New wheels - help with decision

Platti

I've no idea what to look for in a wheel and being new to the sport I don't know what most the jargon means so could do with a hand please.

Looking to replace my current wheels as they're a bit overused now. Going to be joining a club soon and have booked a trip to France next June. Have come up with the following ....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xero-Maravilloso- ... 286.c0.m14

(They look good but cant find a review anywhere)

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Fulcr ... 360045059/

(Seem ok ?)

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ful ... t-ec001944

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bon ... t-ec008553


I'm looking to spend about £200 anything less is a bonus as it free's up cash for other bits but dont mind paying a little more if need be.

Many thanks for any help anyone can give me

maddog 2

you have two basic choices - factory or handbuilt

both have fans, both can be good.

For £200 budget I'd recommend handbuilts. For example Mavic Open Pro rims on 105 or Ultegra hubs (or Campag equivalent, if you're that way inclined) with DT double-butted spokes.

You'll get a tight, fairly light, reliable pair which can be easily repaired should you wear them out or crash.

The next issue is the builder. Lots of people can build wheels but the quality does vary. Choose a reputable builder with a good track record. I use Paul Hewitt cos he's fairly local and excellent. He can also tweak the spec according to your weight, colour, usage etc.

If you go factory, the Fulcrums seem to get decent reviews, as do Mavic Aksiums. I wouldn't use Bontragers myself.

kingrollo

I have the marvalliso - but I only brought them because they were red - they feel fine to me - but I have little to compare them with. Fulcrum, Xero, and Mavic Krysuim are the popular choices at this price point.

Whilst some wheels are very light - the trick is getting wheels that are light, but don't flex, when youre out of the saddle. If your in doubt best to err on the side of a slightly heavier wheel.

Cranks

Another builder is Stevie at Roadace.

Worth talking to. www.roadacecomponents.co.uk

Platti

Cheers for the comments !

kingrollo

Ridecov in coventry and Henry Burton - have the marvalliso wheels for only a tenner more than ebay......you might get a better warranty !

Platti

Cheers for that but I think I'm going to go with one of these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Mavic ... 360032717/

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Fulcr ... 360045059/

Any recommendations between these would be great !

Also kingrollo - bike looks mint !

Platti

Aaaahhhh - or these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Fulcr ... 360045057/

I really dont know what I'm doing !

guilliano

There are a pair of Mavic Aksiums on Ebay (600 miles old) being sold by Buckingham Bikes

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mavic-Aksium-Race ... 286.c0.m14

They are in good nick.... I know as they are mine. If you bid £90 + postage I'll accept

Platti

Will sleep on it and hope they dont sell in the meantime. Thanks for the offer, will let u know i the morning

gkerr4

Platti wrote:

Aaaahhhh - or these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Fulcr ... 360045057/

I really dont know what I'm doing !

if you can afford the racing fives then get them - they are a cut above the aksiums / racing 7's

also - JE James were doing the 5s at £150 recently - might still be actually..

Platti

Would that be these ?

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/fulcrum- ... 53143.html

just making sure the 'evolution' bit isn't a different wheel.

(Thanks for the reply to the thread too !)

gkerr4

Platti wrote:

Would that be these ?

http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/fulcrum- ... 53143.html

just making sure the 'evolution' bit isn't a different wheel.

(Thanks for the reply to the thread too !)

indeed it would - a good price for the 5's

I don't have them, but I do have campagnolo wheels (fulcrum are made by campag - they are available in both shimano and campag fitting) - they are a very well regarded wheel for a good combination of strength and weight. I can't think of reading a bad word about the 5's and as I said they are a cut above the 7's and aksiums - and at that price, for not a lot more money.

I know if I was in the market for wheels around the £200 mark - i'd be snatching these up and with the remaining cash, getting some nice tyres to go on them.

Platti

Cheers for that ! I think I'm going to go with the 5's then.Sorry Guilliano, great offer and very nearly bought them but having looked at the reviews etc and words of wisdom on here the 5's have it. Thanks for the offer !

Will update this thread with a review of them as I know other people will read it i the same boat. Good find there gkerr4 - saved me a few quid - I owe you a pint.

gkerr4

oh that'll be great - i'll have a lager thanks!

morxy

I've heard many good comments on Fulcrum Racing 5. They're a bit lighter, and arguably better all round, than the Mavic Aksium. But I dare say there isn't much in it.

I have Aksium 2008s on my 8 speed Sora bike and have ridden 5480 miles on them. So far, I'm very happy with their durability and performance. I've never needed to true them despite many thuds and jolts from potholes. The braking surface on the front rim is wearing a bit. But commuting in central London requires braking every 50 metres, so can understand that!

They're one of the best wheels in their price bracket. They're a safe bet. I'm sure you'd like them.

maddog 2

if you want black then Merlin have the 5s for £165

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/mountain- ... -pair.html

Platti

Aaahh yeah i do but have ordered silver, have just rung them but they dont have any stock of black - silver it is then.

gkerr4

silver is faster anyway!

I know it's personal but I don't like black wheels unless they are disc-braked as I hate the black wheel with the machined braking surface - prefer all silver.

anyway - glad you are sorted.

remember and put some pics up and a review!

maddog 2

bit more than £200 but Ribble has the new Ultegra tubeless for £233, which is very tempting

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... HIMWHFR615

TommyEss

gkerr4 wrote:

silver is faster anyway!

I know it's personal but I don't like black wheels unless they are disc-braked as I hate the black wheel with the machined braking surface - prefer all silver.

anyway - glad you are sorted.

remember and put some pics up and a review!

Yep - same here - bit late I know, but I managed to get the Fulcrum 3s for a sniff under £300 from Jedi Sports in Germany,

Fulcrum R3 Black 320 euros

Silvers are a bit more than what I paid, but still good

Fulcrum R5 Silver 145 euros

leejdavies

I'm gunna jump on this Wheelset bandwagon currently have Racing 7's with a freehub rapidly disintegrating as I ride. Thinking of upgrading whilst I send it off for repair.

What's the best bet?

For around £250 or less

Mavic Kysrium Elites (found reduced) £270 a good deal

Campag Scirocco £200

or

save a bit of cash and get Fulcrum R5's

looked at some Gipiemme's too.

Anyone have any buying advice?

Too many choices and I'm relatively new to the road and not impressed with the R7's at all. Broke the freehub twice in 10 months and have a bent axle (I'm only about 80kg). I would Ideally wait till next year to get some Hope wheels. They seem to handle anything on my MTB.

gkerr4

leejdavies wrote:

I'm gunna jump on this Wheelset bandwagon currently have Racing 7's with a freehub rapidly disintegrating as I ride. Thinking of upgrading whilst I send it off for repair.

What's the best bet?

For around £250 or less

Mavic Kysrium Elites (found reduced) £270 a good deal

Campag Scirocco £200

or

save a bit of cash and get Fulcrum R5's

looked at some Gipiemme's too.

Anyone have any buying advice?

Too many choices and I'm relatively new to the road and not impressed with the R7's at all. Broke the freehub twice in 10 months and have a bent axle (I'm only about 80kg). I would Ideally wait till next year to get some Hope wheels. They seem to handle anything on my MTB.

if you are quick - you can get fulcrum5's for £150 at JEJames cycles.

which is a bargain! - I think they are on par with the sciroccos so a great price.

I'm tempted myself at the price but seems overkill on a winter bike!

leejdavies

if you are quick - you can get fulcrum5's for £150 at JEJames cycles.

which is a bargain! - I think they are on par with the sciroccos so a great price.

I'm tempted myself at the price but seems overkill on a winter bike!

Just not too sure whether I want another set of Fulcrum's as my 7's were so poor…

But that is v. tempting all the same.

gkerr4

I take it you have campag gears yeah?

do you really want giesemmies - or whatever they are called?

and campag and fulcrum are the same company - I think the 5s are going to be better - the 7's are a proper budget wheel - certainly you don't hear may bad reports of the 5s on here - whereas the 7s often get a bit of stick for their durability (or lack of) (although oddly the Khamsins don't and they are a similar quality wheel)

oh - and welcome to the forum by the way!

leejdavies

gkerr4 wrote:

I take it you have campag gears yeah?

do you really want giesemmies - or whatever they are called?

oh - and welcome to the forum by the way!

Thanks!

I do have Campag gears, I saw the Gipiemmes on a review but they are a little over my price range. If they were exceptional it might have been worth it. Like I said I'm new to the game and don't want to be replacing wheels every year as there is too much choice and they're expensive!!

Sounds like no one would go for the Ksyrium's!? Wierdly I thought Mavic's would be a good bet as they (pretty much) only make wheels.

So R5's are better or equal to scirocco's despite being less expensive (a naive statement I know) but if they are the same company would the slightly more expensive but slightly better?!

gkerr4

i think that the R5's and the scirroccos are broadly similar in the line-ups - they are about the same RRP

I always thought it was like

r5s = scirrocco
R3's = zonda
R1's = eurus (which I have)
Rzero = shamal.

could be wrong though...

actually you can get scirrocco for £189 at the minute too which isn't bad but I still think i'd take the R5;s at £149

TommyEss

My Cannondale came with Mavic Ksyrium Equipes - they're pretty heavy, but have prooven to be very sturdy - which is why they were moved onto my winter bike with no hesitation when I upgraded to the Fulcrums.

I've hit some horribly big potholes on some very fast descents and they're still true - and although I'm shifting the weight, I'm still a pretty big guy.

Depends what you want in a wheel though - as a winter training wheel, they do the job - but if I was looking for an out and out winter wheelset from scratch (i.e. not demoting them down the pecking order) I'd probably be looking at handbuilts.

1) What's your budget?
2) What type of riding are you going to do?

Then take it from there.

leejdavies

I have a budget of around £250 (would stretch it a bit if something was close and worth it).

I'm really just getting into cycling, got a '08 Wilier Mortirolo at xmas and the Racing7's it came with are breaking up, but still under warranty. So will send them off for repair and get a new set of hoops and use the repaired R7's as winter wheels.

Looking to join a club next year and do a few sportive's, etc. (If i can get fit enough)

TommyEss

To be fair, I'd get the R7's sorted - I've not actually heard much go wrong with them to be honest - I've heard they're a very good entry level factory built wheel - so interested to hear what's gone on with yours?

i.e. Is it a design problem, a manufacturing defect, or it could potentially be because you're a bit heavy on them (I know I certainly seem to manage to find every damn hole going)

leejdavies

TommyEss wrote:

i.e. Is it a design problem, a manufacturing defect, or it could potentially be because you're a bit heavy on them (I know I certainly seem to manage to find every damn hole going)

Well when looking at them on ChainReaction 3 of the 4 reviews have the same issue. The Pawl Spring broke (i replaced it almost immediately) meaning all the Pawls were damaged by fragments of the broken spring. I think that the axle has bent too which I guess would increase pressure exerted on the freewheel every revolution. I haven't had too many big hits and I'm about 80kg.

Hence why I would like to upgrade, and a little worried about sticking with Fulcrum (R5's) although no bad comments so far.