Wheel upgrade - what do I buy upto £400

Firedup9711

I'm thinking of upgrading my wheels on my specialized bike. I'm not after spending the world though. What do you all recommend ?

NewTTer

What bike? what wheels do you have on it at the moment? What are you going to use the bike for?

Joeblack

If they are just going to be used for normal riding and you want a decent set of lite wheels then there is a set of DA Wheels in road parts for sale for less than £400

Firedup9711

It's only a basic specialized allez sport but I'm doing upwards of 150 miles a week it's got the mavic-cxp22 that is came with....to be honest I'm toying with the idea of changing the whole bike but first off I thought of upgrading wheels first as the bikes so good...

iPete

Winter is here, ride the current set out till spring if they are still working IMO.

For the price I'd be looking at hand builds, Shimano RS80, American classic aero 420 3 (they used to be around for 400) and ksyrium equipe.

Bobbinogs

^^ Wot he said ^^

Gizmodo

Wait till spring and then think hand-built. Someone like http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/ or send a PM to ugo.santalucia on this forum. He has built wheels for 2 people that I know and both are really happy with his work.

saprkzz

American Classic Aero 420's are ace, I have these on my training bike.

NewTTer

Dont bother until next year, then make a firm decision on the bike, if you decide the allez is a keeper go for Ksyrium Elites.

napoleond

Wait until spring. Then either get some from hand builds from our Derek at Wheelsmith.co.uk or if after factory wheels some Ksyrium Elites.

Wrath Rob

Gizmodo wrote:

Wait till spring and then think hand-built. Someone like http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/ or send a PM to ugo.santalucia on this forum. He has built wheels for 2 people that I know and both are really happy with his work.

This. Winter and in particular salted roads can be harsh on wheels, particularly spoke nipples. Plus more pot-holes and road debris = greater chance of hitting something and bending a rim.

Grill

NapoleonD wrote:

Wait until spring. Then either get some from hand builds from our Derek at Wheelsmith.co.uk or if after factory wheels some Ksyrium Elites.

+1

My Elites have been bombproof.

ugo.santalucia

Firedup9711 wrote:

I'm thinking of upgrading my wheels on my specialized bike. I'm not after spending the world though. What do you all recommend ?

Handbuilts will give you a better ride and lower maintenance costs, but as builders, we don't do sales, hence there is no need to grab them now... as recommended, wait for spring... roads will get increasingly crap in the coming weeks.

If instead you want pre-assembled wheels, then grab the bargain, as they say... whenever that happens. Ksyrium Elite are a good bet, but remember if anything goes wrong outside the warranty period/terms and conditions, you are pretty much on your own, as spares are scarce and extremely expensive... Mavic has a "whatever happens" insurance that you can purchase, I cannot comment on the small print though

Fr Howie

Bought some £320 Mavic Cosmic Elites which are really cool. Very pleased with them. Light weight and aero-dynamic.

Also note that Fulcrum Racing have launched some 'Quattros' which are supposed to be good. Have friends with Fulcrum Racing 3 wheels that they love. Freewheel is really noise, though!

LegendLust

I bought a pair of Miche Connects the other month for winter riding and training. Took a punt on them because they're a brand not as popular as Mavic, Shimano etc but I've been well chuffed with them. Very smooth hub bearings, stiff but above all very tough. I did a local club's 'Cobbled Berg' ride at the weekend, loads of cobbled sections with tough steep climbs (think Tour of Flanders in the Aire Valley!) so very tough on the equipment. At the end of the ride the wheels were still 100% true. I'd expected to take them into the LBS to get them tweaked but they're still perfect!

They're not a bad weight too. You can pick a pair up for £300 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/miche-connect-a ... -wheelset/

ugo.santalucia

LegendLust wrote:

I bought a pair of Miche Connects the other month for winter riding and training. Took a punt on them because they're a brand not as popular as Mavic, Shimano etc but I've been well chuffed with them. Very smooth hub bearings, stiff but above all very tough. I did a local club's 'Cobbled Berg' ride at the weekend, loads of cobbled sections with tough steep climbs (think Tour of Flanders in the Aire Valley!) so very tough on the equipment. At the end of the ride the wheels were still 100% true. I'd expected to take them into the LBS to get them tweaked but they're still perfect!

They're not a bad weight too. You can pick a pair up for £300 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/miche-connect-a ... -wheelset/

I agree Miche hubs are excellent quality and value for money... people don't normally want them because they are heavy, but you did well resisting the lure of lighter products.
As for the northern bergs... I have built a few wheels that went through the hell of Paris Roubaix without the need for servicing afterwards and that is 32 miles of the most atrocious cobbled roads in Europe... most wheels but the lightest will have no problem whatsoever on a few cobbled climbs so that's not a really testing challenge... when the wheel is well tensioned and the rim is robust enough, you can put the wheels through pretty much anything without consequences. The latest Archetype rim seems a good candidate for Paris-Roubaix, so I am quite keen for a volunteer to step forward...

LegendLust

ugo.santalucia wrote:

LegendLust wrote:

I bought a pair of Miche Connects the other month for winter riding and training. Took a punt on them because they're a brand not as popular as Mavic, Shimano etc but I've been well chuffed with them. Very smooth hub bearings, stiff but above all very tough. I did a local club's 'Cobbled Berg' ride at the weekend, loads of cobbled sections with tough steep climbs (think Tour of Flanders in the Aire Valley!) so very tough on the equipment. At the end of the ride the wheels were still 100% true. I'd expected to take them into the LBS to get them tweaked but they're still perfect!

They're not a bad weight too. You can pick a pair up for £300 http://www.wiggle.co.uk/miche-connect-a ... -wheelset/

I agree Miche hubs are excellent quality and value for money... people don't normally want them because they are heavy, but you did well resisting the lure of lighter products.
As for the northern bergs... I have built a few wheels that went through the hell of Paris Roubaix without the need for servicing afterwards and that is 32 miles of the most atrocious cobbled roads in Europe... most wheels but the lightest will have no problem whatsoever on a few cobbled climbs so that's not a really testing challenge... when the wheel is well tensioned and the rim is robust enough, you can put the wheels through pretty much anything without consequences. The latest Archetype rim seems a good candidate for Paris-Roubaix, so I am quite keen for a volunteer to step forward...

Hey it's winter - why would anyone want lightweight wheels?

As well as the cobbled sections, you didn't see the rutted pot-holed tracks we went down either

london-red

I've just invested in a pair of Pro-Lite Braccianos. They're still in the box, so can't give you a ride report. £100 off at CRC at £240.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29086