Aluminium or carbon wheels

Spoff
Spoff Posts: 98
edited April 2008 in Workshop
The bonus is in, it's bigger than expected and the wife's given the go ahead to spend £500 on a new wheelset.

I've borrowed an aero carbon wheel before and it made me half a mile an hour quicker but I was extremely worried about what'd happen if I crashed.

Aluminium's tougher but less aero.

Any advice?

Factets:
* I don't race, I just like to ride
* I'm a huskier rider (14st or so) :oops:
* I'm really not training for the Etape
* I ride an Orbea Dauphine so we're not talking about a top of the range carbon steed

Comments

  • Pirahna
    Pirahna Posts: 1,315
    What carbon wheels will you get for £500? They'll probably be carbon wrapped ally so all you'll get is a heavy wheel, and with a deep section you won't want to ride then in a crosswind (or breeze) unless you up the budget significantly and go for something like Zips.

    I assume you'll be riding clinchers? If so then for a full carbon wheel my biggest worry would be a pinch flat on a pothole, you'd have a good chance of taking the rim out as well.

    Go for a decent pair of ally wheels. At that price you can take your pick of the best machine or handbuilt. If you ride Campag there is bloke doing Shamal Ultras for your money, or maybe a pair of Neutron Ultras. Not sure on Shimano wheels. For handbuilt you could go for Tune hubs on Open Pro's.
  • Spoff
    Spoff Posts: 98
    I ride Shimano and for about £500 you can get the new Dura Ace 7850 or the Planet X carbon set but, yes, I'd be petrified about shattering them.
  • Pirahna
    Pirahna Posts: 1,315
    Given that choice I'd go for the Dura Ace. If you want factory wheels there are lots to choose from, Fulcrum, Easton, FSA and Mavic to name a few. You might need to take your weight into account with some of the lighter wheels.

    As I mentioned, don't ignore handbuilts. I've just got a pair of Tune hubs and the bearing quality is probably the best I've ever come across. They'll get they're maiden voyage tomorrow. A tradional wheel will give a more compliant ride and be a lot cheaper to fix should anything go wrong. I have no particular axe to grind with handbuilt versus factory as I own both and have no regrets with any of them.
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    If you can stretch to £600, you can get Planet X carbon clinchers with Ultremo tyres and tubes.

    Although I'd probably get them more for posing than their performance benefits over my Neutron Ultras.
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  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    Hi there.

    If you have the wife's permission to spend £500, then I'd go right ahead and spend £1000 - how's she gonna know?

    My recommendation for bombproof deep dish carbon wheels are Mavic Cosmic Carbones clinchers - you should be able to pick them up for around £800 or so. They have structural aluminium rims and braking surfaces with carbon fairings bonded to them - so they should be more robust than 100% carbon rims. Plus you want clinchers not rubs if you're not racing.

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk
  • Spoff
    Spoff Posts: 98
    Anyone got any aluminium suggestions? I was looking at some handbuilts on Ultimate Pursuits - http://www.ultimatepursuits.co.uk/produ ... tical=1&v= - which might offer a bit of aero with a bit less breakability.
  • acorn_user
    acorn_user Posts: 1,137
    Those DT wheels do look great don't they. If aero counts, you could try something a little deeper than the DT wheels. That means finding some pristine Campagnolo Shamals or finding a pair of Gipiemme Tecno 716 wheels. I think Kinetic One has them. They are aero in that they are deep and have low spoke count. If you are not hill climbing, I suppose the weight would be bearable and they do look pretty cool!

    http://www.shop.kinetic-one.co.uk/2008- ... -132-p.asp
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    If you're looking for a pair of all-round wheels, then I'd stick to an aluminium rim. Most carbon wheels are designed for race use and simply aren't designed with the inherent durability of all-year abuse. Also, for general use, durability and weight are going to have a bigger factor than aero - you're probably not going to be riding fast enough all the time - so you're just carrying extra weight - Mavic Cosmics are a whopping 300g/pair heavier than a decent aluminium rimmed wheel. Cycling Weekly did a wheel test a while back and the winners were the Campagnolo Neutron followed by the Shamal - Fulcrum wheels share similar features.
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  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    Monty Dog wrote:
    If you're looking for a pair of all-round wheels, then I'd stick to an aluminium rim. Most carbon wheels are designed for race use and simply aren't designed with the inherent durability of all-year abuse. Also, for general use, durability and weight are going to have a bigger factor than aero - you're probably not going to be riding fast enough all the time - so you're just carrying extra weight - Mavic Cosmics are a whopping 300g/pair heavier than a decent aluminium rimmed wheel. Cycling Weekly did a wheel test a while back and the winners were the Campagnolo Neutron followed by the Shamal - Fulcrum wheels share similar features.
    Hi there - durability I agree with. Weight is a red herring - as long as the stuff is in the same ballpark it doesn't matter unless you're in marketting.

    Cheers, Andy
    http://www.andyturnbull.co.uk
    http://www.stirlingtri.co.uk
  • justyn_c_uk
    justyn_c_uk Posts: 126
    On RBR the best of 2007 awards, the wheelset awards went to Fulcrum 3, ROL and I would add the DT 1450.
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  • aracer
    aracer Posts: 1,649
    acorn_user wrote:
    Those DT wheels do look great don't they. If aero counts, you could try something a little deeper than the DT wheels. That means finding some pristine Campagnolo Shamals or finding a pair of Gipiemme Tecno 716 wheels.
    Or for almost as deep as those, but a lot lighter, AC420s - either the factory wheels or a custom build with the rims (mine weigh ~1430g the pair so light as well as aero - the bonus being that they're a lot cheaper than the DTs, if not quite as cheap as those Gipemmes).
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    the weight debate continues!

    I can't comment on some of the hoops here. I have ridden Cosmic Carbones a bit, and really like them. They are stronger than most of the deep rim offerings I suspect. Mavic build quality is IME pretty good. Also nice that you can change the freehub over , unlike shimano wheels.

    i have also in my wheelery a pair of shamal ultras which are also nice. not so aerodynamic perhaps, but great hubs, solid,look nice (IMO), and pretty light.

    easton EC90SLX is not bad for £370.

    handbuilts, another option. you could get something unique

    or as others say there's DuraAce (has anyone here ridden them?) which given they are shimano dura ace are probably very good quality and look reasonably aerodynamic and light for that type of wheel. drawback is lack of changeable freehub and that dura ace doesn't really go with campag.

    if i could have one set of wheels only (within my budget) it would probably be the cosmic carbones as they provide a good tt/tri wheel and a good road racing/sportif wheel in a one-er.

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