Gipiemme Tecno 032 wheelset

Gipiemme is an Italian manufacturer with a venerable history and a wide range of wheels, including these Tecno 032s. They're straightforward in appearance, with standard section 19mm clincher rims, small-flange hubs, and elbow spokes rather than straight-pull. Construction is also standard: hubs and rims are aluminium, while spokes are stainless steel. The freewheel splines are aluminium too.

First thing we did after taking the wheels out of the box was hold the axles and give them a spin. The bearings were nice and smooth. The front wheel was true, but the rear had a bit of a wobble - just 1mm on each side. Not enough to be a problem, and not unusual for budget products, but still not really what you want with a brand new pair of wheels.

The wheels are built with 14-gauge spokes, slightly butted, except on the cassette side of the rear wheel, where plain-gauge spokes are employed for extra strength. All standard stuff, but an unexpected feature was the way the spokes were laced. Both wheels use a standard 3-cross pattern, but had some noticeable kinking in the spokes, most likely the result of some heavy treatment during building in Gipiemme's factory.

The spokes were also set fairly loose. This is not necessarily a problem - it's often a deliberate feature on wheels designed for long-distance riding, bad roads or heavy loads (or all three) - and if preferred, you could get the spokes tweaked up by an expert to make the wheels more taut. We showed our test set to a professional wheel-builder who reckoned that a lot of the slack could easily be taken out, although those noticeable kinks would be unlikely to disappear completely because the spokes were only slightly butted.

Next, we put the wheels on the road.cc scales and checked the weights. We made it F 860g R 1045g - so not quite the F 841g R 1009g quoted in the catalogue (although that does include a +/- 5% caveat).

Then it was time for a ride. We put the wheels in a much-loved hand-built steel frame with carbon forks, and fitted a pair of 700x23 Schwalbe Blizzard Sports. There was no trouble with fitting the tyres, indicating that the rims on these Gipiemmes are neither over-sized or under-sized.

In the first mile or two there was a lot of pinging as the spokes settled in, which would suggest the wheels had not been stressed after building. To be fair, after about five miles, the wobble in the rear wheel now seemed a little less evident.

As expected when spokes are set fairly loose, the ride was very comfortable, with the wheels rolling effortlessly over some pretty rough surfaces and absorbing the vibration (along with the already comfortable carbon-and-steel frame combo). With the wheels now pretty true, there was no problem when standing up; they flexed a bit, but not enough to rub on the brake blocks.

And talking of brakes, the braking surface on the rims was good - with nice positive stopping from the get-go.

After 100 miles, the wheels were still fine, although that wobble in the back had returned. A visit to the local wheel-smith sorted it out in a flash. Using a special spoke-key fitted with a magnifying glass he also pointed out that the spokes were Sapim - a reputable brand.

The wheels are available with freewheel either Campag or Shimano compatible. One thing we noticed when changing the (steel) cassette was signs of wear on the freehub's aluminium splines. And that was after just 100 miles. This issue is not restricted to the Tecno 032s - it happens on any wheel where a few grams have been saved by using an alu freehub and a steel cassette has been fitted.

The Gipiemme Tecno 032s are a budget option, but the quality is a a step or two above entry-level. They retail at around £150 to £170 per pair, which is fair for wheels of this sort.

Verdict

A good comfortable budget option, ideal for training, touring, winter-riding and other duties where low weight is not essential.