chaadster

We're talking about Flo spokes, and why they are what they are, not whether the rim is faired. I'm pretty sure the spokes are the same for all Flo wheels.

chaadster

Ha! That's cool, but I'm not trying to push you to the Floes, just answering the questions insofar as I can. One thing for sure, the Flo website/blog/forums are a wealth of info, and those guys are running a very transparent business, it seems, so if you want to know about how they x-ray inspected rim and hub quality, detailed info is there. If you want to know how they came up the rim shape, detailed info is there. If you want to know why they used a 3 pawl/24 tooth ratchet, the explanation is there.

It's that level of info that makes me want give their product a shot. They've really invested in their own designs, and are not just recycling off the shelf bits. That makes them kind of special in my mind. If that fires your sense of appreciation, too, that's great, but all credit is due to the Flo guys, none to me.

redlude97

No, they're not. The FLO 30's have normal bladed cx-rays. Just look at the pictures

Bob Dopolina 

Well, head to head looks like this:

The FLO 30's are 1624g and the Vitesse (also 30mm) are 1550g. The new one from Boyd seems to be a few grams less.

They both use Sapim CX-Ray. Boyd seems to use Sapim SILS nipples as well, not sure on FLO.

The FLO hub is a pretty standard Taiwan hub. Certainly a good value and generally reliable (and EZO bearings). The BOYD hubs seem to have a lot more engineering going on and use Enduro bearings.

Both seem to offer excellent customer service.

FLO's are 'handbuilt' in Taiwan (that can mean machine laced and hand finished - make of that what you may). BOYD seems to fully hand build in the US.

The FLO 30's and the BOYD Vitesse wheels can both be purchased now. It seems like the other FLO wheels are only available as part of a pre-order?

I didn't check on shipping or warranty terms.

Nebby10

It looks like the Flo 30's are also part of the pre-order; clicking the "buy now" button redirects you to the pre-order sign up page.

Both Flo and Boyd have two year warranties although Flo does not have a crash replacement program while Boyd does.

Not sure about the shipping prices for Flo, but it looks like Boyd's standard shipping is $25 within the states.

chaadster

I don't know the answer, but looking at the pics, if Sapim's own pics on their website are accurate, it looks pretty clear to my eye that the non-bladed section at the nipple is quite a bit longer on the Flo 30 spokes:

chaadster

According to Boyd, the Vitesse are 28mm tall x 23 wide (so shorter and narrower than Flo 30).

The most important difference to me is the shape of the rims. I don't know which rim Boyd uses-- someone mentioned it's a Kinlin rebrand-- but it certainly seems that the Flo is a more aerodynamically advanced rim than the Vitesse rim.

coachboyd

That is where we introduced our new Altamont alloy wheel. It's a bit wider, deeper, lighter, and has the better rim shape. . .we brought that to the wind tunnel with very good results.

chaadster

Yes, I saw the Altamont on your webpage, and it looks like a great wheel. Machined sidewalls, laser etched graphics...this thread really should be about Flo 30 vs. Boyd Altamont, but alas...!

chaadster

CoachBoyd,

Not to start any trouble, and I don't know if you'd care to comment on this--- but it gets to the point that redlude97 brought up earlier about standard CX Rays-- but to look at a pic of the Altamont on the Bikerumor site, the non-aero section of the spoke at the nipple end looks quite long, perhaps even longer (given the nipple type) than the Flo spokes pictured upthread. Did you spec that particular dimension from Sapim, or do they offer multiple choices in that dimension?

coachboyd

The picture of the silver CX Ray spoke that was posted above is a stock image from Sapim. If you do a google image search for Sapim CX Ray you will see that same spoke pop up everywhere.

The actual spokes that get shipped to us are the standard CX Ray spoke (in black). They do have a longer round section below the threads that what is shown in the stock picture. This is for a couple reasons. The ends of each side of the spoke are thicker than the center piece to make the spokes stronger. A CX Ray is a flattened Laser spoke which is a standard round double butted spoke, so the thin part of the spoke gets flattened down and the thick part remains round.

By keeping a round section below the threads, it allows you to cut down the spokes if needed. We always order the correct size spokes for our wheels, but spokes can be cut down a little bit shorter if needed and if the correct size isn't available. So if you needed a size 276mm spoke but only had 280mm, you could cut and thread it down to 276mm and the threads would then be lower on the round section of the spoke.

chaadster

Okay, thanks for the reply, Coach!

dmcdam

I wish it were too but with $CAD tanking vs $USD, plus shipping and sales tax at the border, the Altamont quickly becomes an $860 wheel set for me.

chaadster

Price is always an issue, and is for me as well, even in $USD!

redlude97

You already got your answer about the regular sapim CX-Rays. The FLO30 clearly doesn't use the same spokes as the FLO90, like I said, if you just looked at the pictures.

FLO30(coincidentally showing the uneven brake track wear)


FLo90

The non bladed section on the FLO90 is clearly 2-3" longer than the FLO30. So they don't use the same spokes as you claim.

chaadster

Ah yes, I can see the difference between them. Thanks for clarifying that.

Bob Dopolina 

The same shipping and taxes would apply to either brand.

The CAD is not tanking. The USD is moving closer to its pre-2008 values. It is rising against many currencies.

dmcdam

Yes but the $100 (Altamont vs Vitesse) or the $150 (Altamont vs Flo30) price difference x exchange rate x GST is what takes it out of budget. Prices below including currency conversion, shipping and tax.

Altamont - $857
Vitesse - $731
Flo 30 - $670

And yes, it's the US dollar surging - when I said $CAD tanking I meant relative to the greenback for this purchase.

TyLerDuRDeN_187

check out https://www.hoopswheels.com/ also. Could go cheaper spokes to save some money.

moppeddler

I saw somewhere on their website our one of their blogs a list of bikes that would have problems. It wasn't a very long list. If you can't find it, just email one of the owners, they are very good about answering questions.

dmcdam

I saw the list and my frame wasn't on it but it's from a smaller Canadian company so they may not have tried it. Might just roll the dice.

dmcdam

Decided to "go with the Flo" and ordered up a set of their 30's this morning. Good reviews, great info about their designs (as opposed to rebranding), plus great pricing all combined to make it a pretty easy choice. I thought the rush to order at a specified date/time might be a nightmare but it was smooth as silk.

Can't wait to get my hands on them!

canam73

Cool. Let us know what you think after you ride them. And how they fit. What is your frame, anyway?

dmcdam

2012 Opus Vivace F1 and I'm putting it together with a new 6800 group.

jaxgtr

I just bought the Boyd Altamont and had my first ride on them today...35 miles and they felt superb. Spin quite well and my Vittoria tires mounted quite easily and look great on the bike. Taking a much longer ride on Saturday and will get a better feel for them then, but so far, very happy with the purchase. I'm 220, so I went with the 24/28 spoke count.