Carbon wheels, worth the buying....

RandG

As a relative newbie just wondering if buying carbon wheels are worth the buying ?

Hoping to do a few sportives through the year, none of that racing nonsense, but by all accounts the wheels on my steed are fairly heavy, so cheap carbons, worth the punt ??

smidsy

This has been covered to death. Search is your friend.

But to save you the bother NO.

Have you had any issues with the current ones? Do you notice they are heavy?

They do look nice though, so if that is what you want then spend away.

RandG

Oh I know it's been covered to death, but if you think I'm gonna hit the search button and then get a million topics with ten million replies and read thru it all, think again my furry friend.

As for feeling them being heavy, of course I haven't felt them being heavy, but if every review on my bike says they are heavy, then I'm gonna guess that they are heavy, and carbon ones are gonna be lighter.

smidsy

RandG wrote:

Oh I know it's been covered to death, but if you think I'm gonna hit the search button and then get a million topics with ten million replies and read thru it all, think again my furry friend.

As for feeling them being heavy, of course I haven't felt them being heavy, but if every review on my bike says they are heavy, then I'm gonna guess that they are heavy, and carbon ones are gonna be lighter.

Well I am sure the manufacturers will sleep easy tonight knowing that there advertising and marketing have not been in vain.

My point was that if you have not noticed any problem then do you really need to worry about it? If you are enjoying your riding and the bike then what does it matter what reviews say?

Anyway I am sure your new Carbon wheels wool look ace.

RandG

smidsy wrote:

Anyway I am sure your new Carbon wheels wool look ace.

Och I need someone to tell me.....don't be so bloody stupid, not encourage me

ShutUpLegs

Go for ones with big logos, makes a massive difference in the cafe stops

smidsy

RandG wrote:

I need someone to tell me.....don't be so bloody stupid, not encourage me

I have TWICE, you just refuse to see it :?

But do not worry, you are not alone. Most people end up with Mavic Cosmic Carbones :roll:

team47b

due to the existential nature of shopping is anything really worth buying? ultimately pointless, futility in the extreme...

...unless they have really nice type on them, typography rules!


(I'd buy them first, then ask for opinions)

Monty Dog

If you're not racing, then carbon wheels put you firmly in the poseur camp ;-)

elderone

Personally I,d love some 50mm carbon rims for my defy as I think they look cool.They would be lighter than the pr2 wheels on the bike,but that wouldn,t matter to me.The look is enough to want them.Now actually having the spare cash is only draw back.

Gizmodo

RandG wrote:

As a relative newbie just wondering if buying carbon wheels are worth the buying ?

Hoping to do a few sportives through the year, none of that racing nonsense, but by all accounts the wheels on my steed are fairly heavy, so cheap carbons, worth the punt ??

Last year I fitted new wheels to my bike. My brother bought a brand new Pinarello. On descents he would have to pedal to keep up with me coasting. He then bought new wheels and now he can keep up with me! I can pretty much guarantee that a wheel upgrade to stock wheels will make a big difference.

But I wouldn't bother with carbon and only do it if you have a disposable income. First upgrades should be the contact points: Tires first, clipless pedals and decent shoes, then wheels.

Hand built wheels are your best bet. Send a Private Message to Pablo aka ugo.santalucia on this forum, he has built wheels for 2 friends of mine and they are very happy. Or http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/

thegreatdivide

Hey RandG - how's the training going?

I think you'll be better off investing in a lighter set of wheels rather than deep section. For the roads you ride round here (he's from the hood ;-)) you should be looking at rims that will help you on the climbs. You should look at the Race 23's from http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk (Stirling based) These'll knock a fair weight off the ones that came with your bike.

RandG

thegreatdivide wrote:

Hey RandG - how's the training going?

.

I'll crack the jokes if you don't mind. Thought about taking the road bike out today tbh, then didn't

I have however, been out every tues/thurs night on the mtb so at least I've been doing something. Will be interesting to see if the winter mtb'ing makes any difference to my fat arse on the road bike....we'll see soon enough. May do the short reliability trial next week, but only if it's nice and dry.

thegreatdivide

RandG wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

Hey RandG - how's the training going?

.

I'll crack the jokes if you don't mind. Thought about taking the road bike out today tbh, then didn't

I have however, been out every tues/thurs night on the mtb so at least I've been doing something. Will be interesting to see if the winter mtb'ing makes any difference to my fat ars* on the road bike....we'll see soon enough. May do the short reliability trial next week, but only if it's nice and dry.

Hehe, of course it will.

Deffo get in touch with Derek at wheelsmith, or even better, head over to Glasgow for the Scottish Bike Show at the start of April and meet the man himself. All the wheels he makes will be on show and he's a great guy to chat to.

simon_masterson

Don't worry too much about the 'those are heavy!' reviews; the stupid obsession with weight in cycling is just that, though you can admittedly do worse than in the wheel department. In this case, carbon wheels might be lighter, but if you go for very deep section rims then the difference may not be very big; depending on how deep your pockets are!

Unless you are racing, however, I can think of far, far better uses for the money. Quality hubs and lightweight rims can easily make a very light wheelset; provided that you yourself aren't heavy!

RandG

Simon Masterson wrote:

provided that you yourself aren't heavy!

Hmm...Houston, we have a problem