Shimano RS10/20/30 wheels

lvquestpaddler

A fair few places doing these half price, can anyone advise on quality/reliability, suitability for 13.5st rider etc? The lack of spokes looks good but that gives concerns should one break will the wheel collapse? Current wheels are no frills R500's on a Carrera Vanquish(I think...?)
These would go on the bike and the others kept as spares with the rear put to turbo use so not needing to change the tyre.
Oh- do they come with rim tape and skewers seeing as they're factory wheels?

Ta!

stratcat

I've had similar wheels (not shimano). When a spoke breaks the wheel goes very badly out of true. When my back wheel went I had to back the brake off so I could get home. Luckily I was only 1/2 mile away otherwise I would have been stuffed. I wouldn't want to go far as the other spokes probably end up with lots of strain on them and will go soon!
Mine went after nearly two years and once retrued by my lbs has been fine. The front has never broken. I've worn them both out since.

ianlash

I've got the RS30, in white (lovely). Yes, they came with skewers and rim tape, ready to rock and roll.

Not had a spoke go on these, but had one go on my Ritcheys, which weren't a low spoke count, and that knackered the wheel. The LBS couldn't true it again. So, I'm not sure spoke count is related to whether the loss of a spoke will knacker the wheel?

geebee2

I have RS20s, riding them for 6 months now with no problems.

A club mate with RS10s has just replaced them with RS20s after 3 years, about 9000 miles.

I think it comes down to what potholes you hit.

They are nice enough wheels, but will not stand too many major pothole hits.

keef66

I've got RS10s which are 3 years old and still as true as the day I got them, and I've hit some belting potholes and had pinch flats night riding in the winter. Not had to retension a spoke, let alone had one break. I'm running 25mm tyres and weigh 70kg if that makes a difference.

I imagine if a spoke did break the wheel would go a bit pringle shaped though.

pbt150

They come with VERY good rim tape and Shimano QR skewers.

They're all good wheels, but if they do go out of true they can be a bit of a bigger to true because there are so few spokes - I've got a set of RS20's that got a bit buckled when a mate rear-ended me on his bike.

I wouldn't buy any of the higher-end Shimano wheels because of this (ie above RS30 level), but wouldn't hesitate to buy mine again.

Todd Sweeney

I have had my RS20s for 2 years now and they have been great. Still straight and true depite carrying 14.5 stone of me all over the place, including the cobbles of the Tour of Flanders sportive! I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

They look nice as well, I think.

lvquestpaddler

Ta for the replies, I've found a few reviews and it'd probably be either the 20's or 30's.
30's may be worth the stretch, a night in the pub less will cover it!
Cheapest I've found the 20's for is £115, £130 for the 30's (but another tenner for white...I do quite like the idea of the 30's in white though...)
10's can be had for a mere £90 though....aaaaargh....!

Secteur

Haven't read the full thread in detail, but RS10's have a relatively low weight limit, I believe.

I just took some RS30's and have only been able to put 4 test miles on them, but they seem great compared to the factory standard Mavic CXP22s. My bike does feel a lot heavier though with the RS30's but I dont know the weights.

The RS30's look better visually than the 10's and 20's, and would look the biz in white -well worth the extra money I reckon.

timmyturbo

£140 for rs30's at merlin cycles , claims to be the best internet price . cheers

Slowpete

Ive used RS 10's for the last 3 years, prob about 3000 miles, and only had one broken spoke. This only happened as i hit a big hole in the dark, one LBS told me they couldnt be fixed ( a TREK dealer ) the other LBS about 300 yards on up the road told me they where no problem to fix, even with the reduced amount of spokes, ( the reason the first LBS told me they couldnt be fixed was the reduced number of spokes ) the only problem was a few days wait for the shop to order in the spokes as they didnt carry a stock of them. Total cost of fix £8- that was over a year ago and the wheel is still running really true!

Cracking rims

p.s i was using them when i was 15 stone with no problems, lost 2.5 stone now

Steve_b77

I've got a nearly new (less than 40km) set of RS10's inc skewers for sale.

I've been told Shimano don't have weight limits on their wheels.

£75 inc P&P if you're interested.

night_porter

I wouldn't worry about the low spoke count because the R500's you are already using are low spoke count too.

I run R500's and RS10's on my commuter bikes and because I commute at night and cannot see the new potholes appearing almost daily I have had some horrendous hits. Smashing the tubes and even cutting holes into a tyre.

Much to my amazement Shimano wheels have stayed perfectly true and never broken a spoke. My weight has gone from 19st to 14st so I was (and still am) no lightweight. I believe Shimano wheels are pretty bombproof, not the lightest but given their strength truly amazing.

I believe RS20's are slightly lighter (50g) than the 10's but because of the deeper/aero rim the 30's are heavier.

Evil Laugh

Had 2 sets of rs10s. Both were good. I around 13st and have just toured on a set about 1000 miles with 10kg luggage. No problems at all.

My general experience with shimano wheels is fantastic. I've had the 7850 cl24s and now have the 7850 cl24TU. The 7850s are just as reliable and not in any way fragile in my experience, far from it. All sets have been very smooth comfortable wheels with great handling, as a common quality.

rich164h

night_porter wrote:

I run R500's and RS10's on my commuter bikes .....

Can you tell any difference between them?

I've currently got R500's but the rear is getting a bit buckled so I was thinking that getting a cheap pair of RS10's might be better than getting the R500 fixed - bearing in mind the cost difference isn't actually that much and that they might be a bit lighter/better quality hubs etc.

night_porter

Well they are on different bikes and they have different tyres but I can't tell the difference apart from the RS10's look nicer (I am a tart for the red nipples).

The R500's have Tiagra hubs and RS10's have 105 hubs but they both work equally well as far as I am concerned.

My lbs charges £13.00 to true a wheel but don't let that put you off, I believe you always need a spare set of wheels for commuter bikes just in case you find a p***ture just as you are about to set off.

unixnerd

The RS10/20/30s are pretty similar weight wise, heavy in other words. I have RS10s on my winter bike as I got a set for 40 quid. I run chunky 28mm tyres on them so the weight is a moot point!

You'd be better with Planet-X Model B's for 125 quid and only about 1500g. At your weight they should be fine but for the same price they do a slightly heavier version with an extra four spokes.

night_porter

According to Px website their Model C's are 4 grams heavier than the BR review of the RS10's and the model B's are about 86g lighter.

I have no axe to grind either way but £35 to save 86g seems a little harsh to me especially when you consider that a full bottle of water weighs 750g, maybe don't fill your water bottle up to the top???

But hey it is your money.

unixnerd

Rotating mass is a whole different story. Changing from 1900g to 1500g wheels (Pro-Lite Braccianos) transformed my bike.

The model B is a fiver less than the C and it's listed at 1650g, that weight seems to have gone up as I'm sure it was under 1600 when I was looking at some. I think the Shimano weights are optimistic, I've weighed RS-10s without skewers or rim tape at just over 1900.

night_porter

I stand corrected

But considering my weight loss (see earlier post) EVERYTHING feels lighter to me so I don't complain if the reviews are wrong.

Add to this my commuters have racks, panniers, clothing and mudguards what would I know :roll:

unixnerd

Fair point, my tourer weighs about 12.5kg compared to under 8 for my road bike. The RS10s I put on are actually a good bit lighter than the worn out touring wheels they replaced.

But one thing I would point out is that commuters do a lot of changing speed and accelerating from rest. That's where having nice light wheels (and tyres) can make a noticeable difference, otherwise you're just having to build up more rotational inertia every time.

hstiles

I run RS20s on my main bike. I originally had them on a cross bike, where they did a good £5000 on a mixture of crap roads, offroad, towpaths and mud, before I swapped them with the R500s on my road bike. My LBS trues them for a tenner from time to time, but they roll nicely and are reliable.

JD_76

Have the RS30's and love them, a cheap fix for saving weight is change the shimano skewers for planet X carbon TI ones at £17.

That will save you close to 100g and give you a more aero wheel, aero wins over weight to some degree.

hstiles

I've owned a pair of pretty much every low end.training wheelset.

R500 - came with my BMC streetfire. Unremarkable and the rear hub was loose within a week of purchase.
RS20 - Bought a set to replace the crappy Alex R450s on my crossbike. Wionderful wheels for the money, Spin well, reasonably lightweight for cheapish wheels and have only needed the odd tweak. Unfortunately, the front wheel was written off in a smash
RS30 (white) - Treated myself after I wrot off one of the RS20s. Very nice wheels for the money.
RS10 - Came with my Raleigh Avanti Carbon Comp. The rear wheel popped a spoke within 2 weeks, Bike shop repaired and I swapped them over with the RS30s on my cross bike thinking that the chunkier tyres would give them an easier life. Popped a spoke again within the week, but luckily, the cross bike has much better clearance, so I was able to undo the rear brake cable and ride home.

Based on that, I'd find it hard to reccomend the RS10s to anyone wanting any longevity or resilience in their cheaper wheels. Worth splashing out the extra £20 odd for the RS20s. or if you want strength over weight, the RS30s

In_the_big_ring

I weigh 84kg (no idea what that is in stone, I'm a metric man ) and the RS30s work well for me. No problems with losing true etc.