Flite …

Dan’s Flite carbon with Chris King hubs

This is a build that we love to do!

We like to think that we do a good job and a repeat customer is the highest compliment  We build a lot of cool wheels BUT its the repeat business that we like the best. We are proud of our work and a repeat order just makes us smile that little bit more.

We built up some alloy road wheels around a year ago and they are going well but Dan wanted something a bit faster and lighter for the race days and still go the distance day in day out. We chose the Flite  35 front and Flite 45 rear to keep the weight down, stiffness and aero speed up.  Dan’s alloy wheels will be passed onto his second bike.

The Chris King hubs are a all time classic with their precision machining, awesome looks and super smooth bearings. We chose the red to tie in with the bikes colour scheme and to stand out from the many black hubs out there. The rear hub is fitted with a Campagnolo freehub body.

The DT Swiss Aerolite spokes keeps the wheel weight down while helping the aero rims hold the speed gained with every pedal stroke.

A happy customer now with two sets of great performing wheels to which we at Wheelworks say thanks.

Will’s Flite clincher with ELF and 240s 11 speed hubs

Will wanted a pair of carbon road wheels which could be used for events like the Half Ironman as well as general road riding and training.

Our Flite carbon rims fit the bill perfectly so we matched them to an Alchemy ELF front hub and DT Swiss 240s rear.  These hubs are both very light and require almost zero maintenance meaning Will can spend more time riding and less time fiddling with his bike.

Spokes are bladed DT Swiss Aerolite and like all of our wheels we guarantee Will won’t ever break one.

1347 gram actual weight is lighter than a Zipp 202, DuraAce C24 or basically any other wheelset out there, and this wheelset uses an aero 45mm rear rim.

Malcolms 45mm deep Flite carbon clinchers with ELF and T11 hubs

Just in time for the Grape Ride!  Malcolm damaged his front wheel a couple of weeks ago and decided to upgrade to a new pair of Flite carbon clinchers.

We used an Alchemy ELF front hub matched with a White Industries T11 rear.  These hubs have wide flange spacing and will build into a stiff pair of wheels.

DT Swiss Aerolite spokes with two white spokes at each valve hold the wheels together.  Like all of our wheels these have a lifetime broken spoke guarantee.

The Flite 45mm carbon rims are a perfect all-around rim and build into a wheelset suitable for everything from daily training to events and funrides.

 

Malcolms Flite clinchers with ceramic King R45 11 speed hubs

I built Malcolm a very similar pair of Flite clinchers last year but with a new Colnago C59 on the way with DuraAce 11 speed he wanted a second set.

This time we used a 35mm front wheel to compliment the 45mm on his other wheelset.

A 45mm rear rim adds some depth, stiffness and aero.

DT Swiss Aerolite bladed spokes keep the weight down.

Chris King R45 hubs with ceramic bearings and the new 11 speed freehub body – a great looking and sounding hubset.

 

Gordy’s Flite 45 and 65mm rims with ELF and T11 hubs

Gordon McCauley called wanting a pair of wheels which his wife could use on her TT bike and which Gordon could borrow for races and fun rides.  Gordon wanted clinchers for ease of use and wanted them to be aero and light.

I chose our Flite 45mm front and 65mm rear full-carbon clincher rims.  These will be ideal for Mrs McCauleys timetrials and perfect for Gordons off-the-front attacks.

A 66 gram Alchemy ELF front hub builds into a light, stiff front wheel.  If these wheels were only going to be used by Mrs McCauley I’d have chosen a slightly lighter rear hub but I’ve race against Gordy (and spent enough time in the bunch behind him) to know he’s a monster on a bike so the White Industries T11′s titanium freehub body, steel axle and extra bearings will stiffen the rear wheel while only adding 30 grams of weight.

Bladed DT Swiss Aerolite spokes and custom white decals round off the wheels.

Scotts 65mm Flite rims with big decals

Scott wanted a pair of our Flite full-carbon clinchers for timetrial and triathlon use.  We selected the 65mm rim for both the front and rear wheels.

The front hub is an Alchemy ELF and it’s paired with a White Industries T11 rear hub.  The T11 has a titanium freehub body ready for Shimano 11 speed cassettes but will work on Scott’s existing 10 speed groupset.

To keep the wheels aero we used DT Swiss Aerolite spokes and internal nipples.  Two white spokes tie to the decals.

Scott wanted some big decals so I used the Wheelworks text logo designed by Gary and it looks great on the deep rims.

An actual weight of 1688 grams is highly competitive for a clincher wheelset of this depth and stiffness.

Charlies 1399 gram Flite clinchers with ELF and T11 hubs

Charlie is an ex-pat Kiwi living in Germany and he wanted a pair of light carbon wheels for daily use and fun events.

I paired a 35mm deep Flite full carbon clincher with an Alchemy ELF front hub.  For the rear wheel we used a 45mm deep Flite rim and laced it to a White Industries T11 rear hub which will give excellent stiffness and great durability.

All spokes are DT Swiss Aerolites.

White hub decals match gloss black rim decals for a subtle but classy look.

Logans Flite clinchers with Alchmey ELF and DT Swiss 240s hubs

Logan wanted a pair of light weight clinchers for all-around use:  training, club races, and the upcoming Five Passes tour.

A pair of Flite 35mm front and 45mm deep carbon clincher rims are matched with an Alchemy ELF front hub and a DT Swiss 240s rear.

The Flite rims are a full-carbon clincher made by one of the big-three American companies and are top quality.

I’ve written plenty about the Alchemy ELF and DT Swiss 240s hubs – both are top quality and perform extremely well.

Bladed DT Swiss Aerolite spokes hold everything together and there are two white spokes at each valve to add some colour.

Davids Flite 1438 gram 45mm rims with Alchemy ELF and White Ind T11 hubs

David wanted a light pair of carbon wheels for his custom steel Waterford.  The wheels are to be used for general road riding as well as some road racing, and also able to be swapped onto David’s timetrial bike for Half Ironman events.

The Flite 45mm carbon clinchers are perfectly suited for these roles as they’re light, stiff and aerodynamic.

I used an Alchemy ELF front hub and matched it to a White Ind T11 rear hub.  David is using Campagnolo 10 speed and I’ve fitted a new cassette to the wheels so they’re ready to be used when he gets them.

Spoke are DT Swiss Aerolite and use Pillar internal nipples.

1438 gram actual weight is very light for such a robust and versatile pair of wheels.

Daniels repaired Flite tubular

Crashing is an unfortunate side-effect of bicycle racing.  Daniel hit the road hard enough in last years 5-stage NZ Cycle Classic to end his race on only the third day – it was a wet morning and the strong Palmerston North crosswinds were causing chaos in the bunch as were echeloned across the road with the early breakaway tried to establish itself.  The crash happened just to my right – I’m not sure what the cause was but I felt my teammate Stu lean into my hip before he fell to the ground and it was good luck rather than good management that I stayed upright.  Stu got off lightly with only a ripped jacket and a few scrapes but the damage to Daniel’s bike frame was terminal and ended his tour.

Luckily for Daniel his dad owns an identical pair of my Flite carbon tubulars so the rest of his race season was done on a borrowed rear wheel.

I inspected the rear wheel for damage but only the rim was destroyed so I re-used the hub and spokes but used new spoke nipples and a new rim.

The wheel is back to 100% and ready for another year of racing.