New Wheels or New Bike

Bertie-123

Hi Guys,

Currently i am running a Giant SCR 3.0 with Mavic Aksium wheels. I have not had any problems with the bike and if im honest i really love it.

Recently iv taken an interest in starting to take part in some Audaxes and Time trials so am thinking about upgrading.

If i were to upgrade the bike ideally id like a full carbon frame with 105 groupset how ever this is out of my budget so i am thinking about getting a nice pair of wheels to help things.
I have at absolubt most £500 to spend on wheels.

I was wondering if you guys could recomend any? Is it worth spending the budget or not?
Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

ThatBikeGuy

Perhaps invest in some time trial gear instead? Helmet, aero-bars, rather than a new bike. You'd struggle to get a decent full carbon bike with 105 for 500 quid i think.

Bertie-123

naa i was going to spend up to 1400 on a new bike but id have to get it on finance. I have some aero bars like the sort that clamp on

FSR_XC

There's someone seling a Ribble Sportive in classifieds for £750


8)

merak

Seems to me that best wheels for TTs and audaxes are very different.

For TTs you want aero wheels, deep section, which tend to be rigid therefore uncomfortable ride.

For audaxes (at least ones at 200km and above) you want a comfortable but reliable pair of wheels and weight/wind resistance matters not a jot. My best audax wheels were shallow section relatively cheap Mavic aluminium rims built on Campag Athena hubs. They were fast enough for audax but they gave me an armchair ride which really matters after 16 hours in the saddle and 400km. Ironically cheaper wheels might be better for audax.

iPete

American Classic Aeros 420 3, light for those hills and aero for the flats.

If you don't want something deep or as expensive; Shimano RS80s, use these as my 'weekend wheels' and combined with race tyres and super light tubes are noticeably nicer to ride on.

flateric

If it aint broke, dont fix it!

If you like the bike and the frame is good, upgrade it, and a good set of wheels is a start but isnt technique more important?

unixnerd

Your wheels are a shade under 1800g, that's not bad. I went from 2kg to 1500g and it was a big difference most noticeable on the hills. But you may be able to shave a few 100g just by fitting lighter tyres (which may or may not be more puncture prone).