# Alex A class



## Visitor 303 (Feb 15, 2005)

I have Alex A-class wheels... (I think they're what a 16 or 18 flat spoked wheel?)
Anywho, my query is, how much crap will these things take. They seem awfuly light to me. Or are they stonger than they look???
Can I blow across rail road tracks, potholes and things, or should they stick to nicely paved rails to trails?


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## Jett (Mar 21, 2004)

Visitor 303 said:


> I have Alex A-class wheels... (I think they're what a 16 or 18 flat spoked wheel?)
> Anywho, my query is, how much crap will these things take. They seem awfuly light to me. Or are they stonger than they look???
> Can I blow across rail road tracks, potholes and things, or should they stick to nicely paved rails to trails?


I think you'll get different opinions about Alex wheels on this site (most likely due to poor QA by the company). Some think they're, crap while others think they're good wheels.

Personally, I'm with the crap group. I had pair that went out of true in under 6 month and I was never able to re-true then again. I wasn't bombing over rail road tracks or thru huge potholes, jsut nice pavied roads. At the end I just end up replacing my wheels.

BTW, Alex are not that light.


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## Visitor 303 (Feb 15, 2005)

Well........
These things weigh nothing next to what I'm used to anyway... My old roadie had old school steel wheels. I imagine they weigh what the whole of the new bike does.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Ouch*



Visitor 303 said:


> Can I blow across rail road tracks, potholes and things, or should they stick to nicely paved rails to trails?


Man, this hurts to read! IMO, it makes no difference what wheels you ride, you should always unweight your bike on train tracks and avoid road hazards. It's part of being a good rider.


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## Visitor 303 (Feb 15, 2005)

I don't mean to imply that I pourpusfully hit potholes at full force for the heck of it....
It's just somtimes things sneek up on ya when you're waching trafic, pedestians, and for sharp objects that will do a number on a tire.... 
See, with fuel prices getting way out of hand, I was thinking of using the bie to run erronds and things rather than fire up my 4.9L feeding 4-10 gears in a big 'ol pickup,,, (getting the gas guzler imagery here),,, OR,,, should I keep this bikes role purely recrational....


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## rmp (Aug 25, 2004)

*My Alex Experiense so far....*

My wife's Specialized Sequoia came with Alex wheels (290s maybe). The bike has well under 1000 miles on it and the cassette is starting to stick (doesn't freewheel after the bike has been dormant overnight). After pedaling for a few seconds it unsticks. I can also hear a groaning noise starting to come from the rear hub. On our ride on Sunday it was hanging up on her for the first 1/4 mile or so.

I'm bringing it in to the bike shop where we purchased it this weekend. For a road bike which has never been ridden in any kind of inclement weather, and has been well taken care of, this is unacceptable.

rmp


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## FTF (Aug 5, 2003)

I once had some Alex wheels, which were garbage. 


I broke the rear axel in half, I'm a pretty powerful rider though, I've never had any trouble with any other wheel ever, infact these were the only ones I've even had to true. I had to true them ALL the time, too. I broke a spoke, too I think (it's been some years), oh no I broke a flange off the rear hub. I think the only part I didn't have trouble with was the rim itself.


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## jtompilot (Mar 31, 2002)

Kerry Irons said:


> Man, this hurts to read! IMO, it makes no difference what wheels you ride, you should always unweight your bike on train tracks and avoid road hazards. It's part of being a good rider.


What do you mean by unweight? IM still going to have 165lbs attached to my bike. I do stand up and make sure my legs and arms are bent for shock.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Unweighting*



jtompilot said:


> What do you mean by unweight? IM still going to have 165lbs attached to my bike. I do stand up and make sure my legs and arms are bent for shock.


At a minimum, this means getting out of the saddle a bit so that the imact on your wheels is absorbed by your legs and arms. Depending on how rough the tracks/road patches are, it can reach all the way to a bunny hop. Intermediate steps can be pulling up on the bars and/or pedals without actually pulling the wheels off the road.


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## rbart4506 (Aug 4, 2004)

*My Experience...*

My wife and I picked up a pair of 04 Roubaix's with the Alex 290 wheels and we were reasonably happy at first, but that didn't last long. After 500km of riding both rear hubs and freehubs had gotten loose. There was a large amount of side to side play in both wheels and the whole wheel was creaking like mad as we pedalled with any force. We took the wheels into the LBS and they tightened everything down, but that was enough were us. We replaced the Alex Wheels with some Mavic K Elites and have save the Alex's for back-up duties. I also noticed that after we had all the wheels off the bikes that both front hubs also felt pretty crunchy and not smooth at all....

Let's just say I'm not impressed with the hubs one bit....

Rich


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## cycling (Jul 27, 2004)

I have alex a-class 330's. I love them. They are not the most lateraly rigid things in the world, but they get the job done right. They are not heavy but not light. And the hubs arent like shimano D/A, but they are pretty smooth.


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## Rushfan (Apr 20, 2003)

I had back experiences with Alex 330s, all with the back wheel. Kept going out of true, popped spokes, finally had the rear hub crack, all in 2000 miles. Garbage.


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## JaeP (Mar 12, 2002)

*Alex 300*

I had a pair of Alex 300 wheels that I rode, raced and trained on for one year with no problems. I'm 6'2" and 245 lbs. I bought them for $150 at Supergo. I no longer have the wheelset because someone stole my bike out of my garage. 

I liked the wheels a lot. They were stiff in a sprint and, for $150, relatively light. They were super cool with black rims, black spokes and black hubs. They were laced using "Rolf Paired Spoke" technology (24f/28r).


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## smccrory (Feb 16, 2005)

I have a Specialized Tarmac Comp with ALX 330 wheels. I have put about 600 miles on the wheels in the last two months and the rear wheel has been trued four times. When going uphill with any force the rear wheel creaks so bad I think it is going to break apart. I weigh 175. The wheel is obviously bad and I am working with my LBS to find a solution. I love the Tarmac but Specialized has done their customers a disservice by specing these wheels on a higher end bike. Bottom line is I would avoid these wheels.


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