Anyone on alto wheels?

[sfo423]

Are you saying these are open mold rims that can be purchased under several labels?

[color=#BFBF00][/color]

First post Flrider?

Yes, first post but I guess you may call me a disgruntled customer.

I was promised a bunch from Alto and they went in throwing a bunch of over the top technical words about layup and composites engineering. Then I found out it was the exact same rim, shape, weight, dimensions as a bunch of other companies. I dug a little more and found out that they were doing the same things with both carbon and alloy.

So, upset customer who just venting a bit because I feel cheated for overpaying for open mold rims.

[TobinHatesYou]

Are you saying these are open mold rims that can be purchased under several labels?

There's another wrinkle to this story. These new wheels/rims have only been available since September or so...they've already been replaced with an updated or different rim in the last few weeks.

[Flrider]

With the Alto, I had fallen for them with their original carbon 40, 56, and 86mm designs. Those were the exact same shapes, depths, widths, and look as the dengfu or hongfu rims that I later found everywhere. From there I started following because I was pretty upset I got tricked.
The A26 that Alto did was clearly the Pacenti rim, but Bobby would not admit to it. There is a thread over at road bike review where he gets called out.

There's an older review showing the a26 and older 56mm clincher model (which was the one I bought). In here you can see the a26 is clearly the Pacenti alloy rim, and the 56mm profile is the same image as the open mold dengfu rims. Just Google dengfu 56mm clincher.
https://www.roadbikerider.com/product-r ... -wheelsets

The new models he is changing the dimensions slightly so that the rim depth look slightly different in Google searches and it's harder to see, but he is using the exact same image that Pacenti is for the new disc brake models.
Alto "52" which is actually 50
https://altocycling.com/collections/dis ... -wheel-set
Pacenti 50
https://pacenticycledesign.com/collecti ... e-wheelset
Hunt 50
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products ... spoke-1099

All three of these have images of the cross section on their pages.
And just so it's not a coincidence on just one rim.
Alto "28" actually a 30
https://altocycling.com/collections/dis ... 8-clincher
Pacenti 30
https://pacenticycledesign.com/collecti ... e-wheelset
Hunt 30
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/collecti ... 27wide-999

I guess I'm being a little petty, but also am pretty upset I was lied to when I was told the rims were their own design and not an open mold rim.

[TobinHatesYou]

Are you saying these are open mold rims that can be purchased under several labels?

There's another wrinkle to this story. These new wheels/rims have only been available since September or so...they've already been replaced with an updated or different rim in the last few weeks.

Nm, looks like a rim-brake clincher update with new resins / braking surface.

[BobbySweeting]

Flrider, we don't want any disgruntled customers! And I certainly don't want you to feel as though you were lied to.

I assume you live in Florida, hence the name Flrider? If so, I invite you to our machine shop in Sarasota to see where we cut our rim molds and hubs. We want our customers to fully understand how and why we design and manufacture our products. If you have any issues or concerns with your wheels, please reach out to me directly and I'll be sure that you're taken care of!

[mtnbikerva1]

So what happened with the visit to the Alto machine shop etc.?

[Flrider]

Bobby emailed me personally to show me that his "28mm" rim was actually 28mm.



The problem is, he didn't notice the numbers on the caliper if you are not reading the digital readout.
That above picture was from his 28mm, notice how the mark is directly over the 30mm.

Here is his measurement of his 40mm, again the mark is directly over the 40mm. So the 40mm rim is actually 40mm, but his 28mm is 30mm.
Exactly like the Pacenti and Hunt!



And I was lied to again.

[ergott]

That's pretty funny.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[deano87]

LOL

[AJS914]

There's quite a difference between Alto, Hunt, and Pacenti price points.

[tonytourist]

Sounds like the Altos are a great value!

[Slack]

Unfortunately every time I have had the misfortune of having to interact with Alto they have been rude, condescending or lied about IP that they hold or supposedly 'invented'. This alone has stopped me having any interest in the brand or anything they have supposedly created. If some one is willing to lie from the outset to prospective customers then why would you trust anything they say?

[TobinHatesYou]

Tough to ignore the latest evidence. *sigh*

[TuplaO]

Yes, by the looks of it, Alto are trying to portray 'their' rims as something they may not be. I'm under the impression that Hunt, for example, is a bit more open (pun intended) about their open mold stuff. They're not trying to pass the rims etc. they use as their own IP, but seem to rely on better QC and customer service. I hope/trust this extends to possible warranty issues as well. (Full disclosure: I have a wheelset by Hunt on order...)

[TobinHatesYou]

I bought my set based on the word of someone I trust, and that person knows Bobby personally, so I have all sorts of mixed feelings right now. I’ve already stated my opinions on the wheels earlier in this thread. They were overpriced in hindsight since they did not come close to claimed weight. The hub, specifically the axle design is good. I said I would stick with ENVE and Zipp at such a price point, and that remains true.

In usage, I had one incident with Mavic Yksion Pro UST tires and the Alto CCX40s. I inflated them on the rim to 110psi to seat, perform the initial seal. About 5 minutes after while the wheel was leaned against the wall, the tire blew off the rim. Since then I have been afraid to inflate the tires past about 85psi...in all practicality this is not a big deal since I ride at pressures closer to 60-70psi, but it does leave me wondering. Pacenti’s hookless rims also claim to hold at 110psi...I’d be interested in hearing if others have inflated tubeless tires to that pressure on either Alto or Pacenti hookless rims.