Wheel advise please

flyer

I have just bought a used Sirrus Pro Carbon and want to upgrade the rims as they are very basic (magic cxp22).

I have short listed the following:

Fulcrum 7 £154
Mavic Aksium £179
Shimano S20 £108 ( these seem a bargain) ?

I assume Shimano will fit SRAM group?

Any advise appreciated, I am hitting 16stone so strength is better than performance for me

Thanks

rpd_steve

Firstly yes Shimarno/SRAM use exactly the same hub fitment, so are interchangable.

Out of your selection I would go for the Mavic Aksiums as I feel the hubs are better than the fulcrums, I think they look better and weigh the same. I also think the freehub is a better mech than Shimarno, being very simple and easy to self service.

On another note, the CXP 22 is a good rim. I had them on my 1st steed and they stayed true and lasted well. For the money you are looking at the Aksiums/7s are not a great deal lighter really, or more reliable - depending on how well the CXPs were built. I would be inclined to save the cash and save for a bigger upgrade to a 1500g wheelset that you will really notice the improvement from. Just my 2p...

Gizmodo

I tend to agree with Steve, with that kind of money they are unlikely to be an upgrade.
See this earlier thread http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=12852228&p=17608444

Save up your money and buy some good handbuilt, light wheels.

flyer

Hi thanks for the advise.

I have a road bile that have mavic elites but because the cassette is Ultegra I can't just swap wheels?

If I am honest I will use the road bike for when I want longer ride, but thought the wheels on the Sirius looked a bit basic and wanted them to match the bike better, they are certainly the weakest component.

Ian

rpd_steve

If both bikes are 10 speed Shimarno/SRAM then there is no reason you cant just change the wheels over - at worst you may need a small index (cable tension) adjustment. If one is 10s and another 9s or 8s for example then you can always change the cassettes.

But if you want to do it for looks then the Aksiums are probably the most 'flashy'.

Bozman

If you watch Merlin and look out for offers you'll pick up Aksiums and racing 7s a lot cheaper, the Aksiums were £144 the other week and i bought a set of 7s for winter, for £112 a couple of months back.
I'd guess that there'll be a shed load of offers on at the Bank Holiday weekend.

tonyf34

Forget those wheels you listed, sorry but they aren't worth the hassle. I'm the same weight & I'm having some race wheels built up with my own CF axled 32 hole hubs using DT Rev spokes & Sunn rims, total weight sub 1500g..not cheap but strong AND light.
You can't beat handbuilt for the heavier rider, they'll be servicable unlike most factory built wheels, spokes are easy to replace/get hold of and they'll stay in true a lot longer also.
Find yourself a good reputable wheelbuilder locally or a safe bet is Colin at Spa cycles. For a shade over £200 you'll get a 32 spoke wheelset on 105 hubs with rigida chrina's or whatever rigida rim you want. They'll last, you can use them as commuter/light touring wheels & they'll take some bashing. For the sake of a couple of hundred grams saving over those factory nasties you'd be mad not to IMHO.
Other quality wheelbuilders include Harry Rowlands, Pete mathews etc etc

Gizmodo

tonyf34 wrote:

Forget those wheels you listed, sorry but they aren't worth the hassle. I'm the same weight & I'm having some race wheels built up with my own CF axled 32 hole hubs using DT Rev spokes & Sunn rims, total weight sub 1500g..not cheap but strong AND light.
You can't beat handbuilt for the heavier rider, they'll be servicable unlike most factory built wheels, spokes are easy to replace/get hold of and they'll stay in true a lot longer also.
Find yourself a good reputable wheelbuilder locally or a safe bet is Colin at Spa cycles. For a shade over £200 you'll get a 32 spoke wheelset on 105 hubs with rigida chrina's or whatever rigida rim you want. They'll last, you can use them as commuter/light touring wheels & they'll take some bashing. For the sake of a couple of hundred grams saving over those factory nasties you'd be mad not to IMHO.
Other quality wheelbuilders include Harry Rowlands, Pete mathews etc etc

+1
I have a pair made by http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/

prawny

Might be worth pming ugo.santalucia about some handbuilts he's just done me some lovely open pro's on novatec wheels for under £200 posted.

Just over 1600 grammes and really nice to ride. Any one will be able to replace spokes/rims/hubs if there's a problem too.

Hope he doesnt mind me pimping out his services

unixnerd

I paid 110 for a used set of Shimano Ultegra wheels last month on ebay. They're in fantastic condition and I'm very pleased with them. A bit lighter than anything in your list and most people you speak to regard them as being bombproof.

Grahammark

Hi
I've just upgraded my wheelset and have got some Mavic Aksiums you can have for £100 + postage they've done about 500 dry miles. I'm running SRAM so shimano free hub.
Message me if interested.
Graham