Spec Secteur Comp 2011 wheelset upgrade - advice please!

bruceman

Hi, I'd appreciate getting advice regarding an upgrade to my current wheelset.

I'm still fairly new to road cycling, having bought a Specialized Secteur Comp 2011 bike last year as a daily commuter (35 miles round trip in/out of London). I originally chose this bike because of it's slightly more upright riding position to ensure comfort as I use the bike Monday-Friday. As a newbie I decided that going the Carbon route was a step too far, hence why I didn't go the Rubaix route, but the bike does have the full 'new' 105 groupset which is a pleasure to use.

However, whilst I'd originally planned to only use the bike to ride to/from work, I've now got the 'cycling bug' (I've now done 2,600 miles since October 2011) and am starting to enter into sportive events and chase times around Richmond Park every now and then. Plus, my commute has become a daily race, with every dash down the Embankment or ride through Richmond park becoming a race against the clock and/or other riders.

The bike came with Mavic CXP-22 wheels. I've done lots of online research regarding wheelset upgrades and I am considering a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elite's (2011 or 2012). I've given myself a budget of up to £400, but would happily spend less if it wasn't for lots of people telling me that I'd need to spend at least this much money to see a benefit over the CXP's. However, I would like to know how much difference this upgrade would really make to my speed and comfort in the saddle. Or perhaps someone has a different wheelset recommendation.

As a reference, my best time around Richmond Park (3-laps anti-clockwise) is 57 minutes, and I routinely get myself up to 28-30mph (per Cateye Strada) along the Embankment, so I do believe that I'm pushing myself and the bike sufficiently to warrant/benefit from better wheels. But then again, maybe I'm just being seduced by all the marketing out there! I have entered a 70-mile sportive in April and am considering joining a cycle club (Kingston Wheelers?), so the bike will increasingly be used as both a daily commuter and a weekend warrior.

Any advice to help me off the fence would be much appreciated!

mattrixdesign2

Mavic Aksium?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=58590

Cheap enough and work fine for me (on a Specialized Allez 2010), the spokes "pinged" on first use but not settled in just fine. I could tell the difference in weight and speed over the basic supplied wheels.

I have been riding my bike through winter and in the rain etc, and personally would not spend much more on wheels as concerned about wearing them out with my brakes rubbing in the wet (I am looking forward to disc brakes on road bike becomming the norm!).

arlowood

Bought a Spesh Secteur Elite (2010) model which was also kitted out with the Mavic CXP's.

After riding through the 2010/2011 winter i decided to upgrade the wheels. After much research and posting on here i eventually went with Shimano RS80's

What a transformation. Could not believe how much better the bike felt with smoothness, lower rolling resistance and a completely silent freewheel. It felt like you were floating over the tarmac (ok maybe a bit too much hyperbole)

Great wheels - I would thoroughly recommend them. £300 at Planet X

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPS ... lset_(pair)

bobgfish

I had the same wheels on my 2010 Sectuer. Still got them but they are Winter duties now. I brought Hope Hoops with the Mavic Open Pro rim. They are a lot better and retain the the classic 3x cross pattern with 32 spokes which means they should last forever. They are also easy to get generic spares for. They are about £270 a set and are actually quite light at about 1750grms for the pair as well. (This is approx 500 grams lighter than what you have)

Dan Ingram

I got a Secteur Sport last year and also upgraded my wheels. After lots of asking about I went for Mavic Ksyrium Equipes. They are much lighter than the original wheels and also a lot stronger. I buckled the rim on CXP22s a couple of times but ive done about 1000 miles on the Ksyriums with no issues at all and I've now transfered them over to my new Roubaix as they are better than the Fulcrum 6 wheels that came on that.

bruceman

Thanks for all the advice chaps, much appreciated. I'm going to take a look at the RS80's before making my final decision (I'm still very tempted by the Ksyrium's though...).

My plan is to put light road tyres on whichever wheels I end up buying and use them for weekend riding and 'feeling fast' rides to/from work. I'll save the CXP's (plus gatorskin/4 seasons) for wet days and calmer commuting days.

Omar Little

The RS80s do look good value

However I'd go with the recommendation on getting some nice handbuilts based around Hope hubs. Strong but still decent weight, nice custom options with the different colours available. Hope make their components in the UK and known for really good customer service so if they make a competitive product at a competitive price point then i'd tend to go for them.

The freewheel sound they make was a big bonus too, but that might not be to everyones taste

bruceman

Update: I've just worn through the rear wheel rim - all that London grim has taken it's toll. It's been a very expensive set of wheels (just under 12-months use, although they did cover 4200 miles). I was also using Swisstop 'green' brake pads which are great in the wet but being a softer rubber compound probably also held onto more of the grit that's ultimately worn through the rim.

So, back to the drawing board to find a better solution to my daily cycling needs. The Elite's were superb wheels, but perhaps a steel (or cheaper Aluminium) rim is now required for regular use...

bobgfish

Was that the CXP's you have worn through? I've done maybe 20,000 Km's on mine !!! This is the last winter for the rear. The freehub is shot and the rim is not far behind...The front has some way to go...

ugo.santalucia

bruceman wrote:

Update: I've just worn through the rear wheel rim - all that London grim has taken it's toll. It's been a very expensive set of wheels (just under 12-months use, although they did cover 4200 miles). I was also using Swisstop 'green' brake pads which are great in the wet but being a softer rubber compound probably also held onto more of the grit that's ultimately worn through the rim.

So, back to the drawing board to find a better solution to my daily cycling needs. The Elite's were superb wheels, but perhaps a steel (or cheaper Aluminium) rim is now required for regular use...

12 months of commuting on a rim is not outrageously short... You were Ill advised and should have stayed with your CXP for the commute or upgrade to a set where the rims can be replaced. Next time...
As you are local, if you are interested in wheels that can be fixed, give me a shout

bruceman

Ugo, thanks for your offer, that's very kind of you. And bobfish, it's the Elite's that I went through, not the CXP22's.

The problem with the CXP22 wheels that finally made accelerate my original Mavic purchase last year was that the hubs on which the wheels were built had started to fail (they turned out to be some un-nammed chinese concoction that closely mimic the 105 hub design, but without the reliability...). Hence, the rims never got anywhere near the end of their life. However, the cost of buying a new set of 105 hubs (approx £65) plus the cost to have each wheel built up (around £35 per wheel, plus parts) gets you close to £150. Hence, at the time, I decided it was better value for money to go the whole hog and get a decent set of wheels.

Yesterday's conclusion: I've now bought a set of Mavic Aksiums for £185 (compared to the CXP22 rebuild mentioned above at about £150) for use as 'everyday/commuting in the wet' wheels. I took my worn Elite's in to Sigma Sport and they are going to get a quote from Mavic to put replacement Elite rims and spokes onto my existing hubs. I'm told that it will be a lot cheaper than doing a like-for-like purchase of a new set, but I have no idea what the cost will be. I'll post an update when I get the quote back.

bobgfish

Yep that was the fault with those CXP22 wheels. The hubs were Joytech and junk. Freehubs fail and no protection for the bearings (the front is OK). Thats why I like the Hope hoops. Easy to get any rim to work and easy to also use any hub. The hubs have been around a while and I used similar hubs on my MTB and after six years of crap the bearings were still good becuase of good sealing. The wheels are nothing fancy at the end of the day but will last and when one part wears out easy to get spares from anywhere.

I suspect Ugo see's stuff like this a lot. People who want flash wheels becuase they are light and trendy but at the end of the day after a season the wheels need binned. In my opinion to many wheel systems are around that are too light and don't have enough spokes to stand up to regular abuse. They also can't be repaired except by the manufacturer.

By all means keep a nice set of lighyweight blingy wheels but only use them for what they were designed for. I was at the Paris Roubaix sportive startline last year and what guys were using was a joke. I did wonder how many had wrecked there best set of wheels....

ugo.santalucia

bruceman wrote:

Ugo, thanks for your offer, that's very kind of you. And bobfish, it's the Elite's that I went through, not the CXP22's.

The problem with the CXP22 wheels that finally made accelerate my original Mavic purchase last year was that the hubs on which the wheels were built had started to fail (they turned out to be some un-nammed chinese concoction that closely mimic the 105 hub design, but without the reliability...). Hence, the rims never got anywhere near the end of their life. However, the cost of buying a new set of 105 hubs (approx £65) plus the cost to have each wheel built up (around £35 per wheel, plus parts) gets you close to £150. Hence, at the time, I decided it was better value for money to go the whole hog and get a decent set of wheels.

Yesterday's conclusion: I've now bought a set of Mavic Aksiums for £185 (compared to the CXP22 rebuild mentioned above at about £150) for use as 'everyday/commuting in the wet' wheels. I took my worn Elite's in to Sigma Sport and they are going to get a quote from Mavic to put replacement Elite rims and spokes onto my existing hubs. I'm told that it will be a lot cheaper than doing a like-for-like purchase of a new set, but I have no idea what the cost will be. I'll post an update when I get the quote back.

The Aksium have exactly the same problems of the Ksyrium, with expensive spares and repairs...
The quote you got to rebuild the CXP 22 is a bit excessive, although it is probably not worth anyhow... But you could have got yourself 105 hubs built with the better CXP 33 for just over 200 pounds... Fully serviceable, of course.

I am also interested in seeing how much it will be to rebuild the elites... For both rims, my guess is 300 minimum

bruceman

Mavic quoted £355 to do the rebuild.

Paolo, I'll get in touch with you later this year regarding a hand-build instead.

ugo.santalucia

bruceman wrote:

Mavic quoted £355 to do the rebuild.

Paolo, I'll get in touch with you later this year regarding a hand-build instead.

Yeah, kind of figured out it was going to be around that figure...