new wheels advice please

demBones

looking to upgrade my stock wheels for the summer and keep my worn wheels for next winter.

I currently have a scott speedster s30 flat bar 2008 with

Frame: Double butted hydroformed 7005 alloy with integrated headtube. Fender compatible
Forks: ADDICT Carbon with integrated alloy steerer. Fender compatible
Gears: Shimano R773 front and 105 rear derailleurs
Shifters: Shimano R770
Crankset: Truvativ Elita Road 3.2 50x39x30
Brakes: Scott Pro SCBR-538
Wheels: Jalco DRX 6000 Aero Profile rims built on Shimano 2200 rear and Scott Comp front hubs
Tyres: Hutchinson Flash 700x28C
Handlebars: Scott X-Rod 580mm
Stem: Scott Road Team O/S - Saddle: Scott Road Pro
Seatpost: Scott Alloy 31.6mm

I have already upgraded the groupset to 105 10speed
and the tyres to gatorskin 700x28C

I have done roughly 2.5k miles on the bike since beginning of august. about 70 miles commuting a week plus a little bit at weekend (not as much as I'd like but there you go).

I am 6' 4" and weigh about 98kgs
I have a budget of about £200-£250
I would like to move to 700x23c tyres
I would like light fast wheels that are not going to collapse under my bulk

A colleague at work has suggested custom wheels:
shimano 5600 105 road hub with mavic open pro classic rims from
http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/custom_wheels.html

Will I notice the difference with custom wheels or should I just stick to better stock wheels

I would like some advice and alternatives please

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always_tyred

Custom / stock can be misleading. Better to think of handbuilt / factory / "conventional"

The advantage of handbuilt or conventional wheels (which may or may not have come anywhere near a person during assembly) is that they use readily available, servicable, economically replaceable parts.

Open pros are strong, you could stretch to butted spokes, and the hubs are okay.

Those wheels might not break any stiffness records (which is what a guy your size/height would notice most) and so would be better, but maybe not vastly so, than what you have.

I need to hand over to someone who knows, for example, the current Mavic factory wheel line better than me, but I suspect that it would be possible for £250 to get a factory wheelset with some "bling" that would feel quite nippy. The down side is that you would be stuck with replacement cartridge bearings from that manufacturer, only those rims, only those spokes, etc..

vorsprung

demBones wrote:

looking to upgrade my stock wheels for the summer and keep my worn wheels for next winter.
....
I have done roughly 2.5k miles on the bike since beginning of august. about 70 miles commuting a week plus a little bit at weekend (not as much as I'd like but there you go).

I am 6' 4" and weigh about 98kgs
I have a budget of about £200-£250
I would like to move to 700x23c tyres
I would like light fast wheels that are not going to collapse under my bulk

As you are so heavy a lot of factory wheels will not be for you. Bontrager make some for the heavier rider though, I suppose as they are a US company.

I am 6'2" and weigh 80kg I recommend you get the same as what I have on my long distance bike

Get custom wheels with Open pro rims, 36 hole at the back and 28 or 32 hole at the front
with double butted stainless steel spokes
I've had good experiences with Shimano 105 and Ambrosio zenith hubs. These hubs are low cost but seem pretty good to me

I've had wheels built by two local guys that did them in their garages, a friend, SJS cyles of Bridgwater and Ralph Colemans of Taunton. Next time I think I might do it myself

When you get your new wheels, weigh them and the old ones and see how much less they weigh. Then go out and try and accellorate up a hill

demBones

thanks for the info guys
looks like custom wheels are the way forward.
if anyone has anything further to add / opinions etc feel free

RedJohn

Handbuilt wheels are generally a lot lighter than factory ones for the same money.

I have Campagnolo Record hubs, DT Swiss R1.1 rims, double butted spokes, 36 rear 32 front cos I'm a big chap and the roads here are cr@p. They weigh about 1450g and cost me about £245.

I'd suggest similar, and go for Dura Ace hubs since you have a Shimano set up. You'll notice the weight and smoothness compared to 105.