Bling summer wheels
boy on bike
Posts: 139
Hi y'all, I'm thinking of getting a pair of "special" wheels for summer sportives etc. However, I'm not sure how much I'd need to spend to see any real advantage. At present I'm running Fulcrum 7s. Any ideas on what wheels to get to make a difference without penuring myself?
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Entirely depends on your budget. Personally I recommend the Fulcrum Racing 1's. Can be had for around £600.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Fulcrum_Racing_1_Wheel_Set/5360017029/
I've had a pair for over 3 years now and they have been fantastic - absolutely nothing has gone wrong with them and they've remained perfectly true.- 2023 Vielo V+1
- 2022 Canyon Aeroad CFR
- 2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
- Strava
- On the Strand
- Crown Stables
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BoB - as Jash says, depends on budget. Also, before you spend the cash, work out whether you go faster for cheaper e.g. losing weight, improving fitness.
If the Fulcrums Jash suggested are over budget, it's worth having a look at the Easton EA50s and EA70s. They're lighter than the Fulcrum 7s, but hopefully won't break the bank.FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
Go for stiffness if anything. That will make the biggest perceptible difference honking up hills.
The benefits simply from mass can be overstated, I think, for a recreational cyclist at least.
And if you are going to spend £500 on soome wheels, make sure you spend at least £50 on some light, grippy rubber as well. Again, you'll notice more from that sort of thing than moments of inertia at £20 per gram saved.
Beware deep V rims. The Scottish Highlands are windy (thus, bladed spokes are also a nice thing to have)0 -
Those Fulcrums look nice!
Tho the 7's look more like my price range right now. Would they be strong enough for commuting? (someone here has them and loooves them but I can't remember who)0 -
tardie wrote:Those Fulcrums look nice!
Tho the 7's look more like my price range right now. Would they be strong enough for commuting? (someone here has them and loooves them but I can't remember who)
DDD has them.FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
speak to harry rowland he makes the nicest wheels hand made wheels last longer than factory built you'l get a top class set from £150 or really bling for £350 the trouble with factory wheels you pay a premium to cover all the 1's that break & get returned hand made can more easily be trued rebuilt etc try getting a spoke for the latest factory wheel in a couple of years no chance0
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Thanks for all the tips... quite a range of prices there!
I'm just a tad under 75kg... how much of a factor is that? Does it change the factors I should be looking for?
What about Campag or Mavic wheels? Any views?0 -
what stuff you got on bike at mo cant mix them up im 100kg &have some nice 28 spoke wheels from harry0
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I've got a pair of Campag Eurus on my L'Una. Maybe too understated if you're wanting to bling the thing out
Can't really compare them to anything else, because a) I haven't ridden other wheels of that sort of price before and b) I've only been on these ones half a dozen times.....(Waiting for some nice weather. Don't want to get them dirty :oops: )
I know that the whole bike is awesome though...
I agree about getting a decent set of tyres... I put the GP4000S on both my Bianchis and they made a noticeable difference over the previous Contis0 -
I've so far resisted sounding like a stuck record
, but marksteven's post forces me to say it: go hand built. As he says, £350 wil get you some cracking wheels, and they'll be stiff (see AT's post). Mavic Open Pros would be great, and I'm giving some serious thought at the moment to a pair of Ambrosio rims or IRCs. They'll look very nice. FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
ok, I take the hint on hand-built.
Back to my OP: what will I actually notice? i.e. what will feel different riding the bike?0 -
boy on bike wrote:Thanks for all the tips... quite a range of prices there!
I'm just a tad under 75kg... how much of a factor is that? Does it change the factors I should be looking for?
What about Campag or Mavic wheels? Any views?
Campag wheels? I swear I could ride through a minefield in mine and they'd still be true. And Campag hubs ... Mmmmmm ... Spin forever. Campag wheels with shimano freehubs can be a bit tricky to hunt down though. Fulcrums are made by Campag and are easier to find with Campy freehubs.
Mavic? Never been a fan. Not that that means jack though.
Unless, of course, you want to go deep carbon clinchers ... Kerching!0 -
boy on bike wrote:ok, I take the hint on hand-built.
Back to my OP: what will I actually notice? i.e. what will feel different riding the bike?
Depends what you get. i've never had deep v-s and I'm not sure that mere mortals cycle fast enough, often enough, to really notice.
For the out of the saddle short power climbing we get in the UK, you'll notice that stiff wheels flex side to side less (so no brake rub) and just feel more "direct" in terms of getting the power to the road. Light is definitely good as well, don't get be wrong. But given the choice between a 1500g set of stiff wheels and a 1400g set of "springy" wheels (we are talking clinchers here, by the way) I'd go with the former.
I used to have a pair of low spoke wheels with Ti spokes and super light hubs (until one was nicked). These were great in comparison to the previous set of shimano hubed Mavic CXP33's (I think). Then I got the Ksyriums and realised that I'm too much of a fat bastard to benefit from a trick set of superlights. The Mavic hubs are great so far and the wheels are very very stiff.
The worst set of hubs I ever owned, which now serve as spacers when the bike is in transit, were Campags, so don't believe everything you read.
Its not that Campag is crap, or Mavic are particularly good, its just that when you go high end, you tend to get a fairly uniform high end so don't worry too much.
I have to say i'd not heard about the problem trueing the Mavics. I suppose I should go and crack all of the bonds in all of the spoke nipples with my special Mavic tool.0 -
AT - I'm looking at the Ksyriums too - have you hit any potholes with them or anything like that? Are they pretty solid?0
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JonGinge wrote:Rode my Ksyrium elites on HOTA (some pretty bumpy lanes there) with no problems. I think they're pretty decent but then i've never had any super-trick wheels.
<dons cardigan and puts on slippers (again)> That's because there's no need at our level*. The advantage can be gained by improving fitness/endurance/speed and/or losing weight.
*The exception may well be decent aero wheels for TTs/triathlons. But, even then, I'm notwhere near fit or fast enough to get the full benefit out of them, so even if I bought the TT version of a nuclear bomb, it would be wasted on me.FCN 2-4.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."0 -
I agree. Occasionally gaze at zipp404s etc longingly and then give myself a wakeup slapcjcp wrote:JonGinge wrote:Rode my Ksyrium elites on HOTA (some pretty bumpy lanes there) with no problems. I think they're pretty decent but then i've never had any super-trick wheels.
<dons cardigan and puts on slippers (again)> That's because there's no need at our level*. The advantage can be gained by improving fitness/endurance/speed and/or losing weight.
*The exception may well be decent aero wheels for TTs/triathlons. But, even then, I'm notwhere near fit or fast enough to get the full benefit out of them, so even if I bought the TT version of a nuclear bomb, it would be wasted on me.
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I fear that I may be blown sideways if I have deep v rims...
But then I am also afraid of octopi, and that's completely irrational, so perhaps I am not to be trusted.0 -
lost_in_thought wrote:I fear that I may be blown sideways if I have deep v rims...
But then I am also afraid of octopi, and that's completely irrational, so perhaps I am not to be trusted.
I have not very deep rims at all and have several times been blown sideways by a gust of wind - last time was around 35 mph at the bottom of a hill during HOTA (otherwise known as the day hell froze over!)
Fear of octopi - perfectly justified. I am particularly afraid of the baby ones that end up in people's dinners or on a pizza......Emerging from under a big black cloud. All help welcome0 -
You need to try them out to see how you go. On my alps trip last year one of the women was ready to ditch her wheels to get some box section rims so little did she like being blown sideways near the top of the galibier. Her rims weren't even that deep section and I daresay box rims wouldn't have made any difference in those crosswinds. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that some people take crosswinds in their stride and some hate them...lost_in_thought wrote:I fear that I may be blown sideways if I have deep v rims...
But then I am also afraid of octopi, and that's completely irrational, so perhaps I am not to be trusted.0 -
lost_in_thought wrote:I fear that I may be blown sideways if I have deep v rims...
But then I am also afraid of octopi, and that's completely irrational, so perhaps I am not to be trusted.
It's not at all irrational of an Australian to be afraid of octopuses - check out this guy.
The wind thing is an issue, though. It can be disconcerting to dangerous, especially if you're not expecting it, and aero wheels will make it noticeably worse (in my experience anyway).0 -
No, I can bunny hop.lost_in_thought wrote:AT - I'm looking at the Ksyriums too - have you hit any potholes with them or anything like that? Are they pretty solid?
I'm not sure to be honest. I know that they are used by some people for cross races.0 -
Always Tyred wrote:
No, I can bunny hop.lost_in_thought wrote:AT - I'm looking at the Ksyriums too - have you hit any potholes with them or anything like that? Are they pretty solid?
I'm not sure to be honest. I know that they are used by some people for cross races.
Ooooooh check you out with your mad bunny hopping skillz. All the kids at the skate park must think you rock.
Well that's encouraging. Unhijack!0 -
JonGinge wrote:
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that some people take crosswinds in their stride and some hate them...lost_in_thought wrote:I fear that I may be blown sideways if I have deep v rims...
A couple of years ago I was riding into work on the Saffside (innit) of the river. At the VB junction, heading past the MI6 building, I was blown from the middle of lane 1, across lane 2 and into the path of the oncoming traffic, with not a thing I could do to stop it happening.
Those of you you've met me will no doubt say "well, der-her! There's nothing of the poor wee lad. No wonder he gets picked up like a dry leaf in the wind" , but there you are.
I've been a bit wary of crosswinds since.0 -
You can't bunny hop, can you? Don't be bitter.lost_in_thought wrote:Always Tyred wrote:
No, I can bunny hop.lost_in_thought wrote:AT - I'm looking at the Ksyriums too - have you hit any potholes with them or anything like that? Are they pretty solid?
I'm not sure to be honest. I know that they are used by some people for cross races.
Ooooooh check you out with your mad bunny hopping skillz. All the kids at the skate park must think you rock.
Well that's encouraging. Unhijack!
Re: deep V's - its different from being blown sideways generally, because it has a disporportionate effect of the steering. Given that we live in the windiest country in Europe, and given that even LiT is unlikely to garner any aerodynamic advantage from them, I'm not sure there is too much point for the non-TT's hamateur.
The Mavics have bladed spokes by the way.0
