Is it worth a wheel upgrade?

Don’t you have a friend or a
Don’t you have a friend or a local bike shop who would lend you a set of better wheels to have a go on so you can make up your own mind?

I agree with Sensible re any
I agree with Sensible re any of the top tier Mavics, Campags or in my case, Fulcrums. I’m late 40s, 13 stone and ride hilly terrain at similar average speeds. Went through brief periods of ownership of two lightweight alloy wheelsets in the £300 to £500 price range that would initially launch me up any climb slightly quicker but then drive me crazy for the rest of the climb, flexing noticeably.

My bro had many happy years on Eurus’ and then went onto Fulcrum Zeroes and on his recommendation I took the plunge with the Zeroes which I reckon are ace. Super stiff, a little heavier at 1600g, but combined with Conti tyres and lightweight tubes, an absolute joy to ride on. They feel so much more responsive when I put power down and have sharpened up the handling of the bike significantly. I think it’s that latter feature that gives me the feeling that I’m a bit more ‘brisk’ across a variety of terrain.

Read on roadcc that there’s an uprated version of the Zeroes in the pipeline so there could be deals on the existing model to be had.

Sensible wrote:Don’t get me

Sensible wrote:

Don’t get me wrong, I am not into buying kit for the sake of it…and yes I am out there cycling hard up those hills. Today 49 miles, average 15.3 mph with 2500 feet of climbing.
http://www.strava.com/activities/163287279
I am asking the question whether I would notice the difference with lighter wheels. I am not into throwing money at it and not putting in the effort.

For what it’s worth. I notice a marked difference between my Aksiums / Fulcrum R7s and my Ksyriums / Shamals. Whether weight is a factor over hub quality / wheel stiffness in that difference is up for debate. However, more often than not I am faster over regular routes when riding on my dressy wheels. Moreso on undulating or hilly rides, less so on the flat.

Sensible wrote:Good idea

Sensible wrote:

Good idea about doing a hill with and without a water bottle….but isn’t weight cut from wheels more noticeable than static weight because of rotating mass?

Not all the weight saved in a lightweight wheelset is from the rim, otherwise they would be as thin as baking foil.

A rule of thumb: for 100 meters of height gained, 1 kg less weight saves 2 seconds. The difference between adding 1.8 kg of water to the bike or in the tyres is 0.9%. Hardly dramatic.

How much time does extra weight cost on Alpe d’Huez?

Ceramic bearings make sod-all difference, don’t believe the hype. To get better at riding hills you have to ride hard up hills. However, when you do see an improvement it is infinitely more rewarding than buying kit.

As a custom wheel builder, I
As a custom wheel builder, I should say “yes, of course they will!”, but only with caveats.

What you have aren’t bad wheels at all. Sub-1,800 g for a basic wheel set is not that heavy, DT Swiss are my go-to hubs (phenomenally under-rated) and Continental’s 4000 tires are what I’d recommend as an all-round clincher tire. You are using 25mm wide tires, by the way, aren’t you?

A wheel upgrade is an incremental improvement. Per comments above, 15 mph on a hilly route isn’t shabby (especially with a 13 st body), and new wheels will not make you hurt any less, it will just make it last for a slightly shorter time.

That said, a significantly lighter set of wheels can help in a couple of ways. If your hills feature variable gradients then the lower centifugal weight will allow you to accelerate more easily as the gradient drops, which will reduce time and/ or the pain. Over a series of hills, the slightly less fatigue you get will be compounded. In other words, lighter wheels might shave 5 seconds off hill 1, but 50 seconds off hill 10.

For your budget, I’d go with alloy rims and DT-240 hubs. It’s pretty easy to build a set that’s near 1,200 g, but strong enough for you.

Adding a couple hundred more quid will get you access to carbon rim wheels. If you choose this, I’d only recommend tubular; they are lighter and cheaper than carbon clincher and there aren’t any overheating issues. For a little over 1,000 quid you will be able to get a wheel set for almost 1,000 grams, again with DT-240 hubs. At this point the difference will feel significant; you have a lot less weight and the better handling of tubulars to boot.