Fulcrum / Mavic / Shimano

tcs05
tcs05 Posts: 12
edited September 2008 in Workshop
Hi

I am looking to buy some new wheels for my bike (Trek 5.2 Madone). It came with Bontrager Race Lites. I am considering between:

Fulcrum racing 1 (maybe zero)
Mavic Ksyrium SL (or ES)
Shimanos' Carbon laminate dura ace

I am quite a heavy rider at 89kg so I tend to be slower up the hills anyway. I think my strengths lie on the flatter stages, over long distances and in the occasional time trial.

What are peoples thoughts?

Thanks

Comments

  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    The Dura Ace wheels are the best out of the three.

    Fulcrum wheels are pretty good aswell.

    Personally I wouldn't touch the Ksyriums, but there's always the Mavic Cosmic Carbones if you can stretch to them.
    I like bikes...

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  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    What are your priorities - weight, durability, stiffness or aero? One or two of each is easy, but three to four starts getting expensive. Weight-wise they are all in the 1500g ball-park - a good compromise between weight, durability and stiffness - much lighter and they might not be stiff enough for your weight. All are proven models from reputable brands so score on that count too. The aero benefits are marginal - DuraAce, Fulcrum and then Ksyriums in that order. It'll probably come down to factors such as price or colour - you're unlikely to be disappointed with any.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • tcs05
    tcs05 Posts: 12
    Well, i suppose my priorities would have to be:

    Aero
    Stiffness
    Durability
    Weight

    Mainly because I could lose a few kilos to be honest and I like to be quick and sprint on the flat.

    Thanks for the help
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    tcs05 wrote:
    Well, i suppose my priorities would have to be:

    Aero
    Stiffness
    Durability
    Weight

    Mainly because I could lose a few kilos to be honest and I like to be quick and sprint on the flat.

    Thanks for the help

    Mavic Cosmic Carbones.....definitely meet your top 3...........what's your budget?
    I like bikes...

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  • tcs05
    tcs05 Posts: 12
    well the fulcrum racing zeros would have been a stretch/slightly over budget! £600 max was my thought
  • agnello
    agnello Posts: 239
    not the Shimanos, good on paper not so good in practice (in my experience, not opinion)

    buckle and hard to true

    if i were to choose again I might go for campag Shamals

    i weigh 81ish KG
    Stumpjumper FSR Comp
    Eddy Merckx Strada
    Gios Compact KK
    Raleigh Dynatech Diablo
    Canyon CF CLX / Record
    Charge Plug 3
    Kinesis GF Ti disc - WIP...
  • dennisn
    dennisn Posts: 10,601
    tcs05 wrote:
    Well, i suppose my priorities would have to be:

    Aero
    Stiffness
    Durability
    Weight

    Mainly because I could lose a few kilos to be honest and I like to be quick and sprint on the flat.

    Thanks for the help

    Personally, I believe durabilty should be you first concern if you want a wheel that you
    will be happy with instead of one that can't be worked on by you or your local shop.
    A durable wheel will ususally have more spokes and be stiffer as an added plus. Areo is
    all well and good IF, IF you are capable of mantaining speeds over 20 MPH or so, and
    even at that speed they are only just starting to work. Wheel weight is pretty much a non
    factor if you yourself are overweight. Don't know about you but it seems awfully dumb to
    spend tons of money on "go faster" wheels just to save 100 or 200 grams when you
    need to lose 20 or so pounds. Trust me, get a really good set of duable wheels , you will
    like them, you can use them daily, they won't need constant truing, you can rely on them,
    and they can be fixed easily.

    Dennis Noward
  • I own Fulcrum 1's and 0's and they are superb. Extremely durable wheels. The 1's in particular have done many winter miles with no problems. Not so much as a re-true required on either. Build quality is superb and the hubs just spin and spin and spin.

    I really cannot praise them enough.
  • tcs05
    tcs05 Posts: 12
    I don't think not maintaining speeds of over 20mph is a problem!

    I did a 400km ride, from London to York on Saturday. My average speed was 29kph. There are plenty of hills, I was doing well over 20mph (32kph) for most of the flat sections.

    I did an 8 mile TT the other day in 17 minutes...

    But I see your point about not wanting to faff around trueing wheels.

    I agree that I should lose some weight not spend loads on lighter wheels. Thats why weight was at the bottom of my list.

    So suggestions?

    Thanks!