Sorry about this but here is another what wheelset thread question?

[BigonaBianchi]

I need to get some new wheels on my bianchi....my current ones are 7 years old and the spokes are snapping in rapid succession.

I did ask on hear some time back but thing in life took over and i couldnt afford to get the fulcrums recommended at that time.

I recall the general advice was fulcrum 5 racing wheelset.

I need the wheels to be strong (i am a heavy rider and have a lot of power in my legs to compensate for excess upper blubber toned muscle mass.

I am not a racer, sprinter or tdf wannabe, Ijust enjoy riding rides up to 110 miles . I do use the bike a lot in cyprus on the mountains and as such the wheels take a pounding on the downhills and have alot of strain on them going up.

I guess I need a solid reliable training wheel. So Im not really fussed about saving a few micro grams, id rather have strength and reliability.

Cost is an issue as always. I could probably reach £300 ish for the wheelset.

Hence I went to ebay and got confused when I saw all these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_o...fulcrum+racing+5+wheelset+campagnolo&_sacat=0

Im also looking at a simple balck white color schee if possible...dont want a spesh logo on a bianchi if you get my drift. I use schwalbe durano plus tyres which i think are what is termed 'clincher'? I'm a nob when it comes to bike terminology sorry.

I also want a wheel that is easily fixed abroad where often they dont have th elatest high end aero dynamic bling spokes or whatever..

So ....any suggestions /advice most helpful and welcome thankyou.

 

[jowwy]

Wiggle are doing a good deal on campag zondas at the moment - light, strong and stiff for £256 or get the equivalent wheel fulcrum racing 3's for £317

both on wiggle

 

[I like Skol]

I do use the bike a lot in cyprus on the mountains and as such the wheels take a pounding on the downhills and have alot of strain on them going up.

I guess I need a solid reliable training wheel. So Im not really fussed about saving a few micro grams, id rather have strength and reliability.

Cost is an issue as always. I could probably reach £300 ish for the wheelset...................I also want a wheel that is easily fixed abroad where often they dont have th elatest high end aero dynamic bling spokes or whatever..

IMO the comments I have clipped from your OP above point in only one direction for me....

Handbuilts. I suggest a set of Shimano 105 hubs laced to a quality 32 hole clincher rim (an eyeleted Mavic would be my rim of choice) with double butted, stainless steel, Swiss DT competition spokes. They will be bombproof and easily fixable anywhere around the world (even if it means putting in a plain gauge rustless spoke as a get-you-home fix). Depending on how worried you are and if you did want to save a few grams you can tinker with the basic recipe such as,

• 28 spoke front & 32 spoke rear
• 32 spoke front and 36 spoke rear
• Swap the front spokes from Competition (2mm/1.8mm/2mm) to Revolution (2mm/1.5mm/2mm).

I'm guessing but my experience of building my own wheels suggest you should be able to get a set of these wheels built by a decent wheelsmith for around the £300 mark?

EDIT: just looked for hubs and see there isn't a 105 28h front hub but a set of hubs can be had for around £55 so about £150-200 for parts then some more for the builder should see you come in on or under your £300 budget. They might not be the sexiest wheels but they will walk (ride) all over the alternatives

 

[Asa Post]

Have you considered having wheels built for you?
I got a set of Velocity A23s a couple of years ago and they are excellent - strong, comfortable, easy to look after.
There's a place local to you who should be able to help: http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/velocity-a23-wheelset/
The wheels might be pushing your price limit, but asking them for advice costs nowt

Edit: Nice to see that @I like Skol thinks along the same lines, even though he replies faster than I do.

 

[raleighnut]

You cold even go to 4 cross pattern on the rear wheel with handbuilt.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

IMO the comments I have clipped from your OP above point in only one direction for me....

Handbuilts. I suggest a set of Shimano 105 hubs laced to a quality 32 hole clincher rim (an eyeleted Mavic would be my rim of choice) with double butted, stainless steel, Swiss DT competition spokes. They will be bombproof and easily fixable anywhere around the world (even if it means putting in a plain gauge rustless spoke as a get-you-home fix). Depending on how worried you are and if you did want to save a few grams you can tinker with the basic recipe such as,

• 28 spoke front & 32 spoke rear
• 32 spoke front and 36 spoke rear
• Swap the front spokes from Competition (2mm/1.8mm/2mm) to Revolution (2mm/1.5mm/2mm).

I'm guessing but my experience of building my own wheels suggest you should be able to get a set of these wheels built by a decent wheelsmith for around the £300 mark?

EDIT: just looked for hubs and see there isn't a 105 28h front hub but a set of hubs can be had for around £55 so about £150-200 for parts then some more for the builder should see you come in on or under your £300 budget. They might not be the sexiest wheels but they will walk (ride) all over the alternatives

I couldn't agree more.

The key phrase is "I also want a wheel that is easily fixed abroad where often they dont have th elatest high end aero dynamic bling spokes or whatever.."

Shimano hubs are super hubs, not the lightest but they have a long life if maintained. There are some lighter hubs with sealed bearings that would be easy to maintain too, I'm thinking Novatec F272 and A171.

Mavic has the Open Pro that are rated by many people as rims that last long. I guess these rims are so well known that you could find a replacement anywhere. There is Ambrosio rims like the Evolution that I built for my winter bike, tough wheels with shimano 105 hubs and DT Swiss DB spokes. Or H Plus Son that are nicer to look at but very good and tough. There are lots of rims to consider but the question is "are they available where you are?"

If going for shimano hubs then 32F and 36R 3 x pattern for a heavy and powerful rider is a good and safe choice. 32F and 32R might be enough, I don't know enough about you to say for sure. Again, with Novatec you could go for 28F and either 32R or 36R 3 x pattern. To save a few more grams you could go for alloy nipples, you would be saving weight where it matters and they are fine to build wheels as long as you use a four sided spoke key, which everybody uses these days.

If I went for Novatec hubs I'd get a set of sealed bearings to have as spare in case you need them urgently. I use those hubs and I've never had a problem with them.

Thinking on those hills I'd go for light tyres and tubes. I'm using latex tubes and they make a difference to the comfort but they are also light which saves weight where it matters. You can get light non latex tubes for less £s too.

 

[HLaB]

FWIW, I manged to find the 2014 Fulcrum 7s which are only slightly heavier than Fulcrum 5s (the 2013 versions were quite a bit heavier iirc) but cheaper. They've been robust for me but they've probably only done 2000miles and apart from Flanders earlier this month they are off my bike for summer.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Thanks all..will look at those ))

 

[BigonaBianchi]

ok...well as I still have aweek left in cyprus I went to the bike shop in famagusta and had both wheels re built. Total cost £34 . The guy did it in front of me while I waited the three hours it took. The rims were ok, but all the spokes were dead and hence replaced and both wheels re trued well. Frankly it was a no brainer at that price. I will still buy new wheels in the uk as here in the TRNC you cant get them easily, but now I have perfectly ok training wheels for the mountains here, and for winter use back in the uk, and I can use my new wheels set when i get it for summer use.

It's a toss up between a hand made as above and the fulcrum 5 racing 2014's

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

ok...well as I still have aweek left in cyprus I went to the bike shop in famagusta and had both wheels re built. Total cost £34 . The guy did it in front of me while I waited the three hours it took. The rims were ok, but all the spokes were dead and hence replaced and both wheels re trued well. Frankly it was a no brainer at that price. I will still buy new wheels in the uk as here in the TRNC you cant get them easily, but now I have perfectly ok training wheels for the mountains here, and for winter use back in the uk, and I can use my new wheels set when i get it for summer use.

It's a toss up between a hand made as above and the fulcrum 5 racing 2014's

It may also be worth considering the Fulcrum Racing Quattro's which are only £1 more expensive than the Racing 5's at the moment, though I am not 100% sure on what the difference is other than the RRP being +£100 more! Wiggle ... http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-quattro-clincher-wheelset/
Racing 5's are £170 from Discount-bikes.de at the moment - usually £4.99 P&P (bought my Racing 7 CX's from there).

 

[BigonaBianchi]

It may also be worth considering the Fulcrum Racing Quattro's which are only £1 more expensive than the Racing 5's at the moment, though I am not 100% sure on what the difference is other than the RRP being +£100 more! Wiggle ... http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-quattro-clincher-wheelset/
Racing 5's are £170 from Discount-bikes.de at the moment - usually £4.99 P&P (bought my Racing 7 CX's from there).

Interesting ...I cant tell what th edifrence between th equattros and the racing 5's are either...except cost...????????

 

[gwhite]

Can I suggest these.
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/...--xtreme-airline-4--shimano-tiagra/aid:202991

I usually build my own wheels but found that these were cheaper than my buying the parts separately. Being machine-made, before using them I evened out and raised the spoke tensions and then stressed and de-stressed and ended up with very strong wheels. It might be worth thinking about buying and then having a wheel-builder doing likewise before using. The front wheel of these I fitted to the bike of a friend of mine, landed in a deep pothole and while the tube had a snake-bike the wheel had deviated by less than a millimetre....I was impressed.