Racing wheels

JRooke

So this will be my 2nd year of riding, I casually joined a club last year and towards the end of the season fell in love with it, did 3 or 4 races and managed to get to a 3rd cat, so this year I want to take it all very serious. I'm looking for a pair of wheels about £500-800, that I can really race hard on, currently I have a pair of Fulcrum 1 2 way fit, which I like but just feel when I really go all guns blazing they lack stiffness, really notice a wobble at the back.

Any suggestions? or is my price range just not big enough to get something mega competitive?

Anonymous

TBH what you have is fine!

Chip \'oyler

You could try sprint rims and tubs

graham_g

I don't see the point in racing on anything but sprints myself; if you get a puncture you're out the game anyway - just bought myself some second-hand for hardriders and regular TT events. For all other riding I'll just stick with decent hand built clinchers.

wildmoustache

NapD is right - what you have is fine.

You can get a better for flat out speed with more aerodynamic wheels, but really there is not much in it, and your budget isn't that big. Maybe cosmic carbones wld be an option worth looking at.

Monty Dog

Fulcrum 1s not stiff enough - WTF? Quickstep trained / raced on these, but hey, what do they know? Wheels make very little difference to your 'competitiveness' it's actually more about your strength, fitness and tactical nous rather than the thickness of your wallet. :roll:
If you are obsessed about stiffness try something like a Cosmic SLR - a clubmate who is 95kg of muscle swears by them

on-yer-bike

JRooke wrote:

really notice a wobble at the back.

Tighten up the quick release lever.

Down the Road

For purely racing Look at deep section. Stay Clincher as these are now FASTER than Tubulars. (pro's only ride them as you can ride a flat)

Best targets.

Shimano WH-RS80-C50 Deep Profile
Mavic cosmic carbone
Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC

All close to or just over your budget

MaxwellBygraves

I've never heard that Fulcrums ones aren't stiff enough before!
If you're noticing 'wobble' try taking them to a LBS to check them out.

Chip \'oyler

Down the Road wrote:

For purely racing Look at deep section. Stay Clincher as these are now FASTER than Tubulars. (pro's only ride them as you can ride a flat)

Best targets.

Shimano WH-RS80-C50 Deep Profile
Mavic cosmic carbone
Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC

All close to or just over your budget

Are they. Care to share your knowledge as to why? And have you ever ridden tubs?

Monty Dog

While some might argue that clinchers are 'faster' they're not much use when you puncture during a race when you hit a pothole - given the shocking condition of some road surfaces it isn't a joke - happened to riders beside me twice in the same race last season- fortunately, I was riding 'slower' tubs so was only able to able to contest the finish whereas the guy on 'faster' tyres was a spectator.....

Down the Road

Chip \'oyler wrote:

Down the Road wrote:

For purely racing Look at deep section. Stay Clincher as these are now FASTER than Tubulars. (pro's only ride them as you can ride a flat)

Best targets.

Shimano WH-RS80-C50 Deep Profile
Mavic cosmic carbone
Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC

All close to or just over your budget

Are they. Care to share your knowledge as to why? And have you ever ridden tubs?

ridden tubs only advantage is riding the flat.
Pinch flats are caused buy LACK of tyre pressure nothing else Race day should see you with about 10 bar in the tyre

Apart from Gp4000 what was the last tubular released by Conti? They themselves rate GP Supersonic as the FASTEST tyre in their range - How do I know I speak to them on tyres often

racingcondor

If you're finding the rear end feels wobbly with Fulcrum 1's on there then I have to ask what frame you're riding. As others have said 1's are a very stiff wheel so I don't think it's them, much more likely to be the frame.

My experience of this comes from racing my Condor Italia. On that I could see the BB swaying when I put in big efforts, so much so that I wore the paint off the inside of the chain stays (tyre rub on the frame). That was caused by a combination of frame and wheel flex but I'm now racing on a Squadra (much, much stiffer) on SRAM Al 30 Race and the only thing I notice flexing is the wheels (my old Fulcrum 3's are stiffer).

Chip \'oyler

Down the Road wrote:

Chip \'oyler wrote:

Down the Road wrote:

For purely racing Look at deep section. Stay Clincher as these are now FASTER than Tubulars. (pro's only ride them as you can ride a flat)

Best targets.

Shimano WH-RS80-C50 Deep Profile
Mavic cosmic carbone
Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 ACC

All close to or just over your budget

Are they. Care to share your knowledge as to why? And have you ever ridden tubs?

ridden tubs only advantage is riding the flat.
Pinch flats are caused buy LACK of tyre pressure nothing else Race day should see you with about 10 bar in the tyre

Apart from Gp4000 what was the last tubular released by Conti? They themselves rate GP Supersonic as the FASTEST tyre in their range - How do I know I speak to them on tyres often

Don't know. I don't use Conti's. I find them slow.

IMO a clincher just doesn't have the same ride quality as a tub - no matter how good the clincher is

JRooke

I've got a tarmac sl 2 so I'd like to think its not the frame. Maybe i'm over exaggerating the wobble as more of a minor flex, I do notice a massive improvement from my training wheels, but even so, I reckon there is room for improvement. Perhaps i'll just stick with what I've got till i can splash out a bit more.