Aksium v Fulcrum 7s?

Gary_T

I'm looking for some new wheels for my year round commuter bike and have narrowed it down to these two. Just hoping for opinions on on which pair is likely to be tougher/longer lasting...or other suggestions around the £100 mark. Cheers

supermurph09

I've recently purchased the Fulcrums from Merlin for £110 to use as winter wheels. In terms of how they ride I've been quite pleased. I've not put many miles on them yet so cannot comment on the durability but look and feel I'd say they are worth the money.

Bobbinogs

RS30s could also be on the list (£110 pr) and are reasonably good (if basic) all rounders. However, you might want to think about long term cost. A pair of £250 handbuilts with, say, 28h/32h, etc, will take many a bump (assuming you are not excessively heavy and need 32/36h) and have the advantage that they can be rebuilt when a rim wears, or a hub goes, etc. Spokes will also be readily available (you could easily buy a couple of spares) and therefore not be off the road for too long if you pop a spoke in a pothole.

I have had Aksiums and RS30s and would happily ride them as winter wheels but accept they are effectively written off after a few winters. I will go handbuilt next time but went for the RS30s a few weeks ago as a cheap short term option.

I do have some lovely handbuilts on a couple of special bikes and think you really can get a fantastic ride experience/performance without the bling look of factory wheels, but there's nowt wrong with a bit of bling.

bigmat

I would steer clear of Aksiums - mine have been nothing but trouble, by far the worst wheels I have ever owned in 30 years of cycling.

Bozman

I've had 7s on my wet bike for a year and they're ok(ish) apart from the noise you get when you freewheel, this makes the wheel an excellent training wheel because you never want to stop pedalling.
Tyres are a ba5tard to get on, at first I thought that it was the Vittoria tyres but they're the same with Michelin and Continental, I have to over inflate the tyre with a track pump and then deflate slightly to get it to sit true on the rim, if I'm out and I get a puncture it's a trip home on egg shaped tyres.
After reading that, I wouldn't buy them.
A mate has been running RS21s, they're a hell of a lot better and roughly the same price.

Gary_T

Thanks for the responses.
Would love some hand built wheels but it's quite a jump in price, so based on comments here it might have to be the 7s (noisy freewheels don't bother me and I don't mind getting stuck-in with a tyre lever).
Will take a look at RS21/30/31s too, never really considered those up to now.

me-109

I went for a set of RS21s at half price. Noticeably lighter then the 30/31s. Only been out once and seem plenty stiff.