Wide rims

buckles

Are A23s, Archetypes, Belgiums, Pacentis etc really that much better than the good old Mavic A119, a sub-£20 touring rim? I'm sure the extra 140g can be offset by eating a bit less pasta once in a while.

cycleclinic

It depends on your budget. You also get with the archetype a much stiffer rim which means if you are light enough a lower spoke count.

Don't forget the Kinlin XC-279 although this is 500g but is 28mm deep 23mm wide and very stiff. HED rims are too expensive for what they offer. The A23's are quite shallow but a decent rim never the less.

So yes they are "better" but you are not comparing like with like. The A119 is a great budget rim for commuting and touring, all these other rims are road racing rims which can be used very effectively for erm racing.

buckles

I'm sure there'd be no disadvantage road racing on an A119. Maybe they're a bit less aero, I don't know. But I'd love to see evidence of a 32 spoke A119 wheel being less effective in a road race than a 32 spoke Archetype / XC279 / A23.

I am building some up for my commuting / training bike so will be able to make a direct comparison with regards to how they feel on the bike. May even test them out next time I get to race...

pitchshifter

Yes. They run much nicer in my opinion. Smoother ride for sure although the biggest winner for me was the way they go around corners as they give much more confidence..

ugo.santalucia

The A 119 are 19 mm internal: A 23 is 17.8, Archetype is 17.3 and Stan's Alpha is 17.0. I think you will struggle with a 23 mm tyre, but if you are on 27 or so, then go for it.
Personally I don't like heavy rims, once you get over 550-600 or so they get draggy and numb... you can race on anything you want, but folks who buy a Record groupset, a carbon frame and then scrimp on the rims get it all wrong, IMO... :roll:

thiscocks

Well A119s are heavier, that would be the main disadvantage if you wanted to race with them. I have raced on Ambrosio Evolutions which were ok in crits but did lack the snappy feel of say a pair of Fulcrum 3s. On a hillier RR I think you'd really start to notice the extra weight compared to the lighter stuff.

cycleclinic

For racing spoke a lower count helps the the aerodynamics and a stiffer rim the XC-279 can handle a lower spoke count and still be stable (for racing use I would happily ride a 20F/24R set up with lasers spokes all round). May be not much but races places can be gained by few second or a few minutes, wheels can make that up or at least some of it.
Also a deeper rims (kinlin XC-279 is 28mm deep) mean shorter spokes that helps too again the aero advantage is small but it is there never the less. I am not sure how big a saving it is either maybe a small number of Watts at 30mph.

The weight thing on the hills make some difference but not alot the biggest difference is in acceleration, it may take a couple of extra watts to accelerate out of bend to keep up with the pelaton with A119 rims and the thick gauge spokes that normally get used on budget wheel compared to a set of XC-279s with light spokes. That just means you loose touch with the wheel in front a bit and the slipstream effect reduces and your power output has to climb just to keep up a viscous circle.

So again all the rims I mentioned are road racing rims and that is were they come into there own. For training purpose it can be argued a heavy wheel is needed. Just finished such a set this afternoon for this purpose, these are not light.

So again it depends what you want the wheel for. Many people who don't race still want racing wheels for timed sportives and the like or just to help them keep up on club runs. It can be argued that is all pointless too but if that were the case half the bike shop in the country would go out of business and the rest would struggle.