There aren't that many venues where something born 6 years ago could be reborn as a classic, but bike wheels sure is one of them. Then, the carbon craze had barely yet begun, 23mm tires were "wide," HED was about the only company effectively talking about using wider internal rim widths (and "only" 18mm at that), a handful of races had small gravel sections, there simply was no tubeless road, 120psi was a thing, and disc brakes were solely for mountain bikes. Heck, we didn't even have Garmins yet. And November had just launched with the FSW as a centerpiece product. With a 27mm deep and 19mm (external) wide rim, and your choice of the latest in 10 speed hubs (11 if you were on Shimano), the original FSW was a perfect fit for racers and general performance/enthusiast riders.
Screeching into the present tense, rims are wider than ever, disc wheels no longer mean "time trial bike wheels" but "disc brake wheels," everyone's on 11 speed, front derailleurs are on the endangered list, 23mm tires are so 6 years ago, electronic shifting is all the rage... and still no Jetsons flying cars. Dissapointment.
A few updates, another gear...
BUT, the FSW is back! Still the best value in everything you really want for your paved to "not-quite-singletrack-yet, really" riding, they're strong, stiff, wide, light, fast, pretty, and tubeless ready. Based, as the original FSW was, on Kinlin rims, Sapim spokes, and Novatec hubs, they're the same handbuilt value they were then, only we're six years better at doing this. 1515g for 20/24 in rim brake, and 1675g for 24/28 in disc brake.
Centerlockerific
The rim specs are similar for both rim and disc builds. 31mm deep, 24mm wide (19 inside), and tubeless ready (though of course easy to use with tubes if that's your thing). The disc rims are offset in order to equalize spoke tension between one side of the wheel and the other. And they're finished in a lust inducing satin sandblast finish.
The hubs use the very effective Anti-Bite Guard to keep cassette body chewing to a minimum, use upgraded Japanese made (EZO) bearings, and the disc hubs are available in all appropriate axle formats.For those of you wishing to upgrade to the ever lovely and popular White Industries T11 or CLD hubs, that's also an option. All hubs are 11 speed compatible, and Shimano/SRAM drive hubs include spacers for use with 8/9/10 speed.
The spokes are black (always a primary concern for a lot of people) Sapim CX Rays, with the very slightly heavier gauge CX Sprint on the disc side of the disc front, and the drive side of both rears. Nipples are black Wheelsmith brass, the best nipples we've ever found. Lacing is 24/28 2x everywhere for disc, and your choice of 20/24 or 24/8 radial front and 2x/2x rear. Appropriate rider weight max for disc is 215. For 20/24 it's 185, and for 24/28 it's 220 (as always, those are just guidelines based on one important factor).
Tubeless tape is included and installed, and skewers are included in rim brake builds.
Who you callin' offset?FSW3 and FSW3 Disc wheelsets are now available and shipping. Pricing starts at $575 for November by Novatec rim brake builds, $735 for WI rim brake builds. Disc builds start at $595 with November by Novatec hubs, $780 for WI CLD builds.
And yes, the whole wide wide world of everything else is still available as custom builds, at our always customer-friendly pricing.
21 comments
Hi Bob,We think they are a great deal. The hubs are engineered differently than Shimano hubs (the bearing system is totally different) but generally they all perform the same function quite well. I can't tell you that these are the equivalent of Dura Ace hubs, as they aren't. Dura Ace hubs and T11s are more on the same level. Down-range Shimano hubs are severely limited in drilling options (generally only 32h and 36h). Shimano's hubs are also known for being dead silent. These are quiet, but not as quiet as Shimanos. They'll fit in a Wilier.Dave
Hey Dave,Long time, buddy. Glad you're up to new stuff. Any chance of a higher spoke count? Im packing on the pounds on the couch this year and need to get back on the bike, but 24/28 might not cut it.
Hey Mike – Hope things are good there. We're not going to do an official productized 28/32 FSW variant but we'll have the equivalent parts and pieces to make a set in a bit. Trying to get the supply pipeline filled with the standard stuff and then it will be easy to bring in some higher spoke count stuff in a bit. – Dave
Just ordered a set of 20/24's today. I have a set of the Nimbus Ti wheels with Pacenti hoops and those are great wheels. I can hardly wait for these to show up. It looks like a great package and really nice price. I looked at other wheels but came back to these. I just think it's a really good bang for buck deal and knowing the build quality of November I couldn't pass them up.
Received the wheel set. As expected really true and well built, pride in workmanship is evident. I mounted them up and was able to get in a short ride despite the 32 degree weather. If I were being honest these wheels are not much different then my Nimbus Ti set. I do like the Nimbus Ti hubs a little more but it's close. I like that the rear is not overly loud, actually audible but soft. Tires did mount easier than the Pacenti's and really close width wise. The rear derauiler was perfect from one set to the next. These met all my expectations and still one heck of a deal. Thanks Dave and all involved.