In the past, things were clear-cut. If you wanted a first-class wheel, you went to an experienced wheelwright and had the spokes, hubs and rims of your choice handcrafted. The quality depended on the craftsmanship of the master craftsman and the ingredients.
In the mid-1990s, Mavic - the market leader for high-quality rims at the time - began to produce complete wheels consisting of matching hubs, spokes and rims. Other suppliers also quickly discovered that there was more money to be made with the complete wheel than with individual parts, and the market for so-called system wheels grew rapidly. At the same time, the selection of available rims for customised wheels shrank. Today, Mavic still offers a few classics such as the Open Pro rim - but the modern, over-milled rims with a small number of holes, such as those used in the Ksyrium series, are just as difficult to obtain individually as the special hubs or spokes, apart from the spare parts service.
Nevertheless, there are still good reasons in favour of custom-made wheels: special looks, certain performance features - or even the lower price. Many manufacturers offer conventional hubs, and there is also no shortage of different spokes. The range of rims is not quite as plentiful, but if you search, you will find almost everything from 16-hole carbon rims to ceramic-coated aluminium rims. Wheel configurators on the internet, such as the one from Whizz Wheels, invite you to spend hours tinkering with your dream wheel - and you can clearly see how the choice of rims and spokes affects the weight. What is not visible, however, is what this means for criteria such as stiffness or air resistance. We therefore asked two renowned wheel specialists to each build two individual wheelsets with different focal points. A comparison with system wheels from 2011 should show whether and how they can hold their own.
You can find the test results for this model in the PDF download below:
A Class ALX 730 Tubeless
Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2 Way fit
Campagnolo Zonda
Citec 3000 S Aero Carbon
Easton EA 90 Aero
Fulcrum Racing 3
Fulcrum Racing 7
Mavic Cosmic Elite
Mavic Ksyrium Elite
Mavic Ksyrium SR
Shimano WH RS 30
Veltec Speed 4.0 RC
Componentix Aero
Komponentix all-weather
Whizz Wheels Lightweight
Whizz Wheels Robust
As a supplement to the booklet, we show you detailed photos of the wheels and the wind tunnel:
The open wind tunnel, which is built in a disused railway tunnel near Geneva, is 55 metres long. Its location in the rock ensures a constant temperature and therefore good measuring conditions all year round
View through the nozzle into the measuring section of the duct
Mounting a wheel on the measuring scale. Angles of attack from 0 to 25° are recorded in 2.5° steps in order to be able to make statements about the resistance under the influence of side winds
View from the driver's cab into the measuring section. The measurement process is automated in order to achieve the highest possible quality
A Class ALX 730 Tubeless
A temptation in white: clear, tidy look. Technically good except for the less stiff rear wheel
Campagnolo Shamal Ultra 2Way fit
Archless aluminium aero spokes - intelligently distributed (double the number on the drive side) and free from bending loads
Campagnolo Zonda
The thin steel spokes are slightly more aerodynamic than the thicker aluminium blades in the Shamal
Citec 3000 S Aero Carbon
Spokes nippled on both sides make them free from harmful bending stresses
Easton EA 90 Aero
Aerodynamically optimised flanges - very rigid thanks to wide support
Fulcrum Racing 7
The double number of spokes on the drive side distributes the spoke tension more evenly than conventional spoking
Mavic Cosmic Elite
Very stiff, relatively aerodynamic, affordable - one of Mavic's best offers if weight is not so important to you
Mavic Ksyrium Elite
The over-milled rim lightens the wheel, but is aerodynamically inferior to a teardrop profile
Mavic Ksyrium SR
All the stops have been pulled out to optimise weight and stiffness: the mix of aluminium and carbon spokes makes the rear wheel the stiffest of its kind
Shimano WH RS 30
The asymmetrically shaped rim improves the spoke angle on the drive side
Veltec Speed 4.0 RC
The 38 mm high carbon/aluminium rim brings speed: particularly fast at low angles of attack
Componentix Aero
Only 16 spokes bind the Halo hub to the 31 mm high rim. Aerodynamically, this results in the best values in this field
Komponentix all-weather
They still exist: Mavic Open Pro rim with ceramic coating. Good in the rain
Whizz Wheels Lightweight
Conventional but meticulously built from lightweight DT Swiss components. Whizz Wheels promises a lifetime guarantee against spoke breakage
Whizz Wheels Robust
For heavy guys who want something nice: heavy-duty combination of Chris King hub and DT 585 rim
Downloads:
download
