Meh..

There was a guy clearing his WH-R540 wheelset on togoparts a couple of days back. At just $60, the price was a definite steal. However, I only needed the front wheel for my fixie build. So I smsed the guy, asking whether I could take the front wheel only. He replied, "So how much should I charge you?". I said "$25". He then said "Ok", and then replied the meeting details in his following sms.

Like almost all my online forum dealings, this one took place at an MRT station. The guy came with the wheels loosely wrapped in a huge black thrash bag. I was expecting to see a single wheel inside when he pried open the thrash bag. Instead, I saw two wheels. I shrugged it off, and thought that he must have forgotten that I only requested for the front wheels.

I inspected the front wheel and gave him the thumbs-up. I was just about the hand him the cash when he took out the rear wheel and said, "Nah, you can take this too". I was taken aback. I told him that he couldn't be serious. Well he was. Of course, I tried to thread on the righteous path by telling him things like "But I have no need for the rear wheel" and "I only have money for the front wheel, it wouldn't be right", but deep inside I hoped that we wasn't going to change his mind. Thankfully he didn't, and I went home with one of the most awesome deals that I've ever experienced.

The old wheelset New front wheel Bike with new wheelset With just 16 spokes (compared to the 32 in the stock wheels), the new wheelset is much lighter than the stock. Ride quality is still the same though. All in all it just looks plain awesome.