Wheels - am I missing something?

daveyok

Getting a Giant Defy 2 next week. Looking at the spec - can the rear wheel really be 1900g? That seems very heavy. I've got some Planet X model b wheels that I'm not using. The rear wheel is around 900g. I can't believe there can be 1kg difference. So by swapping the wheels I'm going to save 1.5kg - a 9.5kg bike becomes 8kg and this should make a big difference to the performance. Or am I missing something?

Wirral_paul

That weight will include cassette, tube, tyre, probably skewer also.

daveyok

So you can't compare the weight of wheels that come with a bike with wheels that don't - from the specs? :?

nicklouse

it all depends on what is being weighed and from where you get the info.

daveyok

Getting the info from the Defy 2 page on the Giant website and the Model B page on the Planet X website. Even the front wheel - Giant's is 1350g and Planet X's is 750g.

nicklouse

Sounds about right for a full wheel compared to a bare wheel.

majormantra

Yep. Anyway, you can safely assume that the Giant comes with low-end wheels. Entry level wheelsets are typically 2000+/- 200g not including rim tape, skewers or cassette.

daveyok

Thanks for the info. So I'm probably still better off swapping the Planet X wheels onto the bike?

Wirral_paul

daveyok wrote:

Thanks for the info. So I'm probably still better off swapping the Planet X wheels onto the bike?

Thats a pretty safe assumption - yes i'd assume a swap will save a few hundred grams

cougie

The PX wheels are nice wheels - with decent tyres on they will do a good job for you.