New wheels - not the usual selection criteria

littledove44
littledove44 Posts: 871
edited June 2014 in Road buying advice
New frame and groupset arrives tomorrow so wheels needed ASAP. Current bike has Mavic Ksyrium Elites and I can always use those temporarily, but as the bikes are going to eventually in different places I need to get a new set.

I am quite aware that they will make very little difference to my performance, so I am more interested in aesthetics I guess, and as the new bike is quite different to my Roubaix, I would like something that is also different.

15017_time_fluidity_s_vip_road_bike_frame_2013.jpg

I do not want another wheelset with ali coloured rims. I think all black.
I will be using 25mm tyres so something that suits them in terms of width, as opposed to the way the tyres bulge around the Elites.
I don't mind if they are carbon.
I quite like the look of rims around 40mm depth. no strong feeling one way or the other.
Not covered in loads of gaudy advertising and stickers. I have that already on my jersey. :D
I would consider hand built, but as I live nowhere near a wheel builder it may be easier to stick with factory stuff.
Lightweight is of course good. Existing wheels are 2500g or so, including tubes and tyres.
Rider weight from 89kg to 80kg. (planned!)
No racing, but about 200km a week of social riding, sportives and cycling holidays. All on tarmac and not rough stuff unless unavoidable.

Advice, suggestions, scorn etc all expected and appreciated.
Thanks.
«1

Comments

  • Crozza
    Crozza Posts: 991
    budget?
  • Camcycle1974
    Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    You could do worse than a set of the 38mm carbon clinchers from Farsports. There is a review of them if you search on another site. I believe Ugo built up a set of the 50mm recently and actually thought they are decent. Reassuring as I bought some of the 38's myself 2 months ago. They ride well and look great on the bike. Cost is about £400 + import taxes. Weight was bang on spec at 1300g for the set (bare weight, so no rim tape, tyres etc) I got th e23mm wide version and with 25mm tyres they feel lovely to ride.

    A mate has a Giant Defy Advanced 2 2013 (so white) and my matte black wheels look fantastic on his frame. So much so that he is now going to buy some too! I do intend to post some pics when I get round to it.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    If you don't get a set of Enve you will always live with the doubt that you could and indeed should do better. Great achievements call for great rewards and a new carbo-tanium driver club simply ain't gonna do it, I'm afraid. You could and indeed should get yourself a Pagani Zonda or the new McLaren, but living where you live, the horizon is simply too close to your garage to bother...

    In essence, stop being a scrimper and order those Enve

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -12-45763/
    left the forum March 2023
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    Crozza wrote:
    budget?

    Oh yes, forgot that. :D

    Up to £2000.
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    If you don't get a set of Enve you will always live with the doubt that you could and indeed should do better. Great achievements call for great rewards and a new carbo-tanium driver club simply ain't gonna do it, I'm afraid. You could and indeed should get yourself a Pagani Zonda or the new McLaren, but living where you live, the horizon is simply too close to your garage to bother...

    In essence, stop being a scrimper and order those Enve

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -12-45763/

    They look right, but are a bit ouchy price wise, don't you think?

    You may have confused my motoring taste with someone else. I have a Skoda.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    2 grand is what all the major cost... Zipp, Enve... Reynolds are a bit cheaper but they are not toroidal... can you live with a non toroidal rim? Within a couple of years what is not toroidal will be regarded as a dinosaur... it's a nice word "toroidal", for ages confined to the geometry of a nuclear reactor, now it finds a new exciting meaning... I can't stop saying it: toroidal, toroidal, toroidal...

    However, now the Reynolds feature DT Aero Comp spokes, instead of those junk weigh weenie Aerolite they were using before, the result should be beefed up and ready to carry a mamil...

    http://www.wiggle.co.uk/reynolds-assaul ... 5360655521
    left the forum March 2023
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    ENVE. If you're on a budget then Reynolds Assaults are the poor man's version.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • Crozza
    Crozza Posts: 991
    toroidal rims are so 2007.

    been reading good things about Corima MCCs - one guy reckons they are better then his Enve 1.25s
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Crozza wrote:
    toroidal rims are so 2007.

    been reading good things about Corima MCCs - one guy reckons they are better then his Enve 1.25s

    Depends how the built the 1.25s, but they're less aero than the 3.4.

    You're almost at Lightweight or RZR money with those...
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • on-yer-bike
    on-yer-bike Posts: 2,974
    what is toroidal?
    Pegoretti
    Colnago
    Cervelo
    Campagnolo
  • lancew
    lancew Posts: 680
    Like a doughnut.

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=toroidal&l=1
    Specialized Allez Sport 2013
  • Crozza
    Crozza Posts: 991
    if I was going to be doing lots of miles potentially far from home (eg holidays) on a set of wheels, I'd want a set that any old bike shop could fix in a pinch. I've got a set of mavic r-sys slrs which look and ride fantastically, but being without them for 2 weeks when they had to be sent back to Mavic for repair was a PITA.

    boring but true
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    That can easily be done with ENVE as you buy the rims and spec them however you like. Also easy with Reynolds as they can be built on other hubs and use bog standard DT Swiss spokes and nipples.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Grill wrote:
    That can easily be done with ENVE as you buy the rims and spec them however you like. Also easy with Reynolds as they can be built on other hubs and use bog standard DT Swiss spokes and nipples.

    Well, both use hexagonal internal nipples, which are not mainstream and some shops might not have them or might not want to fit a spoke with internals...
    left the forum March 2023
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    The 2014 Reynolds line uses external nipples on the Attack, Assault and Strike.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • Camcycle1974
    Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    If you don't get a set of Enve you will always live with the doubt that you could and indeed should do better. Great achievements call for great rewards and a new carbo-tanium driver club simply ain't gonna do it, I'm afraid. You could and indeed should get yourself a Pagani Zonda or the new McLaren, but living where you live, the horizon is simply too close to your garage to bother...

    In essence, stop being a scrimper and order those Enve

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -12-45763/

    The two user reviews on the page you linked don't look all that favourable. 1 star for a £2300 wheel set!
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Camcycle1974 wrote:
    The two user reviews on the page you linked don't look all that favourable. 1 star for a £2300 wheel set!

    The thing is when something goes wrong on a 2 K set of wheels, people tend to be very vocal. When the same happens on a set of 300 quid Chinese wheels people are more lenient.
    That said, you buy this stuff as a the status symbol.. if it's just for the 3 Watt of aerodynamic drag you save, you might as well wrap some tape around the spokes. A roll of gaffer tape is 6 quid and should convert both wheels to 60 mm profile no problem. If you want to be fancy, you can cut a spoiler out of LDPE, fold it and epoxy it to the rim... plenty of low cost options to get a set of Zapp wheels... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Camcycle1974 wrote:
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    If you don't get a set of Enve you will always live with the doubt that you could and indeed should do better. Great achievements call for great rewards and a new carbo-tanium driver club simply ain't gonna do it, I'm afraid. You could and indeed should get yourself a Pagani Zonda or the new McLaren, but living where you live, the horizon is simply too close to your garage to bother...

    In essence, stop being a scrimper and order those Enve

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... -12-45763/

    The two user reviews on the page you linked don't look all that favourable. 1 star for a £2300 wheel set!

    Considering that the first person is talking about a completely different set of wheels and the second can't spell 'bead', I'd take them with a punch of salt. Look on Weight Weenies for real reviews of high end wheels.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • biggayal
    biggayal Posts: 35
    http://www.boydcycling.com
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    biggayal wrote:
    http://www.boydcycling.com
    Custom wheels from America? How does that work when you have a problem?
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    If you weigh 14 stone I'd make sure you get something suitably robust then you will lessen the chances of a problem.
  • biggayal
    biggayal Posts: 35
    Hope there isn't a problem, glass half full and all that
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Camcycle1974 wrote:
    The two user reviews on the page you linked don't look all that favourable. 1 star for a £2300 wheel set!

    The thing is when something goes wrong on a 2 K set of wheels, people tend to be very vocal. When the same happens on a set of 300 quid Chinese wheels people are more lenient.
    That said, you buy this stuff as a the status symbol.. if it's just for the 3 Watt of aerodynamic drag you save, you might as well wrap some tape around the spokes. A roll of gaffer tape is 6 quid and should convert both wheels to 60 mm profile no problem. If you want to be fancy, you can cut a spoiler out of LDPE, fold it and epoxy it to the rim... plenty of low cost options to get a set of Zapp wheels... :wink:

    Perhaps some cyclists choose status symbols, but that is not what I am after. I want something that looks good to me, rides well, feels good, doesn't slow me down and doesn't fall apart in a nano.

    In fact, I would be quite happy if they were completely unidentifiable with no logos or anything.

    I have investigated several of the options suggested. Nearly all are out of stock when you try to actually place an order.

    Some vision Metron 40 would fit the bill. Can't seem to buy those anywhere either. :cry:
  • LegendLust
    LegendLust Posts: 1,022
    I've seen a pair of the new Miche SWR RC carbon clinchers - very nice. And a lot of development has gone into the braking surfaces and the braking performance. Ask most wheelbuilders on here and they'll agree that Miche hubs are very good.

    The SWR's are light (around 1500gr), are available in black/dark grey decals and are 38mm depth. I think cost is around the £1200 mark. So some change left out of your budget.

    Miche are running a Demo/Test programme for the SWR RC wheels - here's a list of dealers that are participating. Worth a try I suppose - proof of the pudding's in the eating!

    https://www.facebook.com/Miche.Italy/ph ... =1&theater
    Selling my Legend frame
    http://owningalegend.wordpress.com/2014 ... ced-price/
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Why have you ruled out the Mavic C 40? When I serviced a set, I didn't dislike them, lots of nice safety features for peace of mind if you want to take them on holiday to Majorca...

    http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... u-buy-them
    left the forum March 2023
  • Camcycle1974
    Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    Some vision Metron 40 would fit the bill. Can't seem to buy those anywhere either.

    Try Primo Cycles in Cambridge. They had the 40's and 55's last time I looked. Not tempted by the farsports ones then?!
  • Camcycle1974
    Camcycle1974 Posts: 1,356
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Camcycle1974 wrote:
    The two user reviews on the page you linked don't look all that favourable. 1 star for a £2300 wheel set!

    The thing is when something goes wrong on a 2 K set of wheels, people tend to be very vocal. When the same happens on a set of 300 quid Chinese wheels people are more lenient.
    That said, you buy this stuff as a the status symbol.. if it's just for the 3 Watt of aerodynamic drag you save, you might as well wrap some tape around the spokes. A roll of gaffer tape is 6 quid and should convert both wheels to 60 mm profile no problem. If you want to be fancy, you can cut a spoiler out of LDPE, fold it and epoxy it to the rim... plenty of low cost options to get a set of Zapp wheels... :wink:

    I thought your earlier posts were a bit tongue in cheek :D Enve and Zipp in particular are status symbols and when they don't live up to expectations I suppose harsh criticism is inevitable. My Chinese clinchers on the other hand are a bit more understated, I have had several people ask what they are and where I got them.
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Why have you ruled out the Mavic C 40? When I serviced a set, I didn't dislike them, lots of nice safety features for peace of mind if you want to take them on holiday to Majorca...

    http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... u-buy-them
    Actually, I haven't ruled them out. They may well be my second option.

    Not easy to find in stock either though.
    They looked good on the bike I saw in a shop.
    French wheels, French bike, I feel a French holiday coming on.

    87f4968357f2ecaae8818f3b6c6b7bc8.jpg
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,310
    Buy them in a shop ... I mean it. You might save a couple of hundred quid buying them online, but in the long run having the support of a shop is of great help for any problem or warranty issue. The rule is: buy the cheap stuff online, but buy the expensive stuff in a reputable shop, especially true for Mavic!
    Just go to your local Mavic dealer, tell them what you want and they'll get them for you... you can even ask for a bit of discount
    left the forum March 2023
  • littledove44
    littledove44 Posts: 871
    ugo.santalucia wrote:
    Buy them in a shop ... I mean it. You might save a couple of hundred quid buying them online, but in the long run having the support of a shop is of great help for any problem or warranty issue. The rule is: buy the cheap stuff online, but buy the expensive stuff in a reputable shop, especially true for Mavic!
    Just go to your local Mavic dealer, tell them what you want and they'll get them for you... you can even ask for a bit of discount
    Good advice, thanks.

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