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Sunday, May 8, 2016

Wheelbuild: Light, Strong, Pretty

Contrary to the popular belief, the colour pink have more relation to masculinity in the world of cycling than anyone would ever thought. For years, pink jersey is used to identify the overall leader of the Giro d'Italia, which was based on the colour of the paper used to print the La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, the original sponsor of the race.
In 2004 Chris King launched a limited edition series of pink headsets and hubs to raise awareness for breast cancer research and to raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Two years later, Chris King added Pretty and Strong pink to its standard list of available colours.


This pair of pink Chris King R45 hubs belongs to Tangguh Dwiatmodjo. Actually this is not his first pair—previously he rolls on a set of 32 hole pink R45s, laced to Mavic Open Pro rims with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. After those wheels were sold, then he sourced parts online and have them delivered to us to built the replacement.



The wide, tall profiled Hed Belgium C2 clincher rims makes a great replacement for the narrow profiled Open Pros. Wide rims will let your tires to stretch out a bit more, creating wider footprint compared to narrower rims which will lead into better traction on the corners. Sure, at 462 grams they are heavier than the Open Pros by around 23 grams, but the Belgiums have arguably better aerodynamic properties from their tall profile. And since this build used less spokes—20 hole front and 24 hole rear—it will surely offset the weight penalty.




Having a great experience with the CX-Ray spokes, Tangguh decided to use them again for this build. This time we laced it in 2-cross pattern at the drive side rear flange, and in radial pattern elsewhere.

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