On the last Bench Talk we covered selecting the right group set for your project bike. In this last show in the 4 part series Coach Rob covers wheel types for your custom build. Selecting the right wheel set or wheel sets for your custom build, components, materials, styles of riding and much more!

Do you need 2 sets of wheels for your new bike?
Racers may want 2 or more sets
Training and Racing

We discussed many of they thing we may want out of our bike in the first show but now we need to apply the same logic to our wheel set.

Road wheels fall in 3 basic categories
Clincher, Tubular and Tubeless

Then Wheel sets are built from several different materials
Rims: Alloys, Carbon Fiber and yes Wood
Spoke Nipples: Aluminum, Brass
Spokes: Stainless, Titanium, Alloy and Carbon Fiber

Hubs can also be a big decision point
Bearing; Cartridge or loose ball bearing, ceramic or stainless
Freehub: Will it support your cassette and speeds

Then of course there is brand loyalty.
Which brand does your favorite pro ride on or the competitor that keeps beating you for the county line sprint at the hammer fest ride?

Off the rack or custom build wheels or Hand Built Wheels
Off the rack can be affordable and expensive
Custom built wheelsets don’t have to be super expensive but often are
Hand built wheels are often custom affairs but there are some small operations that build stock hand built wheels

Cost, Desire, Performance, Safety