6000 mile/year wheels - all weather 1600gish the pair, £400

salsajake
salsajake Posts: 702
edited March 2009 in Road buying advice
Is that unlikely? I was looking at the Ritchey Solitude's but not sure they would be robust enough for the mileage. Looking to upgrade a Tiagra rear, Deore front wheels on Alex AT450 rims - wouldn't take much to upgrade them at about 2kg for the pair, but I want something that will give me a marked performance boost without needing truing/bearing replacement every month.

I only weigh about 75kg (though my pannier is sometimes 5kg or so) and do about 35 miles a day.

Any ideas and experiences greatfully received.

Comments

  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    I should think that you could get some nice handmades( Mavic Open Pros on Ultegra hubs) for around that price which should tick all the boxes.
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    handbuilts

    Open Pros/Ambrosio/IRD rims on Ultegra/Ambrosio hubs would be a strong contender.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • salsajake
    salsajake Posts: 702
    maddog 2 wrote:
    handbuilts

    Open Pros/Ambrosio/IRD rims on Ultegra/Ambrosio hubs would be a strong contender.

    googled open pro and ultegra and on a 28/32h set, they weighed in at around 1700. I was hoping for better than that - the Solitudes were around 1550g IIRC. I reckon losing nearly half a kilo from the wheels would be awesome, losing 300g or so is still worthwhile, but not as tempting. Maybe I could get away with something with fewer spokes being a skinny wee man?
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Planet-X model B's, 1600g, £156. I have them, so far stayed true, very smooth bearings, run smoother than my Ultegra hubs. 20 and 24 spokes (and I am a heavy rider at 86kg :oops: )

    My other wheels are Open Pro handbuilt on Ultegra - heavier but they are for my audax bike which has to take panniers. Cost £180.
  • salsajake
    salsajake Posts: 702
    I run a rear pannier, and it is sometimes heavy - I amaze myself that I have hauled it in sometimes. Don't think I could go as low as 24 spokes on the back, but then even it was 5kg (which is HEAVY) all in I am weigihing less than you, albeit the weight on the rear wheel might be a little higher due to the distribution of weight between me and pannier.
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I think I would go for Ultegra Open Pro if using a pannier. It would be nice to save the weight but you will have less worries that way. I did save 200g on changing tyres and inner tubes, still extremely tough though (Spesh All Conditions Pro's / Vitoria tubes).
  • salsajake
    salsajake Posts: 702
    Hmm, I went from Bonty XXX Race Lite 32 to a Conti GP 4 season 25 on the front, going to get a 28 on the rear for a bit more load cushioning. They save 225 and 200g respectively, I even swapped out my slime filled inner tube on the front on the offchance and so far, no punctures (and another 150g or so saved!

    Think I might get a non-matched pair then, maybe an open pro/ultegra rear and something a bit racier on the front, especially as the Project 2 steel fork (910g!) is going to be replaced with a Kinesis Crosslight evo (460g), so there will be even less for the front end to handle!

    It may be a cross bike, but its a 35 mile a day tarmac muncher, and the sooner I complete by commute, the sooner I am home!
  • nickwill
    nickwill Posts: 2,735
    Campag Neutrons. Pretty light and I've found them bombproof!
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    The other consideration on having handbuilts over factory wheels is that you are commuting and so the wear rate will be higher I presume. Try walking into a LBS when you have just broken a spoke on a factory wheel and seeing if you can get a replacment.
  • salsajake
    salsajake Posts: 702
    I hadn't realised that was the case with factory wheels, are you saying that if a spoke broke they would be bin fodder, or just that it would take a lot of time and probably disproprtionate money to get them fixed?

    Have to say those Campags look tempting and are crazy light - provided nothing breaks they look ideal. But, with Campag, if I went down that route, does that mean I will need a campag rear cassette and if so can I stop there, or do I need any or all of a new chain, chainrings, jockey wheels/mech, shifters as I have only ever run Shimano (so please excuse my ignorance of what will look like a stupid question to most!)
  • markos1963
    markos1963 Posts: 3,724
    If a spoke broke on a factory wheel its unlikely that a LBS would have a spoke in stock unless they sold the wheel. The more common wheels like Mavic,s you might be alright but if you bought the campag's I doubt you could get them quickly. Also some shops don't like trueing up factory wheels and recommend sending them off to the manufacturer.

    I think that if you want the Campag's you can use a Shimano cassette if you have some sort of converter, I have seen other posts on here saying that but I have no experience of that.
  • salsajake
    salsajake Posts: 702
    I have no issue with having to buy a replacement cassette (its a good excuse to ditch the stock Tiagra) but I wouldn't want to have to go beyond that. Provided the pitch of the teeth on a campag cassette is the same as shimano, there shouldn't be any issues I wouldn't have thought.
  • Poulsy
    Poulsy Posts: 155
    Fulcrum Racing 3?
  • salsajake
    salsajake Posts: 702
    good shout on the Fulcrums, have seen good reviews of all their wheels and they are there on the price and the weight. Chain Reaction doing them at £340, so whilst they are a bit heavier than the campags, they are quite a bit cheaper