Modern Styling with a Classic Touch

Black is, and will always be, the new black with most wheels. It’s a tough color to escape as it pairs well with any color palette in the road market. Silver spokes and nipples are considered elegant, yet somewhat undesirable when it comes time to have a custom wheelset laced up. For anything but a vintage bike or a more basic, around-town build, it seems like silver has become dated. What is the biggest drawback of a completely silver wheelset? Is it too subtle? Flashy? Boring? Undesirable? The answer to me is uncertain, so I leave the pondering up to you to after you see this classically-styled build.

Here’s a little background: I was contacted by a rider out of Connecticut who was building up an early 2000’s Klein Quantum Race frameset. He was looking for an all silver/polished wheelset to maintain classic styling. He was especially enamored with the depth of the rims in the Build No. 2. At 31mm deep, it paired well aesthetically with the oversized tubing on the frame.

Build 2: Rim Brake | 31mm Clincher | Sapim Laser Spokes | Brass Nipples | 1,570g | $480ºº

•  23mm Wide, 31mm Deep | Tubeless Ready | 20/28h | Black
• IWC Laser Engraved, Sealed Bearing Rear Hub | Shimano 10/11 | Silver
• IWC Laser Engraved, Sealed Bearing Front Hub | Silver
• Sapim Laser Spokes | 2.0-1.5mm | Silver
• Sapim Brass Nipples | 14mm |  Silver

He did a great job envisioning this final build. Not only is it extremely clean-looking, but there are touches of silver throughout the bike that are highlighted and brought out because of the polished wheelset. This really emphasizes the idea that a good set of wheels can really make or break the final looks of most any build. Congrats again on the build, I hope it provides many great miles of riding down the road.