# Alex ALX-330



## soulsurfer104 (Jun 30, 2003)

does anybody know anything about the Alex ALX-330 wheelset? the 2005 Specialized Tarmac Comp, which i am considering upgrading to, is equipped with these wheels. i am concerned because i don't see many people riding Alex wheels and also because IMHO the ALX-330s look "cheap". has anybody ridden these wheels? how are Alex wheels in general? any input is welcome. thanks.


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## buffedupboy (Feb 6, 2003)

*There are*

There have been a few postings on these wheels. Maybe not the same model. I used to ride an ALX320. Nice and stiff, and fairly light as well.

They are a company based in Taiwan, and used to sell them separately. However, lately they have been more concerned with OEM sales. They are fairly cheap which is why you see them on complete bikes alot.

Nothing to shout about but very very adequate wheels.


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## cycling (Jul 27, 2004)

*yes good*

i have the alx 330's on my bike
ive had my specialized for around 3 months and have put the bike through alot of stress
2400 miles of it
through cobble and dirt even regular road
there great
ive heard of some people having there hubs break though(where the spoke connects at the middle of the wheel
nice breaking sidewalls also


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## Lab Worker (May 31, 2004)

I've got about 4000k on a set of 330's. They are quite a light wheelset for their price, I posted the exact weight on weightweenies.starbike.com

The hubs are the same as the Speedcific hubs, except using 16 / 20 spokes. The freehub body sounds great with a little light teflon lube in it. The driver mechanism is the same used in Odyssey, Haro, Mosh and Mongoose bmx cassette hubs: quite a simple 3 pawl setup.

They roll very quick, and the bearings, although no-name, appear good quality.

They are very easy to overhual, needing only a 2.5mm allen key to open up.

They are quite a flexy wheel though. I run my brakes a little on the loose side so they don't rub the pads while sprinting. Rather than getting knocked upwards when you hit a rock on the road, they flex around the rock.

The bladed spokes make them a little bit of a handfull riding in cross winds, but they're not too bad.

Overall I'm pretty happy with them. They're definately not going to compete with SL's or 7800's, but they only cost 1/4 the price. If you like the look of the Tarmac, these wheels shouldnt be a reason not to buy it, however having a set of SL's for race day would be nice.


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## sdecarlo74 (Oct 29, 2004)

*Alx-330*

Hi,

I have been reading lots of BS about the ALX-330. I had them on my Allez Elite. I had a bad crash, and let me tell you these wheels are the only thing that resisted the impact perfectly (besides myself), no damage at all.

I have them on my Allez Pro SLX, been riding more than 1500 miles with 'em and they are great. Light, stiff, easy to mount a tire when a flat occurs, they come with red rimtape on the inner profile and bladed flat spokes. They are GOOD !! check http://aclass-wheels.com/

Sincerely,
Sacha


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Not so fast, pardner!*

Sacha, I certainly can appreciate that you like your Alex wheels, but 1500 miles doesn't exactly prove them durable. Some would see that as about 5 weeks of use and might think that a durable wheel lasts for a couple of years, anyway. Also, nobody has mentioned rider weight, which has a signficant influence on the perceived durability, stiffness, etc. of the wheel - if you weigh 125 lb. and I weigh 225 lb., it is possible that we would have different experiences.


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## lyleseven (Nov 15, 2002)

*Ditto...especially about the weight*

as anyone over 200 lbs will stress these wheels significantly more...


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## soulsurfer104 (Jun 30, 2003)

*me*

i am 150 right now, but i am 140-142 during the season. i'm not liking the things i'm hearing about these wheels, and they just look fragile to me....i think when i get the bike i am going to sell them and buy either a set of MavicOP/Ultegras or the new Shimano R-550 wheelset and set them up with some GP3000 tires.


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## deluc6519 (Sep 21, 2004)

*first hand and shop experence*

with these wheels they are rebadged for OEM wheels AlX-320 is the retail ones and are rebadged to many other brands also. i have a set that i've ran in 3 different configurations (explain later) with no real issues and us being a specialized dealer i've sold many a set on bikes and some to guys in the 200-250lb range. first off a little more info about the wheels one the spokes at the bend are 13 gauge (2.3mm) something most people don't know, the bearings are great and very smooth and so far durable 8000 miles on the hubs, rim is around 480 grams and wheels weigh 1750ish (can't remember the exact number) without skewer. well here's the problems i've seen with them 

spoke related problems:
1 broken spoke (on mine none on the others) 
1 broken hub flange (covered under waranty)

bearing related problems: 
1 seal squeak (took apart and greased the seal on the rear in like 5 mins)
1 set devolped a little play in the bearings where they meet the hub a little loc tight took care of it 

no rim issues just normal truing 

as for the 3 configurations of mine well here's what's up with that. they came on a bike i bought and i liked them a lot but over time and 4500 miles later i wanted to upgrade but couldn't find anything that i would want that would be enuff of an improvement to make it worth it without spending 600-1000 dollars so ordered a set of dt revolutions (14/17) in 274mm which if you lace them like this radial on front and non drive rear and 1 cross on the drive side took weight down to 1570 grams (those orginal spokes are heavy!). rode the for about another year and a half with no issues and they actually seemed stiffer than before. btw i'm a 170lb sprinter also just so you know. i got taken down hard in a crit in september in which i found my way into the curb of the sidewalk at 30+ mph denting my rear rim and leaving ground down marks on both the front and rear spokes from the curb. the next day i checked my wheel front was still true rear was a little off but had it not been dented i could have finished the race. here's the big problem with them finding replacement rims it's not an easy task. i couldn't for about a week so i picked up a set of velomax orions II (which i love) but then contacted velocity and got a 16 front and 40 (skipping every other spoke making it a 20) deep-V laced up with 14 gauge dt spokes not as lite as before but with the velomax as my race wheels these are now training wheels so it's not an issue about the weight (1780) 

well is that enought first hand info and experenced?


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## Lab Worker (May 31, 2004)

Kerry Irons said:


> Also, nobody has mentioned rider weight


Opps, 175 - 180


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