New wheels a worthy investment?

Lagavulin

I own thisbike (or the Hardtail link in my sig shows it as it is currently).

Its nowt flashy but I like it and coming from a cheap heavy steel Diamondback full-susser with rim brakes it has been an off-road revelation.

Anyway, most of my money currently goes on my road biking but I was wondering if a new set of wheels for my Hardrock might be a worthy investment.

About to commit the thick end of £2.5k to a new road bike and thought the MTB deserved some attention.

Anyone any experience or opinions of Fulcrum Red Metals? I'd probably be only looking at the 5's. :?

nicklouse

tough call, there are other things that i would change as well. but...... How do you find it? what are you not happy with?

Andy B

Never heard of Fulcrum.

Personally I'd recommend something handbuilt from Merlincycles.co.uk, such as:

Handbuilt Wheels - Rear Disc
Hub Upgrades: XT 6 Bolt Disc
Rim Upgrades: XC717 Black Disc
Spoke Upgrades: ACI S/S DB

Handbuilt Wheels - Front Disc
Hub Upgrades: XT 6 Bolt Disc
Rim Upgrades: XC717 Black Disc
Spoke Upgrades: ACI S/S DB
Total £: 116.00

Andy

Andy_B wrote:

Never heard of Fulcrum.

Really?

cjw

Andy_B wrote:

Never heard of Fulcrum.

Really,

Fulcrum Red Metal Zeros, lightweight (tad lighter than Crossmax SLR) and very expensive (about £600 a set). They've got a new set coming out this year..... CARBON 8) :twisted: However if the Zeros are £600 I wonder what these would cost :roll:

zero303

Go with the merlin made set above. On a Hardrock the Fulcrums would be wasted (F1 wheels on a Ford Focus?) and you'd have plenty of money left over to do a general upgrade program all over which would have more effect on the bike as a whole.

You could buy that wheelset (£116), get some RockShox Rebas also from Merlin (£200), some Formula Oro K18 disc brakes, merlin again) (£129) - you've still got tons of change from the Fulcrum wheels option and you've got something that will notice much more in terms of performance gain.

You could even start slapping XT all over the bike and still spend less money than those Fulcrums...

Following up on what Nick said, what's actually wrong with the bike? You might be better off keeping the money back for roadie stuff if that's your passion!

Lagavulin

Thanks for the feedback.

My main reason for the wheel question is the rear could probably due with truing and I'm just wondering how likely this is going to be the case. I only use it for blasting along trails and don't think I've chucked it off a drop of more than 2ft.

I know they're completely different but my current roadie came with a Spesh + Alexrim combo and they were sh!te (constantly out of true, the rear is barely good enough for the turbo now).

I spent the best part of £400 on a lovely set of DT wheels and they transformed the bike.

At the end of the summer I bought a cheap set of Mavic Aksiums and they've been excellent. £150 and through autumn and winter they've been bombproof.

I guess what I'm enquiring is whether the same can said for MTB wheels?

Would a £125-£150 set of wheels be better than those supplied?

Perhaps I'm just being paranoid. I kind of assume on a fairly low-end bike like mine the manufacturers see the wheels as a area to cut costs.

Oh, and the Red Metals I was looking at were these at £126.

nicklouse

Lagavulin
i would say that you would get a better result from a better/lighter fork and better brakes that you would with a wheel change.

But the costs are very different,

the wheels you link to are OK but nothing that i would say would make a big change to your bike. i think you would notice a tyre change more.

Chaka Ping

Wheels and tyres are always touted as an ideal first upgrade on a basic MTB like the Hardrock, and I don't think it woudl be a waste of money.

Being a roadie, you'd especially appreciate the way your bike would accelerate more quickly and carry speed better.

But I have to agree with Nicklouse, you might get a more noticeable improvement from a new fork (such as the ubiquitous £200 Reba from Merlin) - which would make the front end lighter and would also give you better suspension.

zero303

I was totally under the impression you were enquiring about the Fulcrum wheelset reviewed on the BikeRadar homepage today... £600 lol

Lagavulin

LOL, I'm not sure I'd spend £600 on road wheels never mind hoops to sling on a £500 MTB.

Thank you all for the feedback. Might look at a fork upgrade then.

supersonic

I agree with Nick, fork first for off road riding. That MZ fork is very bouncy. Spending 200 on a Reba or Recon will transform the ride.

saintadolf

or you could spend 120 on last years tora and get a nice shiny xt shadow rear mech and shifters

zero303

Rather take the Rebas everytime...

FSR_XC

I have been looking at a similar choice with wheels.

Quite fancy the Fulcrum's;
Believe they are sealed bearings
bit of 'bling'
lot lighter than what I have.

However there is a lot to be said about the XT option;
easily serviceable
can buy individual wheels (not just a set)
handbuilt to your spec (heavier duty rims if you need them / black or silver etc)

Tough choice.

supersonic

Rebas would be good... but on a 300 quid bike I'm not sure! I'd split the money for a Reba on fork and wheels. (tora, xt on 717)

xcracer

Looks ok as it is. Put the money in your piggy bank and save it until something falls off.

supersonic

Forks are shiiite though! And I mean, really bad. Not being a snob, but an upgrade here would make a big difference. (performance, rather than weight)