Wheel upgrade

[heist]

Hello I'm Matt, new the forum. Been lurking on here for a while, but thought I would finally join.

I got my first road bike before christmas, and have really got into it. I bought a Vitus Razor VR, and managed to get quite a good deal on it. I don't want to rush into buying my next bike, so I plan to save up and take my time to decide what I want to progress to.

As I plan to keep this bike for a while. I have decided to put a bit of money towards doing a few upgrades, but I don't want to spend too much. The bike comes with mainly sora parts, which I will leave as they are.

I have been reading different forums and watching videos about upgrading wheels. I have a budget of about £80 -£100, and I wondered what people would recommend.

Is it worth spending the money, will I see a noticeable difference within that price range?

Thanks

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Is it worth spending the money, will I see a noticeable difference within that price range?

Thanks

No.

 

[Deleted member 35268]

Your current Vitus wheelset will probably weigh in at about 1950g or less.

To get a better wheelset (sealed bearings, lighter), maybe weighing in at say 1600g, you'll need to pay out about £200-£300+.

You might find some 2nd hand,lighter wheels on ebay, nearly new, but you'd still be over the £100 mark and they might be no different.

Just my views.

Enjoy your bike.

 

[S.Giles]

Edit: Is it just my imagination, or is wheel-swapping (or upgrading) becoming more fashionable these days?

 

[derrick]

Stick with what you have.

Just looked at said bike, a tyre upgrade could be worth while if these are the tyres that are on it.

• Rims:Vitus Alloy Road
• Tyres:Kenda, 700 x 25c

 

[heist]

Cool thanks for the advice.

The tyres that are on the bike are "kenda kriterium" 700 X 25c. I was thinking about replacing these as well, someone recommended continental gatorskins. Are they any good?

 

[Citius]

Keep the wheels, because £80-100 will not get you a worthwhile upgrade. Instead, spend £40-60 on a pair of Vittoria Rubino Pros or Continental GP4000S and enjoy.

 

[accountantpete]

Re wheels - the more you pay the lighter and stiffer the wheel will be,meaning it takes less energy to maintain your speed.

However you get to a point where the lightness returns start dropping off and the increased stiffness only comes into play when you are out of the saddle slogging up a hill in a big gear - ie probably very rarely.

In which case you only need a medium priced set of wheels - I'd aim for Zonda/Ksyrium Elite type wheels - and personally I would stay with Mavic/Campy as you can get spares. I use Zonda and would be a bit reluctant to use anything less.

Tyres - expect to pay £20 each posted. I go for folders ( wire beads are heavier) and puncture protection to suit your taste.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Re wheels - the more you pay the lighter and stiffer the wheel will be,meaning it takes less energy to maintain your speed.

Perhaps you'd care to explain that statement?

 

[Citius]

Re wheels - the more you pay the lighter and stiffer the wheel will be,meaning it takes less energy to maintain your speed.

Scientifically incorrect, but that's probably a topic for another thread.

 

[Philh]

Just got these today

Mavic Ksyrium Elite S. Got them with 24% discount. Tyres included.

 

[Doyleyburger]

I upgraded my wheelset 3 months back. I didn't have much of a budget but I was hoping I had £250-£300 to spend, which would put me in the Campag Zonda range or the Fulcrum equivalent......the wife told me otherwise
Turns out I only had about £150 to spend, so I purchased the campagnolo Scirocco 35's (£170).....boy are they good ! So much smoother and roll really well, plus Iv saved about 500g from my stock mavic rims.
Highly reccomend if you can't quite stretch to Zondas or Ksyriums

 

[Philh]

I have now fitted the Ksyriums on my Giant. It has dropped from 8.5kg to 7.9kg so about the same weight saving as yours

 

[Citius]

I have now fitted the Ksyriums on my Giant. It has dropped from 8.5kg to 7.9kg so about the same weight saving as yours

Or about the same weight as a full 500ml water bottle

 

[Philh]

Yes, I agree.