Everything from basic 26" mountain wheels, bomber touring wheels, and even the occasional carbon mountain race wheelset, we build our fair share of wheels. There are pros and cons to building wheels on a regular basis. On the pro side I get to practice and improve my skills routinely. On the cos side when it comes to building wheels for myself I usually rush through it to get it done. I have an attitude when building my own wheels akin to stopping when they are "good enough" rather than done right.
This wheelset, after thinking about the components of it for quite some time, needed to be done right. I don't build a ton of ENVE rims, but so far every one of them has been a pleasure. They handle very high spoke tension, are perfectly finished inside and out, and are perfectly straight right out of the box. To be honest, it's almost like cheating they build so nicely.
The rims came in at 379g and 381g, both under the claimed weight of 385g. I love when manufacturers can actually be honest with their claimed weights.
Internal nipples aren't my favorite in any wheel, but I've grown to like building with them recently. They offer a very secure connection between themselves and the nipple wrench which all but eliminates any opportunity for rounding a nipple.
Spokes are Sapim CX-Ray, an industry standard. They are outrageously expensive, but in my opinion well worth it. A bladed spoke won't offer any aerodynamic benefit on my XC wheelset, but it does allow me to easily hold the spoke straight while building to prevent any spoke wind-up.
Hubs are American Classic Disc. This is a controversial choice, but not one made without much deliberation. I would have preferred DT Swiss hubs, but the 240s front 15QR hub doesn't convert to a standard 9mm QR, and I hope to use these wheels for cyclocross, so I needed a hub that's convertible. In strong contention were Chris King hubs, which are easily converted, but I had a strong ambition to build these wheels at or below 1400g and the King hubs wouldn't allow that. Here is where the American Classic hubs shine: they are light, really light, and can be converted from 9mm QR to 15QR Maxle in the front, and many different rear axle configurations. We have a winner.
Front hub came in at 118g, rear at 234g. Claimed weights were 116g and 225g, front and rear respectively.
Here's the completed wheelset. So close to managing the 1400g goal, I finished up at 1410g. There are lighter wheelsets out there, many even cost less, but what those wheelsets really give up are stiffness. Super-light alloy wheelsets are great to save weight, but those light rims are flexy and prone to denting (so I have found).
