'Your' wheel upgrade experiences....

bagz3

Hi everyone. I think its time to upgrade my wheels, but having never upgraded wheels before I'm sceptical on the difference it will make. Having bought a newer, lighter bike i actually feel slower on it than my now heavier winter bike with a cheap shimano R501 wheelset.
The wheels on my new bike are Campagnola Khamsin's, and at £100 a set i know they arent much good. But are they holding me back?? I mainly do club riding, with a mixture of leisurely pace to chain gangs rides, averaging 100+ miles a week.

What experiences have you guys had with wheel upgrades, was the difference significant or less so??

trek_dan

Khamsins are actually pretty good. They are my go to training wheels when not running deep carbons as they are stiff, robust and above all cheap. Unless you want something mega light for hills or deep section carbons for racing/TT's I wouldn't bother. Maybe fit some better tyres?

keef66

Unless there's something wrong with the bearings, or they are so badly tensioned you're getting brake rub, I doubt your wheels are actually holding you back.

I've been more than happy with basic Shimano R500 / RS10 wheelsets on my bikes, the latter are coming up to 8 years old now, so I have no experience of 'upgrading' wheels. (I think replacing is the more accurate term)

However, reading threads on here about wheels I gather you need to be spending £300 and up to get anything that's likely to feel livelier, and then the arguments start about handbuilts vs factory wheelsets.

Handbuilts can be custom made to suit you, your budget, and the kind of riding you do, and are generally repairable using widely available components. They can be visually uninspiring though.
Factory wheelsets are generally blingier, and come with proprietary hubs, spokes, rims, nipples and STICKERS! The more you pay, the fewer spokes you get, and often the hubs and rims are machined to the bone in order to shave off precious grams.
They also usually come with tons of marketing bullshit / acronyms / made up words and wild claims it's impossible to verify. If something goes wrong however, spare parts can be expensive, and sometimes simply not available. If you cannot do the work yourself the cost of a repair is frequently higher than that of a new wheel.

If I ever wear out either of my wheelsets I'll be replacing them with some handbuilts, probably from Cycleclinic since he's just round the corner. I am however getting on in years, and practicality is more important to me than looks. If you're a youngster and aspiring racer, and / or susceptible to pressure from your peers, then get out your credit card and go shopping for some blingy factory wheels. The world is your lobster!

freestyle_gus

No, I very much doubt they are holding you back. I went from very bog standard wheels on my Cannondale to much stiffer Pacenti SL23's, they are a nicer ride, but probably not noticeably quicker. They are however a LOT more comfortable... well worth considering wider rims in my opinion, should you decide to upgrade

keef66

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/buyers-guide-to-road-bike-wheels-44287/

KnightOfTheLongTights

I just upgraded from Mavic Aksiums on my BMC carbon to the 2015 Ksyrium Elites; and chucked the Aksiums on my Spesh Allez commuter.
I have noticed a big difference on the BMC, lighter, a better ride, much better power transfer and therefore slightly quicker. Well pleased.
The difference in quality is far less between the Aksiums and the R500s I had on the Spesh - and there's no difference in weight. While I haven't ridden it yet, I'd not really expect to notice much difference - but the Aksiums are just better made, more durable wheels, and easier to mend.
The quality of the frame has to determine how high you go with the wheels - there's not much point putting £500 wheels on a £500 bike.
But most bike-makers economise on the wheels, so many v.expensive bikes come with wheels that are not really good enough for the frame (e.g., my BMC, a £2.5k bike, came with Aksiums which are £140 a pair).
That's why wheel upgrades are so popular.

IanRCarter

Upgraded from Axis wheels on my Spesh Allez. Had a set handbuilt, H Plus Son Archetype rims, VIA road hubs and Sapim spokes 24f/24r. Massive improvement, accelerates much better, rolls much better, I can corner faster and the sound of the freehub intimidates my rivals/clubmates :twisted:

lostboysaint

Went from Fulcrum 5s to handbuilts (Velocity A23 on Miche Primato hubs, Sapim Race spokes). Stiffer, more responsive, shape a 25mm tyre up much more comfortably and (so far) fantastically reliable.

luv2ride

I've noticed an improvement each time I've upgraded but do wonder how much this might be placebo effect, or subconsciously justifying the financial outlay :?

Went from Mavic CXP22s to Mavic Ksyrium Equippes and bike felt quicker to accelerate and hold speed. Went from these to Prolite Bracciannos (Kysyriums relegated to winter duty) and again felt an improvement. Have now also got some 50mm carbon clinchers with a wide toroidal rim, slightly heavier but do feel easier to maintain speed at 18mph upwards. Oh, and comfier too when shod with 25mm tyres. But I think they look great, so that makes me ride faster and longer, no?

I'd be hard pressed to justify the upgrades on a £/mph gained basis, but if they make me want to ride more then so be it. And I have spare wheels for when very windy, or best ones are in for repair, taken off for winter, etc.

coresare

I recently purchased a 2015 Cervelo S3 with Mavic Cosmic Elite S wheels. http://www.mavic.com/wheels-road-triathlon-cosmic-elite-s

I switched to Zipp 303 FCC wheels. http://zipp.com/wheels/303-firecrest---carbon-clincher/

It was a hefty purchase at over $2k USD. In all honesty I noticed no difference in speed, acceleration, maintaining speed, ride quality, or crosswind handling.

Braking seems to still be almost as good if not the same as with the aluminum Mavic's which is good. I was also surprised how well it handled crosswinds with a deeper profile which is also a good thing. It felt the same as the Mavics in crosswind.

One area I did notice a difference is it's a little louder. You hear the Zipp 3 pall locks louder when coasting and it is also a faster clicking sound. There seems to be other various noises that are louder too while riding.

I ride mostly flats and just a casual rider so I'm not the best to give the wheels a real workout.

iron-clover

'Feel' can be horrible at times. I do notice a bit of a difference changing from my 501's shod with thick training rubber to my lighter Open Pros with racing tyres as long as the tyre pressures are right though- it puts a real smile on my face for the first couple of miles, but then get used to it.
Same in reverse after riding on the light wheels for a while, but after a few miles I just get used to it again, and the difference in overall average speed is minimal.

My lightest wheels, 38mm tubulars are really weird though- sometimes they feel like rockets and sometimes they feel draggy, when they are the exact opposite.
For example, they felt quite dragging when I was last riding them on my TT bike (which is already lighter and stiffer than my normal road bike, so should feel a lot more responsive) last week, but actually smashed my 10mile pb.