Think I'm about to get a Sonder bike, and notice a choice between their basic 'Nova' wheelset and their more costly 'Alpha' option.
The website blurb for the Nova says stuff like: "bombproof, reliable, versatile".
The Alpha blurb is more about wider width and lighter weight.
This bike will be used for bikepacking and loaded touring, mostly on non-technical terrain, but with a rigid fork.
Key question feels to be: when they say the Nova wheels are ""bombproof, reliable, versatile", are they better in this regard than the Alpha, or are they just searching for nice words to say about a cheap wheelset? Would Alpha wheels be less durable for loaded bikepacking with a rigid fork?
What d'you reckon?
My Camino came with Alpha wheels. I cracked 3 rear hub shells. They finally replaced it with the Nova. I've not cracked it yet.
However, it's a Nova hub with double butter Alpha spokes and an Alpha rim.
I had a nova wheelset, not quick engagement or light, but pretty bombproof for me. Replaced after 2,000 miles without bearings needing replacing and stayed perfectly in true without needing any attention. Pretty much fit and forget.
I’ve got Alpha wheels on my Camino, which I’ve had for nearly four years and a few thousand kms. It’s mainly been used for short day riding (over some fairly rough ground) but I’ve also done a little backpacking and eve carried two toddlers (one on a macride crossbar seat, the other on a rear rack). They’ve performed well, although the rear bearing needs replacing now. They are not particularly light wheels, but for my usage I’m pleased I upgraded.
I've got Alpha wheels on my Cortex and I also had 2 hubs fail, both times I was starting to pedal up a very steep hill and the pawl basically engaged in a weird position which pushed it into the free hub bearing and smashed it to bits!
First time they offered a free freehub or I could purchase a new rear wheel at a significantly lower price, I chose to pay for the new wheel.
Second time it was a different manager and they replaced it for free.
I believe they've changed the freehub on the newer Alpha wheelset so it has more or less pawls (I can't remember which one). To be fair mine has done really well (apart from the freehubs issue), I also have an Alpha rear wheel on my hard tail which spends all winter riding through mud etc. and it just keeps on going.
Bombproof is usually the marketing term for heavy and cheap. My Camino came with Alpha wheels which seem OK (and I intend to use for bike packing, although currently using them with 40mm Pirelli PZeros for winter road use), although bit worried to read about the rear hub shell cracking issue...
My Signal came with Nova wheels and they were too heavy.
My Camino came with Alpha wheels. Almost all the spokes on the rear wheel came loose after a short time. I took it to Alpkit for repair and the wheels were fine for the next 3 years.
I'd choose the Alpha.
I was disappointed when they finally replaced my last cracked Alpha with a Nova but the new one hadn't cracked so I'm happy about that. This bike is from Easter 2024 so a fairly new, if not current, version of the hub. As it's running spokes and Tim from the Alpha, it's not significantly heavier either.
Have they changed the hub design on the Nova in recent years? I recently helped a pal with a grumbly hub and it was a weird screw on design that required a 14mm hex key and cone spanners to remove. It wasn’t serviceable either and I had to replace the whole freehub.