IP-256SL Build: Three times the fun.

[Vipassana]

Here are a couple of sound tests.  These probably are not the best due to the whole camera phone thing as well as this being an empty wheel (tires tend to muffler the sound or at least change it).  The black hub is slightly quieter than the red hubs for no apparent reason.

Novatec D772SB Hub Demonstration - Red:


Novatec D772SB Hub Demonstration - Black:

[Vipassana]

Nothing exciting, but a few more parts arrived:

Race Face crank boots - 15g.  A must for carbon cracks in my opinion.

Shimano 180mm IceTech Rotor w/ Hardware - 147g (137g Rotor, 15g Hardware)


ESI Chunky 32mm Grips (Silicone Foam) - 63g

[Carbon_Dude]

If you wanted DT Swiss hubs you would either need to purchase the hubs and send them to China, or you purchase just the carbon rims from China, and have a local wheel builder assemble everything for you, if you have a good wheel builder locally.  I would probably do the latter, if/when I build up another set of carbon wheels.

With my first set of carbon wheels from XMIplay, I ordered them with the Bitex 401F/R hubs and XX1 (XD) free hub.  They did a nice job of building the wheels although spoke tension on the rear wheel was a bit low.  I will most likely have the LBS bring up the tension on the rear wheels since I do not have a truing station. 

Higher spoke tension makes for a stronger, stiffer wheel, but a little more harshness to the ride.  I will be doing the same thing for my XR1450 rear wheel, the LBS who built that wheel (after I had to replace the original rim) also used way too low of spoke tension, the DT Swiss wheel needs to be reworked so it will be much stronger and stiffer.  Funny that I measured low spoke tension on both my rear wheels, one from the China vendor and the other build up by a LBS.  I've done research and I am confident the spoke tension, particularly on the non-drive side, should be greater than what I have measured, which is nearly zero on a Park Tools spoke tensiometer.

[Sitar_Ned]

Here are a couple of sound tests.  These probably are not the best due to the whole camera phone thing as well as this being an empty wheel (tires tend to muffler the sound or at least change it).  The black hub is slightly quieter than the red hubs for no apparent reason.

Thanks for doing that. Much quieter than my Sun Ringle hubs, it seems.

[Ray Zorbak]

XMIplay has wheelsets available with DT Swiss 240s hubs

[Carbon_Dude]

XMIplay has wheelsets available with DT Swiss 240s hubs

That would be my choice!

[Vipassana]

XMIplay has wheelsets available with DT Swiss 240s hubs

I wish Peter had told me that... Dang.

Oh well. I'm sure they would have cost more. And I'm already throwing way too much money at this project.    I still haven't told my wife that I'm going to keep my old bike after all, after promising to sell it to fund this project. 

[brmeyer135]

for 800.00(for set) - are the DT 240's all that?
even at 400.00+(for set) - are the DT 350's all that?

Do you further have to pay for the 36 p.o.e. ring - or is that only for the 350's?

[Carbon_Dude]

Looking on eBay, you can get a set of DT Swiss 240 hubs for less than $600, 350 hubs for less then $300.  Yes, I would say they are worth it if you want a good, reliable, lightweight hub.  The 350's are definitely a good value.

As for the 36 pts of engagement, I personally don't see any advantage to it in a DT Swiss hub, the standard star ratchet does a fine job already.  For my riding I doubt I would be able to notice a difference.

[Sitar_Ned]

Personally, I say the 350 hubs are worth the price, but at least for me, the 240 series isn't.

[brmeyer135]

I used Jenson for pricing....what does Peter charge?
On POE:  you may want the 36 - sounds like a bee....no, a killer bee: 
If one had the 36, would it be more drag and less desirable?
My questioning here was that one could get a whole carbon wheel set from iplay or ? for same price as ebay 240s
Since the 350s are the low end, made in taiwan shell, would they not be equal to novatec or bitex but with less poe than both?
It would be interesting to compare the 350s to above.....a spin test side by side?

Vispana: have you had a lot of problem with pedal strikes or specifically, bashing your crank arms?
Where did you buy the crank boots from?

[Vipassana]

I don't have a huge problem with rock strikes on the crank arms, but it has certainly happened from time to time.  The boots were about $9 a pair, available is a ton of colors, and are made by Race Face.  I bought them on eBay, but many online vendors carry them as well.

[turboenterprise]

I added crank arm protectors after many rides and few ... eww that might of done damage incidents. 

[Vipassana]

It was Christmas again today!  The second and third frames with paint arrived from iPlay.  Unfortunately, they forgot the carbon fork.  But we already talked to Peter and he is shipping it immediately.  He responded to the email in about 20 minutes!  The frames were packaged extremely well and the box was without any damage!

I can only show you my frame.  I have not unwrapped the second one as I will let my coworker do the honors. 

I went with a paint scheme based on the Gulf Oil race colors.  I've always been a motorsports fan and have always loved the Gulf Oil color scheme on the GT-40's and later Porsches.  I saw this theme on a Chiner 650b bike.  I feel pretty bad for ripping off the paint scheme this genius came up with, but it just looked so nice. (If you're reading this, sorry!)   Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?  If I ever meet him on the trail, I'll gladly buy him a beer.   



















The fork is painted to match the style and color of the rear triangle.

[Vipassana]

The brakes arrived today as well.  They were coming from England.

What I came home to.  That's doesn't look good...


Yup, this isn't going to be pretty:


Awesome:


Thanks, FedEx.  Apparently they kicked it from England to my house.  It was wet too.  Like soaked to the point the cardboard was disolving.  Perhaps they threw it in the ocean in England and fished it out of the water when it arrived in New York.   

Amazingly the contents were fine!  Except for two of the owner's manuals that were non-salvageable.  Luckily, there were 6 sets of brakes in the order so their are plenty of extra manuals.

Qty: 6 M785 XT piston/caliper sets (3 front, 3 rear)
Qty: 3 160mm RT86 Icetech rotors (for rear)
Qty: 3 160mm to 180mm adapters (for front)





JDM, yo.