Which clincher wheels?

pcd993

In my search for the perfect kit, I am looking to possibly upgrade my wheels. To be used on a Look 585, for sportives mainly, not for winter use. Requirements are reliable, light and good for climbing and descending. Any aero advantage a nice to have. Oh, and they must be clinchers! Not wanting to kill the bank, but would spend possibly £800 unless there is an absolute must-have a bit beyond that range. I weigh 70kgs on a good day.

I currently use the following: Ksyrium ES (OK, a bit heavier than advertised, reliable enough) or Campag Eurus (again reliable, a touch heavier than ideal, difficult to get tyres on and off).

I have recently borrowed a set of Reynolds carbon clinchers, the MV32C. They spin up quickly and are pretty fast. They are horribly expensive though. Would anyone recommend the cheaper Reynolds Attack, particularly in terms of reliability? Or has anyone tried the new Mavic R-Sys? Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

scherrit

Generic advice: decide on hand-built or factory first? Its a bit like religion, so no comment from me on that one.... :twisted:

If you're riding BIG decents my 2p would be to avoid all-carbon rims... try to get an alloy braking surface for reliable mountain pass decents.

A slightly left field idea would be to consider the American Classic Mag wheelset- no problems for your 70kg, and way lighter than most of your quoted alternatives!
Good luck,
S.

blackhands

How about:
http://www.rolfprima.com/products/vigor_sl.html

aracer

blackhands wrote:

How about:
http://www.rolfprima.com/products/vigor_sl.html

See http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB ... hp?t=35795 and http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB ... hp?t=35946 for why I wouldn't buy a set of those.

Instead how about American Classic 420s if you're interested in aero - same rim as those Vigors, but drilled properly so doesn't suffer from that failure mode. About the most aero you can get in an alu clincher, and still under 1500g. Better yet get some of those rims custom built onto Tune hubs with CX-Rays or Aerolites which will be well within your budget http://www.xx-light-bikes.de/shop/pi394 ... goryId=131

andyp

I'd second the recommendation from aracer about the American Classic 420s - they are probably the lightest aero clinchers you can get. I've a pair and they are solid and reliable as well as being light.

I wish he hadn't put the link in to the site in Germany though - I'm tempted by a pair with Tune hubs now. :?

Grifcp

Interesting link aracer...have you bought from them before?

Down the Road

pcd993 wrote:

In my search for the perfect kit, I am looking to possibly upgrade my wheels. To be used on a Look 585, for sportives mainly, not for winter use. Requirements are reliable, light and good for climbing and descending. Any aero advantage a nice to have. Oh, and they must be clinchers! Not wanting to kill the bank, but would spend possibly £800 unless there is an absolute must-have a bit beyond that range. I weigh 70kgs on a good day.

I currently use the following: Ksyrium ES (OK, a bit heavier than advertised, reliable enough) or Campag Eurus (again reliable, a touch heavier than ideal, difficult to get tyres on and off).

I have recently borrowed a set of Reynolds carbon clinchers, the MV32C. They spin up quickly and are pretty fast. They are horribly expensive though. Would anyone recommend the cheaper Reynolds Attack, particularly in terms of reliability? Or has anyone tried the new Mavic R-Sys? Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

Ridden a test pair of the R-sys. In a word Awesome.

e mail me for more details they are available for test rides under Mavic's test centre program.

pcd993

Great recommendations , particularly the German website. I had not thought of American Classics. They do a magnesium rim too, do they not? I will also look up the Mavic test centres too. I might try a pair a Cosmic Carbones too

Down the Road

No UK warranty on product sourced from Germany so be careful!

pcd993

I should say that the braking with the Reynolds carbon rims is actually fine, although the brake pads tend to make a whirring sound when coming to a standstill. I have been quite impressed with them.Quite difficult to change tyres, though not as bad as Campag wheels.

Rich.H

Down the Road wrote:

pcd993 wrote:

In my search for the perfect kit, I am looking to possibly upgrade my wheels. To be used on a Look 585, for sportives mainly, not for winter use. Requirements are reliable, light and good for climbing and descending. Any aero advantage a nice to have. Oh, and they must be clinchers! Not wanting to kill the bank, but would spend possibly £800 unless there is an absolute must-have a bit beyond that range. I weigh 70kgs on a good day.

I currently use the following: Ksyrium ES (OK, a bit heavier than advertised, reliable enough) or Campag Eurus (again reliable, a touch heavier than ideal, difficult to get tyres on and off).

I have recently borrowed a set of Reynolds carbon clinchers, the MV32C. They spin up quickly and are pretty fast. They are horribly expensive though. Would anyone recommend the cheaper Reynolds Attack, particularly in terms of reliability? Or has anyone tried the new Mavic R-Sys? Any other suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks

Ridden a test pair of the R-sys. In a word Awesome.

e mail me for more details they are available for test rides under Mavic's test centre program.

I am in a similar position to the OP - can you expand on what makes the R-SYS "awesome"

Cheers

Rich

Down the Road

Fast Light Stiff.

Accelerate like a deep section wheel Corner like a thin wheel

Everything you'd expect for the price Without the drawbacks of Carbon rims.

aracer

Down the Road wrote:

Fast Light Stiff.

Accelerate like a deep section wheel Corner like a thin wheel

I get light (ignoring the fact that with Mavic's usual underestimated weights, in reality they'll be no lighter than the AC420 wheels I'm suggesting). I definitely get stiff - they are certainly a very good design from that POV. But what do you mean by fast? Usual meaning of that is aero, and R-Sys are some of the least aero wheels around.

Also curious about how accelerating like a deep section wheel is supposed to be good - I thought they were slow to accelerate?

BTW not bought from that German shop, but have heard plenty of positive reports from those who have, so wouldn't hesitate. Very nearly bought the wheels I linked to, hence knowing about them - in the end I'm going for a cheaper build with the AC420 rims and Record / AC hubs, which will work out about £350 for a weight of just over 1400g, and obvoiusly very aero for an alu wheel.

The point about UK warranty is true, but fairly irrelevant - if anything went wrong you would have to deal with that shop in Germany, but then if you bought hand-made wheels from a shop in the Scotland and lived in Brighton you would have to go back to the same shop for service.

wildmoustache

aracer wrote:

Down the Road wrote:

Fast Light Stiff.

Accelerate like a deep section wheel Corner like a thin wheel

I get light (ignoring the fact that with Mavic's usual underestimated weights, in reality they'll be no lighter than the AC420 wheels I'm suggesting). I definitely get stiff - they are certainly a very good design from that POV. But what do you mean by fast? Usual meaning of that is aero, and R-Sys are some of the least aero wheels around.

Also curious about how accelerating like a deep section wheel is supposed to be good - I thought they were slow to accelerate?

BTW not bought from that German shop, but have heard plenty of positive reports from those who have, so wouldn't hesitate. Very nearly bought the wheels I linked to, hence knowing about them - in the end I'm going for a cheaper build with the AC420 rims and Record / AC hubs, which will work out about £350 for a weight of just over 1400g, and obvoiusly very aero for an alu wheel.

The point about UK warranty is true, but fairly irrelevant - if anything went wrong you would have to deal with that shop in Germany, but then if you bought hand-made wheels from a shop in the Scotland and lived in Brighton you would have to go back to the same shop for service.

aracer, are you building with one record hub and one AC, or have you just not decided which make yet?

in terms of factory built, when you compare the R-sys's to the shamals they are poor value. £500 vs £750. No difference in weight. Shamal more aero. Shamal nicer hubs.

that said, I'm going to give some sys's a test ride just to see how they perform. as you say, the unaeroness is off-puttning

aracer

AC front, Record rear. You can't get a Record front in the drilling I need, the Record rear has wider flanges, should be more reliable than the AC rear and was also a little cheaper.