Decent wheels for my Equilibrium?

jonny_trousers

Is it worth it?

I've got a pair of Campagnolo Khamsins on at the moment, which are fine and will continue to do their duty on the commute, but now that I'm getting into longer, quicker riding that inevitably involves hills, I was wondering if I would see a noticable difference if I was to spend up to £500ish on a new set of wheels for training/sportive purposes?

I do intend to buy a more roady bike road bike next year and would like to join a club, but for a number of reasons, for now I'm on the Equilibrium and grabbing longer rides when I can, and on my own.

I've had enough people in the know tell me that spending a little cash on a decent set of wheels will never be regreted, but the Equilibrium must be a hefty, old chap as it is, so would I perhaps not see enough of a difference to justify the expense?

If new hoops are a good idea then what would you guys recommend? Fulcrum Racing 3s on offer at Ribble?

Thanks in advance.

clarkey cat

£500 would get you a sweet pair of handbuilts

would get you record hubs on dt swiss rr585 rims for that price.

daviesee

My thoughts -
In the past year I have used Campagnolo Scirocco, Mavic Open Pro on Record (came with complete bike) and Ambrosio Excellence on Royce (£455).

The Sciroccos served me well for 4 years and are testament to how good a "budget" wheel can be.
The Open Pros rode fairly similar but feel stronger. Not surprising given the spoke count.
The Ambrosios run similar to the OPs with a smoother feel.

That's about it, nothing startling in the way of speed gains etc. That said, I was much faster in Mallorca this year on the OPs but that is more likely due to being able to cycle through the winter (albeit low miles) and better fitness.

I would still recommend hand builts even though the improvements are marginal.
Why? Replacement parts are much more readily sourced and fitted. And "quality" off-the-shelves seem to be sky rocketing in price :shock: