Which Wheelset for £200-£300 ?

mr_goo

Have just completed my first season road riding (mtb for the winter) and thinking of upgrading my Cube Peleton (aluminium frame) and investigating in a wheelset for £200-300. Currently have Fulcrum 7s. Would this investment in a wheelset be worthwhile? Have always been told by the LBS that wheels make all the difference but would I really notice a difference in performance and handling? Or is this kind of investment really only apparent on higher end bikes?
If worthwhile which are your recommended ones?

Bozman

Shimano RS80s £314 at Merlin cycles

mr_goo

Thanks for the heads up on those Bozman. That is a very good deal. But would they make any difference to an £800 ally bike?

dru

1484gm for the RS80's v just under 1900 gram, so thats 400 grams you'll be saving.

That seems pretty good

Yes they would make a difference on your bike particulalry when climbing.

Bozman

I had a set of the dura ace 7850cls and there doesn't seem alot of difference to the RS80s, experts may beg to differ, but i think they're a steal at just over £300.
I don't know whether it's in my head but the carbon laminate seems to make a difference and dampen the ride.

nfiore

Definately make a difference to your ride, I have recently upgraded from Shimano R500 to Ultegra, noticed difference straight away. Don't forget to make sure you have decent tyres on the new wheels. I was sceptible about this, always reading that it was one of the best upgrades, having done it now, totally agree.

nephrocycle

All depends on what riding you do ? If racing then the RS80s are great wheels for the money. Not very aero but light and pretty relaible. Kyrsium elites are also getting old and good deals there for very decent and reliable wheels. If you are not racing then I would not bother. The biggest difference in good wheels is acceleration out of corners and the ability to stay at high speed once spun up for some watt saving. A cheaper upgrade would be some decent tyres and light tubes.

RDB66

Ultegra 6700s are about 220ish from Merlin i think. Great wheels they are too. Light and Stiff and not alot heavier than the RS80s.
Worth a look.

ScottieP

The Pro-Lite Braccianos seem to have a good reputation. Ribble are selling them for £187. You can search on here to find more info. For your budget I'd probably go for these or the Ultegra ones already mentioned. Easton EA50SL also has a good reputation (although supposedly tricky to get tyres on and off). Hope that helps.

ugo.santalucia

Mr Goo wrote:

Have just completed my first season road riding (mtb for the winter) and thinking of upgrading my Cube peloton (aluminium frame) and investigating in a wheelset for £200-300. Currently have Fulcrum 7s. Would this investment in a wheelset be worthwhile? Have always been told by the LBS that wheels make all the difference but would I really notice a difference in performance and handling? Or is this kind of investment really only apparent on higher end bikes?
If worthwhile which are your recommended ones?

Not in that price bracket.. unless you find an offer. You can buy lighter wheels, but not better wheels, or you can buy better wheels but not much lighter wheels...

Cheap light wheels (under 1.5 Kg) are underengineered: hubs with questionable bearings, few spokes, mediocre rims, crap quick release skewers.

You can buy some quality hand builts for 300, in the weight region of 1.6-1.7 Kg, so not much lighter than yours

mr_goo

Thanks for all your help and advice. I will take this on board for when decision time comes.

teamcrane

Have a look at at Pro-Lite Braccianos. Good reviews to be found from Cycling Plus and Road.cc. Also lots of technical info on Pro-Lites web-site. Ribble offer the best price at £187 + £9.50 for posting, much the cheapest that I could find. Some on-line shops are £100 more! Mine arrived promptly with rim-tape and skewers. Very pleased.

ben16v

same here for the Braccianos well recommended over r500s and now means i have a spare wheel for the turbo

lef

i was in the same position, £800 allez elite. I just received the RS80s from Merlin and just been round the block a couple of times. Theyve completely transformed the bike. Feels much stiffer, and gets up to speed much quicker. Not yet tried them on the hills but they should be good as the rims are light. I have dura ace 7850 CL on another bike and they feel very similar.

For context I had a set of xero xr-1s on previously which were so flexy they made the bike sketchy (Im 66kg). Ive just noticed that the rim has rubbed on the chainstays which gives an idea of the amount of flex.

Another option is Fulcrum 3, i think theyre £275 on Planet X.