Another what wheels

TooOldForThis

I know this has been done to death but I was thinking of upgrading my Team Carbon to Shimano RS80 C24 for no real reason other than it's my birthday soon and I fancy spending some money. They seem to be around £330 at the mo.

However I just noticed Halfords are doing 25% off parts and accessories which would allow my to get Fulcrum Racing 3 for the same price, or the 5s for 1/2 the price.

Question is are any of these a sensible choice for a bike where the primary use is commuting a 20 mile round trip that includes NSL country roads and city centre streets that involve some dropping off kerbs.

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome.

Cheers
Mike

sloppyschleckonds

TooOldForThis wrote:

Question is are any of these a sensible choice for a bike where the primary use is commuting a 20 mile round trip that includes NSL country roads and city centre streets that involve some dropping off kerbs.

No

cycleclinic

No. Commting wheels are not race wheels. For comuting I would use something completely different and they are not wheels you can buy in halfords. Commuting wheels shold be I think trouble free and do thousand of miles crashingthrough pothholes and the like without bother. Also most commtor will stick a rack on the the back of the bike and se panniers, it sounds like yo are sing yor sunday best bike for commting.

On my wife's bike I built her a cheapish set of wheels sing heavy bt togh Rigida rims and Miche hubs. These thing are are not race wheels but are great for the prpose intended. A commtor bike is not a race bike.

smidsy

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

TooOldForThis wrote:

Question is are any of these a sensible choice for a bike where the primary use is commuting a 20 mile round trip that includes NSL country roads and city centre streets that involve some dropping off kerbs.

No

The sensible choice is a wheelset that has a high spoke count, quality hubs, robust rim and made of parts that can all be sourced and replaced readily and for reasonable money.

What it is not is a light racey wheelset with a low spoke count and any sort of carbon involved.

sloppyschleckonds

Agreed, but that wasn't what he was asking :?

smidsy

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Agreed, but that wasn't what he was asking :?

Indeed. I was agreeing with your answer and expanding on it. :oops:

jane90

As far as I can tell, most "What Wheels?" threads on here seem to go something like this:

OP: Hi, I want to buy a set of wheels with a bit of bling that will excite me and get my pulse racing.

Rest of the forum: Get something heavy and sensible instead.

OP (stamps foot and wails a bit): But I don't want sensible, I want exciting!

Rest of the forum: You're an idiot, get something that will last 100,000 miles.

The OP goes and buys a bling set of wheels anyway.

smidsy

TBF jane on this occaision the OP actually asked if the choices he highlighted would be suitable for his intended use. We advise not.

I do take your point though about folk asking for advice and then doing what they wanted in the first place. That is the thing about advice though isn't it..you can choose to accept it or not.

The monotony of the answers you elude to are only a direct reflection on the monotony of the questions. People ask the same stuff over and over so the responses get repeated. We can not be held responsible for the correct advice being 'unsexy'

herb71

jane90 wrote:

Rest of the forum: Get something heavy and sensible instead.

I agree with most of that, but you could change the above to...'the bling wheels you want are actually pretty heavy, you could get sensible wheels that weigh the same, cost less and will last longer'

pkripper

I think you should buy a bear and ride that to work instead. Although it may not be available from Halfords.

But, as for the wheels, the ones you mention will work fine, they just may not work for that long compared to a heavier more robust commuting set. For what it's worth, I commuted for 3 years on a set of Easton Orion 2's - and they're light.

duckson

Just bought Duraace 9000 C24's and commute on those (when its dry) on my Team Carbon, roads are roads and i bought them to use, not sit in the garage.
If running panniers or going "off road" eg canal paths then obviously they wont be the best option, i go down curbs on mine although very carefully on the rare occasion i need to, you be more likely to do damage on a big pothole at speed then gently going down a curb IMO.
I weigh circa 67kg so not overly weighty though.

racingcondor

Don't know what you weigh OP but Fulcrum 3's are very strong.

RS80's are also pretty strong and probably a better wheel if you are light but if anything their weakness is breaking spokes and if you're either heavier or doing some 'some dropping off kerbs' then you're going to increase the chance of spokes going.

Otherwise to add my usual comment on the subject. Have you considered hand builts...

TooOldForThis

Thanks for the answers folks, even if they were only 1 word

I am also considering the custom build route. Thinking along the lines of velocity a23s with either DT 350 or Hope Pro 3 mono hubs. Head says go with DT since that's what I use on my MTB but heart says go Hope so I can have gunsmoke coloured .

I weigh in at 71kg and am gentle when dropping off kerbs on the roadie.

Churchill123

jane90 wrote:

As far as I can tell, most "What Wheels?" threads on here seem to go something like this:

OP: Hi, I want to buy a set of wheels with a bit of bling that will excite me and get my pulse racing.

Rest of the forum: Get something heavy and sensible instead.

OP (stamps foot and wails a bit): But I don't want sensible, I want exciting!

Rest of the forum: You're an idiot, get something that will last 100,000 miles.

The OP goes and buys a bling set of wheels anyway.

Thanks for this, it's made me laugh on an otherwise dull day in the office! - And your 100% correct!

drlodge

My advice - get some hand built wheels made up, should cost around £300 and they will be:
- suited to your weight, style and use
- easily repaired (not that they'll need it)
- remain true
- give a great ride
- best bag for the buck IMHO