[duk31nlondon]

What should I go for as a road wheelset for my commuter ? It’s a cycloX Norco threshold. I’ll put some gravel tyres on the current wheels for gravel sportives and other trail outings and would like another set of wheels for commuting and club road rides.

The below are all within budget and will replace entry level WTB Sx17 Cyclo cross wheels. Any opinions would be great. I rarely change components so a bit clueless. Not looking to optimise on cost but rather to get the biggest improvement possible over my current set. Are the carbon set the no brainer they seem to be or am I missing something?

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Alexrims-CXD4-700c-Disc-TL-Ready-Centrelock-Road-Wheelset_107705.htm?source=aw&awc=6821_1524514875_6c2eb313582fcfc9ec8e9c10b9601058&utm_source=aw&utm_medium=169609

https://www.evanscycles.com/mavic-cosmic-elite-ust-6-bolt-700c-road-wheelset-EV310523

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/prime-rr-38-carbon-clincher-disc-road-wheelset-1/

Topic

[atrider5]

Has anyone had any experience

Has anyone had any experience with the Enve disc wheelsets, been looking at something that’s going to be reliable and strong enough for my commuter? I’ve read a few solid articles, https://thetriathletehub.com/road-disc-wheelset/ that make me think they would be a great wheel with plenty of options. 

[duk31nlondon]

ClubSmed wrote:

I find that, although there should not be a difference, there is a slight difference between where the disc sits on my stock wheels compared to my “summer” wheels. This results in a bit of a faff when changing over, this is managable when I am only changing over twice a year but if doing it more frequently it would become extremely irritating.

Good point, I am a bit worried about that, as I want to be able to change the wheels for just a weekend gravel ride and change back, without faffing with a tyre change, especially I will go tubeless for the offroad set-up.

I have no illusions on the quality of my stock wheels (which are fine, but again, with no comparison point, I haven’t got a clue) but I really want to make sure I get something significantly better for the road which is my main use of the bike.

If it comes to that, I guess I’ll retire the stock wheels and get a entry level CycloX set from the same brand (after checking with them) as the new set

 

[Stef Marazzi]

You wont go wrong with Mavic

You wont go wrong with Mavic Aksiums. super strong in both rim brake and disc versions. Really well sealed bearings. I will always burn the rims out way before the hubs or freehub body goes.

[ClubSmed]

I find that, although there

I find that, although there should not be a difference, there is a slight difference between where the disc sits on my stock wheels compared to my “summer” wheels. This results in a bit of a faff when changing over, this is managable when I am only changing over twice a year but if doing it more frequently it would become extremely irritating.
To avoid this you could look at maybe getting two sets of Fulcrum Racing 5 DB which would cost around £550 (CRC @ £280/set – £10 discount code) for the two sets so not too much more than the top of your budget. There is also the option of getting wheels on the cycle to work scheme if you have it available. You are allowed to just buy componants on this now and that could knock the price down by 25%-40% and give you a 12 month interest free loan for it too.

Just a thought

[Canyon48]

duk31nlondon wrote:

Canyon48 wrote:

 

Have you considered DT Swiss? For around £440 you could get these;

 

 https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3600&g=1435955&p=1435958&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Road%20Bike%20Wheels&gclid=CjwKCAjwq_vWBRACEiwAEReprNakj5xNbHlDHk-Qobus03DQUWNbEZWfQF__sdNdUgDeHxEnS6OAhoCHI0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

These have straight-pull bladed spokes on DT Swiss hubs. They are however slightly shallower and not super lightweight.

Thanks for that suggestion, that looks very good indeed

I very much like my DT Swiss wheels, like them so much I’m saving up to get some aero dt swiss wheels for my summer bike!

As has been mentioned, Hunt wheels are very good too – well worth a look!

[duk31nlondon]

Canyon48 wrote:

 

Have you considered DT Swiss? For around £440 you could get these;

 

 https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3600&g=1435955&p=1435958&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Road%20Bike%20Wheels&gclid=CjwKCAjwq_vWBRACEiwAEReprNakj5xNbHlDHk-Qobus03DQUWNbEZWfQF__sdNdUgDeHxEnS6OAhoCHI0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

These have straight-pull bladed spokes on DT Swiss hubs. They are however slightly shallower and not super lightweight.

Thanks for that suggestion, that looks very good indeed

[Dnnnnnn]

Something mentioned by Nixter

Something mentioned by Nixter – getting wheels handbuilt – also means that you would be able to replace a worn-out rim or a single broken spoke, which isn’t always the case with factory-built wheels (or they charge for a whole wheel’s-worth of spokes and a full rebuild, when only one was broken). 

[Nixster]

Better = stiffer, lighter,

Better = stiffer, lighter, more aero, more durable.  What combination of these you prioritise will depend on what use you intend to put them to and things like how heavy you are, how strong etc.

If you’re commuting on them, most people would want a durable wheel suggesting a reasonable set of hubs like Novatecs with sensible size bearings and a fairly strong rim, say 30mm depth, and sufficient spokes depending on your weight.  A wider rim will give a more comfortable ride, providing they will fit in your frame but that’s probably not much of an issue for a CX bike.  You could do a lot worse than look at the Hunt 4 Season Aero or alternatively ask someone like The Cycleclinic to build you some with Kinlin rims, Novatec hubs and Sapim C-xray spokes.  The DT Swiss wheels referred to above have very solid hubs so again you could do worse but they’re not light!

A bit of additional depth will give some nominal aero benefit but really below 50mm and without decent test data nominal will be the word.

[Canyon48]

Improvement (depending on how

Improvement (depending on how you define it) comes mostly from the aerodynamic properties of a wheel. Basically – deep section wheels have lower drag so they are faster.

Wheel weight contributes to the “feel” of a bike but has little effect on the actual speed (unless you are planning on spending all your rides cycling up HC mountains.

Wheel material doesn’t make an enormous amount of difference on the overall performance of a wheel – though a carbon rim is likely to have a better ride quality.

There’s a few things worth noting about Prime wheels. I’ve had a set of cheap wheels from Wiggle and overall they were very good for the price. I had Cosine disc wheels (Wiggles own brand which has now been replaced by Prime). The spokes are J-bend and aren’t bladed which means they aren’t as stiff or as aerodynamic as they could be. The hubs are from Novatec (the bearings in mine were not great). I also found that the spoke nipples were not particularly durable and were made from a fairly soft metal. As I said – they were very good given how little I paid for them.

I believe those Alexrims wheels are the same as the Cosine wheels I had (Wiggle didn’t hide the fact they had just put a Cosine sticker on Alexrims wheels).

The Mavics give you a nice 40mm rim depth but are a good 100 grams heavier than either of the other offerings.

 

Have you considered DT Swiss? For around £440 you could get these;

 https://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do?method=view&n=3600&g=1435955&p=1435958&d=124&c=4&l=2&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Base&utm_campaign=Road%20Bike%20Wheels&gclid=CjwKCAjwq_vWBRACEiwAEReprNakj5xNbHlDHk-Qobus03DdQUWNbEZWfQF__sdNdUgDeHxEnS6OAhoCHI0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

These have straight-pull bladed spokes on DT Swiss hubs. They are however slightly shallower and not super lightweight.

[Author]

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