Wheel Choice - Advice much appreciated

Look at Yoeleo

Look at Yoeleo

If you're looking around the £500-£600, keep your eyes peeled for the American Classic aero 420 or Argent, or the Spada Breva's in the sales, tend not to get the same press as the bigger names, but well made wheels and super light.  Hunt wheels may also be right up your street too. 

There is a cycling weekly video comparing different pairs of wheels(road rims, 50mm rims and full TT setup) on the same road bike at 200 Watt and 300 Watt runs over 10 mins. It was quite clear that aero wheels offered significant speed improvments at both power levels. greater still with full aero wheels.

I have just ordered some 60mm aero wheels from abroad which I'll use for TT and sportives.

I have the Campag Bullet 50 Ultra Cult version, on my best bike. Bought knowing I'd never be able to justify that expense on wheels again (they were on sale, even so).

Perhaps not quite the lightest, but they are very stiff, roll beautifully and look fantastic on the bike. I wanted carbon wheels, but liked the idea of the alu braking surface.

A friend has the standard ones and really likes them.

Wiggle seem the be the cheapest at the moment, but keep an eye on Ribble for a sale.

Overall, I've never regretted buying them, but at some point I may buy a lighter set for hilly rides. My other bike has 2 sets of alu wheels, and the difference in weight is noticable, expecially when pulling away from a junction, as the lighter ones spin up much faster.

Edit

The Ultra ones I've got are supposed to be the 2-way Fit tubeless ready ones, but I don't recall the manual saying anything about it, far less the label. Must remember to check that out and, if so, try it out.

I had a similar conundrum this year as to what wheels to put on my supersix and narrowed it down to the Fulcrum racing zero nite, racing zero carbon, Reynolds assault, campag bora 35 and the Mavic cosmic. 

In the end I went for the Bora 35 as they're light (1400g) mid section and had ceramic bearings. the Reynolds were a close joint second with the fulcrums. So far been really pleased with them, got them reduced for just over £1k, roll brilliantly and the carbon brake track has performed faultlessly including in the alps. Theres a big price difference, but they really do make the bike come alive, I run Askiums through the winter and everything just feels sluggish and a bit dead in comparison. 

Out of your list I'd probably jump for the Reynolds, some people in the club have them and they seem bombproof and good value. The braking is apparently good too. Might also be worth checking out the Hunt carbon wheels too. They're well made, wide and excellent value. Were out of stock when I was getting mine else they'd have been on the list too. Likewise for tri, the Fulcrum racing quattrro aren't much heavier at 1500g and good value at £800 - same brake track as on my boras and the zero carbon, just without the USB bearings in the hubs. 

Just noticed we have the same 2015 bike. The Bora with a 25mm vittoria Corsa G+ fits with no problem. 

I'd say either the Reynolds (light), or the Campagnolo Bullet (Alu brake surface for the same weight as the Cosign).

For me that would mean the Reynolds but it depends how paranoid you are about braking and how much you expect to be riding in the wet (where Alu brake track will be a big benefit).

a couple of option from farsport ( a "reliable" chinese vendor)

https://www.wheelsfar.com/road-wheels/clincher/24cm-23mm-width/38mm-x-23...

or higher price with DTSWISS 240s straight pull

https://www.wheelsfar.com/road-wheels/clincher/24cm-23mm-width/38mm-x-23...

very easy communication, 

farsports very easy communications :

top end : DTswiss 240s hubs straight pull  ( various combination of rims depth and width)

https://www.wheelsfar.com/road-wheels/clincher/24cm-23mm-width/38mm-x-23...

more budget  : 

https://www.wheelsfar.com/road-wheels/clincher/24cm-23mm-width/38mm-x-23...

you can ask ceramic bearing for small upgrade cost..

Would agree with earlier comments about the power meter. To be able to moderate your power over a ride is a great asset. If you are riding a 10 mile TT or 100 mile sportive you will be able to judge the ride on the basis your average and current power. Thus able to ensure that there is still gas in the tank for the whole ride. Plus you get a much more accurate view of energy consumed so you can judge better when to feed yourself. They also help in training.

Wheels are an intersting issue. Over the years I have bought and sold around 10 pairs of wheels in search of the perfect all rounder. Weight is only really a big issue if you are doing alot of climbing on the ride. It matters but not that much. What you are left with is how well they cut through the air and how well they transfer power from the you to the ground. So stiffness. Each of the sets of wheels that were sold where lacking on one of the two catagories mentioned and it seemed difficult to get both. It does exist and I found it with a company called Ride full gas. Various depth sections available but they all share a very wide profile 25 to 28mm between the pads. This wide profile provides a great tyre profile with the tyre to braking surface connection being very smooth. This makes the tyre shape more aero but the shape is also amazing for grip and cornering as there is no roll on the tyre. Then there is the stiffness. Boy but they transfer power well. I have the DM 838 wheels which are a few grams heavier than a Duraace C24 but with a much deeper section. They work really well as an all rounder and come supplied with the proper pads. Lovely hubs which are real easy to service. Braking is fine too.

Oh and not to be discounted they look the business.

IME Reynolds are very well built and reasonably stiff, which is what will give you that feeling of strong acceleration under power. Ditto campag / fulcrum (though ive only used their alu rimd. I don't have experience of the other brands. The latest ones are wider and generally a wider wheel will be stiffer.

Light weight is nice, but it sounds like the priority should be aero, stiffness then weight. Especially if you're doing ironmans. Go for 50-60 mm if you can, 40mm is unlikely to give you all that much of an aero advantage. You learn to cope with winds but you can always swap back to the fulcrums for winter and v windy days.

I can't speak to the actual wheels you've posted up there, but I have the same bike and I ride it with some very old (15 yrs) Dura-ace 30mm aluminium rims and my 'normal' race wheels are Dura-ace C24s. There is little noticable difference between the 2. The approx 400 gm is barely noticable riding up hill, but they do accelerate a little easier. I've recently ridden the GF world champs on some borrowed reynolds 50mm XL carbon tubulars, and been riding a national series on some FFWD 50mm tubs. Both are around 400gm lighter than the C24s. The difference is noticable, and quite dramatic. In the acclerations they 'spin up' a lot easier, and when riding solo / bridging gaps there is certainly an 'easier feel' to them. 

I think you will notice the difference of deeper carbon rims, but probably not the difference between the 2 price ranges

Your last comment re: cheaper wheels and a power meter seems spot on to me. 

I know this is about the benefits of very expensive wheels versus extremely expensive wheels but maybe go for something in the cheaper range and donate the difference to charity? Your money, of course but £400 is quite a lot to many in the season of goodwill.

You'd probably also feel a greater benefit from that too, albeit a different kind.

[With apologies for the sermonising - just trying to offer a wider perspective!]

As always its a question of what's important to you.

Of the wheels you've listed I would go for the Reynolds because they are lighter and I like a light wheel.  I don't intentionally go out in prolonged rain so the wet weather braking of full carbon rims isn't that much of an issue to me and it's not like alloy rims are great either in the wet.

Aerodynamically Swiss Side probably have the edge but it's probably not an edge you'll ever notice over say the Cosines (which have no data to back them up AFAIK).  But the Cosines are lardy and the Bullets lardier still.  So I'd take 200g lighter wheels from Reynolds.

I should probably pay more attention on lateral stiffness- Roadcc rated the Hadrons in that respect but the Reynolds don't strike me as flexy.

A shallower front than rear is a theory I subscribe to btw for an all-round wheelset even if it might sometimes be the less than aerodynamically optimum solution.

The Mavic wheels you linked to are very narrow at 13 mm. What about the new Mavic cosmic pro carbon 2017 wheels ? Reasonably light, 45 mm deep, a good internal rim width for an Evo at 17 mm ( my Supersix Evo has very limited clearance at the back ),  about 787 quid and Mavic wheels have a 3 year warranty now and crash replacement. If that reads a bit like an ad it's because I want someone to review these damn wheels !