Giant wheels rangs

Rowano

Can someone with knowledge of the Giant range of wheels give information on the order of quality and what the initials all mean, please?

I'm currently riding the stick sr2 wheels on 2014 defy 2, looking to change after a good few thousand miles. Mainly commuting with some longer weekend rides so not looking to spend enough to warrant a massive upgrade.

Thanks!

ugo.santalucia

wheel to bike compatibility is not down to brand but it is down to which groupset you run. Specifically if you have Shimano or Sram gears, you need a pair of wheels with a Shimano/ Sram freehub. If you are on Campagnolo, then you need a Campagnolo freehub.
If you have an 11 speed groupset, make sure the wheels are for 11 speed, if you have a 10 speed groupset, you can go for an 11 speed wheelset and use a spacer (often supplied with the wheels) or for a 9-10 speed set of wheels without spacer, although these are rapidly disappearing from the market as obsolete.

Other than that, the world is your oyster, meaning you don't have to stick to Giant branded wheels

Hope this clarifies

keef66

What's wrong with the wheels you've got at the moment?? Do they have wear indicators on the rims? If not, do you have a way of measuring rim thickness at the brake track? For me, barring some catatrophic failure of rim or hub, wearing out the rim through braking is the only reason to replace a wheel.

I don't do an intergalactic mileage, and don't brake very much or very aggressively, and I'm still riding the wheels my first bike came with 8 years ago.

If you just want to improve the quality of the ride, you should invest in better, possibly fatter tyres.

If on the other hand you're wanting to bling up the bike, go ahead, the world's your lobster! Consensus seems to be that you need to be spending £3-400 on a wheelset to get any appreciable improvement over stock wheels. Lighter, stiffer, more aero, wider rimmed, carbon, tubeless are the usual traits sought in upgrade wheels.

When I eventually wear out my RS10's I'll probably get a pair of unassuming handbuilts with robust hubs, brass nipples and readily available spokes in numbers that mean the wheel doesn't go pringle shaped if one breaks. I am however getting on in years, and value practicality / convenience over bling.

If you're an excitable youngster you may be tempted by shiny / carbon things with very few, bladed spokes, and the wild claims of the manufacturers' marketing department bullsh1t....

It's a free country. Well this one is; I have no idea where you are....

Rowano

I'm happy with the giant wheels....they are round and fit in my bike. The rear hub is sounding rough though and it's hardly surprising after the number of times over winter it's been water logged and sprayed full of road salt. The hub has been stripped down and cleaned after winter but it's noticeably rough now. I'm not going out to spend a small fortune, I'm heavy enough that saving 100g in wheels will make next to no difference, not that I'm out to break speed records anyway.

The main thing is, I've gotten on well with the giant wheels, so I see no reason to change brands. I would like sealed bearings though as the bike is out in all weathers. Currently have shimano groypset and will hopefully just transplant the sprocket set over to new wheels. I'm just confused with all the lettering and numbers of giant wheels and can't seem to find what an extra 50 quid between wheels will get.

keef66

There's no such thing as completely sealed bearings; water will always get in, more quickly if pressure washed!

Some cheap cartridge bearings eg those on Fulcrum wheels are sealed on one side only; these do seem specially prone to premature degradation. Easily improved by replacing with the double sealed versions from a bearing supplier. (Fulcrum do sell the wheels with the double sealed bearings as a CX version)
I'm guessing the Giant wheels use cartridge bearings. If so, just tap them out and replace with decent quality (SKF, FAG etc) ones from a bearing supplier. Read the code off the old one or measure it; int and ext diameters, thickness.

My Shimano cup and cone bearings get an annual strip down, clean and regrease. The rear drive side was a bit rusty last time, so fitted new bearings. Maybe the lips of the seal are wearing out...
Campagnolo are also I believe cup and cone bearings.

An extra £50 on a wheelset usually gets you a bit less metal in the rims and fewer, bladed spokes.

turbo1191

You can change the bearings in the wheels. I had the giant p-sl1 wheels, I had this done recently at the small cost of £20.. supplied and fitted by my local wheel builder.

dj58

Correct me if I am wrong, your SR-2 wheels are 24 spoke front and 28 spoke rear and use regular j-bend type spokes.

The P-SL 1, use straight pull spokes with a lower front 18 and rear 24 spoke count. The P-SL 0 use straight bladed aero spokes 16 front and 20 rear spoke count. The P-SLR 1 is the tubeless ready version of the P-SL 0, though uses a scandium alloy rim. All the wheels are 21mm wide and use sealed bearings.

If you are heavy you might want to avoid going to lower spoke count wheels, also to consider that spares for the aftermarket Giant wheel systems might be difficult to obtain.