Stiffest £200 wheelset

simbil1

I'm looking for a wheelset around £200 that will be stiff and will be robust enough for the rough roads I ride on.
Will be mainly used for training with an occasional competition (TT) and sportive.
Most of the training I do is in the hills, so weight is a factor too.

I found the Mavic site less than useful with its bizarre summaries of wheels ("CLUB RIDES_START NUMBER_ACCELERATE" for the Ksyrium Equipe).

I was leaning towards custom builds but really don't feel I have enough information/opinions to go on.

Any ideas?

Is it worth considering a mix a la Soler?

simbil1

I've read the other wheel threads - they don't quite answer it for me. Any advice?

JustRidecp

I cant help you with this but I'd be interested in seeing the responses as I'm looking for a wheel upgrade in the near future at a similar budget.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I wouldn't be surprised if hand-built wheels using Mavic CXP33 rims would be up there. I had a set of CXP30s on Ultegra hubs (came with my '97 Principia RSL) and had my first spoke breakage in spring 2006!

acorn_user

If you want stiff, you should get stiff rims. Stiff rims = aero section V of some kind. Then get it built up with 32 spokes or similar. Should be plenty stiff, and well under 200 pounds from most. There are loads of deeper V section rims out there. The CXP-30 mentioned earlier is probably the daddy, but you might also look into Velocity Deep Vs and Rigida DP18s (among many).
Note, these will also be strong and fixable.

maddog 2

as above, CXP33 rims (32h) with hubs of your choice/budget, builts using DT DB spokes and pro-lock nipples (rear driveside DT plain gauge).

Won't be the lightest but will be bullet-proof, if built well (Hewitt, Rowland, Matthews et al)

If you want even stronger then go 36h on the rear.

If want even strongerer then consider touring rims (A319 etc.)

simbil1

Thanks for all the tips.

I've gone for some handbuilts from Harry Rowland. After a quick chat on the phone it was clear he really knew his stuff and I went with his recommendation for the kind of riding I'm doing. He reckons Open Pros will be enough as CXP33s are heavier and would be more of a criterium wheel where there is a lot of out the saddle blasting. I've gone for 32h for a compromise between weight and strength. Looking forward to the Chiltern's sportive this weekend for a test drive
£212 for the wheels (Amborsio hub, open pro 32h) with a 4 day turn around (ordered Tues, will be here for Sunday's ride) - can't argue with that.

I'll post my thoughts on the wheelset here next week if anyone is interested.

sward29

I had a pair of Campag Protons, which are now available from Ribble for under £200, and they were brilliant. The front one was lighter than the original Mavic Ksyriums while the back one was only slightly heavier. They were dead comfy, fast, and completely bombproof. I rode them over some very rough roads and they never once went out of true in 2 years. Being Campag they also have fantastic bearings and are cheap to service when required - I was quoted £40 for replacement bearings on my Ksyriums!

Don't know how they compare to handbulit wheels as haven't ridden any for years - the last ones I bought were Open Pro's on 105 from Dave Hinde and they were the worst wheels I have ever used. They were out of true when they arrived and the spokes kept coming loose despite sending them back for repair. Having used Open Pro's several times previously I can only put it down to poor wheelbuilding.

simbil1

I read a lot of good things about the campag wheels and was considering Protons / Zondas but in the end decided to go for a well made handbuilt. It would be great to compare - maybe next year I'll get some campags too and get a good wheel farm going

Simon Notley

I have the Zondas and find them very good, but I have a friend who raves about hand-made wheels so I'd quite like to try a pair. Will have to have a chat with Harry Rowland or someone I think.

JWSurrey

Well, the winter trainer runs Campag. Ventos, and the summer road razor runs Open Pro CDs on Ultegra, 32H with straight gauge spokes. I think the OPs would be more than 200 though.... although my experience with these would suggest that handbuilts are definitely worth trying.
In terms of on-the-scale weights, they're near identical.

Not sure if it's the bike they're on, but the handbuilts are superb and feel much more solid/direct, yet strangely smooth riding compared to the Ventos.
I can't believe how easy it is to accelerate on the OPs - though this may again be down to the bike.
I suspect the reason the OPs feel so good are down to perhaps having light rims.
The braking surfaces seem to have a better machining, and appear to be tougher than the Campag. Ventos.

The Ventos have had significantly more mileage, and ridden with a pannier on rough roads - The rear has gone slightly out of true. The OPs are absolutely spot on after 2 sportives / light use, on bumpy roads.

If I had to choose between the two, I'd go for the handbuilts.
I'd agree that Harry Rowland is a good builder, though have no personal experience - just going on his reputation from magazines, posts, and a telephone conversation I had with him.
If you're near London, I can suggest a couple of other places that are good....
Bought mine from Condor.
Dauphin in Box Hill seemed pretty good too - the wheel builder is their on-site mechanic, who's also quite an accomplished rider.

If you do decide on handbuilts, don't skimp on the spoking 32H leads to a robust solid wheel for marginal weight increase. sheldonbrown has an excellent wheel building article. http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html