****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Thought I'd provide a good description to help other people make a good buying decision.This is Wheel Master's 36-spoke wheel, machine-built around a Wheel-Master-brand, 5-bolt-disc-compatible, 100-mm hub. It comes with the quick-release skewer. I'm happy with this wheel because it's what I wanted for commuting (but I wouldn't put this on a bike I want to be able to go fast on, because it's too heavy and there would be too much air-drag from so many spokes). It's an interesting animal, because it can be used on both rim-brake and disc-brake bikes.The bearings feel a little gritty, and there was a little bit of oil dripping out of them on one side onto the hub. Because the wheel overall appears to be built well, I'm going to make two assumptions: 1) Sometimes manufacturers will make the bearings a little tight so they becomes more properly adjusted as they wear in, and 2) I'm hoping the oil drips are simply a sign that the bearing grease is separating a bit. That is to say, I'm not worried about it, and so will not re-grease and re-adjust the bearings immediately.This wheel has a Weinmann Zac 19, rim-brake-compatible, Presta-valve, double-wall rim. This rim is 23.4-mm wide on the outside, as measured across the braking surface. The inner dimension where the bead shoulders will touch the tire sidewalls is 18.75 mm (naturally, the full inner dimension is greater.) These dimensions are nice because they will reduce pinch flats on narrow tires, and also allow for larger tires. I'll run up to 32cc tires on this rim. I suspect it would also be just fine with 23's, except that in the Q&A section Kristian B. says the smallest should be 28cc. The depth of the rim, measured as the external outer diameter to the external inner diameter, is 16.2mm. So, not very deep.It does not come with rim tape, so you'll need to transfer the tape over from your old rim, or buy new tape.The spokes and nipples are silver, the hub and rim are black, and the rim braking surface is silver. There is no depth-indicator groove on the rim braking surface — something that I consider a plus, because the extra material means the rim will last longer when subjected to the eroding/scraping affect of grit on rainy days.The weight of the wheel — not including the skewer, rim tape, tube or tire — is 1060 grams. So, not light, but not terribly heavy, either, when we're talking about an inexpensive commuter bike.
