XLR8 High Performance Bicycle Wheels

Moving from the smooth roads of the city to a rural area with more coarse roads I needed to upgrade my older aero wheels. I spoke to Josh at XLR8 Wheels who talked me through the multitude of options that might work for me. Josh recommended a ‘mullet’ build, 58 (business) in the back and 38 (party) in the front as they offer the best of aero without the disadvantage of being blown around in crosswinds. Josh is an excellent communicator who knows what works, he also took the time understand exactly what I was wanting out of my wheels. The time between agreeing the spec and delivery was short, which was great as it meant I could get out on the roads sooner. Wheels have been perfect, offering the best of aero and making use of wider internal width has smoothed out the local roads. The wheels delivered look awesome and having something tuned to my riding style, with local support, white industry hubs and sapim spokes for short dollars was a no brainer. Buy with confidence.

Josh takes the time to get to know his customers and what they want, then builds wheels to suit. The attention to detail is outstanding, and he's available to support long after the wheels have been delivered, ridden, thrashed. I've emailed him about brake pads, tyre selection and he's always helpful.

Bicycles are simple things. Bicycle wheels are too. When they are in pieces.I could build a wheel but most times it is far more effective to get someone else to do it. Yes it costs in time and postage but you get something built by someone not distracted by making dinner, going to a boring desk job and doing the school run. Someone focussed on the wheel. And probably coffee. That has been my experience with XLR8. Someone focussed on a wheel so I don't have to. So far I seem to have one set of everything either built or tweaked by Josh and they've all been strong builds.Don't get me wrong... I've killed an XLR8 built wheel but there was a good reason for its demise (it was too light, I was too heavy and I ride like a landslide) and Josh was very accommodating getting it sorted.If you want bling then XLR8 will do bling. If not they'll do that too. They even accommodate cheapskates like me. Even if you want to buy a machine made wheel on the internet and get it sorted then XLR8 can do that too.Whatever your wheel issue then asking costs nothing much more than time so give the lonely old nutter at XLR8 a call to talk about.

Amazing Knowledge & Professional Service! Josh has over 20 years experience & it shows in his work. He will craft the best set up for your biking needs! Thanks XLR8!

I’ve had two road wheelsets built by Josh at XLR8 – one from scratch, and another a rebuild of an amateur job that I picked up cheaply for a retro build.After stumbling on his website, my initial email enquiry was quickly responded to, and soon I had a clear understanding of the various price and quality options available for my weight and riding style. You don’t need many exchanges with Josh to realise that he knows a ridiculous amount about rims, hubs, spokes, and cycling wheelsets generally. Some of this clearly comes from years of experience, and some of it just comes from an obvious passion for the sport and his clients. By the time I’d done a bit more digging and gained some understanding, any concerns I had about buying from interstate were more than offset by the fact that I was clearly getting unbiased but quality advice.Since receiving both wheelsets (which remain laser straight after thousands of km’s) I’ve touched base with Josh a few times, with the odd follow-up maintenance question, or even just for advice on a related issue. I’m sure there are other folks around who can build a nice wheel, but when you’ve had a good experience at a fair price from a straight-up guy who stands by his work, I’ll happily pay the very reasonable shipping costs for my next set.I’m not one to write a lot of reviews online, but old-school, service-oriented businesses who look at the value of a customer rather than a one-off transaction are few and far between these days and deserve to be supported. Josh is a good guy and a genuine craftsman, and I suspect that combination is the reason why he has so many repeat customers.

I first approached XLR8 two years ago, struggling with reliability issues on a fairly new and popular model of factory built road wheel. Having done my research, I had a good idea of what I wanted, but was intent to keep an open mind all the same. XLR8 was quick to respond to my initial email enquiry, and after some discussion, we settled on a specification we agreed would be ideal for my body weight, ability, and riding style, and deliver the characteristics I was seeking (HPS Archetypes/White Industries T11/ double butted spokes 20/28). Within a few hours, I was provided with a fully itemised quotation, detailing not only the cost of each part, but the individual weights. Once I gave the go ahead, the wheels were delivered on time, and exactly as specified.What I didn’t expect was how much better these would feel than my flimsy factory wheels from the very first pedal strokes. Far more responsive feeling under acceleration, and a noticeable absence of flex and associated brake rub when out of the saddle. After 23,000km, the wheels are still dead straight, and the rims showing <50% brake track wear. Later on, when looking for a set of carbon tubulars for gran-fondo events, I had no hesitation in contacting XLR8 again.Two things that I have found really refreshing about dealing with XLR8: Firstly, I never felt that I was being ‘upsold’ to something that I didn’t want. This was evident when discussing spoke choice. While I had my heart set on cx rays or aerolites for my carbon tubs for aesthetic reasons, they actually convinced me that these would not deliver adequate stiffness for my weight in a 20/24 configuration, and effectively talked me into a spoke choice that was around a quarter of the price. Secondly, XLR8 has been really helpful post sale, talking me through bearing replacement and routine maintenance aspects. A small issue with the non-drive side spokes of the initial rear wheel showing spots of corrosion (traced to a faulty batch from the supplier) was dealt with very efficiently, and I’m confident these wheels will run reliably until I wear out the brake track – at which point I plan to have them replace the rim and go again.For anyone looking at buying a one-spec-fits-all factory made wheelset, I’d urge you to reconsider. It makes such a difference to have something that is totally serviceable (without proprietary spokes/bearings/rims etc), built for you, by someone who takes some pride in what they do.

Great service and excellent value. Really happy with the rebuilt wheels.

Josh has built two high end wheelsets for me in the past year. The second set was his recommendation of White Industry Hubs and a deep dish carbon rim he recommends, Tailwind.He gives good advice and listens to what you want, rather than pushing old dusty stock that he is trying to get rid of.Iv put in a few thousand km so far and the Tailwind rims are fantastic. Im also very impressed with the White Industry Hubs.

I initially approached XLR8 in an attempt to resolve ongoing issues with a factory wheelset constantly breaking spokes.Josh from XLR8 provided me some options and we decided to rebuild the wheelset on some Carbon rims. I never had any issue with the wheelset from that point forward and they are as true as the day he built them.XLR8 provides an exceptionally high level of skill as wheel builders and their customer service is second to none. They work with the customer during the whole process providing expert advise from their extensive experience.I have since had 2 further complete wheelsets built by XLR8 and would not go anywhere else.

Josh has built me a number of wheelsets over the years. He has an amazing attention to detail and produces wheels that outlast all others. Will be back for more.