Wheels

mr-ed

I want a new set of wheels. I ride in Cornwall + Devon, so lots of sharps hills and similar decents and also want to get into racing- which is what these wheels would be used for. Any help on where to begin my search. I don't have a budget so any suggests within a reasonable price would be much appreciated.

Cheers Ed.

maddog 2

do a forum search. There are loads of threads about wheels

Gussio

One man's "reasonable" price is another's small fortune

Steven Martin

And take your weight into account. Easton Ascent II keep getting recommended by C+ c.£350 I think, but reviews I have read elsewhere suggest that they attempt to return to kit form if you are over 65kg.

Uranus

mr-ed wrote:

I want a new set of wheels. I ride in Cornwall + Devon, so lots of sharps hills and similar decents and also want to get into racing-

From experience I'd strongly recommend Campag Protons, I've done three or four thousand miles on mine including a lot of Devon hills and they've been great.

They are shallow rim section, for fast time-trialling and road-racing on flattish ground you might want an aero wheel but as an all rounder Protons are great.

Actually I think Campag might have dropped the Protons now (obviously they were too good for the money!) so if you can't find some old stock you might have to stump up an extra £100 for the Neutrons, which are very similar but slightly better/lighter.

Massimo

"but reviews I have read elsewhere suggest that they attempt to return to kit form if you are over 65kg."

I'm 70kg and have used 'em at least 5 days a week for 18 months straight and not had a single problem.

eh

Handbuilt Open Pros on some decent hubs e.g. Dura-ace. Good solid wheels that are more than capable for lower level racing and will take the knocks better than fancy machine built ones. Then later if you are more serious and want something even lighter just downgrade then to nice training wheels.

maddog 2

well built handbuilts - OPs on DA/Record/DT/King/Hope with DT spokes - take some beating for all round competent, relaible wheels IMO.

Factory ones look better though......... 8)

acorn_user

If you can get the Niobium rims from Kinlin, you could go even lighter. They are also available as the IRD Cadence, but I don't know about UK availability The Ambrosio Excellite would be a good alternative to Open Pros if you want to avoid ubitquity

simbil1

I really rate the hand builts I've got. Built by Harry Rowlands, Ambrosio Excellight SSC on Ambrosio hub for around £210.
Both 32 hole, rear 995g front 765g (with no cassette or QR).
They are strong and very light at that price point.

The factory wheels these replaced were 60g lighter for the set but the hand built wheels out perform the factory wheels in every other respect - stiff for out of the saddle power climbs, solid on descents.

aracer

acorn_user wrote:

If you can get the Niobium rims from Kinlin, you could go even lighter. They are also available as the IRD Cadence, but I don't know about UK availability

Available in the UK as Halo Mercury.

I was thinking of using these, but will probably go for a self built pair with AC420 rims instead - wheelset should cost ~£300 and both weigh less than top of the line Ksyriums and be a lot more aero than either those or 32 spokers.

woody-som

I have a pair of Halo Mercury wheels. For the weight, which is less that the Easton Tempest,, and cheaper, they have a semi aero rim. Only had them a few weeks, but can't find any fault with them so far. light, roll well, comfortable to ride, and at £225 for the pair, but available separately. (www.tredz.co.uk)

gkerr4

didn't take long for the handbuilt crowd to come and spoil the party did it! - oh look at my amateur built wheels with a million spokes that look like crap....

Liking those eastons at the moment and they do get very good reviews everywhere. I have to admit I was all set for some Ksyrium ES on my 2008 summer project bike, but I could be tempted to save a couple of quid for the ascents.

that said, I could easily be swayed towards the fulcrum racing zero's too!!!

woody-som

the easton ascents are nice, but the newer EA90SLX are a nice set of wheels, slightly heavier and have the new stye hub bearings. Been using a set for months now, very nice, fast response, and great for climbing, but so are the ascents. Have a look around though, as my LBS has said the ascents are being discontinued, so should be some good prices soon.

aracer

gkerr4 wrote:

didn't take long for the handbuilt crowd to come and spoil the party did it! - oh look at my amateur built wheels with a million spokes that look like crap....

Probably because handbuilt are generally better value for money - particularly compared to some of the "high end" factory wheels which are more style than substance. If you're considering Ksyriums then that really says it all when you can get lighter and more aero (not difficult to get more aero than Ksyriums which might not have many spokes, but the ones they have are fat and draggy) wheels for less money by going the custom route. At least the Eastons have a fair amount of functional merit compared to those, along with being much better VFM.

FWIW the wheels I'm building will only have 42 spokes between them - is that enough to look like crap? Lighter than Ksyrium ESs (should even be slightly lighter than Ascents), and much more aero - I've even got a triplet rear wheel spoking pattern planned. Oh, and you could almost get 2 sets for the price of Ksyriums. Presumably they lose serious marks as all the spokes are thin steel and none of them are red though?

maddog 2

aracer wrote:

.... and none of them are red though?

you could paint one..........

aracer

I am giving that idea serious consideration if it will stop them looking like crap.

gkerr4

that would be worth considering...

I have to say - your lighter than ksyrium es, 42spokes between em wheels sound quite nice.

but you have to admit, most of them have in the region of 72 spokes between them and don't have the same visual appeal as the current crop of 'less is more' (and thin bladed aluminium spokes where one is coloured red) factory wheelsets.

and yes - the visuals do matter a lot to me - I would imagine it does to a lot of recreational riders these days too. -

it;'s the new golf don't you know..
(OK a bit tongue in cheek that last phrase - although, actually it really is for me - haven't played golf in ages)

aracer

gkerr4 wrote:

and yes - the visuals do matter a lot to me - I would imagine it does to a lot of recreational riders these days too.

Prize to that man for being one of the first on here to admit it rather than come up with some spurious reason why the bike part they like the look of is so much better than the cheaper alternative 8)

(I actually agree with you about the look - but am prevented from buying factory wheels by my devotion to form following function despite knowing that slightly more aero or lighter wheels make no real difference :roll: )

acorn_user

A handbuilder with a deep rim could easily get down to 24 spokes. Or paired spokes if he can get the rims... Velocity will custom drill to your hears content.

And there are plenty of coloured rim choices. You used to be able to get Open Pros in Citron....
http://velospace.org/node/5271
white deep v
http://velospace.org/node/4881
yellow

No limits on taste these days Yes, you can even ride Zipps if you choose :gag:

mr-ed

cheers for the replys. I'll have a look into everything suggested, which is almost every thing!

Thanks.

Uranus

maddog 2 wrote:

well built handbuilts - OPs on DA/Record/DT/King/Hope with DT spokes - take some beating for all round competent, relaible wheels IMO.

Factory ones look better though......... 8)

The key words there are "well built" . . Paul Hewitt would do a good job with Ambrosio Excellights on DA or Campag hubs, probably for less than a pair of Neutrons, I reckon. I think he had a pair reviewed somewhere on BikeRadar.