Relace, ride as is, or move on?

[henrypretz]

I have a Velomine wheelset, 6800 hubs to Hplus Archetype rims, straight gauge spokes. I love the look, but the ride/performance is somewhat underwhelming to me. They seem rather sluggish (dead feeling) in my estimation. They are also fairly heavy.
Might relacing them with some double butted spokes improve the feel and or performance of these wheels?
I understand that these are never going to be lightweight climbers, but would new spokes help to do anything other than making my wallet lighter?

Thanks!
Henry

[rwsaunders]

Perhaps retension and true them. I say this as a friend of mine bought the same set of wheels from Velomine and they essentially came undone over 100 miles or so. He took them to a local shop and they joked that this would be the 10-12th set of Velomine that they needed to repair over the past year or so.

[tv_vt]

Definitely try rebuilding with different spokes.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by rwsaunders

Perhaps retension and true them. I say this as a friend of mine bought the same set of wheels from Velomine and they essentially came undone over 100 miles or so. He took them to a local shop and they joked that this would be the 10-12th set of Velomine that they needed to repair over the past year or so.

Hmmm.....strange. I've had a fairly cheap set of the Velomine handbuilts running for 3 years on rough chipseal roads with no issues. In fact they have been on three of my bikes at least because they just keep going without giving me any trouble.

They seem to have a good online rep for the wheels they build themselves. Looking at the site the OP's wheels aren't being identified as handbuilt. I wonder where they get them?

[dddd]

Wheel work sometimes gets farmed out, so different levels of tensioning quality must then be QC'd by the seller.
In Florida for example, there are Cuban immigrant families who build wheels at home for a wheel house vendor, which is a good way to keep their kids away from trouble.

I cringe when I see a wheelset made from quite-decent parts strung together with 14g spokes. But I doubt that I could feel the difference just by going to the next-thinner gage of spoke that is double-butted.
The thicker spokes do contribute to wheel stiffness, and that's good, but if the wheels feel dead then it is a weight issue, and mostly from the rim.
Are you using really good tires?

[weisan]

I have a similar set.

It's heavy.

Sluggish yes...more like bombproof. So I adjusted my expectations and used it mainly for gravel rides or light touring.

[rwsaunders]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Hmmm.....strange. I've had a fairly cheap set of the Velomine handbuilts running for 3 years on rough chipseal roads with no issues. In fact they have been on three of my bikes at least because they just keep going without giving me any trouble.

They seem to have a good online rep for the wheels they build themselves. Looking at the site the OP's wheels aren't being identified as handbuilt. I wonder where they get them?

Who knows. He came to me when he noticed that the the wheels were making a "tinking" sound. I was surprised to notice that a few spokes weren't tight and when I heard the price that he paid (low inho) I told him to write the experience off to a lesson learned and after the shop did their thing, he has had no problems.

[doomridesout]

It's gonna be underwhelming with or without straight gauge. They're not race wheels no matter what. Don't overthink this.

[fogrider]

+1, Agreed. Move on.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[rustychisel]

You don't say what tyres you use (nor tubes, that matter)...

Best bang for buck spend is good tyres. GP4000s or Veloflex for fast.

But really, to answer the question, have a good wheelbuilder/shop have a look at them. Any undertensioned wheels will feel 'sluggish' and a properly built pair with good even tension will feel a thousand bucks better.

It should not cost you too much to get to that point then make an informed decision whether you need to replace the wheels.

[henrypretz]

Thanks for the great input.
Tires are Vittoria Pave 25c with latex tubes. The sames tire/tubes feel much livelier on DT Swiss 350 hub/R440 rim set.
I will retension and true and see if that helps.

I appreciate this message board and you all!!

Henry

[zzy]

I've been loving my Velomine 5700 to Archetype wheels. Sturdy and durable, but did need a fair bit of retruing after initial use. They are not well stress-relieved in my experience. However for the $ they cannot be beat.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by henrypretz

I have a Velomine wheelset, 6800 hubs to Hplus Archetype rims, straight gauge spokes. I love the look, but the ride/performance is somewhat underwhelming to me. They seem rather sluggish (dead feeling) in my estimation. They are also fairly heavy.
Might relacing them with some double butted spokes improve the feel and or performance of these wheels?
I understand that these are never going to be lightweight climbers, but would new spokes help to do anything other than making my wallet lighter?

Thanks!
Henry

A big maybe...perhaps some thinner spokes on the front and non drive side rear(lIke Sapim Laser or DT Rev) and Race on DS 'might' make them feel more lively. 'Feeling heavy', 'heavy' the straight gauge spokes VS 2/1.8/2mm spokes weight differences are really minimal, like 70 grams total for both wheels(according to Sapim website..64 14g vs 64 14/15/14 gauge)...

BUT like mentioned above, I'd true/round/TENSION them..they might be undertensioned.
FOR ANY wheelset you buy from an outfit like Velomine(as in low $, no $ for labor)..I'd have a decent wheelbuilder true/round/TENSION and stress relieve them before riding...

BTW-if you'd like, send to me and I'll re-do them for you.

Peter