New Wheels - too much?

saunderela

All

I currently have a Trek 2.1 with stock tyres and wheels which I am very happy with but, as ususual, I am thinking of upgrading. Longer term (12-24mths) I will likely buy another more expensive bike (circa £2000) and keep the Trek as the winter bike. I think the most effective upgrade will be new wheels and tyres. I am hoping that this will obviously improve my current bike but may benefit my new bike as well? So my question is -

Is £500 the correct (ie enough but not too much) budget to get benefit for my current and future bike?

I am not specifically looking for wheel/tyre recomendations but more getting my budget set correctly as I do not want to spend too little now for the longer term gain nor do I want to have excessive "bling" wheels on the Trek.

Thanks

kfinlay

£2000 bikes that you could be looking at come with a wide variety of wheels - from things like Fulcrum 7 to Mavic Ksyrium Elite so it will depend on what you are planning on buying. A good compromise would be something like Pro-Lite Bracianno for around £200 that are a good light wheel that run well or for a bit more something like Shimano RS80s (£320ish) or you could buy something like Fulcrum 1s at £500ish that will use your whole budget.
I am in a similar position as you and went for the Pro-Lites as they aren't too much for my current bike and as I'm looking to by a Canyon with Mavic Ksyrium Elites then the Pro-Lites are a good back wheel for that bike. There's a lot for you to consider before you decide whether £500 is enough. If you want to ensure the wheels you by will be an upgrade on a £2k bike then IMO you will need to pay a fair bit more and go to the next level beyond Mavic Ksyrium Elite/Fulcrum 1 level.

MaxwellBygraves

So you're planning on getting a new pair of wheels for your Trek then transferring them to your new bike when it arrives?
If I've understood that correctly, then I would say you have a fair budget there. £500 will get all the wheel most of us will ever use. Not uber bling, not too low, just enough to buy a well-performing wheelset.
As ever, I would recommend a pair of Fulcrums (probably 3's with your budget). The Dura Ace wheels also receive positive reviews, but I have never tried these.
A new set of tyres will make a noticeable difference to the ride compared to the stock tyres.

MaxwellBygraves

kfinlay wrote:

. If you want to ensure the wheels you by will be an upgrade on a £2k bike then IMO you will need to pay a fair bit more and go to the next level beyond Mavic Ksyrium Elite/Fulcrum 1 level.

I don't understand you. Most £2000 bikes come with wheels of a much lower standard than Racing 1's/Elites?
So you reckon that in a order to do a £2000 bike justice the OP should spend much more than £500? Really?
Not saying that expensive wheels aren't nice, but you can get some serious wheels for £500...

kfinlay

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

kfinlay wrote:

. If you want to ensure the wheels you by will be an upgrade on a £2k bike then IMO you will need to pay a fair bit more and go to the next level beyond Mavic Ksyrium Elite/Fulcrum 1 level.

I don't understand you. Most £2000 bikes come with wheels of a much lower standard than Racing 1's/Elites?
So you reckon that in a order to do a £2000 bike justice the OP should spend much more than £500? Really?
Not saying that expensive wheels aren't nice, but you can get some serious wheels for £500...

I also said that £2000 bikes come with a wide variety of wheels from Fulcrum 7 to Ksyrium Elites so it depends on what £2k bike he is planning on buying will have a big influence on what if any wheels he buys now. So if he is buying something like a Bianchi which often come with lower spec wheels then Fulcrum 3s would be a good step up but if buying a Canyon Ult CF 9.0 that has Ksyrium Elites then there will be no point getting something similar just now. So if the OP has no idea of what bike he will buy in the next 12-24 months then he would have to spend a fair bit more than £500 to guarantee the wheels would be an upgrade over the £2k bike wheels (currently one of the best of which are Ksyrium Elites on the Canyon). Hope this clarifies the point I was trying to make originally

rogerthecat

saunderela wrote:

I am not specifically looking for wheel/tyre recomendations but more getting my budget set correctly as I do not want to spend too little now for the longer term gain nor do I want to have excessive "bling" wheels on the Trek.

Thanks

Yes m8 500 quid is a good figure! you may be able to spend less if looking at a wheelsmith, rather than factory wheels.

I have seen the light.

.

MaxwellBygraves

kfinlay wrote:

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

kfinlay wrote:

. If you want to ensure the wheels you by will be an upgrade on a £2k bike then IMO you will need to pay a fair bit more and go to the next level beyond Mavic Ksyrium Elite/Fulcrum 1 level.

I don't understand you. Most £2000 bikes come with wheels of a much lower standard than Racing 1's/Elites?
So you reckon that in a order to do a £2000 bike justice the OP should spend much more than £500? Really?
Not saying that expensive wheels aren't nice, but you can get some serious wheels for £500...

I also said that £2000 bikes come with a wide variety of wheels from Fulcrum 7 to Ksyrium Elites so it depends on what £2k bike he is planning on buying will have a big influence on what if any wheels he buys now. So if he is buying something like a Bianchi which often come with lower spec wheels then Fulcrum 3s would be a good step up but if buying a Canyon Ult CF 9.0 that has Ksyrium Elites then there will be no point getting something similar just now. So if the OP has no idea of what bike he will buy in the next 12-24 months then he would have to spend a fair bit more than £500 to guarantee the wheels would be an upgrade over the £2k bike wheels (currently one of the best of which are Ksyrium Elites on the Canyon). Hope this clarifies the point I was trying to make originally

I hear what you're saying, but I would say the elites are not really in the same category as wheels you can get for a few hundred quid more.
To the OP I think £500 is fine to spend on wheels at the moment. Any wheel at this price point would do your new bike justice.
Interestingly, what are you thinking of getting?

roadracedave

£500 is more than enough to get a very good set of wheels. The highly-acclaimed Dura-ace 7850 CL wheelset can be had for a just over £500 on merlin at the moment, I have seen them for just under £500 recently but can't remember where. The SRAM S30AL Sprint's can be had for that sort of price as well which are another great wheelset. I would personally go for the Dura-ace over any other wheel in that price range, unless you were able to get a much higher spec set of wheels in good condtion second hand.

On a 2k bike you are lucky to get wheel retailing for more than £300 let alone £500.

kfinlay

MaxwellBygraves wrote:

I hear what you're saying, but I would say the elites are not really in the same category as wheels you can get for a few hundred quid more.

I don't think you are but I hope the OP does, I'll leave it that.

Monkeypump

Also bear in mind that bike specs are likely to change considerably (at any given price point) over the next 12-24 months. This has certainly been the case over the last couple of years.

Something seen as an upgrade on a 2010/2011 spec £2k bike may be even more of an upgrade when you come to actually buy your new bike.

MaxwellBygraves

roadracedave wrote:

£500 is more than enough to get a very good set of wheels. The highly-acclaimed Dura-ace 7850 CL wheelset can be had for a just over £500 on merlin at the moment, I have seen them for just under £500 recently but can't remember where. The SRAM S30AL Sprint's can be had for that sort of price as well which are another great wheelset. I would personally go for the Dura-ace over any other wheel in that price range, unless you were able to get a much higher spec set of wheels in good condtion second hand.

On a 2k bike you are lucky to get wheel retailing for more than £300 let alone £500.

+1

saunderela

All

Thanks for the quick responses.

I can see the argument that it may not be enough money to guarantee them to be better than what I buy on any prospective upgrade bike especially as I have not selected that bike (and hence wheels) but I also fear that the way x-rates have been going in the recent past that what you will get on these bikes in the future compared to now will either be a price rise or downgrade of components. I cannot predict the future so this may prove to be wrong.

Overall the concensus seems to be that it is a reasonable amount to spend, it will likely still be an upgrade over the new bikes wheels and that it makes some sense (well to me at least!).

Now to look at what to buy.........mmmmmm.

kfinlay

saunderela wrote:

Now to look at what to buy.........mmmmmm.

Here comes another 'What Wheels for £500 thread!'

mike ives

I think £500 is a good buget and I think your long term reasoning is sound. I also suggest getting some hand built wheels possibly with the latest Dura Ace hubs (7900) and rims and spokes of your choosing.
Good luck.

saunderela

No wheel recomendations. PLEASE! :shock:

Half of my fun is to research it myself.

racingcondor

£300-£500 will buy you a great wheelset and pretty much whatever you get they will be much lighter and stiffer than stock on your Trek so will make it feel much more lively.

I'd also say that you can never have enough good wheels so go for it, there's a good chance that they will be better than the wheels on your next bike and even if not you'll have a set in the cupboard in case a spoke/freehub breaks.