Upgrading to 'faster' wheelset and tyres

grrram

Hi,

I ride a Specialized Roubaix Elite which came from my LBS with Mavic Open Sport wheelset and Specialized Pro 700x23c tyres. As I'm getting more into road cycling, I feel the need for (more) speed! I know fitness and strength play a major role here, but can anyone recommend wheels and tyres that are 'faster', i.e. lighter rims, lower rolling resistance tyres. I've been looking at the Continental Attack & Force tyres. Any ideas for upgrades would be appreciated.

Cheers,
G

sicrow

How much do you want to spend ?

grrram

My budget is c. £300 for the wheels and c. £40 each for tyres. Mavic Ksyrium Elite and Conti 4000s perhaps?

Also, I weigh 82 kilos, so not sure if certain products are suited for heavier riders?

robthehungrymonkey

I've just changed to the conti 4000s. Mada massive difference.

Anonymous

I use conti GP 4000s however I will be changing them to Vittoria Open Corsa CX2s on my bestbike and Open Pave on my winter / training bike as soon as I am riding again...

Not that the Contis are bad but...

Anonymous

I'd get some handbuilts on either CXP33 or Open Pro rims and something like Ultegra or DT Swiss hubs for 300 notes...

Or if you can stretch to it and get the Conti GPs from somewhere like PBK for 20 notes a piece then these are the boys for you!

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productdetail.asp?productcatalogue=SHIMWHFR385

Matt-B

I've had Conti 4000's on my Giant SCR2 for the last few months, and I like them a lot. They feel a lot faster, but I was upgrading from slightly wider tyres, so that would also have had an effect.

grrram

Thanks for the tips folks - GP4000S it is then. I've run Conti UltraGators on my 26" Novato and have been pleased with them, so its a brand I trust.

I'll upgrade as the wheels & tyres come to the end of their natural lifespan. Until then, its train, train, train to go quicker.

spanielsson

I have contnental force & attack tyres, I think they are fantastic all weather tyres, unless I get tubulars I'll keep using them. They seem to have better road holding the Michelin Pro 3's.

As for wheels, I've just a pair of wheels built using Mavic CXP 33's, the ride quality and comfort is great.

Have a look at www.wheelsmith.co.uk the builds with Ambrosio hubs and rims look good value.

il_principe

spanielsson wrote:

I have contnental force & attack tyres, I think they are fantastic all weather tyres, unless I get tubulars I'll keep using them. They seem to have better road holding the Michelin Pro 3's.

As for wheels, I've just a pair of wheels built using Mavic CXP 33's, the ride quality and comfort is great.

Have a look at www.wheelsmith.co.uk the builds with Ambrosio hubs and rims look good value.

+1 for the Contis. If we don't want to go handbuilt then look at Fulcrum wheels. I own the 0's and the 1's and they're fantastic.

zedders

Panaracer Extreme Evo 2 tyres? I think they were 50 quid for the pair. As the only decent ones left in the LBS at the time! They seem fast. They are miles quicker than the standard tyres I had. (cont ultra sports)
For some strange reason whenever a tyre Q comes up, Panaracer are never mentioned? Was I done?

gabriel959

zedders wrote:

Panaracer Extreme Evo 2 tyres? I think they were 50 quid for the pair. As the only decent ones left in the LBS at the time! They seem fast. They are miles quicker than the standard tyres I had. (cont ultra sports)
For some strange reason whenever a tyre Q comes up, Panaracer are never mentioned? Was I done?

Doubt it - I bet you go to other countries and the panaracers are used and the contis or michelins not. It happens in Spain, brands such as Giant don't have nearly as much presence compared to for example BH or De Rosa.

THe important thing is that they work for you

ohlala!

I would recommend Fulcrum Racing 3. Maybe if you might've read reviews about Fulcrum being loud. To me it's not but I found a way of eliminating the noise. Just remove the hub body and put thick grease on the tracks and re-install the hub body. It keeps the wheels quite for a week - I do total cleaning and re-greasing every week as I use my bike a lot.

As for wheels, you might want to try Vittoria Open Corsa Evo or Diamante pro. they're really cool tyres. Hope this gives you something to think about.