Halo Wheels, yes or no?

[BillyM]

I'm thinking of buying a half decent rear wheel in a couple of months or so when I have some money, but I don't wanna spend a stupid amount yet. So I did a bit of searching, and read about Halo wheels. I searched on here, and came up with a couple results, that said they were pretty much bombproof, if weight doesn't matter. Which it doesn't to me at the moment. So I just thought I'd check, and make sure my findings were any good.

So here's what I found -

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.php?prod=whha-26com

http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.php?prod=whha-26sas

So are these worth the money? Is there much difference between the two?

Thank yooou

[Sneaker]

Do you really want 48 spokes?

[Cryo-Cube]

1600g ? wtf
stay away from those .
If you want a really strong but not uber wide rims -> Alex dx32
if you want wide and okish rims -> echo,koxx and all the others.
hubs, well on the front it doesn´t matter that much.

[Specialeded]

What type of riding are you going to be doing is the qustion.

If you are dirt jumping or freeriding they would be alright, might be alittle heavy for trials as they are going to be a burly wheelset.

[AndyT]

If you are well well well over 230 pounds, ride like a hippo and do 10 foot drops 4 or 5 times a day go for it. Otherwise stay away

[BillyM]

Ooh, so its a no-go then? It's just that I don't have loads of cash to spend on a wheel at the minute, and they seemed ideal being only around £80 for a complete wheel. Is there anywhere I could get an DX32 fully built, or a wheel of the same quality, for about the same price? Aren't the DX32's the same width as the Halos? Whats the problem with having 48 spokes?

[Specialeded]

Weight???

[Bryan]

dx32, ss hub, decent freewheel ftw

[BillyM]

I just had a look on the Onza website, and found this -

Full/Half Fat Wheelset
[Half Fat front rim 31.4mm wide, eyeletted, Full Fat rear rim 38.4mm wide, eyeletted, Onza sealed 8/9 speed hubs, stainless steel spokes]

Any good?

[madbiker66]

The rear hub on the Halo's is less than useless, and the rims are pretty bollocks too, the dent t'fuck.
Basically, i'd stay away from those pre-built wheels, the hubs arn't up to anything other than holding the rear of the frame together.
I'd suggest a Hope Mono/XC built onto any rim you prefere.
The difference in rim will be marginal compared to the difference in hub.

[free_rideman]

Pre built wheels are pretty pointless. There are a few excpetions to this, but for the most part, just get a good LBS to lace some wheels. Put a dm24 on the front and dx32 on the back. With 2.35 tires these rims should be perfect, plus they are cheap. Lace them up with wheelsmith spokes, and either xt hubs (if you are a beginner total wheel cost= $230) if you are better and pedal kick a lot then get some better hubs. Hadley on the back and maybe an xt on the front should be nice, and should cost around $350 max -400 maybe, at the end. With this setup they should last for a very long time. (back 36 spokes, front 32 spokes. Use 2.0mm spokes and 3x pattern. All brass nipples) Sorry if I am going in to detail, but I just don't want to post again to explain something I already did. ;)

But remember, if the wheel builder sucks, than your wheels will fall apart.

[BillyM]

Well, I'm to get a wheel built or me, its definitely gonna be by Tarty Bikes (if they'll do it of course) as they're about 5 minutes away from me, which makes life a lot easier, and I'm pretty sure they're reliable. It's only a rear wheel I'm looking to replace at the moment. So a wheel build is gonna be the best way to go? Is there anywhere I can get a DX32 from on the web?

EDIT - I forgot to mention, I'll be running 9 speed on it for the time being, just in case that matters.

[Cryo-Cube]

ask tarty bikes to order the dx32 for you and build the mofo up, or let any other bike shop order it for you.

[free_rideman]

For the rear you will need-

dx32 36 hole
wheelsmith spokes 14 guage (2.0mm)
Hadley Rear Hub 108 point enagement version*** 10mm through axle (should be around $250, so make sure LBS doesn't rip you off!)
wheelsmith black nipples

search the net for all these things, you will get the idea of the prices. But remember also, the not so flashy shops, most of the time have the smarter employees with more experience. If the shop is too flashy and has many young kids working there, than generally stay away. Test the shop that you will be building from. If you need help about what to ask, post that.

*** this hub is nice, since it is easy to maintain, and if treated nicely will last a long time, plus cheaper than its competitors. You can get different colors too. And yes it works with 9/8 speed cassettes.

[BillyM]

I just looked into the Hadley rear hub, and its $250. Thats a bit out of my price range. The most I'm gonna be able to spend is about £100 for the whole wheel. Is there anything a bit cheaper?

[free_rideman]

You could put an xt hub on the back. I don't know how well you ride, but generally the engagment system breaks on them if you do many tricks involving pedal kicks (which is a lot in trials). But I would worry more about the poor engagment speed.

But it should come out to that, maybe even less with the xt hub. My friend built a wheelset with xt hubs rear dm24 and a expensive $80 dollar rim on the front and it came out for $250.

[AgrAde]

don't use a fucking XT rear hub.

[free_rideman]

What else can he get so that the total cost of the rear rim is $170?

- hope bulb hubs are nice, but probably will go over the budget.

Edit: I just remembered you could get a dtswiss onyx hub, but I think their pawls suck too.

[rush]

The only thing I could think of was a used Hope from somewhere, there might be some on t-f?

Shimano Silent Clutch were the hub of choice for the beginners and the thrifty in Australia.

[madbiker66]

Yeh take a gander on TF, theres always spare Hope's lying around.

If you can handle a Mavic rim, i had a D521 built onto a hope XC for £104 inc. shipping from Chain Reaction Cycles.

Have a word with Tarty, even if he can't sort you out with a wheel he'll give you some pointers.

[leedstrials]

dmr revolver screw on hub
acs claw freewheel
on a rim of choice - dx32, mavic, onza ronnie/reggie

then when you have more money either get a new hub or freewheel! but that said a mate has been running a claw for ages now, with no problems :)

[Sir_Crackien]

from past experance if halo rims DO NOT GET THEM. the rims are like butter. i had a set on my urban/fr bike and i totalled them in like 3 week both front and rear. the rim side walls folded over way to easy as well they got some nasty flat spot at the same time. i have worked rhyno lite xl way harder and i don't even consider them a strong rim either

[Jackhammer]

dmr revolver screw on hub
acs claw freewheel
on a rim of choice - dx32, mavic, onza ronnie/reggie

then when you have more money either get a new hub or freewheel! but that said a mate has been running a claw for ages now, with no problems :)

He speaks the truth. Weld the ACS and you're golden until you can get an ENO.