The cost vs. value of custom wheels

I often hear the comment that having a set of custom wheels built is financially prohibitive. This made me think about all the money we spend as cyclists on our bikes and riding over the course of a year. I’ve built what I consider a fairly representative comparison to help demonstrate the value vs cost of custom wheels.

The cost of the bike

Let’s assume the average cost of a mid-range mountain bike is around R40 000. For this money, you can buy one of the following:

• Trek Top Fuel 8
• Scott Spark 950
• Momsen Vipa Race 1

All of the bikes above come spec’d with Deore to XT drivetrains, decent suspension and pretty advanced dual-suspension frames. Perfect for most riders participating in one-day and stage races.

Now check out the wheels on these bikes. Nothing to write home about and definitely the best place to upgrade these mid-range rides.

FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON, I HAVE COSTED THE BIKE OVER 3 YEARS

The cost of race participation

South Africans love their one-day and stage races. There are hundreds of options available across the country, and even in neighboring countries. The popular ones include the Advendurance series and stage races like Sani2C, Berg and Bush, Wines2Whales and JoBerg2C, to name a few. I’ve purposely left out the Cape Epic as this is often the domain of riders who have their entries sponsored.

A one-day race easily costs over R300 to enter, and most stage races cost at least R5000 per person for a 3-day race, and up to R20 000 per person for something like JoBerg2C. My cost assumptions in the graph below do not include additional costs like transport, food and accommodation.

Bike maintenance

Assuming an enthusiastic rider covers around 5-6000km or more per year, there are serious maintenance costs to consider. Suspension servicing can easily amount to R2500 per year, not to mention general services costing over R1000 each. In 6000km you’ll go through about 3 chains, at an average of R500 each, and the odds and ends like tyres, sealant and other items, perhaps cassette and chain rings, brake pads and cables. I’m not even considering crash damage in my calculations.

Other costs

I’ve added in some other costs for the sake of comparison. Bike racks, trail centre entry fees for a year, clothes and accessories like gloves and helmets.

An upgrade to custom wheels

Now how does a set of custom, hand-built wheels compare in relation to the other costs I’ve outlined above? If you choose wisely, a set of custom wheels will last many years and may even outlast your current bike and do duty on various bikes as you upgrade and change.

I’m talking about strong, light, modern, tubeless-ready, good looking, high quality carbon or aluminium rims laced with premium quality spokes and nipples to light, easy-maintenance, sealed-bearing, all-axle compatible hubs. That’s a mouthful, right?

At the top end, consider premium carbon rims like those from cSixx, laced to Hope hubs with DT Swiss Competition double butted spokes. This set will cost around R20 000.

At the more affordale end, consider WTB Frequency rims laced to ECC components hubs with the same DT Swiss spokes. This set will cost under R7 000.

FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON, I HAVE COSTED THE WHEELS OVER 3 YEARS

To help emphasize my point that custom wheels are a great investment, check out the graph below.

As you may notice above, the cost of custom wheels, broken down over 3 years is but a fraction of what we as cyclists spend on our sport/hobby.

Does this make sense? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on social media using the hashtag #customvalue