Just say I had £200 - £250 to spend.............

JimmyK

........................on a set of new wheels.

My bike is a trek 1000 with double front chain ring. I enquired with bloke at LBS about making it better and the first thing he said was a new set of wheels. To me, the trek wheels dont feel heavy at all , but he said a new set of wheels would make all the difference in the world .............is this right ?

Can you even get decent 2nd hand wheels from a reliable source ?

Would my limited budget make any substantial difference or am i better just sticking with what I have ?

JimmyK

Slow Downcp

Upgrading wheels would make the biggest difference from any single upgrade - it would then depend whether you want handbuilts or factory build. Either way £250 will get you something decent. Also think about budgeting in a new pair of tyres - again a simple upgrade that can make big improvements (depending what you have on already)>

Monty Dog

IME the quality of wheels on low-end Treks is pretty poor - low spoke tension and pretty hefty to boot. £200 will get you a pair of decent handbuilts like an Open Pro on Ultegra hubs, with the remainder on a decent set of tyres - your bike will feel transformed. If factory wheel take your fancy, check out the weights first they can be surprisingly heavy.

maddog 2

cheap factory wheels on Trek/Spesh etc. tend to look quite good but their performance doesn't quite match.

As Monty says, OPs on Ultegra, or possibly Hope mono, built by a good buillder (eg. Hewitt) will make a good upgrade. Add in some decent tyres and you'll definitely notice the difference.

Jez mon

Just make sure you have the budget left for the good tyres, as they are a very key part.

I would recommend handbuilts at the price you are suggesting

JimmyK

but can you tell me HOW the wheels you are suggesting will make a difference ? The tyres I use are gatorskin continental 25s, I think they should be up to the job. Where Im confused is to why these handbuilts will make the difference you are describing.

JimmyK

Slow Downcp

JimmyK wrote:

but can you tell me HOW the wheels you are suggesting will make a difference ? The tyres I use are gatorskin continental 25s, I think they should be up to the job. Where Im confused is to why these handbuilts will make the difference you are describing.

JimmyK

They will be lighter, bearings run smoother (less friction so go faster), flex less, and last longer.

Also, dependant upon what sort of riding you do, Micheliin ProRace will roll better than the gatorskins. However if you want the bike for commuting the extra puncture protection is worth having with the Conti's

Monty Dog

Well-build wheels will feel more responsive and yet more resilient and because of the lighter weight, will take less effort to spin-up. You will find that you'll need less effort when freewheeling and climbing will feel perceptably easier because more of your effort will go into turning the wheels. Gatorskins are OK for a training tyre, but feel sluggish in comparison to a decent racing tyre