Wheel upgrade question

dombo6
dombo6 Posts: 582
edited October 2007 in Workshop
Need some upgrade advice please.

My bike (Lemond Buenos Aires 2006) came with standard Bontrager Race wheels. THese retail at £160 which I guess is how the bike manufacturers hit their price points (bike's rrp was £1600) They seem OK but I have seen some Bonty Race X-Lites that normally retail around £500 on sale at a well-known cycle shop chain for only £300.

Would this be a worthwhile upgrade ie would I be likely to notice a big difference? The X-Lites weigh less, at only 1490g so probably a pound or so less than mine. And I'd likely change the tyres too from the OE 25mm Bonty Race to Michelin Pro Race, Conti GPs or Fortezza Tricomps

I mostly do 50 mile club runs, and the occasional sportive.

Thanks for any advice.

Comments

  • Steven Martin
    Steven Martin Posts: 280
    Yes, taking that much weight off of the wheels will make a big difference to the feel of the bike. You will accelerate faster and (depending upon the overall weight of bike and rider) will climb a bit quicker too. The gains won't be huge, say less than 1 minute off Alpe D'Huez.
    Dropping weight on the tyres will noticably improve things too. Taking weight off the rotational weight furthest from the hub is the biggest gain.

    General consensus is to improve wheelset first. And you are right, they almost always skimp on wheels. You see £1500 quid bikes with Aksiums that weigh 2kg in total!
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    The X-lites are a good choice at that price. As good or better than ksyriums but cheaper.

    better still IMO would be a pair of Shamal Ultras... though that would be another £150+.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Pretty comprehensive wheel test in this week's Cycling Weekly - the best performing clincher wheels were Campag Neutrons followed by the Shamals, beating off the likes of Easton, Roval and Mavic.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • allaction
    allaction Posts: 209
    How would a set of Mavic Open pro rims with Ultegra hubs all handbuilt compare? Ordered a set from Paul Hewitt. They are going to be lighter than Aksiums and hopefully stronger and last longer than ksyriums. These were £208 delivered in black with black spokes.

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