good wheels?

muz250

Just took my bike in for its first service, mainely because the back wheel wasnt true and started rubing of the brake pads and gears started jumping by themselfs.
I v not got it back yet but the guy in the shop said it wasnt a big problem.

Dont know if this is common for new bikes but was reading the reveiw about my bike and this is what it said about the wheels,

"The Trek's Bontrager SSR wheels provide a decent performance for a £600 bike. With only 20 plain gauge spokes up front and 24 at the rear, and with no eyelets at the spoke holes, we weren't expecting them to stand up to much abuse... but in use they don't flex excessively and they've stayed impressively true throughout testing. The hubs have kept the rain out well on wet rides and the cup and cone bearings are still running smoothly after minimal fettling. All good!

At a shade over three kilos the pair, the SSRs are a reasonable weight for a bike at this price, but we would still advise upgrading to a lighter set in the long run. In the meantime we'd swap the Bontrager"

So my question is what is a resonable amount of money to spend on wheels should I need to replace them, i,v looked on wiggle and the prices vary alot.. e.g There were wheels for £150 but I dont know if there better or worse that the ones on my bike already.
The milage I ve done on the bike is only 100m and about 4 hours on a turbo trainer.

redddraggon

They won't be the best wheels, and normally wheels on a £600 bike are the best(first) thing to upgrade.

You can get better wheels, but it just depends how much you are willing to pay.

simbil1

It really depends what you are trying to achieve - bling, reliability, lightweight, aero, stiffness..?

Something like the Mavic Aksium is an inexpensive and supposedly stiff and reliable wheel which would be good for training etc. If you don't want to spend too much, you can really only get 1 or 2 qualities e.g. stiff and reliable, or aero, or lightweight. If you want to spend a lot you can get more qualities, although you have to spend a good deal of money to get a light, stiff and aero wheel.

This gives you an idea of what people consider when comparing wheels scientifically:

http://www.rouesartisanales.com/article-4934445.html

Another thing that can make a noticeable difference is your choice of tyre and running it at an appropriate pressure for your riding conditions.

Monty Dog

Firstly, the build-quality of wheels on Trek bikes isn't usually too good when they leave the factory - so your LBS has has probably trued/tensioned the spokes enough to make sure that they hold true better. Your first option might be to fit some lighter tyres - depending on the tyre of roads / riding you're doing - but they should make an appreciable difference to handling and feel. I'd expect your wheels to be good enough for at least a year or two - it's usually the hubs that wear out first. In terms of replacements - it depends on how much you want to pay, your weight and style of riding, but realistically, £150-200 will get you something quite a bit more lighter and more responsive. Any less and the difference will be less appreciable.

EPO Joe

Is it worth upgrading Shimano 105 wheels (r550) to something lighter or faster with about £150-200 to spend or is it better spent on other parts of the bike?

dennisn

EPO Joe wrote:

Is it worth upgrading Shimano 105 wheels (r550) to something lighter or faster with about £150-200 to spend or is it better spent on other parts of the bike?

Almost sounds like you are already dissatisfied wtth the bike you've bought. If you just want to ride there isn't much reason to spend money on things that are working fine
right now. However, once you decide you want to go faster, have more bling, etc.
then the possibilities for spending your hard earned cash are endless. If you must spend,
and we all must, a spare pair of wheels is a good idea.

Dennis Noward

gkerr4

i had the SSR's on my Trek Pilot 1.2 - I have to say I thought they were awful - they are heavy and flexed into the brake blocks on out-of-the-saddle efforts.

that said - I did complete a coast to coast on them and they stayed as true as they ever had been on the trek with luggage etc..

I upgraded during the summer last year to 105 wheels (R561) for about £130 and there was a noticable difference! - the R561s a re lighter, stiffer and appear to have much smoother running bearings. at the time It was between Aksiums, fulcrum R7's and R561's - I am glad I went to the R561's as they were a £150 wheel that I got for £130 - but I think the others would have made as much of a difference too.

lugster77

upgraded my 2007 basic allez today,ordered some ksyrium equipes off merlin for £161.45. seems an excellent deal (RRP is £259 apparently)