bought a set of wheels and they weigh more than advertised

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by nmrt

two weeks ago i just bought the campagnolo bora wto 45 disc wheelset from uk. they were advertised at 1520 g. when they arrived, they weighed at 1640 g. life is too short to ride what i do not want. so, off the went back to the uk. i paid for the postage. this is a risk that i take when i buy stuff from overseas.

I don’t get this talk of taking a risk by buying overseas that is mentioned here as well in other posts. If the Campagnolo wheels where purchased here in the states would they magically be lighter?

The issue here is blatant misleading advertising. Regardless of where a product is purchased, manufacturers should be held accountable. By suggesting “just roll with it” only gives permission for companies to take advantage of consumers.

We live in a global economy. Buying overseas is now common. Obviously we need to scrutinize any company we do business with but in the OP’s case he was not buying off of Craigslist or from a shady company selling counterfeit products. Companies that operate in the open market and claim to operate in good faith need to be held to their stated claims.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by Clancy

I don’t get this talk of taking a risk by buying overseas that is mentioned here as well in other posts. If the Campagnolo wheels where purchased here in the states would they magically be lighter?

The risk is that returning items overseas is often cost-prohibitive.

[m_sasso]

Talk to your credit card company, product not as described or specified. Let the credit company do a charge back and if the seller wants the wheels back let them pay for the shipping. Purchase the wheels you want.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by sales guy

I hadn't chimed in yet but since the OP mentioned who the wheels are now, so I have some input.

I used to be the Production Manager for American Classic. The same company who made our hubs also makes Ritchey hubs and certain components. I am not surprised at all that the wheels are heavy. We used to get parts in and I'd do constant checks on them because Taiwan would continuously make things heavier than they were specced and they just figured we wouldn't catch it. They'd also make things flat out wrong.

So on the AMC rear hub, they were not machining the freehub body enough which added weight. They also weren't machining the hub shell enough. Again, added weight. They also used 6061 for the axles which caused many of them to bend. Unless you look at things or have them tested, you'd never know. I did look, all the time and we did test and that's how we know what the axles were.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is part of the issue- not made to spec. On our hubs, it added +25/30 grams. We'd get hubs in that were supposed to weigh 205 and they'd be 230 to 240 grams. When I built the wheels for the show or for review I would hunt thru the boxes to find the ones that weighed the correct amount or within 5/10 grams. Which is what we allowed for.

The problem is Taiwan needs to save face. So you can't flat out say you are wrong and messed up. You have to spin things around so that they come up with the answer by themselves. It's really bad to deal with. I wouldn't be surprised that the rims are a similar thing- not extruded to spec.

I don't blame Ritchey for this but I would say they need their guy over there double checking things if this is what's happening.

Watched a video on 'how to start your own bike brand by ordering stuff from Asia' and the basic jist (gist?) was what you just wrote.

I like Ritchey stuff. Rode a few pair of Zetas till I upgraded to 11sp. Nice wheels. I didn't and don't get into the WW stuff 'cause I've still got 10# to lose.

YMMV as with all things tho

M

[marciero]

Originally Posted by sales guy

I hadn't chimed in yet but since the OP mentioned who the wheels are now, so I have some input.

I used to be the Production Manager for American Classic. The same company who made our hubs also makes Ritchey hubs and certain components. I am not surprised at all that the wheels are heavy. We used to get parts in and I'd do constant checks on them because Taiwan would continuously make things heavier than they were specced and they just figured we wouldn't catch it. They'd also make things flat out wrong.

So on the AMC rear hub, they were not machining the freehub body enough which added weight. They also weren't machining the hub shell enough. Again, added weight. They also used 6061 for the axles which caused many of them to bend. Unless you look at things or have them tested, you'd never know. I did look, all the time and we did test and that's how we know what the axles were.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is part of the issue- not made to spec. On our hubs, it added +25/30 grams. We'd get hubs in that were supposed to weigh 205 and they'd be 230 to 240 grams. When I built the wheels for the show or for review I would hunt thru the boxes to find the ones that weighed the correct amount or within 5/10 grams. Which is what we allowed for.

The problem is Taiwan needs to save face. So you can't flat out say you are wrong and messed up. You have to spin things around so that they come up with the answer by themselves. It's really bad to deal with. I wouldn't be surprised that the rims are a similar thing- not extruded to spec.

I don't blame Ritchey for this but I would say they need their guy over there double checking things if this is what's happening.

Interesting story-both the sleuthing for the source of added weight and the manufacturer relations. With regard to the axles, was that 6061 vs steel or 6061 vs some other alloy? Is it straightforward to tell 6061 vs some other alloy?

[dddd]

"Is it straightforward to tell 6061 vs some other alloy?"

The standard "mechanical" hardness/yield tests would easily distinguish them, and there may be others.

[eddief]

The information that is on our site is incorrect at the moment. I checked with our team and even weighed a set myself. The set (Thru Axle 12mm w/Shimano Freehub Body) came in at 1650g’s. When we produce revisions of existing wheelsets, the information posted may reflect previous generations due to negligence. Now that rims are wider, I’m guessing the weight you see on our site is from the previous model which had narrower rims resulting in less alloy used to be produced. My apologies for the frustration but we do not offer wheels at the weight you are after. You may return the wheels to StarBike if you so please.

-----

Mine weigh 1730...by the way.

[LouDeeter]

I've heard of people buying based on 28 spoke weight and order 36 spoke and be surprised at the heavier weight. Like someone else also said, the butting might have been different on what you received. Lots of little things, although to have the seller say that it was negligence on their part would seem to be just that, they screwed up.

[peanutgallery]

Designed in the US, manufactured in Asia, distribution to Germany, sold to someone in the US. What a circle

[eddief]

We changed the website to reflect the correct weight. Thanks for the heads up. Contact StarBike for the return if you are dissatisfied with your product.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by marciero

Interesting story-both the sleuthing for the source of added weight and the manufacturer relations. With regard to the axles, was that 6061 vs steel or 6061 vs some other alloy? Is it straightforward to tell 6061 vs some other alloy?

Originally Posted by dddd

"Is it straightforward to tell 6061 vs some other alloy?"

The standard "mechanical" hardness/yield tests would easily distinguish them, and there may be others.

The specified axle material was supposed to be 7075 alloy. They used 6061. We checked it with a hardness test. The other issues like the hub shell and freehub body weight, started to strip and weigh each piece and set them in different piles/boxes. Started measuring things and figured out the problems. After I figured them out, it was easier to see it without measuring things. It was a huge pain in the butt.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by eddief

We changed the website to reflect the correct weight. Thanks for the heads up. Contact StarBike for the return if you are dissatisfied with your product.

Isn't Star Bikes the host for Weight Weenies? I'd fully expect them to honor sales based on accurate weights. It'd be pretty hypocritical if they didn't

[eddief]

I accepted cuz I am tired of dealing with the BS.

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Isn't Star Bikes the host for Weight Weenies? I'd fully expect them to honor sales based on accurate weights. It'd be pretty hypocritical if they didn't

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by LouDeeter

I've heard of people buying based on 28 spoke weight and order 36 spoke and be surprised at the heavier weight. Like someone else also said, the butting might have been different on what you received. Lots of little things, although to have the seller say that it was negligence on their part would seem to be just that, they screwed up.

Manufacturers/marketers have also done their own playing around with numbers. Some common tactics:

Frames are weighed in the smallest size, and without paint.

When eyeleted rims were common, rims were weighed without eyelets.

Wheels are weighed without skewers (even though skewers are included).

It was also common to build tires narrower than their labeled width, which made the tires lighter.

And all too often, reported weights are "optimistic", or just plain deceptions.

On the other side of the equation, it is not uncommon to find that early production runs of rims are actually under their advertised weight, and then grow heavier as extrusion dies wear.

[sales guy]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

On the other side of the equation, it is not uncommon to find that early production runs of rims are actually under their advertised weight, and then grow heavier as extrusion dies wear.

This is a super common issue with rim companies. I wouldn't be surprised if this is another issue with the OPs wheels. Most manufactures don't care.