Upgrade wheels on £1k road bike
- Thread starter 2pies
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More durable, smoother riding, stiffer etc. I'm not naive enough to think I'll notice any difference to the speed I'm riding at, but generally you get what you pay for in some shape or form.
Psyclist
Über Member
- Location
- Northamptonshire
You get better hubs, they stay true for longer, they're stiffer. Rotational weight makes a big difference too. Not sure of all the cons, but spending big on wheels, then your pads eating through the rims (even though that's over thousands of miles'ish) is a bugger. Just depends on the warranty though.
black'n'yellow
Guest
'Smoother riding' depends more on tyres & pressure, rather than wheels. Durability is neither here nor there really.
The wheels are certainly not the lightest at that price. So, in what way are they 'competitive'..??
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
About 200 grams or a couple of inconsequential mm in rim depth. Maybe even a bit of both
On a serious note. Saving of ~300g maybe! Jumping Fulcrum 7 to Fulcrum 3 (£100 or £350) you save >300g I seem to recall.
With decals removed, they look about as PRO as you are going to get in that price range (<£250)
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
I think B&Y is trying to ask the OP "What do you want out of a wheel set, and why do you think there is any advantage of one over another?"
He's just being 'blunt' to spark some conversation.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
A good set of climbing wheels will be different from some others. With climbing wheels, you want minimum weight out at the rims, so a quality reasonably light rim, but it needs to be coupled with a quality light tyre and tube. You can save loads of weight in hubs, but that may not make the hubs super reliable. Overall weight isn't that important. A 900g front wheel may have a 450g rim with a similar weight hub/spokes, but you can drop 200g from the hubs (with lots of £££s), BUT it won't make the wheel much faster. You can't drop that much weight from the rims ! You can, however, make a big difference in tyre choice, and it's easy to drop 200g from tyre and tubes.
black'n'yellow
Guest
I think B&Y is trying to ask the OP "What do you want out of a wheel set, and why do you think there is any advantage of one over another?"
He's just being 'blunt' to spark some conversation.
Appreciated (
), but all I am really trying to say is that there is no point 'upgrading' from one 'low end' wheelset, to another 'slightly' less low end wheelset. If you want to see a difference, then splash the cash on a good set of tyres - which will not only cost less, but will probably make more of a noticable difference out on the road in handling, grip and maybe speed.WychwoodTrev
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Wychwoods Oxfordshire
I say YES
You would get a better wheelset for £200 - £300
Better rims
Better spokes
Better hubs with better bearings
The Alex rims on my spesh are crap first time I used the bike I got to a hill and the wheels started twisting so much the brake blocks started rubbing on the rim as soon as I crested the hill all good again. Most bikes in the £1000 - £2000 price range come with wheels I can get from my local shop for £87
My outher bike has Mavic Aksiums cost me £150 from performance cycles 18 months ago these are fantastic wheels for the price.
These can have the rims replaced when worn Rims cost £35 each.
When I upgrade I will be going to 50mm carbon with alloy clincher rim somthing like the Token C50 which I can get for £475
these will be used for Time trials and crits
MattHB
Proud Daddy
- Location
- Deepest darkest Dorset
last year I put on a set of RS80's which cost me £299 from CRC and they are simply amazing compared to the stock wheels (mavic CPX22) that I had on there before. Light (even lighter than wheels costing 3x the amount), stiff, great looking.
you can get huge gains for £300 depending on what you already have.
black'n'yellow I swear youd argue that the sun was triangular just to be awkward!
you can get huge gains for £300 depending on what you already have.
black'n'yellow I swear youd argue that the sun was triangular just to be awkward!
black'n'yellow
Guest
To be fair, it only 'looks' round to us....
Let's remind ourselves what the OP said. He is not after performance. He has formed the opinion that his stock wheels are of low quality, because a few reviews of similar bikes seem to suggest this. There is no actual evidence that his stock wheels are indeed 'poor', which is why I suggested that he hang on to them. I agree that RS80s are excellent wheels and are within his budget if they can be had at that price. But, as far as I can see, there is no compelling reason or justification for him to buy new wheels at all.
Andrew_P
In between here and there
b'n'y blunt approach has grown on me, and for the record I hated my RS80's and love my Fulcrum 3's so really it is all about personal choice. I do think I had a duff set, kept blowing drive side spokes and buckling, not touched the 3's in 4000 miles but the hubs are strating to sound like they need a service.
Agree about the tyres I went from a tough work horse armidillo 25mm to 23mm Conti GP4000s, I defintely felt the difference, downside is they do tend to cut up alot.
Agree about the tyres I went from a tough work horse armidillo 25mm to 23mm Conti GP4000s, I defintely felt the difference, downside is they do tend to cut up alot.
These would do the job, mind you my youngest son is the seller so I would say that.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-Mavi...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item337e937ce6
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2013-Mavi...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item337e937ce6
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Appreciated (
Correct. Tyres make a huge difference.
