Winter Wheel options/suggestions?

Hope hubs built on open pros's ?

To me £400 seems a lot to spend on wheels that you'd rather not have to have, if you see what I mean. Why not keep on your Fulcrum 5s for winter and buy some nice lightweight summer wheels with your £400? If you wait until Jan / Feb there will probably be some killer deals around too.

I'm sure the hand-built Open Pro options are bomb proof though. Oops, sorry, been banned from saying that on another thread!

The latest Fulcrum Racing 5 (2014) is a transformed wheelset. Stiff, reactive, not too heavy, really nice to ride. I swapped out my Shimano RS80s for these and don't think I'll be going back in a hurry.

I use R500's, but these were not just for Christmas, I use them all year round! Cheap, seem to last we'll so far.

...whereas I have had nothing but trouble using Racing 5s as winter wheels. Eating through bearings and freehubs.

+1 for 32h handbuilts on good hubs.

My winter bike has Racing 5's and I see no reason to change.
Bombproof and decent wheels as well.

ksyrium elites - mine have provided bomb proof year round commuting and weekend blasts.

+1 Handbuilts.

Campag record on ambrosio rims, or zenith hubs if you're saving money

32 spokes at least works well for me.

I run the old Racing 3's that came on my Bianchi till I upgraded the wheels on that.
I get them trued and tensioned up at the start of the winter and they usually last me (October-March), and have done the last 5 years.

Though when these give up the ghost it'll be some Ambrosio rims on a decent sealed hub.

I put my winter wheels on my bike 2 weeks ago. I use fulcrum quattro cx wheels. They are £212 on wiggle. This is the second winter i'm using them and after around 5,000 km they are still true. CX wheels are best for winter as they have sealed bearings which stops all sorts of gunk getting in. They are very strong wheels and have survived many vast potholes. However they weren't strong enough to survive when, 3 days ago, I was hit by a lorry and the front wheel got ran over At least i'm ok and that the lorry driver's insurance is paying out and i shall re-purchase the fulcrum quattro CX's

Hand built is a deffo here, I use Ambrosio rims in winter, my personal choice of hubs I can't recommend, as I do high maintenance on them, which isn't for everyone.

'Big Al' Gow at wheelcraft makes mine.

Winter gets everywhere, so for me the preference is something serviceable and tough. Handbuilts, plenty of spokes, open pros and 105s. 25mm tyres. Smooth, really robust, and I can open the hubs myself. 2 things grow well in winter: potholes and stomachs. Plenty of spokes means it's not a problem.

The magic is in the build. Harry Rowland made mine and they're certainly within your budget.

I'm sure someone else will recommend something much lighter and racier, and perhaps that's more your cup of tea. I wouldn't swap mine for anything, though.