WHICH WHEELSET

I've been riding fulcrum racing 7s for a couple of years - they came new with my current bike, but I ride them all the time, not just winter. Have done 1000s of miles on them, commuting, touring with panniers, over the cobbles of the tour of flanders, and even some offroad. They also fit 32mm clinchers if you feel like some cyclocross.
Had to replace 1 spoke, because I stuck my foot in the wheel while the bike was still moving. Even with a rider that stupid they seem to do fine. Replacement spokes are easy to find (unlike some other makes).
It took me 2 years to destroy the bearings in the hubs, but have put a few thousand miles in since they were replaced and there's been no problem at all.
In short - pretty robust.

Cycling plus has wheels in test this month. My dad just ordered some Cole c24 lites but they only arrive at the end of the month so can't say how good they are yet.

Check out Mavic Aksiums, they're in the same price bracket... I've had my current set for just over 2 years, 2 and a half batteries in my cycle computer (probably about 10,000 miles) and still haven't had them serviced, because they simply haven't needed it! I've been off road and everything on them and have had absolutely no bother with them, couldn't recommend them enough!

+1 for Aksiums
R7 are very decent training wheels too but they do have a very loud freehub. You won't have any problems with pedestrians hearing you approach when you're freewheeling on the R7s

Check out Pro-Lite wheels - very good value

FYI the rs30s are heavier than the rs20s and seem only to differ in the rim depth.
Been thinking about something along these lines in the £140 ish bracket myself but torn between some factory wheels and paying a little more for some handbuilts.

Spoke availability seems ok for Mavics but I'm not so sure for the shimano wheels. At the planet x al30 (which seem too new to have got any reviews) they use regular j-bend aero spokes so shouldnt be too tricky for spares.

whihc pro-lite wheels are you talking about The Hatter? the Como?

Pro-Lite Braccianos are frequently recommended here, being both light and durable. But they do seem to be more expensive than they used to be. People were picking them up for less than £200 for a set.

looking at the pro lite como,crc doin a good deal at
the mo,the more wheels i look at the more confused i get as to which ones to go for.merlin also have good deal on the shimano rs30 big reduction on rrp .

NOTE : the prolite como's don't have sealed bearings... in bad weather up north they constantly require maintenance

I should say that I got a pair of wheels hand built by Harry Rowland, Ambrosio Excellight rims on Zenith hubs, 28 hole front 32 rear, 1800g ish for £265 in Feb 2010. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone else.

Got a set of Shimano RS30s and think they are lovely. I bought mine almost new off eBay for £86.

Pluses - good hubs that spin v well, they're tough, look good without decals (most important!).

Cons - Heavier than RS20s.

with a bit of canny shopping I've priced up a pair of 28 spoke wheels with DT swiss R1.1 rims (white, on sale), DT db spokes (black from Germany!) and Ambrosio hubs for £210 to be built by the LBS.

Just to confuse you more Dave Hinde is doing some very good deals on wheels at them moment http://www.davehinde.com/road-bikes/wheels.html

Barge pole. Wouldn't touch with.

Try asking on Bikeradar, you may wince at some of the stories. Or do a google search for DH and Trading Standards.

The pro-lite como wheels are heavy too, if choosing between Fulcrum R7's and Pro-lite como, I'd choose the R7's.

That said, the pro-lite como's are quite tough and I use them during the winter with 25c gatorskins and they seem to work just fine, although I expect I'll have to clean and grease the hubs by april (I'll switch back to some lighter wheels by then)

Just as an update - my dad cancelled the Cole order and has ordered some Plant X AL 30's plus schwalbe ultremo zx tyres and sv20 inner tubes all at less than the cost of Cole's afterall.

any updates on the AL30 - what are they like?

Only arrived today at my house. My dad will pick them up along with my toolkit later this week.

Super d- would you do the honour of a small review once you see them on?

For sure.

I will try and get some weight comparisons to the stock set up too.

My only problem is pics, as I got the email saying my stickers were posted yesterday and dug out my digital camera ready and it seems to have died. It isn't the battery but I will try and see if I can get it working.

Excellent, they seem a bargain as a budget race wheel. I spoke to px and they said they were virtually the same as model b. combined with a set of their light skewers they will shed another 50g too taking them into the late 1600's. An improvement over my 1880g rs500's.

No prob's - he is replacing the same set up I have (we both have 2010 Allez') which is spesh mondo tyres and Alex s500 wheels.

They might not be that light but the planet x skewers looked nice tbh.

I only saw them in the box and he collected them last night with the thought of doing the swap perhaps over the weekend or so. He is over 70 so does jobs when he feels like it so I will ask him to take some pics if possible.

Weighing he will do for sure as that is the reason for the change - he is a bit of a weight weenie when it comes to bike parts. Hence why he got a Carrera TDF not long after I got my road bike and within 2 months gave it to my son and bought an Allez!

If the 'Net is to be believed the current wheelset is over 2000g so a saving had there right away.

Brief update.

inner tube valves too short. waiting for new ones now. sorry.

@ Super D - loved thaat bit about the Carerra. Had dived into halfords back in June for some bizzare reason and the assistant tried to sell the TdF. Told me it was super light etc, go on lift it and see.. Twice the weight of my Cannondale!!!

Yeah the TDF isn't a bad bike, especially as we picked it up for under £250 but light it ain't lol.

Hi All, just to add to the 'confusion'???
Last year I bought a set of Kinetic K1 wheels from Kinetic one I have to say that they are a cracking wheelset, OK not the lightest in the world but damn near solid, not had any issues whatsoevere and aero too. They are a little 'bright' - got mine in the red base but they are a really good set for the money. They have gone up a little but still sub £200.
Just a recommendation for a little known set of wheels - I've only seen one other set around on another bike.
Regards

Tikeman.

I'm also in the market for a new winter wheel as I broke my rear last week (When I say I broke it I mean that I probably didn't clean it enough).

I've been looking at those mentioned above but also Easton EA50 and Hope Open Pro 3. Any experiences on these?

Update

All good on the Al30's.

I will type something up when I get a chance - but thumbs up for first impressions.

Some guy on Bike radar gave them a slating saying bearings only lasted 1 month. Maybe just a PX hater.

Could be or might be the case. I read the thread and he said he'd used them in bad weather and tbh that isn't something I can see my dad doing so can't even say I could agree or disagree.

My dad chose them for weight and price.

HTH:

http://road.cc/content/forum/49635-planet-x-al30-wheels-ultremo-zx-tyres...

Pro Lite Bracciano

All day, every day, NEVER LOOKED BACK!!!

Light, Bombproof, every ones a winner baby!!

Just bought some RS30's from PX and paired them with their Ti sticks (£14 pair ha,ha) to shave 'some' weight off the combined skewer/wheel weight, i have done about 200 mile on them over the last couple of weeks and i really like them, they spin up fine and roll nice. Personally i can't notice much of a change from my Mavic Equipes and thats with winter tyres on (Lugano's = Heavy).
An added bonus of course is the RS30's have got 'The Look', very beneficial!!!

Received my AL30'S on Friday night and they were true right out of the box. I own a Giant Defy 1 with a Shimano 105 group and 10 speed cassette. Everything mounted very easily, the only thing I replaced was the stock tape for a cloth tape. I was able to get a short ride in on them, about 20 miles and 2000' of ascent. Initial impression is very good, and they did great on the climbs, whether seated or out of the saddle. I will post more on them as I get in more time and hope to have some pic's up soon.

I still haven't tried my dads al30's but he seems very happy. He said the bike rolls smoothly and picks up speed well. That said the new tyres add to that I am sure. Still they seem a good bargain.

I have two rides and about 50 miles on my AL30's. So far so good. I am very happy with the increase in performance. Here are some pics. http://flickr.com/photos/74034518@N04/6677142525/

I have over 100 miles on the AL30'S and they are still performing great. Hit about 42 MPH on a 4000' descent and they were rock solid.