Vuelta Carbon Pro wheels

Ash_

Does anyone own a pair of these? Anyone seen a pair? And / or can they give any comments?

I like the fact that the spokes for these wheels are made by Alpina, and so should be available if necessary (and in addition the wheels come supplied with some spares - a nice touch I reckon).

But - When I think of Vuelta wheels - I think of low end wheelsets (well, that and I wonder why an Italian company has a Spanish name) and I'm not sure if I want to spend that much money on an 'unproven' wheelset. And the price is getting close to Mavic Cosmic Carbone territory and other exotica...

Any constructive feedback would be handy, there's not much out there.

Ash_

I'll settle for ill-considered conjecture if there's nothing better! It might still help me make up my mind...

Jez mon

I'm pretty sure they're Zipp rims, ah no...the Carbon Pro WR version are Zipp rims. These are Gigantix rims, I don't know much about this company but I'm pretty sure these rims are pretty generic for Carbon wheels in that price bracket.

To me they sound very good value for money. I got some Zipp 404s from iBike in Crowthorne, who included some good tubs for £999.

They are good wheels but probably not robust enough for everyday riding, every bump you hit makes you want to get of and check the wheels are fine

Some things to bear in mind, do you want tubs or clinchers. Tubs are a complete bitch sometimes, but carbon clinchers are often very heavy. Also bear in mind that carbon braking surfaces are no good in the wet.

Ash_

Jez mon wrote:

Some things to bear in mind, do you want tubs or clinchers. Tubs are a complete ***** sometimes, but carbon clinchers are often very heavy. Also bear in mind that carbon braking surfaces are no good in the wet.

Thanks Jez, I'm after clinchers - I'll take the weight penalty in order to have the everyday practicality. Decent braking surfaces are a priority too, hence why the Vuelta wheelsets seem to tick most boxes... But of course if they're fragile, it could turn out to be an expensive risk.

Jez mon

Well tbh, i'm not too sure that carbon wheels are that fragile. A set of Zipps was ridden to 4th in this years Paris Roubaix (although Backstedt trashed his) and Zipps are often seen as the most fragile carbon wheels. (possibly because their popularity means more breakages are seen).

I think most carbon wheels can be ridden everyday, but make sure that you try to keep to the best road surfaces available, the fact is, ride through a deep pothole at high speeds and most wheels will suffer.

However, if I was in your position, I would get a set with a carbon braking surface, and save the wheels for nice days/races/sportifs. Personally I don't think its that hard to change pads so long as you have two sets of holders.

EDIT; the people at Weight Wienies may be more helpful for this particular subject than this forum

aarw

i've been racing on clincher carbon pro's this year. i like them. they feel nice and stiff and roll really nicely once up to speed.

i'll admit they aren't the lightest of wheel in comparison to some of the more exotic stuff out there. that said i prefer climbing on these wheels compared to a pair of reynolds wheels which are 3/400 gms lighter, mostly due to the stiffness. i' m no lightweight rider either at a solid 12st 6.

as far as using these wheels for training, i know a few guys who do all of there simmer riding on theirs. i don't. i use heavy campag khamsin's with heavy tubes and tyres for training and then feel the benefit of the carbon pro's (with latex tubes and open corsa's) when i use them.

have had a couple of spoke breakages this year but none have been the fault of the wheel (crash).

overall, i'd recommend them. they seem to be a pretty solid wheel. if you do soime searching you can pick them up at a decent price now too....

Ash_

aarw wrote:

have had a couple of spoke breakages this year but none have been the fault of the wheel (crash).

Thanks aarw - you sound pretty positive about them.
Just a couple of things - Did you get spare spokes with yours? Or did you source them yourself - if so, was it hassle-free?

aarw

Ash_ wrote:

aarw wrote:

have had a couple of spoke breakages this year but none have been the fault of the wheel (crash).

Thanks aarw - you sound pretty positive about them.
Just a couple of things - Did you get spare spokes with yours? Or did you source them yourself - if so, was it hassle-free?

i didn't get any spokes with mine, but my LBS stocks both the wheels and the spokes.

i'm now thinking they maybe stock the spokes that came with the wheels?! :shock: fair play..

cougie

Have you looked at the planet x 50mm wheels ? They're quite nice. And PX have all the spares to hand.

Ash_

cougie wrote:

Have you looked at the planet x 50mm wheels ?

Good point. And they do now do a clincher version (although it took some time wallowing around their website to discover that - and even longer to find a price!). Pretty competitive pricing at 549GBP, but only having a carbon braking surface still puts me off.

aarw

there was also a special deal on the planet x wheels recently - £395. if you keep an eye out it may come up again..?

I'd say the vuelta's would be a stronger wheels - i wouldn't be 100% about the carbon breaking surface for a training wheel.

Have you loooked at the HED wheels?

Ash_

I hadn't thought about HED wheels. To be honest I just assumed they'd be out of my price range, although the Jet 50s seem like a decent choice. The Ardennes and Bastogne wheels look pretty reasonable too (some pretty impressive wheel weights for the money) but vanity means that I really want someting carbon...

Mog Uk

Bit like marmite these, you either like the look of them or you don't.......

Dalkiia SIXZERO Wheelset

Jez mon

Mavic Cosmic Carbon SL?

Smart looking clincher wheels with alu braking surface also very aerodynamic.

Ash_

Mog Uk wrote:

Bit like marmite these, you either like the look of them or you don't.......

Dalkiia SIXZERO Wheelset

I see what you mean. They're certainly different in terms of 'style'. Thanks for the recommendation, I product I hadn't even considered.

Would you end up hypnotising yourself if you look down at your front wheel though?

Jez mon

As long as you go fast enough it should just blur into one colour