CX wheel "upgrade" advice needed

Legolam

I have a 2013 Cannondale CAADX Tiagra with Cannondale C4 hubs on Maddux DRX 6000, 32 hole rims (with canti brakes).

Basically, I use this for a huge variety of riding - road, off road, commuting, and on the turbo in the winter. I don't race, but I'm thinking about it...! It's done 6000km in a year and the rear hub has developed a lot of play in it, so it's going to the LBS for a bit of TLC next week.

I'm thinking of taking this opportunity to potentially upgrade the wheelset, but I'm finding it difficult to know what I'm looking for. I don't really want to spend more than a couple of hundred quid - is this enough to get an upgraded wheelset? e.g. I've seen the Fulcrum Racing 7 CX wheels at Ribble for £135 but I have no idea if this is worth upgrading to. I'm a reasonably light rider (60kg) but do sometimes take the bike down some slightly unsuitable rocky MTB trails/potholed roads and would like the wheels to stand up to a light battering.

Or should I be looking for a cheapo rear wheel (I can get the Shimano R501 rear wheel from CRC for £50) to use when the bike is on the turbo, and keep the original wheels for when I'm out and about?

Your advice is very much appreciated!

mattrixdesign2

I have Shimano RS11 on my TriCross and I am happy with them. Not the lightest, but only paid 70 for the pair.

reg_

Fulcrum 7's are not the lightest or snappiest wheels but they are cheap and bombproof. For that sort of money I doubt you will find a better option.

Marcus_C

Fulcrum Racing Quattros £180 at Wiggle?
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing- ... 5360554402
I have never put them on a cross bike, but I have them on my genesis and after about a year of riding in all conditions, really rate them.

ugo.santalucia

32-40 mm tyres might fit on narrow rims (as well as they might roll off), but the shape they take is hardly ideal and won't be able to go down to the pressure you would like to run (less than 35 PSI) without pinch flats and general lack of grip. A wider rim (17-20 internal width) would be desirable

Legolam

Thanks for all the advice so far.

Are those Shimano wheels or the two Fulcrum wheelsets an improvement over what I already have?

If I bought the cheapo rear wheel, then it would only have a turbo tyre on it (?18mm) so I guess rim width isn't so much of an issue.

carrock

Generally, fitting a wheelset offering a 500g saving is worth doing. What weight are you current wheels?

Junked my axis CXd for kinesis cx light and the difference is hugely noticeable. Saved 450g

Legolam

I genuinely don't know! Will have to weight them when I get home from work...

Is upgrading all about the weight? Or are there other magical properties in wheels that I should be looking out for?

ugo.santalucia

carrock wrote:

Generally, fitting a wheelset offering a 500g saving is worth doing. What weight are you current wheels?

Junked my axis CXd for kinesis cx light and the difference is hugely noticeable. Saved 450g

I would disagree... the OP is using the bike for mileage, rather than the ood race, so what really matters is to have a good set of wheels that can take the mileage and a bit of weather. Good quality hubs and excellent spokes are mandatory, weight is way down the list.

oldbazza

I'd wait a bit and save a bit more for a set of hand-builts and use the original rear for the turbo.

Legolam

Right, so I've returned home and weighed my wheels (with probably the world's worst-calibrated set of scales).

Front: 920g
Rear: 1270g (approx - I weighed it with the Tiagra 12-28 cassette on and subtracted 310g)

So it seems that I could save a fair bit of weight with whichever wheels I choose. Hmmmm, decisions...