Wheel upgrade

fat_tail

I am sure this has been asked several times but it probably won't do too much harm to ask once again.

Looking at wheel upgrades and currently considering

1. Fulcrum racing 3
2. Shimano RS81
3. Hope Hoops Pro

Budget up to £400 but would prefer to spend less.

thanks

slowbike

yes.


whats the question?

fat_tail

thoughts on these or others in the price range ?

sloppyschleckonds

Agreed

bazzer2

It does appear that people seem to get tired of answering a not unreasonable question, and therefore providing pretty crap resonses.

Here's an idea - if you haven't got anything worthwhile to add, don't press 'Submit'.

My worthwhile addition is that I'm also interested in exactly this price point and have so far found no useful answers here.

orangepip

Very different wheel sets and it obviously depends on what riding you do...

Having said that I have the Hope's and find them disappointing. I bought them as an upgrade to Fulcrum Racing 7's and didn't find them much of an upgrade at all. Am considering my next set now and to be honest might not be looking past racing 5's, quattro's or Kysiriums (SP).

Alternatively have a look at the wheelsmith's stock wheels.

slowbike

bazzer2 wrote:

It does appear that people seem to get tired of answering a not unreasonable question, and therefore providing pretty crap resonses.

The search function would give you chapter and verse.

bazzer2 wrote:

Here's an idea - if you haven't got anything worthwhile to add, don't press 'Submit'.

yup - we could just ignore it

bazzer2 wrote:

My worthwhile addition is that I'm also interested in exactly this price point and have so far found no useful answers here.

useful answers or answers that fit your viewpoint?

Anyway - there isn't enough information given to advise an appropriate wheel - what's it going to be used for? Whats the riders weight? - two basic but critical bits of info!

ugo.santalucia

orangepip wrote:

Having said that I have the Hope's and find them disappointing. I bought them as an upgrade to Fulcrum Racing 7's and didn't find them much of an upgrade at all.

I often get asked how a set of Open PRO on Hope hubs compare in performance with a set of Fulcrum 5 or 7. I try to be honest and say that there is no performance upgrade and the upgrade is all in how reliable they will be and how much of a long term investment they can be (rims can be replaced etc... )
The OP does not specify what kind of upgrade he is looking at. Most "performance oriented" upgrades end up being very marginal. Marginal can mean the world to some and nothing at all to others... and all "cosmetic" upgrades and up being boring to the eye within one year or until the next wheelset up in the range goes on sale.

imposter2.0

fat_tail wrote:

I am sure this has been asked several times but it probably won't do too much harm to ask once again.

Looking at wheel upgrades and currently considering

1. Fulcrum racing 3
2. Shimano RS81
3. Hope Hoops Pro

Budget up to £400 but would prefer to spend less.

thanks

Buy the wheelset which you think looks the nicest. Seriously.

fat_tail

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The OP does not specify what kind of upgrade he is looking at. Most "performance oriented" upgrades end up being very marginal. Marginal can mean the world to some and nothing at all to others... and all "cosmetic" upgrades and up being boring to the eye within one year or until the next wheelset up in the range goes on sale.

Lighter, stronger, faster (implied) ... bike currently running on some cheapo wheels.

Anyways, didn't mean to start a war.

Thanks to orangepip for the wheelsmith suggestion. they look (and sound) good. will investigate further.

ugo.santalucia

fat_tail wrote:

Lighter, stronger, faster (implied) ...

Unless you abandon metal construction and a spoke/rim system, lighter and stronger in the same sentence are an oxymoron often used by magazines to hype some insignificant so called technical advancement. It might be that a full carbon wheel is lighter and stronger than a metal one, but I yet have to see one that actually is.

fat_tail

ugo.santalucia wrote:

fat_tail wrote:

Lighter, stronger, faster (implied) ...

Unless you abandon metal construction and a spoke/rim system, lighter and stronger in the same sentence are an oxymoron often used by magazines to hype some insignificant so called technical advancement. It might be that a full carbon wheel is lighter and stronger than a metal one, but I yet have to see one that actually is.

I suspect we are going off topic here.

ugo.santalucia

fat_tail wrote:

I suspect we are going off topic here.

In which sense? It's not that I am talking about the ideal variety of potato for roasting... I thought I was spending valuable time to give you some good advice re. the Hope you were considering and upgrades in general.
Well, anyway good luck with that...

fat_tail

ugo.santalucia wrote:

fat_tail wrote:

I suspect we are going off topic here.

In which sense? It's not that I am talking about the ideal variety of potato for roasting... I thought I was spending valuable time to give you some good advice re. the Hope you were considering and upgrades in general.
Well, anyway good luck with that...

Indeed .. thanks again. Hopes are off my list as are any potential "performance" upgrades.

Sprool

ugo.santalucia wrote:

orange pip wrote:

... and how much of a long term investment they can be (rims can be replaced etc... )...

Maybe also a little O/T but do people buy wheels as long term investments, keeping the hubs and spokes and replacing rims when they wear, or do they buy them as functional consumables, replacing them once they are worn or damaged? More likely the latter for me with the state of roads in west yorkshire. Is it really cost-effective just replacing the rims on a set of wheels costing £150 - £250? If they do buy wheels as long term investments then are we talking about a significantly higher price bracket to make it worthwhile?

ugo.santalucia

Sprool wrote:

Maybe also a little O/T but do people buy wheels as long term investments, keeping the hubs and spokes and replacing rims when they wear, or do they buy them as functional consumables, replacing them once they are worn or damaged? More likely the latter for me with the state of roads in west yorkshire. Is it really cost-effective just replacing the rims on a set of wheels costing £150 - £250? If they do buy wheels as long term investments then are we talking about a significantly higher price bracket to make it worthwhile?

If you spend 250-300 (difficult to spend less on a hand built set) on a set and wear off the rims, you will spend another 130 -150 including labor to re-rim them, which means virtually new wheels... it might make sense it might not, up to you to decide.
There is also an element of environmental conscience in not throwing away stuff which is still usable, but again, you might care, you might not.
Don't forget some do get attached to their wheels, others consider them as a disposable item... in essence we are all different. My experience is that those who do buy wheels that can be re-rimmed, tend to stick to them and get them re-rimmed rather than throwing them away, so it seems to make sense.

on-yer-bike

Imposter wrote:

fat_tail wrote:

I am sure this has been asked several times but it probably won't do too much harm to ask once again.

Looking at wheel upgrades and currently considering

1. Fulcrum racing 3
2. Shimano RS81
3. Hope Hoops Pro

Budget up to £400 but would prefer to spend less.

thanks

Buy the wheelset which you think looks the nicest. Seriously.

This. Same applies to most bike kit

fat_tail

Currently looking at getting some hand built wheels. Looked at a number of builders:

1. hewitt
2. just riding along
3.dcr wheels

Any experience with the above (positive or negative) or any other recommendations would be welcome.

thanks

ugo.santalucia

I could, but not in public. Write me a PM if interested in an opinion

mekong_velo

Okay not in your original list, but what about a pair of Shimano Ultegras, now 10 and 11 speed compatible and well within your budget around the £250.00 mark.

I use a set on my Giant TCR they have never missed a beat, great wheels IMHO.


Regards

fat_tail

Mekong Velo wrote:

Okay not in your original list, but what about a pair of Shimano Ultegras, now 10 and 11 speed compatible and well within your budget around the £250.00 mark.

I use a set on my Giant TCR they have never missed a beat, great wheels IMHO.


Regards

I did consider them but discarded because of the cup and cone. I prefer sealed units. My mileage is around 200 km per week .

keef66

fat_tail wrote:

Mekong Velo wrote:

Okay not in your original list, but what about a pair of Shimano Ultegras, now 10 and 11 speed compatible and well within your budget around the £250.00 mark.

I use a set on my Giant TCR they have never missed a beat, great wheels IMHO.


Regards

I did consider them but discarded because of the cup and cone. I prefer sealed units. My mileage is around 200 km per week .

By 'sealed units' I presume you mean cartridge bearings. FWIW I've found the sealing on Shimano hubs to be pretty good, and I like being able to periodically strip / clean / relube / adjust the cup and cone bearings with just a pair of cone spanners.

matt_n-2

~£400 at my LBS would get some H Plus Son Archetypes on DT240 hubs built up with Sapim spokes, nice looking and riding wheelset.

It's hard to beat factory built wheelsets at this price point for weight but the I'd go with the handbuilts for longevity and future maintenance.

There is a wealth of rim and hub combinations out there for £400 if you went handbuilt.

M4VERICK

Check on eBay. Heaps of wheels on there at good prices.

I've just bought some Campagnolo Zondas on eBay for £180. Great condition and the buyer assured me they've ridden less than 1k miles so, eBay maybe worth a look!

breezy1956

I upgraded Fulcrum 6 to Rolf Aspin was a sound investment you can buy these for just under £400.00 Cheers