700c wheel choice?

[lulubel]

last time I checked, a pound of muscle weighed exactly the same as a pound of fat...??

But a litre of muscle weighs more than a litre of fat.

 

[User6179]

Fulcrum 5s for wheels (5000 miles, 90ish kg rider and as true as the day I bought the bike ) but like has been said before tyres would be first thing to upgrade.
Did my first run on gp4000s 25s last night and they feel as quick as ultremos zx and hopefully will be more durable.
I would imagine at least 1mph average gain over say 20 miles on gps or zx verses gatorskins.

 

[lulubel]

If you need to replace the wheels (because they're worn out or broken) it obviously makes sense to get the best wheels you can, but it makes very little sense to me otherwise - unless you've got enough money to make a real, noticeable difference.

My Trek 1.2 had Alex rims and unbranded hubs, which did the job for several thousand miles until the front one was wrecked in a crash. I'd thought about replacing them a few times before that, but was put off when I realised I'd need to spend at least half what I paid for the bike to really feel the difference.

My new bike (the frame was also wrecked in the crash) is 0.8kg heavier than the old bike in total, but I didn't scrimp on wheels, and my average speeds are now about 2mph faster than they were on the old bike. I spent about £200-250 on wheel components (would have been considerably more if the rims hadn't been 50% off) and built the wheels myself, which again saved me money over buying custom wheels.

They seem to have made a difference to every aspect of my rides. They spin up quicker going downhill, they roll along easier on the flat, and - the biggest difference - is short climbs are a lot quicker because it's much easier to keep momentum. I don't think they make a huge difference on long climbs, but it's hard to tell because I've got very different gearing on the new bike, and that has made a massive difference to my climbing ability.

 

[buddha]

I noticed the difference when upgrading to the relatively cheap Planet-X model B's (now called AL30) at 1.7kg front+rear for £150.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Well, i've just bought some new slick tyres for the .... mountain bike.

Over my 29.90 mile course timings for three types of tyre i've got "in stock":
New continental city slicks: 1h 58 mins.
On the previous "racing ralph" tyres it was 2h 15 mins.
On the previous "maxiss winter mountain" tyres it was 3h 12 mins.

Thats me kitted for dry roads, roads and tracks, and snow and ice.

 

[VamP]

14.10 for 6'feet is slightly overweight, I feel ill under 15stone, but muscle does weigh more than fat

Apologies for perpetuating the OT (save more cash @ the OP), but I am 6'1'', heavily built and at 12 st 6lbs am about half a stone over my ideal racing weight. 14.10 for 6 has a lot of scope for improvement that won't cost anything more than discipline and organization. Upgrades can wait until later.

 

[PpPete]

If you need to replace the wheels (because they're worn out or broken) it obviously makes sense to get the best wheels you can, but it makes very little sense to me otherwise - unless you've got enough money to make a real, noticeable difference.

My Trek 1.2 had Alex rims and unbranded hubs, which did the job for several thousand miles until the front one was wrecked in a crash. I'd thought about replacing them a few times before that, but was put off when I realised I'd need to spend at least half what I paid for the bike to really feel the difference.

My new bike (the frame was also wrecked in the crash) is 0.8kg heavier than the old bike in total, but I didn't scrimp on wheels, and my average speeds are now about 2mph faster than they were on the old bike. I spent about £200-250 on wheel components (would have been considerably more if the rims hadn't been 50% off) and built the wheels myself, which again saved me money over buying custom wheels.

They seem to have made a difference to every aspect of my rides. They spin up quicker going downhill, they roll along easier on the flat, and - the biggest difference - is short climbs are a lot quicker because it's much easier to keep momentum. I don't think they make a huge difference on long climbs, but it's hard to tell because I've got very different gearing on the new bike, and that has made a massive difference to my climbing ability.

As one of those (IIRC) who encouraged you to go and build your own wheels I was delighted to read this !

 

[lulubel]

As one of those (IIRC) who encouraged you to go and build your own wheels I was delighted to read this !

They're brilliant, and I'm so glad I decided to take the plunge and do it (even though I had to take the rear one apart and start again because I was in such a mess with it). I'm guessing the performance increase is mostly down to the lovely rims - DT Swiss RR465. There hasn't been any change of tyres either. I'm actually using the same tyres that were on the bike in the crash because they were undamaged, just swapped the front, which took the brunt of the impact, to the rear.

 

[fenlandpsychocyclist]

Hmmm?
I'm going with what several have said ... save the money and buy better rims/tyres.
So i'll budget for around £300.
Two lots of car tax, house insurance, car insurance all coming up, so maybe buy the wheels in october.

One other thing ... i can build wheels and have done several in the past.
Should i buy rims and add the spokes, or just buy "ready made"?

 

[PpPete]

Many pro wheelbuilders seem to be able to access prices that enable them to knock out complete wheels at the same price as us mere mortals can buy the components.... and that's after we've shopped around to get the best deal on each of rim, spokes, hubs. Frustrating - but I'll still build my own wheels.