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Recommend me a new pair of wheels!

by litespeeddavemira
Sat, Sep 04, 2010 23:25
19

Being a bit new to this road riding lark - the wheels i've got are only temporary and the freehub is showing signs that it's about to go bang (freehub body oscillation) so i need to decide what wheels to go for sooner rather than later.

My instant instinct is to go hand built - i have picked up some 105 hubs cheap in the sale from my LBS, i would built these with some open pros or similar, but i think this might be on the hefty side.

I've also seen the planet-x model B wheels, £125 for 1650g wheel set appears good, but some complaints of freehub body quality and damage from cassettes.

Any feedback welcome, open to suggestions!

Thanks

Chris

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19 comments

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litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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I've ended up buying this pair of ksyrium elites, mostly because, i got them for less than half price.

If i could have got the pro-lites i'd have gone for those, but hotlines are sold out until mid november 2 if i could have got some, they would have been the winners choice.

Not had much chance to try them out yet as just ridden home from the shop laden up with a bag but seem good so far.

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step-hent | 13 years ago
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the Pro-Lite Braccianos are fantastic value for money. I used to have a pair of those and a pair of the Dura Ace 7850 CLs before both were stolen with my bike. The DAs edged it, but it wasn't an enormous margin, and the Pro-Lites are around half the price. I ended up getting a set of the DAs for the replacement bike as I only really needed one wheelset, but if I'm ever in the market for a second set of aluminium wheels, that's what I'll get.

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Jon Burrage | 13 years ago
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I too am in a similar position, what do people think of slightly lower spec rs30's? I do like the rs80's mind you and the pro-lites. Ksyriums, Im not sold on, have had the low level ones before and they just dont compete on value.

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dave atkinson | 13 years ago
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the pair we tested weighed in at 1501g (w/o skewers)
http://road.cc/content/review/6577-pro-lite-bracciano-wheelset

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litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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I'll check out the prolites at work tomorrow. they certainly look nice, but at 1650g the pair heavier than ksyriums?

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dave atkinson | 13 years ago
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i'll say pro-lite braccianos once more, then i'll shut up 4

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DaSy | 13 years ago
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£290 for a set of RS80's sounds like the way to go, a very nice set of wheels, mostly the same as the 7850's.

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Cervelo12 | 13 years ago
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try c-4 wheels, handbuilt in the USA and very light for the money.

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kempo | 13 years ago
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I've been contemplating a similar question of late and yesterday I caved and brought some Shimano RS80s. They come in at 1550g, so not too far off the Mavic Kysrium Elites and have the same carbon laminate at their big brothers the Dura Ace 7850 CLs.

Also, Merlin Cycles have a great deal on at the moment - I picked up the pair for about £290 with P&P.

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dave atkinson | 13 years ago
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Pro-lite Braccianos? Shimano RS80s?

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litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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a pair of the 7850s is nearly double what i can get a pair of ksyriums for, so for the time being they look like the best thing i can get? Any other alternatives?

Cheers for all the feedback/help so far.

Chris

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litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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I will look into a pair of 7850s, but i think if i'm buying factory wheels it'll be those or Kysrium elites, although other suggestions around that price welcome!

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litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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being so light, i am not so worried about bombproof properties of a wheel.

I've been looking at a pair of mavic ksyrium elites as a factory built alternative.

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Fringe replied to litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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litespeeddavemira wrote:

being so light, i am not so worried about bombproof properties of a wheel.

I've been looking at a pair of mavic ksyrium elites as a factory built alternative.

nice wheels but i prefer Easton EA70's or 90's as factory built ones.. they look nice(er) 4

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DaSy replied to litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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litespeeddavemira wrote:

being so light, i am not so worried about bombproof properties of a wheel.

I've been looking at a pair of mavic ksyrium elites as a factory built alternative.

The Mavics are around £427 on CRC, so for that budget there are a lot better wheels. I have the Ksyrium SL Premiums, and they are much slower and less comfy than the 7850's.

I also had R-Sys's and Easton Orion II's (very similar to the Easton EA90's), the Eastons are the most fragile wheels I have ever owned, and need to be trued regularly, and this needs to be done at the factory as it is done by sound!

Also had HED Ardennes which were great, but I just kept getting sidewall slashes in tyres which I am sure was down to the way the sidewall was held exposed.

The Mavics main strong points are their bombproof-ness and looks, but are so much slower than the 7850's it's really noticeable. My SL's haven't been used at all since getting the 7850's, plus 7850's are quite a bit lighter.

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Fringe | 13 years ago
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or spend a bit more and get some Mavic CXP33 rims.

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DaSy | 13 years ago
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Assuming they are 32 hole hubs, the parts add up to about 1825g built with Open Pro's and Sapim CX Ray spokes, without tapes or skewers. Not light, but would be pretty quick and totally bombproof.

I cannot recommend the Shimano 7850 CL-24's highly enough, there are a fair few people selling online for around £490, which is a great price for such a good wheel. They weight around 1380g I think, are really good on the aero front, and stiff and comfy. They may be a bit expensive, but not sure what your budget was.

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litespeeddavemira | 13 years ago
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Cool thanks for the reply, some more info.

I'm quite light at 64kg, i'm riding a litespeed mira. I've only just started riding so at the moment i'm training a few times a week and using it to commute, but i will be joining my uni cycling team in october so i may start competing then.

I am more inclined to try and get the lightest/fastest wheel set possible. I've never been hard on wheels in the past and never broken a spoke, a couple of friends have warned me of bladed spokes being more difficult to source replacements, but i'm not so concerned about that.

i'd rather buy something decent than spend money now on something i wish i had got more of an uprade later!

Cheers

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KirinChris | 13 years ago
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A bit more info would be helpful to make a decent stab at recommending something.

What sort of riding are you doing - racing/club/audax/sportive/commute ?
What sort of bike are you riding ?
How heavy are you ?
What are you looking for - light and fast, or tough and reliable ?

Certainly I'd say that getting 105 hubs built on Open Pros sounds like a perfect start. I've got Open Pros (with Campagnolo) on my audax bike in the UK and also on my fixie and they are pretty much bomb-proof.

I seem to be hard on wheels and spokes but I've found the Fulcrum Racing series to be very good. Had a pair of Racing 5s that were very reliable but reasonably fast. Moderate price range. I'd say they were a good option for a multi-purpose wheel.

I'm currently in love with my new Eurus wheels and tubeless tire combination but that's getting into the specialty end.

Overall I don't think you'll regret spending money on decent wheels and hubs, as long as you get something that is appropriate to your riding.

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