Stiffer than an Aksium

richardast

I'm currently running on Mavic Aksium wheels and have generally found them to be an excellent, light wheelset.
My only criticism of them is that when really hammering the drive in top gear or when out of the saddle on steep hills there is a fair amount of flex and brake rub.

Please can anyone recommend a slightly stiffer wheel (or rim for a custom build) that won't break my £150 price limit - I really can't justify spending more.

Merry xmas!

henderson_mk

have to say i have a set of fulcrum 5's and have never had that sort of problem with them... you could give those a go?
although they're not a super step up from the aksium is the thing....but they are lighter I believe.

just something to check... are you sure the wheels are true as that plus a tiny bit of flex could be causing the rubbage?

fossyant

My Aksiums don't flex much, so maybe a 'true up' from an LBS may be in order - this would save you a fortune. I run my blocks pretty close to the rim and haven't had much trouble - from when I was 90kg, to the 77kg's now !!!

nickwill

I've found Aksiums to be pretty stiff. Their only disadvantage is their weight. But they make a good Winter wheel.

richardast

Thanks for the replies.

The wheels are completely true when not under load and it literally is just when applying a reasonably large force to them that they flex and rub.
I did have the Aksiums on my "good" bike but transfered them to my bad weather/commuting bike to replace it's 25 year old steel rims. Because of that, I need a new pair for the "good" bike and thought I'd try something different in the same price range.

Has anyone tried the newest Shimano 105 WH-5600 wheels? I've seen them somewhere for £115 (rrp £175) and that looks like a bit of a steal if they're as good as the rest of the 105 groupset.