Upgrade wheels for £400-£600

westy81

Hello, currently running Mavic Aksiums on a Specialized Allez Expert Columbus E5 frame, with a problemactic freewheel at the minute. Thinking of upgrading to shed some weight from the whole package. Ride a few sportives throughout the season, does anyone have any suggestions for this price range? I have been impressed with the Aksiums, still true after nearly 6 years.

iPete

RS80 or American Classic 420 aero

xscreamsuk

Get something handbuilt, tell the builder your riding needs and a decent one will make some suggestions,

KulaBen

I got some Ksyrium Elites from Merlin recently, around £400. Been very impressed so far- stiff light and very responsive. look great too.

andy46

Another vote here for Ksyrium Elites, very happy with mine keep checking eBay as they can be had on there for a good price.

verycreativeusername

bicycle wheel warehouse make the blackset race 11, which is very strong despite being under 1400g I think its worth a look: http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/ro ... od_34.html

Beatmaker

You can get Fulcrum Racing 1's within budget.

ultimedia

I recently bought the Shimano RS80 C50 wheels:
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPS ... r_wheelset

I also have an Allez bike and I must say that those wheels made my bike significantly faster.
Every time I switch back to my old wheels (for commuting) it feels like I'm riding a different bike, the acceleration is just great!

On the other side they're a bit heavy compared to the other wheels mentioned in this topic.

Wirral_paul

Beatmaker wrote:

You can get Fulcrum Racing 1's within budget.

You can even get the Fulcrum Racing Zero's within budget too.

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k632/a24954/racing-zero-for-shimano-black-white-8-9-10-speed.html

About £570 including postage, and being in the EU there's no taxes to pay.

styxd

How much do you weigh? What sort of terrain do you usually ride on?

ugo.santalucia

Aksium of your generation had a problem of hub flange weakness, if your survived, they did well.
I think your budget is a bit excessive, you can spend half of that or just over and still get a significant upgrade.
Problem with a set of 600 pounds fulcrum zero (or similar) is that they will make you happy for a couple of years, then once the rim wears out or other problem occurs, you will find out that replacement parts are impossible to find or priced in a way that it makes no sense to buy them.

Imagine buying a second hand top of the range Mercedes for 10 grand and then finding out that a set of brake pads cost a thousand pounds, a service costs another thousand and so do tyres etc...

My advice is if you plan to spend big money on a set of wheels, make sure there is availability of spares at a reasonable price

Coach H

KulaBen wrote:

I got some Ksyrium Elites from Merlin recently, around £400. Been very impressed so far- stiff light and very responsive. look great too.

Me too. Currently at £386.45 once in basket at Merlin
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/w ... -pair.html

prawny

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Aksium of your generation had a problem of hub flange weakness, if your survived, they did well.
I think your budget is a bit excessive, you can spend half of that or just over and still get a significant upgrade.
Problem with a set of 600 pounds fulcrum zero (or similar) is that they will make you happy for a couple of years, then once the rim wears out or other problem occurs, you will find out that replacement parts are impossible to find or priced in a way that it makes no sense to buy them.

Imagine buying a second hand top of the range Mercedes for 10 grand and then finding out that a set of brake pads cost a thousand pounds, a service costs another thousand and so do tyres etc...

My advice is if you plan to spend big money on a set of wheels, make sure there is availability of spares at a reasonable price

Amen brother!

You could get something super light handbuilts for that. Might not look as pro, but the pro's don't have to replace worn out rims/broken spokes.

Also, there was someone in commuting a year or so ago that dinged a rim on a nearnly new set of fulcrum 1 or zeros and a replacement rim was very expensive and took a good while to order in.

tipped

Coach H wrote:

KulaBen wrote:

I got some Ksyrium Elites from Merlin recently, around £400. Been very impressed so far- stiff light and very responsive. look great too.

Me too. Currently at £386.45 once in basket at Merlin
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/w ... -pair.html

And £359 (give or take, for exchange rates) at http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a36596 ... html?lg=en

Got a pair myself, lovely wheels.

Coach H

tipped wrote:

Coach H wrote:

KulaBen wrote:

I got some Ksyrium Elites from Merlin recently, around £400. Been very impressed so far- stiff light and very responsive. look great too.

Me too. Currently at £386.45 once in basket at Merlin
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/w ... -pair.html

And £359 (give or take, for exchange rates) at http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a36596 ... html?lg=en

Got a pair myself, lovely wheels.

Only in M10 (Shimano) freehub though. I needed an ED11 (Campagnolo) set when I got mine. Bike-discount good to deal with though if they have what you want.