Possibly the second most important part of your bike, after the frame/fork combo. (These are all my opinions, but it is my bleaurgh, so deal with it…) I ordered a set of On-One wheels (on sale, ‘natch.) this summer, and have run them for the last few months. I can safely say these wheels rock! The Centrelock system which I had not much more than a heaping load of disdain for, has grown on me. (more on that later.) Built on their Reetard rim, these wheels are true light and none more black. I love them. Not much else to say really.
And yes, I did order them with the Small Block 8’s and they are spectacular. No need for a super-high profile tire here in Munich. Along the Isar on my lazy 60km route, I encounter mostly loose over hardpack with a small bit of asphalt and maybe some packed singletrack thrown in. Not much goo here, nor is there a lot of deep loam. (Not what I’d call deep anyhow.) Moving from my Larsen TT’s on my 26′in MTB, these were a natural follow-up. Long wearing and sticky enough to give me confidence at speed. I also tend to run most of my tires at more-than-silly pressures like 35-40 depending. It makes for a harsher ride sometimes, but also much smoother on the loose-over-hard stuff I encounter most of the time.
As for the Centrelock system… Well, It was one of those experiences where I proved that I was nothing more than retarded. I popped them out of the box, and got to installing them. I forgot when I ordered them that they were the other system, so I set about running to every bike shop I could to see about getting rotors. I have a real problem with patience. So every place I looked, the system looked different than what I had. “Those bastards at On-One sent me wheels with an older version of the Centrelock system… Now I’m pissed…” I thought.
Well, I finally went to Radsport-Roesch. These guys are officially my go-to guys. Friendly, knowledgeable and patient with my broken German… everything I need when buying parts. The guy behind the counter listened to my dilemma and reassured me there was only one system, unless I had a 20mm front hub, and then it’s basically the same, jsut… well… 20mm.
I informed him that I had some strange system and wasn’t about to drop 50 euros on the wrong rotor. He said “If it’s wrong, bring it back and we’ll figure it out. You can bring in the wheels too, if you want.”
“Too much trouble, and besides… I want to ride them NOW ! ! !” I said.
He laughed and we got everything sorted.
The reason I was confused was when they ship, the Centrelock bit (where the rotor slides on…) was 1)-covered with some super-stuck rubber grommet and 2)- is removeable. As in, you unscrew the lock ring (much like a rear hub/cassette lock ring) and the whole thing slides off the hub. Which is pretty genuis, actually. No need to remove rotors when travelling. Just take this bit off and voilá. Easy-peasy. The hubs then look like (ironically…) a rear hub that is waiting for a cassette to slide on. So it turns out I’m an idiot and spent the better part of a gorgeous Saturday looking for Centrelock rotors with a completely different system.
Anyhow, they are stiff enough for me, and were a great price for a wheelset with tires and tubes. Can’t really go wrong with that, eh?
—me.
