in my experience they have been very reliable. but reliability does not depend on the rim depth. and as a matter of fact, i find shallower depth (less than 30 mm) wheels feel much more fun while climbing and descending compared to my 45-50 mm depth wheelsets.

Originally Posted by shinomaster

I noticed they have free shipping and the weight of these is pretty crazy. I'v come to realize I mostly climb (it's very hilly in PDX) and don't do any fast pacelines any more and at 50 years old I am not getting any faster. What I do enjoy is having a light bike and climbing. I weigh around 155 depending on the years. I should weigh 144 and am hoping to bet back down to that soon when I switch from solid foods to lettuce and Soilent (JK). Has anyone been using the 30mm premium wheels for just a climbing bike? Are they any less durable than 35 or 40mm? Thanks!

Also these are rim brake as I have become an old retro grouch evidently.

[shinomaster]

Originally Posted by nmrt

funny you ask whether 30 mm are good for climbing/durability. whenever i buy/build my climbing wheels, i do not go above 30 mm. :-).

in my experience they have been very reliable. but reliability does not depend on the rim depth. and as a matter of fact, i find shallower depth (less than 30 mm) wheels feel much more fun while climbing and descending compared to my 45-50 mm depth wheelsets.

Thanks! I rarely break anything, one revolution spoke maybe in 34 years as a cyclist.. I'm currently using Shamal's and Ksyrium ES wheels which have been bombproof.

[Jdm]

My rides are always 1k feet of climbing for every 10 miles. I've found 45-50mm wheels to be slightly faster overall on hills than shallow wheels despite the slightly lower weight of shallow wheels. I don't know why, though. Maybe it's the higher downhill speed because of better aero?

You can get 45mm rim brake wheels down to about 1400g depending on the hub and nipples.

[Baron Blubba]

I don’t believe in climbing wheels. I believe in descending wheels. Shallower wheels give me more confidence and therefore I brake less when descending mountains on even mildly windy days, compared to riding uber-lights 45+mm wheels. On calm days, the overall speed difference is negligible anyway. Existent, but negligible.

[mcteague]

I have a pair of BTLOS 40mm wheels. They are great wheels but, when descending steep hills, large vehicles passing me can cause the front wheel to feel a bit vague for a couple of seconds. It can be quite un-nerving. If I had it to do over I’d go with 30mm.

Tim

[Waldo62]

Are you contemplating rim or disc brakes. I have tried a couple of light wheel sets for rim brakes and the noise the brakes make and seemingly uncertain braking performance (I have tried a number of different types of brake pads) have led me to go back to alloy rims. Since you plan to be climbing a lot, you'll be descending just as much.

[bigbill]

I have 45mm wavy BTLOS wheels on Bitex hubs. I'm not a climber and when I raced, the only thing that kept me near the front on hilly courses was my descending ability. All that said, and this is totally non-related, but when BTLOS offers free shipping, jump on it. You'll save several hundred dollars.

[fogrider]

I just took delivery of a second set of BTLOS wheels. The first set are 35mm deep and came in around 1255 grams. The set I just got are 40mm front and 45mm rear, came in at 1296 grams. In general with lightweight wheels, a bike just feels quick and snappy. BTLOS wheels feel solid, I've gone through a fair number of carbon wheels over the years, and it feels like the industry has really got carbon figured out. I got these wheels for rim brake bikes and use their carbon brake pads. I haven't ridden in the rain on these (and don't intend to) but on dry conditions, these are as good as it gets.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

I noticed they have free shipping and the weight of these is pretty crazy. I'v come to realize I mostly climb (it's very hilly in PDX) and don't do any fast pacelines any more and at 50 years old I am not getting any faster. What I do enjoy is having a light bike and climbing. I weigh around 155 depending on the years. I should weigh 144 and am hoping to bet back down to that soon when I switch from solid foods to lettuce and Soilent (JK). Has anyone been using the 30mm premium wheels for just a climbing bike? Are they any less durable than 35 or 40mm? Thanks!

Also these are rim brake as I have become an old retro grouch evidently.

Well, 'no such thing as a free lunch'...deeper rims weigh more so all things being equal, heavier=more reliable...

BUT, built a lot of BTLOS rims and they are very reliable rims and wheels. If you have them build them, just make sure you don't do the three strikes and you are out...too few spokes, too thin spokes, and too light rim(Extralight)...

[CAAD]

Been looking at a set of their 40mm extralight wheels with carbon spokes as a do it all wheel set. Claimed weight is 1228g. Would be saving almost half a pound just in the wheels, currently running 55 deep wheels but they can a handful descending.

[Dave]

I have two sets of BTLOS 29mm deep disc brake wheels with 25mm internal width, hookless with no rim tape required that are both over two years old and still have the original 28mm Pirelli P-Zero front tires on them. They're definitely better for windy conditions in the mountains, than the 40mm wheels I've had.

I'd never go back to skinny rim brake wheels and tires. I'll install no narrower than 30mm front and 32mm rear next year. I've got a 35mm rear on one bike now that only needs 50 psi.

[shinomaster]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Well, 'no such thing as a free lunch'...deeper rims weigh more so all things being equal, heavier=more reliable...

BUT, built a lot of BTLOS rims and they are very reliable rims and wheels. If you have them build them, just make sure you don't do the three strikes and you are out...too few spokes, too thin spokes, and too light rim(Extralight)...

Well the set I was looking at had 20/24 CX ray spoke, brass Nipples, and xtra light rims and were about 1250 grams.. I am pretty pathetic and weak so is this enough spokes?

[sokyroadie]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

I noticed they have free shipping and the weight of these is pretty crazy. I'v come to realize I mostly climb (it's very hilly in PDX) and don't do any fast pacelines any more and at 50 years old I am not getting any faster. What I do enjoy is having a light bike and climbing. I weigh around 155 depending on the years. I should weigh 144 and am hoping to bet back down to that soon when I switch from solid foods to lettuce and Soilent (JK). Has anyone been using the 30mm premium wheels for just a climbing bike? Are they any less durable than 35 or 40mm? Thanks!

Also these are rim brake as I have become an old retro grouch evidently.

My BTLOS WRC-35 extralight, 20/24, Bitex, Pillar weigh 1200g and have been great.

[CAAD]

Does btlos will run any specials for black Friday?