Buying my first carbon bike

Gaz7777gaz

Hi cycling newbie here can anybody help me .i am looking at buying a Ribble carbon bike and I am struggling to pick some wheels ,I didn't think it would be so hard.at present I ride a trek alpha 1.4 with campag mirage group set and mavic open pro wheels.if I buy a new sportive from Ribble with campag centaur group set and what ever wheels would I notice any difference or am I better saving my money .ps my wife would throw a rod! If I was to buy wheels that cost more than here car! Cheers.

smidsy

You are not fooling anyone with the cunningly descised title.

Its another 'What Wheels' Thread is'nt it? :-)

danlikesbikes

Firstly lets get the wife part out of the way - if you don't know the rule its that everything is half the price it actually costs & its also in the 50% sale that just the way it works.

As for the difference between your current mavic's they will feel different on a new bike on the whole due to the new bike having different geometry.

If you want some help with your choices we will be happy to give what little advice we are worth but let us know your choices and you never know you might get different opinions but think there are enough of us to have owned most of the major choices out there to give you our opinions.

jameses

It may be worth bearing in mind that the for the cost of selecting better wheels on Ribble's bike builder, you can almost certainly pick up those same wheels elsewhere (and still have the cheaper wheels for winter duties).

CyclingObsession

I dont believe in carbon wheels if u look at the weight difference its miminal, if there is going to be any difference its going to be all mental, u will want a difference so badly that you will push urself harder, Its the engine on the bike not the bike, u could have an amature on a carbon bike but the pro will still kick the armatures ass on a steel bike. Spend the money on gadgets for ur bike to aid training.

rolf_f

JamesEs wrote:

It may be worth bearing in mind that the for the cost of selecting better wheels on Ribble's bike builder, you can almost certainly pick up those same wheels elsewhere (and still have the cheaper wheels for winter duties).

Not true. The minimum spec wheels Ribble offer are very heavy for the money. Even if you only go up one level you'll pay maybe £30 extra to get a substantially better and lighter wheelset. For example, if you upgrade from Rodi Airlines to Khamsins you (last time I looked) pay £28 extra. If you can find a pair of Khamsins for £28 I'd love to know where!

imposter2.0

CyclingObsession wrote:

I dont believe in carbon wheels if u look at the weight difference its miminal, if there is going to be any difference its going to be all mental, u will want a difference so badly that you will push urself harder, Its the engine on the bike not the bike, u could have an amature on a carbon bike but the pro will still kick the armatures ass on a steel bike. Spend the money on gadgets for ur bike to aid training.

that's all very interesting - but nobody mentioned 'carbon wheels'.

jameses

Rolf F wrote:

JamesEs wrote:

It may be worth bearing in mind that the for the cost of selecting better wheels on Ribble's bike builder, you can almost certainly pick up those same wheels elsewhere (and still have the cheaper wheels for winter duties).

Not true. The minimum spec wheels Ribble offer are very heavy for the money. Even if you only go up one level you'll pay maybe £30 extra to get a substantially better and lighter wheelset. For example, if you upgrade from Rodi Airlines to Khamsins you (last time I looked) pay £28 extra. If you can find a pair of Khamsins for £28 I'd love to know where!

Just had another look, I stand corrected! I guess I had only checked a couple of shimano wheelsets (ultegras and rs80's), for which my earlier comment does hold true, but not so for others!

Gaz7777gaz

thanks for the post. because i am new to cycling and want to own a nice new bike but want it to be the best i can afford .and want to be like my pals who have one, two, or even three bikes, winter, traine,r an/d the best one that comes out on sunny days.i built up two bike on ribble one was about £1280 with khamsin wheels the other with zonda and that came in at £1480 ish would i notice the difference for £200? i am 13 stone nearly 50 and want to start putting some good miles on each ride did 30 on saturday .so would better wheels help me go faster and further?

Gaz7777gaz

Danlikesbikes wrote:

Firstly lets get the wife part out of the way - if you don't know the rule its that everything is half the price it actually costs & its also in the 50% sale that just the way it works.

As for the difference between your current mavic's they will feel different on a new bike on the whole due to the new bike having different geometry.

If you want some help with your choices we will be happy to give what little advice we are worth but let us know your choices and you never know you might get different opinions but think there are enough of us to have owned most of the major choices out there to give you our opinions.

thanks i will keep that in mind .