Wheel upgrade - around £200 to spend

trek_dan

Hi all, I have a 2009 Trek 1.5, same as this http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2009/archive/15, I bought it second hand about a year ago and it has been well used since for commuting, long weekend rides and I'm doing my first sportives this summer. Upgraded a fair few parts on it already. This morning I managed to ruin my front wheel, went over a bump in the road and blew out 2 spokes on the front wheel and the bearing in now grinding too. The buckle is a good half an inch or so, not sure if economic/possible to fix.
Anyway question is, is it worth upgrading my wheels, and is anything around about the £200ish marker an upgrade on what I already have? The other option I was considering would be a cheap set of the Planet X wheels for £120. Not a massive looks man, but ideally I'd like them in white to match my colour scheme I'm pretty feather weight and not usually hard on parts but does need to be commute friendly.

Grill

These seem pretty good for the money:
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPSHUL6700/shimano_ultegra_6700_tubeless_wheelset

snoopsmydogg

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... HIMWHFR615

seem to get good reviews, lighter than your current wheels but saying that I have spoken to a few riders who use the px wheels and rate them too.

trek_dan

Apologies for my ignorance but what does " compatible with tubeless and normal clincher" mean?
Does that mean I have to buy tubeless specific tyres?

snoopsmydogg

clinchers are what you will be using now ie inner tube and tyre. Easy to repair while out on the road and imo more availability for tyres too.

tubeless are glued to the rims iirc and are better for racing as you can ride them flat for short periods but less use on the roads as they are not as easy to change repair should you get a p*******e.

TommyEss

Nope - tubular are the ones you glue on - tubeless are like car tyres. Subtle difference in wording; completely different in terms of how they work.

Currently, tubeless are pretty popular for offroaders, but there are only a couple of compatible road tubeless tyres available, mainly from Hutchinson IIRC?

For the purposes of this excercise, ignore the tubeless bit and concentrate on clinchers!!

snoopsmydogg

TommyEss wrote:

Nope - tubular are the ones you glue on - tubeless are like car tyres. Subtle difference in wording; completely different in terms of how they work.

Currently, tubeless are pretty popular for offroaders, but there are only a couple of compatible road tubeless tyres available, mainly from Hutchinson IIRC?

For the purposes of this excercise, ignore the tubeless bit and concentrate on clinchers!!

:oops:

was thinking tubular and wrote tubeless but came to the same conclusion at least

glasgowbhoy

I'd keep saving, you'd get some really nice new or even nicer 2nd hand wheels at around £300.

gabriel959

Those Ultegra wheels are good value as they have a decent hub, and whilst not the lightest they are a decent weight too.

trek_dan

Chain Reaction have Pro-Lite Bracciano on for £240, how do these compare to the Ultegra's?
Tempted just to buy a cheap replacement front wheel for now, and keep saving, or look out for something like a second hand set of Fulcrum 3's or similar.

pauldog

have a look at harry rowland wheels. I just upgraded my stock trek 2.1 wheel set and got a pair of hand build wheels for £270. The diffrence is amazing. Novatech hubs on Mavic rims. He was a great guy as well and very helpful.