decent wheels suggestions wanted

[Deleted member 23692]

Bought some fulcrum racing quattro's recently from bikediscount.de £218 delivered.
Very nice wheels, roll really well, come with rim tape and skewers. Bargain if you ask me

Quattros on mine too. They roll very well but the ride is a bit harsher than my old Eastons, but I assume that due to the thicker section rims being less compliant. Mine were £240 from Ribble, complete with excellent service

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I put some Fulcrum 7's on my Secteur Elite about 6 months ago. I noticed the difference immediately and the wheels have performed fine so far.

Got a pair of Racing 7s on my Ridley, but want to upgrade them, perhaps to a pair of the Ultegras that Ribble have on offer at the moment??

Then the 7s can go on the Ribble, in place of its Rodi's

 

[the_mikey]

I have nothing but good words for Fulcrum wheels, I have been using a pair of fulcrum racing 7's since 2010 and the only thing I've ever had to do was fit replacement cartridge bearings this year after the old ones started to feel a bit rough. New bearings and the wheels are amazing once again

Also have fulcrum racing 5 and 3 to hand and those are equally excellent wheels, trouble free cycling!

 

[Spoked Wheels]

placing the order for wheels from dcr in the next 10days hopefully - but switching the hubs from novatecs to shimano 105's

so its the velocity a23's, with sapim race spokes and 105 hubs - built in 28/32 ( rims are 23mm too, so should be a nice plush and smooth ride)

The 105 are really good hubs, very strong and quiet. I have a set of wheels with them for my winter bike. As long as you keep the hubs with enough grease and the cones not too tight your hubs will last you a very long time. It takes some practice to get the cones just right.

I'm quite happy with my Novatec hubs too although I'm quite heavy so I expect them to need some attention before too long. They are substantially lighter than the 105 and for that reason I bought them.

Depending on your weight and style of riding you can go as low as 24 spokes on the front wheel. I was going to go 28 spokes too but then I wanted a radial lacing pattern and 28 spokes would put too much stress on the hub so I went for 24 spokes instead and with a little less tension than a cross pattern would need.

I should have gone with 36 spokes at the back but I got 32 Sapim race spokes instead. I'm heavy but I don't ride too crazy. I'm aware that the life of the wheel will be shortened but I can live with that.

I also think the OP should get some hand built wheels.

 

[Kbrook]

Got a pair of Racing 7s on my Ridley, but want to upgrade them, perhaps to a pair of the Ultegras that Ribble have on offer at the moment??

Then the 7s can go on the Ribble, in place of its Rodi's

I am looking to upgrade the Rodis on my Ribble, I take it the Fulcrum 7s that I am also considering are a good step up from those? I am quite clueless when it comes to wheels and many other things.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

I am looking to upgrade the Rodis on my Ribble, I take it the Fulcrum 7s that I am also considering are a good step up from those? I am quite clueless when it comes to wheels and many other things.

Similar weight, but a lot easier to true. Apparently (due to not having the paired spokes), & that noisy free hub might be advantageous on a commuter?????

 

[Kbrook]

Thanks also looking at the Ultegra, which are about £220, are they a good buy? Dont want to do an upgrade then wish for something else. Any other suggestions, also is my weight an issue at 14.5 stones do I need a certain amount of spokes? Sorry if these are daft questions.

 

[Maz]

What's the advantage of hand-built wheels over off-the-shelf?

 

[Kbrook]

Why are some wheels called training wheels? Looking now at Fulcrum 7s at £104 ... Anything wrong with them or no better than my rodi 4 airline clinchers?

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Thanks also looking at the Ultegra, which are about £220, are they a good buy? Dont want to do an upgrade then wish for something else. Any other suggestions, also is my weight an issue at 14.5 stones do I need a certain amount of spokes? Sorry if these are daft questions.

£220 for ultegra it is a good buy I think. You don't get much change from £100 for the hubs.

32 spokes at the back would be the safe option, meaning you wont kill the wheel early.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

What's the advantage of hand-built wheels over off-the-shelf?

Better quality and you can have exactly what you want.

I got some wheels hand built by DCR Wheels last month and they are lovely compared with the off the shelf ones I had.

Mind you they were quite expensive but worth it

 

[Maz]

Better quality and you can have exactly what you want.

I got some wheels hand built by DCR Wheels last month and they are lovely compared with the off the shelf ones I had.

Mind you they were quite expensive but worth it

Hm, must admit, I've never had any quality issues with off-the-shelf wheels.
I must be missing the point of hand-builts.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Hm, must admit, I've never had any quality issues with off-the-shelf wheels.
I must be missing the point of hand-builts.

There's plenty of information on this forum that will provide the details you want.

 

[Milo]

I have a pair of random wheels branded m wheel I think. Mavic rims Deore hubs. Factory built but have been fine and still more or less true over a year later. I would buy factory wheels again personally as I don't think there is any benefit for me personally in getting anything else. They were not exactly cheap though to be fair.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I have a pair of random wheels branded m wheel I think. Mavic rims Deore hubs. Factory built but have been fine and still more or less true over a year later. I would buy factory wheels again personally as I don't think there is any benefit for me personally in getting anything else. They were not exactly cheap though to be fair.

In this case you are in luck, if the wheel needs a new rim or hub you'll have no problems in sourcing the parts and you wont brake the bank in the process but a great number of these wheels don't offer the same options as they are built from parts that you cannot get off the shelf.

Handbuilt wheels are not as expensive as you might think. The cost is normally about the cost of the parts + £40 to £60 for labour. However, I've noticed that some wheelbuilders make money on the parts as well or include the spokes in the price to make the labour cost seem more reasonable. That's fine, everybody is entitle to make a living as best they can.

On average a handbuilt wheel will last over twice what a factory wheel lasts and when the handbuilt wheels come to the end of their life you might still be able to salvage something, mostly the hubs. On many factory wheels the parts cannot be re-used unless you pair them with the same type of components that failed in the first place and that can be very difficult to source and also expensive.