Fulcrum Racing Zero or Shimano Dura ace 9000 C24

Yep Zondas/Fulcrum R3 seem to me about the sweet spot for performance/value. And they have the Record hub, the best hub ever made some say.

Don't think you'll go wrong with the Fulcrums.

I have some Fulcrum Racing 5s which came on my race bike (2009,  but bought in 2010) and they've been great.  These days they get a beating on my winter bike on some duff roads in Oxfordshire, but still run true and spin very well (having received very little maintenance).  

Usually I would say "Zondas" (basically a Racing 3 with different rear lacing), but that Merlin R3/tubes/GP4k deal is too good to pass up - go for it!

The Racing 5 LGs with GP4000 IIs & tubes at £207 are also an absolute steal; I rode a pair of 5 LGs for 2000km in the Pyrenees and thought they were absolutely fantastic for the money. At 83kg, I noticed that they gave away some stiffness to my Zondas, but fine wheels all the same.

Given your budget, I think the extra hundred quid for the 3s is money well spent.

@joegg Yes and yes!

just get a pair of zondas from pbk or merlin.. put the rest of the money for decent tyres-tubes.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/campagnolo-pr-whls-zonda-black-clincher-ca...

check out the reviews at wiggle:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-zonda-clincher-wheelset/

1445 reviews so far..

..also to second Simon E's point about diminishing returns and value for money - if you werent fussed about at ceramic bearings and those last few grams then for £270 at Wiggle campag zonda (aka fulcrum racing 3) are hard to beat. They are so stiff that I doubt you'd really feel the ~ 110g penalty.

Having ridden both brands' more budget offerings - these and shimano's RS80 c24 both are great value, the campags win on stiffness, the shimano's win on comfort.

Objectively it's hard to justify spending twice as much when what's available at around £300 is so good.

I wouldn't buy a set of wheels/ cranks etc just because they have ceramic bearings, (and personally think there's better things to spend your money on than 'upgrading' all your bearings to ceramic). Decent ones do run exceptionally smoothly, however, and tend to last longer (harder, won't rust). May need a bit more maintenance. The ones used by campag/ fulcrum are good. Ultimately though, they will wear out and then you'll be in for a shock replacing them! $$$

As for the wheels themselves, it's not just bearings or weight, but stiffness too. I imagine both are pretty good in this regard and certainly the campag ones I've used are.

Dont buy ceramic bearings, unless you have some money to literally waste.  Yes they have 0.000003 % or whatever less friction than standard bearings.  They are designed for high speed applications with no impact forces.   Wear rates are poor compared to decent hub bearing manufacturers.   Do a little googling to find out