Spez Allez wheel upgrade?

stevephillips

Hi i own a 2014 Spez Allez with the axis classic wheelset and was looking to upgrade to something more aero as i'm looking to use the bike for mostly tt rides and triathalon use.
I cant afford to replace the whole bike so was looking to replace the wheels and get a yr or two out the spez and to see if i like the tri scene before forking out for a tt bike.
I'm on a limited budget of around £100-150 and was looking for some recommendations
cheers

ugo.santalucia

With that budget you will end up wasting your money for no real upgrade. Aksium, Fulcrum 7 (or pushing 5) are not much of an upgrade to be honest. You need to double your budget to get something significantly better than what you've got already

stevephillips

ok what sort of price am i looking at to see a good gain from a wheelset and get something 30mm plus on rim height as i cant find anything under the £500 mark and if i was gona spend that much then i'd look into a tt bike say the planet x stealth but this comes with the shimano r500 wheelset which is a bargain wheel so cant see any gain from doing that?

ugo.santalucia

Have you looked at Fulcrum quattro?

stevephillips

i did but was unsure of the rim size is that 30mm?

ugo.santalucia

stevephillips wrote:

i did but was unsure of the rim size is that 30mm?

lazy you, innit?

35 mm

http://www.fulcrumwheels.com/en/collect ... ng-quattro

Bobbinogs

I personally have not detected any aero benefit riding at 19/20+ mph with 30mm rims (when compared with normal/shallow 24mm rims) so would be sceptical about the tangible benefits of 35mm for the money.

For the limited budget you have I would probably opt for decent Tri (TT) bars (which could be resold when/if you buy a TT bike) and possibly a decent TT helmet (which could be kept longterm). One big advantage of a TT helmet is that you will look a real knobber wearing one riding at 15mph so it will help you focus and keep the speed up above 20

antsmithmk

Ugo will have a fit but how about some wheels from the far east? You could get some 50mm carbon tubs for about £200...

However, since your budget seems limited, just worth mentioning that a new pair of wheels is just the start of the expense... The tyres of the spesh are dire so you will be wanting to stick some new rubber on your new wheels... That's 50-100 depending on choice.
You'll be wanting to keep your old wheels for training and winter riding, so you will most likely need a cassette on your new wheels... Another 20 quid.

stevephillips

already got tt bars and found the rim size on wiggle after doing a search as ribble and another site didnt state the rim size. really not sure how much real benefit i would gain from a more aero helmet as i tend to cook with a ventless helmet on, ive looked at spez evade helmet which supposedly gives both aero and vent benefits but cant justify £100+ on a helmet.

if i'm not going to see any real gain from switching the wheels then looks like i'll have to wait for the tt bike i currently ride a 10mile tt in around 25mins so was told that switching the wheels would help lower this by several secs if not a min or two but looks like this isn't going to be the case without spending big money.

stevephillips

i've already got 2 cassettes as the stock 11-30 was way too wide a gap for what i was riding so now ride a 23-11.

I've seen the wheels on ebay but really got to question the reliability and build of these wheels. i dont know anyone who has had a set to comment on them.

I also cant understand how campy wheels are so much cheaper than shim wheels seems like a con.

Bobbinogs

Saw this on 'tinternet (so it must be true ). The figures will be dependent on speed, which is not shown, but it does give a good guide of the max savings possible over a 25 mile TT:

Position, 6 minutes
Aero fork, 0.5 minutes
Disk and tri spoke wheels together, 1-1.5 minutes
Aero Helmet, 2 minutes
Skinsuit, Unknown but there is a small improvement
Aero frame, 1-2.25 minutes

Hence, shaving a minute off a 10m TT from a cheap wheelset looks unlikely but I don't do TT's so my opinion is worth didly

bluemoon17

Bobbinogs wrote:

Saw this on 'tinternet (so it must be true ). The figures will be dependent on speed, which is not shown, but it does give a good guide of the max savings possible over a 25 mile TT:

Position, 6 minutes
Aero fork, 0.5 minutes
Disk and tri spoke wheels together, 1-1.5 minutes
Aero Helmet, 2 minutes
Skinsuit, Unknown but there is a small improvement
Aero frame, 1-2.25 minutes

Hence, shaving a minute off a 10m TT from a cheap wheelset looks unlikely but I don't do TT's so my opinion is worth didly

Another summary here of the affect equipment has on speed in Time-trialling: http://cyclingtips.com.au/2010/04/biggest-bang-for-your-buck-in-time-trial-equipment/

supermurph09

stevephillips wrote:

already got tt bars and found the rim size on wiggle after doing a search as ribble and another site didnt state the rim size. really not sure how much real benefit i would gain from a more aero helmet as i tend to cook with a ventless helmet on, ive looked at spez evade helmet which supposedly gives both aero and vent benefits but cant justify £100+ on a helmet.

if i'm not going to see any real gain from switching the wheels then looks like i'll have to wait for the tt bike i currently ride a 10mile tt in around 25mins so was told that switching the wheels would help lower this by several secs if not a min or two but looks like this isn't going to be the case without spending big money.

Absolutely no chance wheels will make that much improvement. If you improve by a minute having put those wheels on then I'd say it will be your ability that has brought about the change not the wheels. I'd even put good money that buying a £1000 wheelset would currently only save you 5-10 secs on a 10m T, and that's assuming you rode the same as before and the conditions were identical. For the record, there is nothing wrong with wanting wheels for cosmetic reasons!

antsmithmk

stevephillips wrote:

i've already got 2 cassettes as the stock 11-30 was way too wide a gap for what i was riding so now ride a 23-11.

I've seen the wheels on ebay but really got to question the reliability and build of these wheels. i dont know anyone who has had a set to comment on them.

I also cant understand how campy wheels are so much cheaper than shim wheels seems like a con.

I have 2 sets. 50mm tubs for the TT bike, 38mm disk clinchers for the CX bike.

Note I don't have rim braked carbon clinchers.... There are some concerns over heat build up with these. Have a search for carbonzone on eBay. I was very pleased with the wheels and the value they provided. Obviously I won't be riding the TT bike wheels in winter as I can imagine the braking surface would get wrecked. Got a set of Fulcrum 5's for winter training on the TT.

Do a spot of research on here and elsewhere, Google Chinese carbon wheels and have a read. You will get both sides of the argument but those for tend to actually have a set of wheels, whereas those against tend to talk up the disadvantages based on hearsay or their own ideas...