New Wheels - do i need two pairs?

amc

My current wheels, £200 hand built Harry Rowlands, are pretty battered. The rims are now bordering on concave and there are ridges over much of them - although they are 'true'.
I use my (only) bike, an old Airbourne Blackbird frame with Campag Mirage, for a daily 13-mile commute over the pot-holed filled road of London.
I want to get a new pair of wheels for summer sportives etc but it seems a shame to bugger them up on the daily grind to work.
Is is worth buying a new budget pair for commuting as well as a nice pair 'for best'? Or shall I, and i think i prefer this option if possible, keep running the old ones to the ground and wait until they finally are unusable.

And if I 'just' get one new pair i may have a bit more to spend. I've tried some handbuilt wheels so this time round i fancy some nice factory wheeels.
I'd really like the Campag Shamal Ti but that's too expensive so i'd appreciate any recommendations for mid-range wheels. I'm 63kgs and would mainly be using them for sportives rather than full on racing. I was thinking along lines of Campag Eurus/Neutron or Fulcrum Racing 3/5 or Kysrium Equipe/Elite but would welcome any thoughts.

redddraggon

Campag Neutron Ultras are brilliant Wheels.

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

Put some new rims on your existing wheels, keeping the hubs and spokes. Then buy a good set of wheels for, well when it's good.

Cheers, Andy

simbil1

Like Andrew says.

Don't be tempted to commute on expensive wheels as they will end up concave on the braking surface from the winter muck grinding paste. The only exception to that would be if you got a ceramic rim as they are much more resistant to wear (Open pro ceramic are the only one I know of).

If your current wheels are concave on the rims, I reckon you should change them as the wheel will be weakening and the surface gets unpredictable for braking.

AndyGates

Seconded with emphasis! You'd cry if your new Shamals got worn and gunged and battered. Them's for riding hard and racing.

And it's a shame to trash good wheels when a trip to any LBS will put fresh rims on those existing wheels - or you could have a go yourself and learn how to do wheels. After all, with those new race wheels, it doesn't matter how long it takes or if it goes wrong the first time!

urban_winter

Shimano Ultegra wheels are very good value - I've seen them for less than £150 a pair and they are Front 744g, rear 912g - which is amazingly light for the money.

I have a pair that came with my Roubaix and they seem stiff and light (I am 90kg).

U.

Mettan

If you've got the money, IMHO you'd be better off with 2 sets of wheels.

The wheels below could be an adequate budget wheel:

Shimano R500's = £60 for a pair
Shimano R550's = £85 for a pair

Both should be ok for Commuting - obviously if you get a "budget" pair for £100 - £140 (ie Akasiums) , you're likely to get a slightly better wheel. I've found the R550's perfectly adequate on bumpy poor surfaced roads though.

aracer

I'm dubious about the idea that Aksiums are any better than budget Shimano wheels - which seem to be awesome value for money (as indeed are most Shimano wheels).

Adamskii

I use Shimano R550's on my commuting bike and they are fine but don't expect them to last for ever. The roads round here are shocking and I manged to put a dent in the rear rim within the first week. The bonus is there cheap.

amc

Thanks everyone - ok i'm sold.....ew rims for lbs to build and then a new pair of wheels for best.
There's no way i'm building up the wheels myself (you should see my DIY), so any idea on how much it should cost me to get new rims put into the wheels from LBS?
And any further imput on the 'best' wheels appreciated.