cheap carbon wheels

[Justinslow]

Ummmm.... Superstar wheels ae indeed cheap and light but I'm afraid they're not robust. Mavic Ksyrium for me every time, and there's a difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones in stiffness.

Well I guess it depends how heavy you are and how you define "robust"?

@Hacienda71 they make you stand out in a crowd
Good info though, someone who actually races on a set of wheels giving feedback about those wheels, good point about the zipp's too I know someone who wrote a set of wheels off in their second race last year when they got taken down.

 

[Hacienda71]

Well I guess it depends how heavy you are and how you define "robust"?

@Hacienda71 they make you stand out in a crowd
Good info though, someone who actually races on a set of wheels giving feedback about those wheels, good point about the zipp's too I know someone who wrote a set of wheels off in their second race last year when they got taken down.

Not entirely sure where Globalti gets his info from, but at 13.5 stone whilst not Giant Haystacks I am not Alberto Contador either. The Superstars use standard Sapim spokes standard bearings and bomb proof 30mm rims. Racing on them I have hit pot holes at speed and they have been fine.
I have nothing against Mavic wheels, I have had a set, but for a set the same weight as the Superstars they are three times the price. They are also a lot harder to get parts for when they are a couple of years old, whilst Sapim spokes are held by most decent bikeshops.

 

[kiriyama]

Might have to look at these superstar wheels. Need a new set. look like a decent spec for my price bracket.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Not entirely sure where Globalti gets his info from, but at 13.5 stone whilst not Giant Haystacks I am not Alberto Contador either. The Superstars use standard Sapim spokes standard bearings and bomb proof 30mm rims. Racing on them I have hit pot holes at speed and they have been fine.
I have nothing against Mavic wheels, I have had a set, but for a set the same weight as the Superstars they are three times the price. They are also a lot harder to get parts for when they are a couple of years old, whilst Sapim spokes are held by most decent bikeshops.

I have never seen a Superstars wheel so I can only guess about it.

Bearing in mind they only use 24 sapin spokes I doubt very much they are as strong as Mavic ksyrium at similar weight.

From what I hear about them is that for reasonably light riders the Superstarts are hard to beat on price.
I don't know what hubs they use but I hear the superstarts hubs use very small bearings and those have a short life.... TBH for racing that is not such a big deal..... if you are training or doing high mileage it might be a pain.... it's not like you are changing bearings every week either.

The rim for me is a mistery.... from experience I know good quality rims that are also light and strong cost a lot of money. So I really need to see a rim to form an opinion.

On the other hand, I have rebuilt a few Ksyrium so I know the individual components.
The rims are of excellent quality, light and very strong. Expensive too, over £100 each.

Spokes are light and strong too. The way they fit to the hub and the rim might contribute to longer life.... that's my opinion but I might be wrong.
They are a little heavier than Sapin spokes but I'd rather have 20 of those than 20 Sapin on my rear wheel ; (

The hubs, as expected, are light and I understand they are pretty reliable too.

My view is that the ksyrium are very strong wheels for their weights. They also cost 3 times the money.

At 15.5st I wouldn't be afraid to ride a set of ksyrium.

It makes sense, if your weight allows it, race on anything that is easier / cheaper to fix / replace if something goes wrong.

 

[Hacienda71]

I have never seen a Superstars wheel so I can only guess about it.

Bearing in mind they only use 24 sapin spokes I doubt very much they are as strong as Mavic ksyrium at similar weight.

From what I hear about them is that for reasonably light riders the Superstarts are hard to beat on price.
I don't know what hubs they use but I hear the superstarts hubs use very small bearings and those have a short life.... TBH for racing that is not such a big deal..... if you are training or doing high mileage it might be a pain.... it's not like you are changing bearings every week either.

The rim for me is a mistery.... from experience I know good quality rims that are also light and strong cost a lot of money. So I really need to see a rim to form an opinion.

On the other hand, I have rebuilt a few Ksyrium so I know the individual components.
The rims are of excellent quality, light and very strong. Expensive too, over £100 each.

Spokes are light and strong too. The way they fit to the hub and the rim might contribute to longer life.... that's my opinion but I might be wrong.
They are a little heavier than Sapin spokes but I'd rather have 20 of those than 20 Sapin on my rear wheel ; (

The hubs, as expected, are light and I understand they are pretty reliable too.

My view is that the ksyrium are very strong wheels for their weights. They also cost 3 times the money.

At 15.5st I wouldn't be afraid to ride a set of ksyrium.

It makes sense, if your weight allows it, race on anything that is easier / cheaper to fix / replace if something goes wrong.

Novatec hubs with sks bearings.

 

[Globalti]

OK I can't speak for all Superstar wheels but my son and my cycling buddy both got a set of their Pave 28 wheels. Initially they loved the light weight but quite soon the wheels went out of true and then both of them bent rims in relatively minor accidents. Both have given up on the wheels and gone over to Ksyriums. The build quality of my Ksyrium SLs is superb.

 

[huwsparky]

Not carbon but a really nice set of wheels.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mavic-ksyrium-pro-exalith-wheelset-2016/rp-prod140637

I have the SL version of these and would recommend them. To be honest though I don't need them but they look cool which I why primarily is the reason i got them and I'm pretty sure you'd get them for under your £1000 budget.

 

[huwsparky]

feel easier to sprint on than the carbon.

Erm....what are you talking about?

 

[Hacienda71]

Erm....what are you talking about?

Just what I said. What are you on about?

 

[Globalti]

Wheel stiffness is crucial. My son and my cycling buddy both ride identical Tarmac SL4s, both with 11 speed Ultegra including pedals and both wth Veloflex tyres. The only difference is that my son's SL4 has entry-level Ksyrium wheels and my buddy's has Ksyrum SLS wheels. When you jump from my son's bike to my buddy's bike the difference is remarkable; with the better wheels the bike feels transformed and much sharper and more accurate. I put this down to the SLS being a more expensive wheel with stronger spokes and higher spoke tensions and hence more lateral rigidity.

 

[huwsparky]

Just what I said. What are you on about?

Lol. You sure do read some trash on forums. That's one of the very best. Your telling me that sprinting is easier on one of your wheels than another? Keep 'em coming

 

[Hacienda71]

Lol. You sure do read some trash on forums. That's one of the very best. Your telling me that sprinting is easier on one of your wheels than another? Keep 'em coming

I find my lighter stiffer wheelset better for sprinting in a race situation . What is strange about that? Or are you having a comprehension problem?

 

[huwsparky]

I find my lighter stiffer wheelset better for sprinting in a race situation . What is strange about that? Or are you having a comprehension problem?

have to say there is little if any noticeable difference between them.

So, which one is it? Within the Same thread your saying there is little to no difference and then again your saying there is a noticeable difference. Make up your mind

And it's me with the comprehension problem...

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Wheel stiffness is crucial. My son and my cycling buddy both ride identical Tarmac SL4s, both with 11 speed Ultegra including pedals and both wth Veloflex tyres. The only difference is that my son's SL4 has entry-level Ksyrium wheels and my buddy's has Ksyrum SLS wheels. When you jump from my son's bike to my buddy's bike the difference is remarkable; with the better wheels the bike feels transformed and much sharper and more accurate. I put this down to the SLS being a more expensive wheel with stronger spokes and higher spoke tensions and hence more lateral rigidity.

Stiffness is given by the rim stiffness, spoke count and spoke's bracing angle. If the spokes are under tension then they affect the whole wheel strength.

So basically the wheel component choice is very important and sometimes you can pay more and not achieve the same quality.

 

[Hacienda71]

So, which one is it? Within the Same thread your saying there is little to no difference and then again your saying there is a noticeable difference. Make up your mind

And it's me with the comprehension problem...

Riding along most of the time there is no perceivable difference. They both turn around I don't feel a difference even on long rides. However at the extreme end of the spectrum at the end of a race where you put out a substantially higher wattage than you would on a normal ride albeit for a few seconds, then there is a difference. It may not be huge but it is certainly enough for me to notice the slight flex (the wheels touch the brake pads), hence me saying what I did. If you can't accept that fine, but stop with the trolling and thread derailment. Point scoring is getting really boring.