Wheel upgrade and advise

coopsman1

I am looking to upgrade the OEM wheels from the Spesh Allez. The OEM wheels are Mavic CXP22 rims built onto a Spesh home brand hub.

My first question is are there any benefits from buying wheels with sealed cartridge bearings or the traditional cup and cone?

I have been looking at the fulcrum Racing 3 wheels but I was expecting it to have sealed cartridge bearings, which it turns out it doesn't

I am not a light rider at 95Kgs so ideally I don't want something that can't handle my fat arse on it..

My budget is £400 and any help and advise would be appreciated.

Skippy2309

I had the same issue, one set came up tops, and can be had for just shy of £400 if you look around.

Mavic Krysium Elite, I am expecting mine to arrive next week. I did a lot of looking and they came with a massive recommendation from NapD and a few others so I went with them.

to save the google search, Merlin, Winstanleys and a couple more do them just shy of £400, Winstanleys come out cheapest as they are free shipping

navrig

I'm in a similar situation after the hub on my standard Pro-LItes started to grind. I was on the verge of buying RS80s when Pro-Bike were doing a deal a few months ago but I hesitated too long. I had assumed that sealed bearings were what I needed.

However just recently I read a post on here that being able to service your own bearings was a good idea and thus am again confused.

I suspect regular riding conditions may play a part in the decision. Our local roads are filthy with grit and gravel meaning that when it rains the wheels take a hammering. Overall sealed bearings have it for me.

Shiman RS80s get a goot recommendation apparently.

desweller

There are advantages and disadvantages with both conventional hubs and those that use cartridge bearings.

EDIT: Note that the term 'sealed bearing' can apply to both cup-and-cone and cartridge bearings.

Conventional hubs:

Pros

Fewer bearings per hub (for rear wheel Shimano, anyway; only two bearings AFAIK)
Better thrust load capability (lateral loading on wheel)
The ability to service the bearing itself
Labyrinth seals against the axle (again, for Shimano).

Cons

If the hub race surface becomes damaged then it can't be repaired
Setting the bearing preload can be tricky
Regular in-depth maintenance will be required

Cartridge bearing hubs:

Pros

Industry standard replaceable bearings
No preload to set
Hub won't ever become scrap as a result of bearing failure (unless you're a complete numpty when replacing them)
Maintenance-free; just turf them out when they die and stick new ones in

Cons

Poor thrust support (typically the bearings used are designed for radial support only)
Hubs are often supplied with low-grade bearings (replaceable with better units though)
More bearings to be found in rear hub = more losses (4 bearings in my PX rear hub)
Poor sealing on bearings (they are not really designed to be exposed to the weather)

HTH.

unixnerd

My first question is are there any benefits from buying wheels with sealed cartridge bearings or the traditional cup and cone?

I hate cup and cones, too messy and fiddly to service. Cartridge bearings are easy to change and not always that dear.

I've got some Pro-Lite Braccianos and love them, Ribble are the best place to buy them. But the Planet-X model B's are cheaper and almost as light. If you can afford them get Mavic Ksyrium Elites, they're lovely.