Top of the range wheels

amc

I'm looking to get some nice new (nearly) top of the range wheels for next season through my company's Ride2Work scheme, which (unfortunately) is done solely through Evans so i'd be stuck with their stuff.
I'm light (63kg), have an fairly average alu bike with carbon rear triangle bike (Airborne Blackbird) and will use the good wheels for sportives, club rides and the odd time trial (i'll be sticking to my handbuilts for the London winter commute).
With Evans' current top of the range stuff i'd have a choice between:
Mavic Ksyrium SL Premium
Mavic Ksyrium SL
Mavic Ksyrium ES
Fulcrum Racing 1
Botranger Race X-lite Race/aero
Roval Fusel Star

Sadly no Campag wheels in the mix but i'd appreciate any recommendations on the above. Many thanks.

il_principe

The Fulcrum Racing 1's are essentialy Campagnolo wheels. I can't speak for the other wheels you mention, but I own a pair of Racing 1's and 0's and both are fantastic.

Brian B

I have two pairs of ES wheels. Fantastic wheels for the money and they look good too. If it was me I would go for them or the Race 1s. They are both good wheels.

aracer

Brian B wrote:

I have two pairs of ES wheels. Fantastic wheels for the money

I'm sorry? They're less aero AND heavier than wheels you can get for far cheaper, yet still good for the money?

As always I'd suggest anything but Mavics - though in this case I'd suggest not the Roval's either, as they rival Mavic for being heavy and non-aero for the price!

Brian B

They ARE pretty light and maybe not the most aero but they are bombproof and easy to service in the UK. This surely must make them a good wheel and as I own two pairs and I have had other wheels such as Fulcrum race 3s(which were sub par to the mavic ES wheels) I can only say good things about them.

Plus as I said - they are a nice looking wheel which counts for a lot for some cyclists including me. On a serious note the new mavic R-SYS wheels with the carbon spokes could be a serious contender for a good all round wheel. Pun intended. They are light and claimed to be 30% stiffer than than ES wheels(they also look good).

maddog 2

Buy the ES, sell them immediately to someone into shiny things, and buy some decent handbuilts with the cash.

giant_man

[quote="maddog 2"]Buy the ES, sell them immediately to someone into shiny things, and buy some decent handbuilts with the cash.


[/quote]

gkerr4

aren't you going to have to find a bike with them on to start with?

- you can only buy a full bike with the ride-to-work scheme vouchers.

aracer

Brian B wrote:

They ARE pretty light

At 600 notes, I'd expect them to be more than pretty light. DT1450s for £200 less are lighter (and I'd suggest probably reliable and easily serviceable - they even some in white!)

Lagavulin

I've got a set of DT Swiss' RR1850's and they've been really great. Heavy but smooth as silk and bombproof to date.

If I was after a set of lightweight wheels I wouldn't think twice about ordering a set of the 1450's or 1450 Mon Chasserals.

And, like my 1850s, they look uber cool in white 8)

LangerDan

I have a set of the 1450's and I'm not enormously impressed, tbh. The hubs are very nice though the alloy freehub body suffers from the normal gouging from the cassette. I found the rims to be soft - certainly no better than the current Mavic rim range that have been criticised of late. In addition, the silver coating (too soft for anodising, too thin for powder coating) is starting to lift. Finally, even with the spoke holder, the bloody DT Aerolite spokes bend far too easily at the flat / circular transition point.

At some point I'll rebuild the hubs into some better rims.

amc

gkerr4 wrote:

aren't you going to have to find a bike with them on to start with?

- you can only buy a full bike with the ride-to-work scheme vouchers.

Oh, hope you're not right. When i had a quick play on line it didn't seem to mind I was 'ordering wheels' only. I'd better check.

Re the wheels. Yes, i know i could do well on hand-builts but i already have a good solid all year round pair of Harry Rowland's so i'm looking for a lighter, more blinged up pair for summer riding - and sadly i can only get them (at 50% discount) from Evans.
So far looks like toss up between Fulcrum Racing 1 and Mavic's Ksyrium SL/ SL Premium.

wildmoustache

there's not much in it really ... they are all fairly similar. You'd get the most second hand for the Ksyriums and maybe selling them as suggested is not a bad idea. Mavics are very reliable ... you see loads of them around for a reason (even if they are a bit overpriced). Fulcrums have nicer campag hubs IMO and look a bit better.

I'd think about buying some, then selling them, and buying a pair of aero alu clinchers like the new Aeolus's, Dura Aces or Zipps (probably not these as reliability of the Zipp family of wheels is more suspect than other two, though there are reportedly improvements).

If you want to ride medium section, fit and forget light wheels, I'd get the Shamals. Others will say handbuilts, which might be cheaper for the same weight, but you are taking a chance with the build quality (even from a reputable wheel builder IME) and they don't look as good IMO.

portuguese mike

I wouldn't get carried away with the suggestion of selling them on. if you read the small print i'm pretty sure that the items purchased via cycle2work remain the property of your employer until the end of the paypack period at which time they sell them to you for a nominal fee (though in practice the employer usually just lets you have the bike/gear).
and thinking about it i think GKERR4 is probably right about the whole bike thing so best check it out.

Monty Dog

I was looking seriously at some DT1450s, but the stories of the 'soft' rims and problems with spokes pulling through or deforming the rim does concern me - 1850s are ridiculously heavy and are probably too stiff fo my use. FWIW the new Mavic R-SYS have been launched and some shops have demo pairs available to test - my LBS has a pair and I'm tempted to give them a bash - it'll have to be the front though because the've only got Shimano freehubs! I like the look of Shamals too and many places are selling them at about £550 - they're almost identical in performance to Fulcrum Zeros but a lot cheaper. Interestingly in the recent CW wheel test, the best wheels were Campag Neutrons followed by the Shamals - the Ksyriums were a long way behind. Interestingly both Easton and Zipp showed poor build quality - which is inexcuseable at any price. The rims on my Ksyrium SLs are showing heavy wear after 5 years, and whilst they've proved to be durable and reliable, I'm not so sure I want another pair as there seem to be better wheels out there.

wildmoustache

Monty Dog wrote:

I was looking seriously at some DT1450s, but the stories of the 'soft' rims and problems with spokes pulling through or deforming the rim does concern me - 1850s are ridiculously heavy and are probably too stiff fo my use. FWIW the new Mavic R-SYS have been launched and some shops have demo pairs available to test - my LBS has a pair and I'm tempted to give them a bash - it'll have to be the front though because the've only got Shimano freehubs! I like the look of Shamals too and many places are selling them at about £550 - they're almost identical in performance to Fulcrum Zeros but a lot cheaper. Interestingly in the recent CW wheel test, the best wheels were Campag Neutrons followed by the Shamals - the Ksyriums were a long way behind. Interestingly both Easton and Zipp showed poor build quality - which is inexcuseable at any price. The rims on my Ksyrium SLs are showing heavy wear after 5 years, and whilst they've proved to be durable and reliable, I'm not so sure I want another pair as there seem to be better wheels out there.

Montydog talks sense! Wait for the 10% off at Ribble and Shamals come down to £470ish. Not bad at all for that wheelset IMO. R-SYS I would like to try, but their non-aeroness and high cost puts me off. New Shimanos are all very interesting ... especially when they go tubeless and the range of tubeless tyres widens.

Surprised by Easton as they have a good rep. Zipp showing poor build quality is a bit like observing that Hitler was a bit of a 5hit

aracer

Since we seem to have strayed from what the OP can get in Evans, am I allowed to suggest that you get better value and performance from handbuilts yet? (noting that there are other options for handbuilt beside Open Pros on series hubs)

Here's a thread about the sort of thing I have in mind
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB ... hp?t=25622

wildmoustache

aracer wrote:

Since we seem to have strayed from what the OP can get in Evans, am I allowed to suggest that you get better value and performance from handbuilts yet? (noting that there are other options for handbuilt beside Open Pros on series hubs)

Here's a thread about the sort of thing I have in mind
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB ... hp?t=25622

ooops, no you're not allowed to start talking about handbuilts build quality is too variable

i was told (by someone who works there) evans can get campag stuff ordered for customers. might be worth asking them ... not sure if they can do handbuilts. of course, you'd probably pay top whack to begin with.

Monty Dog

Whoa! - would you really want Evans to build you a pair of wheels?? I suppose in one of their 31 shops there must be one decent wheelbuilder?

LangerDan

wildmoustache wrote:

New Shimanos are all very interesting ... especially when they go tubeless and the range of tubeless tyres widens.

Nooooooo!. If the road tubeless are anything like the mountain bike tubeless tyres, they are a monumental PITA. The MTB tubeless are nigh impossible to mount (putting Contis on Campags is childs play in comparison). When you do mount them, they can usually only be inflated by compressor or C02 cartridge (you need a very high flowrate to overcome the leaks before the bead seals to the rim) - I managed once using a track pump and nearly had a mild coronary in the process. If they puncture on the road, you will never manage to reinflate with a hand-pump. Either you need a CO2 inflator or bung in a conventional tube. On the MTB, most riders end up putting Slime in their tyres which certainly mitigates against much of the weight saving of tubeless. In fact, many of the MTBers I know that went tubeless are now running them with standard tubes.

For the road,I think I'd rather go back to tubs than go tubeless, at least until the useability improves significantly.

Kléber

I love tubeless for offroad. You put a bit of sealant in there and you never puncture. If that ever happens, shove an inner tube in there and you get home, no problems. Also you can run them at lower pressures so more grip and no snakebite punctures. And I've mounted my UST tyres with a track pump, the trick is the line up the beads ok and then a good push and it's done. Maybe I've been lucky?

But the advantages for offroad riding are no use on the road. Most people want high pressure and low rolling resistance, the system is heavier and feels sluggish.

wildmoustache

Monty Dog wrote:

Whoa! - would you really want Evans to build you a pair of wheels?? I suppose in one of their 31 shops there must be one decent wheelbuilder?

You're right ... I'd want that about as much as I'd want to get my hair cut at Evans, and I am not bald.

ok, back to the OP, check if Evans can get you campag wheels and if yes, then seriously consider the shamals or the neutron ultras would be my advice

wildmoustache

Kléber wrote:

I love tubeless for offroad. You put a bit of sealant in there and you never puncture. If that ever happens, shove an inner tube in there and you get home, no problems. Also you can run them at lower pressures so more grip and no snakebite punctures. And I've mounted my UST tyres with a track pump, the trick is the line up the beads ok and then a good push and it's done. Maybe I've been lucky?

But the advantages for offroad riding are no use on the road. Most people want high pressure and low rolling resistance, the system is heavier and feels sluggish.

Kleber, have you used the Shimano tubeless road wheels (genuine question). I haven't and am curious about them ... Shimano are going to go for this in a big way over the next year or two and they have a pretty strong record in producing well-engineered products so I'm curious as to whether anyone has tried them.

I thought that tubeless allowed you to ride at a lower pressure (better grip) with as low rolling resistance as clinchers and tubs at higher pressures (as some of the RR in clinchers comes from the tube /tyre interface and in tubs some comes from the glue).

My understanding was that the main downside is that it's hard (with a mini-pump) to reach the required pressure.

Kléber

I haven't ridden them but a friend in the trade has. You end up with more weight on the rim and the tyre, more than the savings from the inner tube. Like electronic shifting, I think this is an idea more suited for city bikes, not racing machines.

bhodgkiss

you have mail

bhodgkiss

i have a set of 2007 mavic ksyrium es wheels for sale if you're interested? Shimano fitment, with tyres and tubes, as new, used for just a few hundred training miles.. 410 pounds ono.

Ben