aero wheels or ksyrium sl?

trev-spesh-sl3

had previously decided to upgrade my fulcrum 4's on my tarmac sl3 to ksyrium sl's, which would be used for racing and sportives. however after seeing my first local race today, most riders are on aero wheels, zipps and cosmic sl's. wud not have the budget for the zipps but the cosmic sl's are within reach, now wondering if i shud go down that route and also then keep the fulcrum 4's for training and windy days. any thoughts? or any ohter aero wheels im missing around that price range (£800)?

Anonymous

WRT Racing, use what you have until you wreck them in a crash, then replace...

sgt822

Similar dilemma myself. Hope you don;t mind my piggy-backing this thread!

Popped in to my LBS for to get some advice between Krysium Elites and AC 420's but ended up being tempted with a set of American Classic Carbon 58's. at £780 slightly out of my budget but I guess I could sacrifice the Garmin 800 and put all my cash in the wheel pot!

Love the look of the carbons (match my bike perfectly so the bling factor is great ) But how will they climb? GIven I live in the Lake District and climbing is my staple fare I need to be sure they can handle the slopes with finess :?:

Any advice or opinions gratefully recieved.

Tom Butcher

If you want them for sportives etc then I wouldn't get an all carbon rim unless you know for a fact that you are OK with carbon braking surfaces. Of course stuff like most Cosmic Carbones are fine as they have an aluminium brake surface but you will pay a bit of a weight penalty.

edit - for the OP though I reckon I'd still go for something like the cosmics.

tonye_n

NapoleonD wrote:

WRT Racing, use what you have until you wreck them in a crash, then replace...

Absolutely spot on!!

Tom Butcher

Hang on how often are you trashing wheels in races !

trev-spesh-sl3

thanks for the feedback lads, dont really wana think bout wrecking wheels until it happens lol so u lot saying then that for local races with no major climbs the cosmics wud be better than ksyrium sl's?

Monty Dog

For racing and sportives in this country I'd choose robustness over aero any day - even in a race, you're rarely in a position to benefit from aerodynamics.

Anonymous

Tom, it's more a case of 'race what you can replace' for us amateurs...

Monty- dead right.

rozzer32

For that amount of money I would suggest getting a powertap.

Anonymous

Rozzer32 has put it succinctly.

fizz

I had a similar dilema a while ago.

I decided I go for a wheel upgrade. It was either aero or SL's like you. I dont race, so wanted a good robust strong yet reasonably light wheel for sportives.

I went for the SL's as I got them at a good price, also the way I saw it an aero wheel isnt helping me drag my sorry over weight ass up climbs on a sportive either.

I loved my SL's, rolled well, felt light and responsive, also the LBS keeps spares for them in stock so I knew I would have no problem if I broke a spoke or had a problem with them.

Unforunately my front one is now shaped like a pringle due to being driven into the other week, I am considering what to replace with, but I suspect I'll be going down the SL route again.

Tom Butcher

Carbones and Ksyriums are both strong wheels so it's really down to whether you mind the possible affects of side winds and the weight penalty for your sportives. I've got Ksyrium SLs and they are a good wheel but compared to a set of Corima deep rim wheels (haven't tried Cosmics) they are that little bit slower when you in the wind. If I was buying again I'd just get a set of Cosmic Carbone or similar - alu braking surface and deep rim - and live with the weight.