Fulcrum or Mavic or...? Advice please

chrb8
chrb8 Posts: 38
edited September 2011 in Road buying advice
Hi,
After considering advice from a previous topic on this forum, I have decided to upgrade the stock Bontrager wheels on my Trek 1.2 'winter bike' to give it a bit of an improvement before winter.

From my research I have come up with either Mavic Askiums or Fulcrum Racing 5s. What are your opinions? Would these be suitable and give a reasonable increase in performance?

I could stretch to Mavic Kysirium Equipes or Fulcrum Racing 3s - but would these be 'too good' for a winter bike or would the better performance justify the cost?

A final thought that has really thrown a spanner in the works of my thinking - what if I was to upgrade the DT Swiss R1900 wheels on my 'best' bike and use these as the winter wheels on the Trek.... How much would I have to spend to make this upgrade worthwhile and would the R1900s even be suitable as winter wheels??

All advice would be greatly received, as the more I think about it, the more I confuse myself!

Comments

  • galatzo
    galatzo Posts: 1,295
    For winter the Aksiums or the 5's will be fine.
    Even I wouldn't waste any more money on winter wheels.
    If you've not got a bell on your bike go for the Fulcrums !
    25th August 2013 12hrs 37mins 52.3 seconds 238km 5500mtrs FYRM Never again.
  • RDB66
    RDB66 Posts: 492
    One of the best buys for winter wheels imho would be PX Model Bs. Superb sealed bearing wheels for the monies.

    Used mine for the last two winters now with no probs at all.
    And that included riding nearly 3 miles home on a flat rear tyre !! (long story).
    It ruined a Pro 3 tyre and tube...but not a mark on the Bs.

    RB.
    A Brother of the Wheel. http://www.boxfordbikeclub.co.uk

    09 Canyon Ultimate CF for the Road.
    2011 Carbon Spesh Stumpy FSR.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    My bike came with Mavic Askiums and I didn't get on with them, but I am quite a heavy rider - over 100Kg.

    I asked a few questions on here and was told Fulcrum are a bit stiffer/stronger.

    In the end I replaced them with Reynolds Shadows -

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=62463

    They have a higher spoke count and seem very solid so far.
  • After years of riding Mavic's - Open Pros, XM317, Cosmos, Cosmic, etc.. I bought a pair of Fulctum 7's for this winter, too one look at them and sold them on ebay. The quality/finish is no where near as good as Mavic.

    At present the Aksiums are good value training wheels, the K' Equipes are nearly double the price, same weight and do not represent the same value...the next level up K' Elites are too good for winter riding.

    So i'd either go for Aksiums or Open Pros on 105 hubs.
  • chrb8
    chrb8 Posts: 38
    How about my idea of upgrading the DT Swiss R1900s on my best bike - with Fulcrum Racing 3s perhaps?? - and then using the R1900s as the 'winter' wheels?

    Any thoughts?