Handbuilt Wheels or Shimano RS80 C24's

lewisph

I've spent the last 4 hours trawling the internet looking at different wheels and prices. There's some pretty good offers on over Easter, the Shimano RS80's at 250 quid looking like the pick of the bunch.

But I have a nagging question over Shimano wheels, no one seems to rate them over Mavic's or Fulcrum's. The RS80's look pretty decent and are hopefully pretty sturdy, I'm only 80 kilo's, but downhill in HK can get intense.

I was also looking at the SPA Cycles Shimano Ultegra wheels which are also 250, but I'm not sure on the weight of them or how they stack against the RS80's, which are carbon and pretty light.

bmxboy10

where are the RS 80s for £250?

lewisph

Planet X - although I think that's the excluding VAT price as I'm over in Hong Kong.

bmxboy10

cheers - i will put my wallet away

Bobbinogs

The RS80s use the Ultegra hub (or a version of it). If you poke around on here using the search feature then you will find they come up a lot. Great wheels, nice and stiff, very light and they roll lovely (I have some on my modern bike). However, my fav wheels are currently some handbuilts (on an older bike) with 20 year old Campag Veloce hubs and 2012 Open Pro rims. I guess the term best is quite subjective and based on a few variables.

Ultimately, I would pick RS80s over Fulcrum 3's (and definitely over 5's) but haven't tried the Mavics.

FransJacques

Don't have the RS80s but I have their parents: the DA CL24s and the Ultegra 6700 tubeless wheels. Both are awesome. They are stiff, not so comfortable but to me that makes the ride more enjoyable-> I want to be connected, it's safer b/c I can tell the limits of adhesion. I'm also 83kgs so like a stiff wheel. Both hubs are great but buy some 17mm cone wrenches so you can dial them in just so. They came a bit over-tight from the factory.

I also have HED Ardennes which are ever so slightly better than the CL24s, a lot more comortable and almost as stiff, and wider. But they are expensive.

That said the RS80s must be the best value wheels on the market at the moment: Stan's Alpha 380s are too soft and require too many spokes, A23s are nice but don't have a great sidewall nor top-drawer construction, DT, American Classics, and Mavics are all to narrow to get the nice profile you want.

Go for them!

lewisph

RS80's bought. Very excited, thanks everyone - will let you know how I go

loismustdie

Great wheels - but do keep an eye on the spoke tension - I have the Dura Ace C24s and they're excellent, but I have had to retension most of the non drive side spokes on the rear wheel. You should get the relevant spoke keys with your new wheels.