Tell me about Strada Hand Built Wheels?

Strada Wheels Ltd is owned and run by the director Darren Rawlings. It is VAT registered 995 7879 20 and the registered office is 9 Findon Drive, Felpham PO22 6QJ, our workshop address is Unit 1 Gaugemaster Way, Ford Arundel , BN18 0RX, UK. Our wheelbuilders are Darren, Glyn, Michael & Steve, and testing is currently undertaken by CCR Race Team & Ironman Athlete Corrine Abraham.

Who builds your wheels?

All our wheels are hand built in house at Strada HQ by our expert wheelbuilders. In total we have a combined 38 years of experience. To date, we have built over 10,000 pairs of wheels for daily riders to Tour de France & Olympic champions. As we move in to 2020 the team is stronger than ever with all four members of staff overseeing build duties, Michael has just finished a full year of intense training at the wheel truing stand and is ready to help us increase volume throughout our busy season.  See our About Us page for full details of Team Strada.

Will you ship to Europe, Scandinavia or UAE?

Yes we will ship wheels to Europe or Scandinavia or UAE via TNT Express or Parcelforce tracked at cost. Other destinations on request.

Why are your prices cheaper than well known brands?

We are proud to have started the business small and cost efficiently. We can buy direct from certain manufacturers and bulk buy other items to reduce costs. But as a business we incur costs like every other trader such as VAT, National Insurance, insurance and taxes!

Why should I buy a set of wheels from Strada?

We strive to match a set of wheels specifically to you, your bike and they way you ride. We don’t just drag a boxed wheelset off the warehouse shelf and despatch it. We consult with our clients to make sure we understand their requirements before we select rims, spokes, hubs and tension them to make a pair of wheels that will perform well and last seasons of use.

What’s wrong with my set of factory made wheels?

Mass manufacture means a wheel is required to handle a wide variety of riders and conditions from a 50kg female to a 100kg+ male. So the wheel setup is not fine tuned to you and the way you ride. During mass manufacture a wheel made by machine is assembled in seconds. The nipples are tightened by machine very quickly and significant variations in spoke tension can occur as the wheel is brought into true. This can lead to the wheel going out of true quickly and subsequently spoke breakages. Then the wheel is not properly de-stressed as only a bar is used to push in on the spokes in series as the wheel rotates. You can hear usually a new factory wheel “ping” as you ride it for the first time – that is the sound of the nipples bedding in to the rim and spokes rotating on the hub and it potentially going out of true. The wheel will often need truing shortly after it has been ridden for the first time and may need more frequent maintenance to keep it in good condition than a hand built wheel.

Strada’s mission statement

To source, import, hand build (in the UK) and retail directly via the internet high quality carbon and alloy wheels for sporting cyclists at a competitive price point supported by good friendly customer service, technical knowledge and backed up with our True For Life Warranty.

How accurately can you build a set of wheels?

We are proud to use a wheel truing stand from P+K Lie in Germany. It is one of only a half dozen known to be here in the UK. It is made from cnc milled aluminium and brass for accuracy and ease of use. It has an accuracy of 0.05mm indicated in the dials. These levels of tolerance are achievable in both alloy and carbon fibre rims.

Can I try a wheelset before buying?

We try to keep several key wheelsets in stock for you to try. It may not be the exact combination of hub / spoke / rim you want but it will give you a very good idea of the ride quality and overall finish of the wheelset. We are based at the foot of the Southdowns in Ford, Arundel so you are welcome to fit them and go for a ride over the South Downs and have a decent coffee and a chat.

Repairs

You ran over the wheel leaving the garage, clattered into a huge pothole or you locked wheels and hit the road sprinting for the line. It does not matter how it happened – we can repair or rebuild our wheels or other brands too. We can upgrade hubs, replace spokes and build a new rim onto your favourite hubs. We can upgrade to ceramic bearings too.

I want something special

You want fluoro spokes, engraved hubs or sponsor’s decals on your wheels? Use the Custom Build contact form to get in touch or call us on 01903 214956 and we can put a quote together for you.

How can I make payment?

You can pay by Credit or Debit card either by phone or via our secure server. You can also pay by cheque or arrange a BACs transfer to Santander Business Banking, Strada Wheels Ltd, Sort: 09-01-27 Ac:79543174.

Why do you use J bend spokes?

Spokes occasionally fail and if one does fail whilst you are preparing for the Etape or on a riding holiday in Italy you want to be able to make a repair and carry on riding. Every local bike shop carries some stock of J bend spokes and can make a quick repair. If you have broken a straight pull or a manufacturer’s own brand spoke it can take weeks for a replacement to arrive. So we opted for Sapim J bend spokes – renown for their quality and reliability.

Why do we use Aplina & Sapim spokes?

We wanted to use brands that are well known and have a wide range of spokes for all uses. Reliability is essential and many manufacturers will skimp on spokes to keep costs down. The spoke is humble but plays a major role in how the wheel builds, it’s durability, how it handles and feels to the rider. We have been working directly with both manufacturers over the last 10 years to unsure the quality is high. In 2014 Darren & the team designed & produced our own spokes alongside Italian spoke manufacturer Alpina. This has allowed us to be be one step ahead of the competition and ensure your wheel build has the correct spoke setup for the job.

How do I mount my tubular tyres?

You can find great instructions on this website. Please note – never sand a carbon rim whilst preparing to mount a tubular and never use metal tyre levers on a carbon fibre clincher rim. Just use some meths and kitchen roll to clean any dust or production agents before starting.

What brake pads do you recommend for alloy rims?

We recommend the Swissstop BXP for alloy rims mixed conditions. They work very well in the wet and can be purchased from the Accessories section of the website.

Can I buy more carbon specific brake pads?

Yes, we keep them in stock.

Can I use Swissstop Yellow brake pads with your carbon fibre rims?

We recommend you use the brake pads supplied with the wheelset. They have been specifically manufactured to match the rim and control the heat dissipation. The Swissstop Yellow has a higher heat resistance which may make the carbon fibre rim overheat in exceptional circumstances (such as riding all the way down Mt Ventoux with the brakes on).

Custom decals

We can apply either a set of colour matched decals to a set of ENVE rims or your own sponsor decals to a carbon fibre wheelset for you. Either you can supply a digital (ideally an AI/Adobe Illustrator) file or we can have them made for you. A Typical full set is £60 including fitting. Please send your requests to michael@stradawstage.wpengine.com or call us at the workshop on 01903 214956

Are the Strada decals removable?

I hope you like our branding but if not they are applied on the surface and so can be removed or you can request no decals when we build them for you.

Who tests your wheels?

We are lucky to have Josh Lawless on the road and Chris Noble on the dirt as our sponsored riders and wheel testers. You can see their full bios in the team section and look out for them out riding.