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  • 27.5+ Singlespeed Wheelset
  • oddnumber
    Free Member

    As per the title – looking for a wheelset to replace the stock set on my Charge Cooker. 27.5+ with a single speed specific rear hub, QR front and rear.

    I can’t find anything off the shelf – I’d be grateful for any suggestions, if anyone has any!

    Thanks very much.

    Posted 2 years ago
    tthew
    Full Member

    Too rare a combo for there to be any choice of readymades. Just get some handbuilts from a decent LBS. Initially maybe a little pricey, but they’ll last a lifetime.

    Posted 2 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Hope pro 4 single speed/trials hub, and your rims of choice. Probably DT Swiss.

    Posted 2 years ago
    tuboflard
    Full Member

    I really rate my Velocity Dually rims if you can get them. Mine are 29+ but sure they do them in 27.5+ too.

    Posted 2 years ago
    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Too rare a combo for there to be any choice of readymades.

    Yep. Learn to DIY?

    Posted 2 years ago
    tthew
    Full Member

    It’s a good suggestion. Building your own is very satisfying and actually not that hard because you’re starting with everything nice and straight and evenly tensioned.

    Posted 2 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    I’m doing just that at the moment, well I will be once I have the correct length spokes…

    Starting out from scratch, the kit to build has cost me:

    £70 truing stand
    £22 nipple driver
    £22 bolt through adapter (not needed for QR)
    £8 spoke key

    So £100 all in excluding the bolt through adapter.

    Saved most of that with getting a pair of new rims off eBay, £108 for 2x wtb i45 light rims. £80 for spokes (sapim race double butted) and nipples.

    It’s a few quid to get what you need to start with, but worth it when it comes to replacing hubs/rims and for cheap deals on parts.

    Posted 2 years ago
    luket
    Full Member

    Why go singlespeed-specific hubs now? I know the spoke angles are better but I suspect a wider comparison of all the pros and cons makes it all a bit marginal.

    I toyed with singlespeed-specific for 27.5+ on boost, having had them before, but this time round I went for a normal geared hub (just bought wheels actually – Newmen). It seemed to me there aren’t many SS hubs about now, perhaps because of new standards. And strength I ended up thinking more about “strong enough” than “stronger”, if that makes sense. I got gravel ones built up a few years ago but to find light SS hubs was a challenge and arguably the ones I have (some now out of production Halo ones) aren’t that great (sealing so-so). Hope SS hub is pretty heavy IIRC?

    Posted 2 years ago
    kerley
    Free Member

    Starting out from scratch, the kit to build has cost me:

    £70 truing stand
    £22 nipple driver
    £22 bolt through adapter (not needed for QR)
    £8 spoke key

    So for me that is just £8 for the spoke key then as the rest of the stuff has never been required in any of the 20+ wheels I have built.

    As for the wheels, I would just get a geared hub and spacers. Specific single speed only disc hubs are pretty hard to find and even the expensive Hope trials hub still needs quite a few spacers.

    Posted 2 years ago
    oddnumber
    Free Member

    Thanks very much everyone, I appreciate it.

    I’ll be honest, building my own wheels fills me with dread. I’ll do possibly everything else, but I think that I’ve read that wheelbuilding is a dark art so many times I’m immediately shut off by the idea.

    It hadn’t occurred to buy a geared wheelset and use a single speed kit. Are there any downsides? I guess with my EBB I wouldn’t need a tensioner?

    Posted 2 years ago
    nixie
    Full Member

    I would also just go with a geared hub. No need for a tensioner if you have an EBB, just a spacer kit, get one with more smaller spacers rather than larger spacers so you can adjust chain line.

    Posted 2 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    If you fancy having a go at wheel building, Ali Clarkson has a couple of excellent videos explaining it all. And you can build/true in the frame, just makes it a lot easier with a truing stand.

    Geared hub Vs SS is just a wider freehub, so you need more spacers. The only downside is that SS hubs tend to have equally spaced spoke flanges so build a stronger wheel.

    Posted 2 years ago
    luket
    Full Member

    For me, I quite enjoy building a wheel every now and again. Think I’ve only done 4 or 5 in my life but aside from one that got a nasty dent on a too light for the purpose rim, they remain strong and true, in one case 8/9 years later. So personally I think the view that it’s a “dark art” is unfortunate if it puts perfectly capable folk off a pleasing job they could do well. The downside for me is more that with trade prices some wheelbuilders might build you the wheel for no/little more than the price of the parts bought yourself.

    Second Ali Clarkson’s video.

    Posted 2 years ago
    kerley
    Free Member

    Geared hub Vs SS is just a wider freehub, so you need more spacers. The only downside is that SS hubs tend to have equally spaced spoke flanges so build a stronger wheel.

    While that is true the fact that geared riders wheels are not falling apart and breaking all over the place means that any additional strength is not a major requirement.

    Posted 2 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    So personally I think the view that it’s a “dark art” is unfortunate if it puts perfectly capable folk off a pleasing job they could do well.

    I’ve just finished building my 2 wheels, honest it was pretty simple. Scariest bit was doing his stressing method. I now have 2 properly dish, true to within a mm, wheels.

    I’d laced and relaced the wheels a few times so can probably lace a set without his video now though… 😁

    It’s really not a dark art at all.

    Side note, if anyone needs some 278mm and 277mm Sapim race DB black spokes (34 of each), let me know ;) will be in the classifieds soon.

    Posted 2 years ago
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