Tell me about wheel quality

[2pies]

So I'm in the process of buying a new bike. Nothing too fancy, just a sporty alu road bike using a C2W voucher. Good frame & fork, 105 groupset etc. it will do for club runs and sportives and I'll use my existing Tricross solely for commuting.

As is often the case for bikes in this price range, reviews of it have suggested that the wheels are quite poor. They are Rovi Stylus (never heard of them) and weigh in at 2053g.

My question is, how much difference would a £200 wheelset make? Perhaps Fulcrum Racing 5, Shimano RS20 or Mavic Aksium. These wheelsets only seem to be about 200g lighter, which for someone like me is non-existent.

Is this the sort of thing that, after a year or so of use and I'm feeling flush, I upgrade to something better, or for a bike of this quality, are the stock wheels, to coin a popular phrase, "dulling the ride" to a point where I'd really be better off upgrading them straight away?

Bear in mind that this bike will be a significant upgrade on the Tricross (currently a Mavic CX22 on the front and Shimano R500 on the back). I'm doing a 65mile sportive (my first one ever) on the Tricross this Sunday

 

[2pies]

Anyone?

Or would it be better to just initially upgrade the tyres from Conti Ultra Sport to GP 4000S?

 

[the_mikey]

Wheels can make a difference, but you won't know that until you've ridden on those wheels and make the change. Just because a wheel is heavy doesn't necessarily make it a bad wheel, and depending on what you're using the bike for, maybe the heavier wheels are ideal for regular urban commuting for example. If you're trying to be competitive then maybe you'll want lighter wheels.

 

[gavintc]

When I started to take cycling more seriously. I decided to get some lightweight aerodynamic wheels (1.6kg). My mistake was to be tempted by an amazing bargain (£200). I quickly realised that there are 2 significant factors in wheel manufacturing; weight and strength. Unless you pay a decent amount of money, you will not get lightweight wheels that are strong and will not flex under hard use (sprinting). On the other hand, heavier wheels are cheaper, but have more lateral stability. There is a trade off between these factors and price will drive your decision.

 

[smokeysmoo]

These wheelsets only seem to be about 200g lighter, which for someone like me is non-existant

You don't mention your weight, and I'm not asking! Although you do allude to not being a super model in the above sentence and with your username

FWIW I'm not a super model either. I've just sold a pair of Mavic Ksyrium SL wheels as the spoke count was simply too low for my size. I definitely felt a significant difference in these over other wheels I've used, but while I never had any real issues with them I just lost confidence in them due my heffalumpness

I actually fitted my commuter wheels to my CAAD last weekend to see how they felt, (Halo Aerorage), and TBH I didn't feel like I was struggling with them compared to the Ksyrium's. This was my eureka moment and the catalyst in my decision to sell them and fit wheels that suit me rather than wheels that suit my bike

I was going to get a pair of custom wheels built but the lead time meant it wasn't viable, but I ended up buying the exact same wheelset I was going to have custom built 'off the peg' at Wiggle

I've bought a few wheels from them now and have never had an issue with any of them.

I've decided now that unless I lose a significant amount of weight I shall be sticking to a spoke count of at least 32

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I like the Aksiums a lot. I got them for my Secteur Sport mainly because the rear Alexrim was utter shite and constantly kept going out of true after only a few weeks. I also changed from 25mm width tyres to 23mm Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps which run also run at a higher pressure. I could tell a difference in how much better the bike rolled but I would guess it is mainly down to the thinner tyres and higher pressures. But I am still pleased as they have never went out of true, they look great more so with the tyres with red on them as I thought that my Secteur was a bit of a dull looking bike standard. Positive reviews, price, looks and the cartridge bearings were what attracted me to the Aksiums.

 

[VamP]

Going to Ksyriums from the nameless rubbish my Bianchi came with transformed the bike. My plan was to use the original wheels for winter riding, but I hated them so much the Ksyriums now stay on year round. It's probably less to do with their weight, and more their general softness and all round crapness TBH.

 

[fossyant]

Tyres make the biggest difference to performance anyway. Nice wheels make a difference, but I'd buy the bike as it is, use the existing wheels, when feeling flush get a better set for weekends/events/sportives. Bikes are n+1 and so are wheels (I have spare wheels for two of my bikes) !

 

[2pies]

You don't mention your weight, and I'm not asking! Although you do allude to not being a super model in the above sentence and with your username

I do like pies! Not far off a super-model figure really, tall and slim. But being tall, 6'4", means that by cycling standards I am heavy, about 14 stone. Interesting point you make about spoke count though, I'd never considered it.

Tyres make the biggest difference to performance anyway. Nice wheels make a difference, but I'd buy the bike as it is, use the existing wheels, when feeling flush get a better set for weekends/events/sportives. Bikes are n+1 and so are wheels (I have spare wheels for two of my bikes) !

For now, I think I'll put on some better tyres for better rolling, more puncture resistance and being cheaper, less wife resistance


Thanks