Saturae C50 wheels vs Cero RC45's

luv2ride

In a quandary. I'm after some carbon wheels, but can't push to Reynolds Assaults. So, have narrowed down to these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/saturae-c50-ful ... -wheelset/
or, these:
https://www.cycledivision.co.uk/cero-rc ... 45-f20-r24

Saturae's are 100g heavier, but cheaper. Come with DT Swiss spokes (external nipples).

RC45s come with free 25mm tyres, plus pair of valve extenders.

Calpol

I have embarked on this vanity project recently so here is my experience. It may or may not help.
Everyone knows that on most racing bikes deeper section rims look better. I was not immune to this temptation. in fairness I bought a set of 32mm deep alloy clincher wheels from soul bikes two years ago and they have been great - light enough at 1550g and 23mm wide - with nice tyres they feel good and look decent. however, the itch was not scratched I still hankered after wheels that would make me look more pro and would give free speed.

I researched and agonised for month weighing up value vs design vs weight vs durability etc. Eventually I happened upon a set of Farsports carbon clinchers, 23mm wide,50mm deep, "u" shaped, tubeless compatible. Perfect I thought and for £300 surely a bargain.

They were perfectly fine wheels, looked great, seemed well built, weighed c1490g I fitted them, shod in new rubber and rode them a few times. I even set quite a nice PB (by 20 secs in c 6mins) on a nice 3 mile segment although I think it was wind assisted to a degree. Here's the rub though.
- crosswinds affect 50mm deep wheels. downhill at speed this can be a little disconcerting even at 75kg
- braking isn't like alloy even in the dry. setting up the pads is a bit of a faff. its not bad but its just not as good. I never used them in wet conditions.
- they didnt feel as responsive as my similarly weighted alloy clinchers
- they were very stiff and made for a firmer ride
- getting tyres on and off the rim was a test!

All in all for me there were too many trade offs. I sold them and got my money back. I scratched the itch and its gone away for a while. Now this maybe purely a symptom of under investing . Maybe £600 set is better than £300 chinese set but for me the underwhelming feeling I had after that level of investment would have been more had I say bought some Reynolds at £900. Train hard and you ride faster. Aero wheels look great but the feel isn't as good as the look. when you are riding your bike you ain't looking at it but you sure are feeling it.

Anyway apologies for the missive. I am sure the CERO or Saturae wheels will look great and perform well but just don't expect them to transform your ride if unless you have boat anchors shod in recycled prophylactics. Personally at that sort of money I would be getting something like the HED belgium 25mm rims and some nice hubs - Ugo told me so two years ago - I heard but didn't listen. he was right though.

sloppyschleckonds

Calpol wrote:

Anyway apologies for the missive. I am sure the CERO or Saturae wheels will look great and perform well but just don't expect them to transform your ride if unless you have boat anchors shod in recycled prophylactics. Personally at that sort of money I would be getting something like the HED belgium 25mm rims and some nice hubs - Ugo told me so two years ago - I heard but didn't listen. he was right though.

This

ugo.santalucia

Calpol wrote:

Maybe £600 set is better than £300 chinese set

Probably exactly the same thing.

Calpol wrote:

Ugo told me so two years ago - I heard but didn't listen. he was right though.

Cassandra (Greek: Κασσάνδρα, pronounced [kas̚sándra͜a], also Κασάνδρα), also known as Alexandra or Kassandra, was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.
A common version of her story is that Apollo gave her the power of prophecy in order to seduce her, but when she refused, he spit into her mouth cursing her to never be believed.

Anonymous

While I can appreciate what Calpol says, my experience is the opposite.

I paid £400 for my carbon wheels and they are really nice. I have Open Corsa CX tyres and they are definitely a bit (fractionally) quicker than my Zondas with Pro4 SC, especially on rolling terrain, but they do 'feel' (I know this is entirely subjective) faster and I have to confess I love the wooshing sound they make.

I agree braking isn't quite as good, but if it's wet or particularly hilly, then the Zondas are fine. I mostly ride in surrey, sussex and the new forest, and none of the hills are too steep around there, so braking has never been an issue regarding descents, just make sure you have good pads. I am not the most technically able person and I got them sorted ok. If you are going somewhere like the Gower peninsula in Wales, it's definitely scarily steep, though and I would recommend alloy brake tracks (also 75 KG rider)

Tyres aren't too much effort to change, and it takes all of 5 mins to swap the brake pads over.

Definitely worth having, but as a second pair of wheels if you are out on a sunny, still day. I ride mine every day even commuting!

sloppyschleckonds

coriordan wrote:

While I can appreciate what Calpol says, my experience is the opposite.

I paid £400 for my carbon wheels and they are really nice.

If you pay £200-£400 for a set of carbon wheels, thats quite different to spending £800 and may well affect expectations.

Anonymous

Considering Calpol paid £300 and decided not to keep them, I presume we were in the same ballpark for price/performance/expectation.

As to whether £7/800 is a good price for you depends on how much disposable income you have and what you are riding now

diy

Hubs make a huge difference in my view. I have DuraAce C50s for dry and Fulcrum Racing 3s for wet. The C50s are ridiculously smooth compared to the fulcrums, which are barely better than the stock ritchey's they replaced.

50mm wheels are twitching in the wind though and don't want to turn that well - You soon get used to it.

ugo.santalucia

diy wrote:

50mm wheels are twitching in the wind though and don't want to turn that well - You soon get used to it.

You soon get used to pick up fresh turds when walking the dog in the morning, but a dog in a flat might have been your wife's idea of fun, while on bicycle wheels' decisions you are in charge...

brettjmcc

Calpol wrote:

Anyway apologies for the missive. I am sure the CERO or Saturae wheels will look great and perform well but just don't expect them to transform your ride if unless you have boat anchors shod in recycled prophylactics. Personally at that sort of money I would be getting something like the HED belgium 25mm rims and some nice hubs - Ugo told me so two years ago - I heard but didn't listen. he was right though.

This. I built my Belgium+ onto Hope MonoRS and run 25mm Contis. Love them and all in was under £475

Handle lovely, smooth and had me topping over 45mph coming down Bwlch on Saturday. Look great too

diy

ugo.santalucia wrote:

diy wrote:

50mm wheels are twitching in the wind though and don't want to turn that well - You soon get used to it.

You soon .....

LOL - it was much clearer in my head

luv2ride

Well, I ended up "scratching the itch" and went for the Saturae C50s. Had a quick blast on them tonight and all is good - braking is better than expected (pretty good in the dry), no brake rub when out of the saddle or climbing, and most surprised they don't seem harsh (wider rim and 25mm tyres at 90 psi). It was also pretty gusty and they didn't seem badly affected at all. Overall, I'm pretty happy and they feel fast! Here they are on the Scott:

gsk82

Are 25s the norm with deep section clinchers?

luv2ride

I think so, with the "new" breed of wider rim wheels. My Scott has tight rear clearances though so this rim was as wide as I think I could've gotten away with.

Some others (including the RC45s I was considering) are wider still.