Wheelset Upgrade Cervelo S3 Help please !!

forrester.76

Hi.

I'm upgrading the standard wheelset that comes with the Cervelo S3.

I'm thinking of either:

Dura Ace 9000 C24 1395g

Dura Ace 9000 C35 1672g

Mavic Ksyrium SLS C 1935g

Not sure if the weights above include tyres ?

I'm competing in Ironman Bolton so I need advice on which wheelset are going to help me get up the hills !!

Thanks.

Claire.

sloppyschleckonds

Mavic R-Sys SLR

napoleond

None of those. An S3 deserves some deeper wheels. Shallower wheels won't make much of a difference on the climbs but good aero wheels will make a marked improvement on the descents/flats. The only thing is if it's very windy or wet.
Have a look at Superstar wheels' carbon clinchers for example.
Or some Wheelsmiths hand built on to gigantex rims.

Edit: just seen it comes with Mavic Cosmics. Very underrated wheels! Stick with them!

herzog

forrester.76 wrote:

...
I'm competing in Ironman Bolton so I need advice on which wheelset are going to help me get up the hills !!
...

None, your legs will do that. New wheels are undoubtedly nice, but they don't do the work for you and will probably make little difference to your performance - unless you're going from 2.5kg monsters to 1.1kg lighweights.

ugo.santalucia

The fastest set of aero wheels out there (Zipp 404 or similar) will save you 3 minutes in the best case scenario (that is flat course). The course is not flat, so they will save you less. The lightest set of wheels will save you something similar on an ondulated course and a bit more on a a really hilly course (Marmotte style). Let's call it 10 minutes to be generous.
Does it matter in the context of a 12 hours event?

Mike Cotty

The Ksyrium SLS C with Yksion Pro Griplink and Powerlink tyres, tubes and skewers will be approx 1,935g complete. Just make sure that you're comparing like-for-like (either including tyres etc or without) otherwise you may find that you're not getting the weight saving you'd hope for

Whilst a new wheelset can go some way in improving your performance and giving you the feel good factor, often the biggest performance gains when it comes to climbing are seen from reducing rider mass and therefore increasing efficiency and your power to weight ratio. As a general calculation 1kg less weight over a 30 minute climb should save approximately 1 minute. There's normally more weight that can be shaved from the rider than there is from the bike and equipment so it's worth keeping this in mind.

Best of luck in Bolton!

Mike Cotty