Wheels

Pinball72

Im sort of new to road cycling, but have been commuting to work for about 18 months. Purchased a Cube Peloton to begin with, but now I own a Cube Agree GTC SLT had it for about 3 months now. Im doing my first sportive next month and Ive been training pretty solid now for the last six weeks or so. Im wondering would a upgrade in a new wheelset make that much difference in the performane of the bike? The Cube was fitted with the DT swiss RA 1.0 wheelset. Ive got approx £300 to upgrade. Any help would be much appreciated

marcusww

Aero type wheels worked for me even just 30mm rims made a difference on the flats and downhill anyway. Lots of opinions on weight but don't forget you can poo out 200 grams in the morning!

Bobbinogs

Marcusww wrote:

Aero type wheels worked for me even just 30mm rims made a difference on the flats and downhill anyway. Lots of opinions on weight but don't forget you can poo out 200 grams in the morning!

I would say that for someone looking forward to their first sportive and living in North Wales, an aero wheelset is the last thing they need. A nice light and decent wheelset over your stock wheels will make the bike feel more nimble and responsive which I like for climbing...but that probably won't map into significantly faster times.

If you add a few quid then RS80/81 would be good, assuming you are not 85kg or above. Loads of other options (search for wheels) but £350 is probably the min.

Btw, 30mm is not really that aero IME.

As for the sportive, your training will make a lot more difference than shaving 250g off your wheels so you don't need new wheels...but some podium shoes may be required

marcusww

Although not that aero, 30mm and bladed spokes was a difference for me - just one opinion!

Speaking with people who ride on Mavic Cosmics or Fulcrum Quattros they love 'em. But they are not as light as other wheels you can get in that price range.

Although training will make a difference - sometimes its 'just' nicer to have better wheels. (not very scientific!)

markhewitt1978

Pinball72 wrote:

Im sort of new to road cycling, but have been commuting to work for about 18 months. Purchased a Cube Peloton to begin with, but now I own a Cube Agree GTC SLT had it for about 3 months now. Im doing my first sportive next month and Ive been training pretty solid now for the last six weeks or so. Im wondering would a upgrade in a new wheelset make that much difference in the performane of the bike? The Cube was fitted with the DT swiss RA 1.0 wheelset. Ive got approx £300 to upgrade. Any help would be much appreciated

Yes it would make a difference. It certainly makes a massive difference to the way my bike feels when I change from the RS10 I run in the winter to the RS80 for the summer. For £300 take a look at the RS81 wheelset, but there's loads around that price bracket. Take a look at the forum search history.

charlie_potatoes

Marcusww wrote:

Lots of opinions on weight but don't forget you can poo out 200 grams in the morning!

Your having a laugh! I can easily drop a kilo out in the morning

littledove44

I switched from DT axis like yours to Mavic ksyrium elite. €370 which is spot on your budget.

They made a big difference to me. The bike feels and is a lot lighter.

Kingsmill1

I purchased a roubaix in January with a good discount, with the money I saved I purchased a pair of fulcrum 5's for the summer . The stock wheels on the roubaix were decent enough but I fitted winter tyres and was happy enough for my first sportive early this year and no punctures. Over the weekend as the weather had improved along with the roads I thought I'll put on the fulcrums and then did a 40K ride using the same route i have completed the previous day. The difference was 6 minutes saved with the fulcrums with a summer tyre fitted. So in my opinion if you can afford the upgrade then do so but don't forget the tyres as they will also make a difference. The 40k was 1hr 30 min which is just 3 mins off my PB on my other bike which is more race road bike than the roubaix.

alphacharlie

I've got a set of Fulcrum Racing 3's sat in my Wiggle basket waiting to push the pay button, at £317 they look like good value and a good upgrade for my Aksium's.
Cheers
AC

craigleese

1+ Shimano RS81 Wheelset. superb wheels. I purchased mine from planet x last month at £300. I think they are £350 on there now though.

Bobbinogs

alphacharlie wrote:

I've got a set of Fulcrum Racing 3's sat in my Wiggle basket waiting to push the pay button, at £317 they look like good value and a good upgrade for my Aksium's.
Cheers
AC

Not that much of an upgrade tbh as the Aksiums are pretty good anyway. Personally, I would wait until the Aksiums died and then buy the F3s, or Krysiums Equipes or RS81s (my favs)

simon_masterson

Generally unless it makes you cut through the air better, it's not going to make you faster. You'll always read 'I bought x and then finished a ride x minutes faster', but it's mostly psychological; nicer parts are more fun to ride (which is what it's all about). Most amateurs do not have the conditioning to churn out peak performance time after time after time.

alphacharlie

Bobbinogs wrote:

alphacharlie wrote:

I've got a set of Fulcrum Racing 3's sat in my Wiggle basket waiting to push the pay button, at £317 they look like good value and a good upgrade for my Aksium's.
Cheers
AC

Not that much of an upgrade tbh as the Aksiums are pretty good anyway. Personally, I would wait until the Aksiums died and then buy the F3s, or Krysiums Equipes or RS81s (my favs)

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/group-te ... eels-20227

No Shimano RS80/81's there and 10 out of 10 for the Racing 3's

Sirius631

For those just starting into longer events, especially those of a hillier profile, I'd recommend going for the lighter wheels in preference to aero wheels. When you're dragging yourself up climbs, the aerodynamic properties of the whole bike will not be so important, as you will not be creating so much drag.

Each time you accelerate from a near standstill you will have to overcome inertia of the wheels. As rotary inertia rises in relation to the mass, the lower the mass of the wheels, the easier it will be to get going.

If you were a strong climber, the converse would be true. The mass of the wheel would assist you as the rotary inertia would help keep the wheel rotating.

Bobbinogs

alphacharlie wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

alphacharlie wrote:

I've got a set of Fulcrum Racing 3's sat in my Wiggle basket waiting to push the pay button, at £317 they look like good value and a good upgrade for my Aksium's.
Cheers
AC

Not that much of an upgrade tbh as the Aksiums are pretty good anyway. Personally, I would wait until the Aksiums died and then buy the F3s, or Krysiums Equipes or RS81s (my favs)

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/group-te ... eels-20227

No Shimano RS80/81's there and 10 out of 10 for the Racing 3's

oops, my apols. I was basing my advice on real life experience rather than than a selective magazine review.

alphacharlie

Bobbinogs wrote:

alphacharlie wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

alphacharlie wrote:

I've got a set of Fulcrum Racing 3's sat in my Wiggle basket waiting to push the pay button, at £317 they look like good value and a good upgrade for my Aksium's.
Cheers
AC

Not that much of an upgrade tbh as the Aksiums are pretty good anyway. Personally, I would wait until the Aksiums died and then buy the F3s, or Krysiums Equipes or RS81s (my favs)

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/group-te ... eels-20227

No Shimano RS80/81's there and 10 out of 10 for the Racing 3's

oops, my apols. I was basing my advice on real life experience rather than than a selective magazine review.

Then I apologise, no where did you say that you had experience of the current models of the wheels you listed.
AC

socistep

I upgraded my CAAD8 from the stock quite heavy wheels to Campagnolo Zondas midway through last year and have been very good, they've taken a hammering as I have one bike for commuting and longer rides but no issues - currently don't have the back wheel on and got the stock one on (another story) and noticed the weight difference

markhewitt1978

There's a big difference I notice with my RS10s and RS80s. When I'm approaching 18-20mph my RS80s feel like they grab me and pull me forwards to go faster - the RS10s do the opposite.

ugo.santalucia

markhewitt1978 wrote:

When I'm approaching 18-20mph my RS80s feel like they grab me and pull me forwards to go faster

It's quite common, you need to hold the bars tight as 20 mph is when you pass the "placebo barrier"... you might hear a bang too

sparklehedgehog

i was torn for a month between fulcrum quaatros at £199, fulcrum 3's at £310 and campag zondas at £275.

Finally bought the Ultegra wheels at £225 instead and love them!