Advise on wheels please.

isojet

Hi, born again biker and been cycling since last summer, bought myself a new cannonade synapse in april and the bikes great, I've averaged about 90 miles a week for the last 7 months and have greatly improved my health and well being, i run the garmin edge and upload to strava, which like a lot of people i find totally addictive if not a little frustrating at times, ok over the last year I've slowly replaced all my cheapo stuff that i started out with and replaced with good kit, shoes, helmet, bibs, jerseys etc, I'm about to do a wheel upgrade as the stock wheels are letting me and the bike down, this is turning into a mare as the technical side of this is boggling me out, i live on the coast and everyday is a windy day, its also very hilly, my average ride see's elevations of around 1700 ft plus, if I've only got an hour I'll sometimes stay on the flat but not often, my friend who works for a well known bike shop has let me loan a set of Mavic carbon sls on conti 4000's tyres, been out for a long ride on them today and even though i seemed to be cruising along with less effort the side winds really throws the bike, as nice as they look i don't think for what i ride there good for me, after a bit (a lot) of research i like the sounds of the shimano dura ace c35's as an alround wheel, or possibly the Campagnolo Shamal Ultra, I'm really a bit stuck with this one as everyone has a preferred brand and set of wheels, everyone in the biking retail industry from Halfords to independent retailers will have a different view of his/her best wheel set, so could i have your views please.
Thank you.

gethinceri

Chinese carbon ones, 50mm deep with an alloy braking track..

imposter2.0

DA C24s

w00dster

Good shout by Imposter, Dura-ace C24 are a light (ish) shallow rim wheel. Some may refer to them as a climbing wheel, you won't be impacted by cross winds on these. Can be had for less than £600.
Also another option would be the below:-
http://road.cc/content/review/106308-spada-wheels-stiletto-wheels

Heard good things about them, if I didn't already have a decent set of lightweight wheels I'd be tempted by them.

trek_dan

Talk to a wheel builder. Light 20 spoke climbing wheels like C24's aren't going to be your best bet if your over 75kg.

t4tomo

What you don't want is deep section rims that are a disadvantage due to weight on climbs and a nightmare in crosswinds.

For an upgrade on stock wheels for a not silly amount of money then how about some fulcrum racing5s or Racing 3's if you are feeling a bit flusher. Both ready good all round wheels, light but not so light that you'll buckle them if you've had a an extra weetabix that morning.

homers_double

I have racing 5's on my Allez and they've been fine for two years. I've replaced the bearings in them though as they started to get a bit rattly but thats an easy job anyway.

KheSanh

Campag Zondas. Good all round wheel; reasonably light and stiff. Ribble have some great wheel deals on at the moment but unfortunately sold out of the Shimano compatible Zondas.

w00dster

I wouldn't be too worried about being over 75kgs and running DA 24's, I know two riders a lot heavier than that who ride those. 85kgs and above may be pushing it, but theres a lot of riders on them who are above 11st 6lbs.

socrates

Go the hand built route

isojet

Ok thanks everyone, never looked at the hand built avenue but worth a shot, i just want to get it right first time because of the costs involved, i nearly bought these Mavic carbon sls's until i was lucky enough to loan them for a while and I'm so glad now that i didn't, not that its a bad wheel but just not suitable for the type of riding and winds i have to endure on most days.
My weight is around 82kg, I've shed most of my fat and I'm holding this weight at the moment, lost about two stone since i started out and probably fitter now than I've ever been, I'm also working out at the gym to get a bit of variety into my routine, but the bike is my first love and i try to keep the gym for rainy days.
I'll let you all know how i get on and what I finally settle for in the wheel department.
Thank you.

cycleclinic

Carbon rims with an alloy brake track are pointless. First the alloy brake track can delaminate and then why bother with an alloy brake track. It make the rim heavier and is only there to alley concerns over braking which are over played. Modern carbon rims have mostly addressed many of the issues and good pad choice solves poor braking too. I use mine in all weather's, I started using them this year in march I will continue until racing is over on the 18th October. Never had any issues. So if the op is thinking of the carbon route don't bother with an alloy brake track.

As for which wheels, I am not being funny here but pick round ones, stiff ones and wide ones. Get a wheel with all three and you will be happy. That however rules out the da c24's as the are not stiff. Fulcrum r5's actually fit the bill, or look in the hand built wheels thread for suggestions. Not sure how the dt Swiss r23 or r24 wheels shape but they wide and round so it a good start.

isojet

Nice bit of advice, thank you cycleclinic, I totally see what your saying, I've been steering away from the full carbon for that very reason, BRAKING and the poor stories I've been reading, the wheels I've been looking at so far have been aluminium/carbon, I'm really struggling with this here, I'm going to go up to a grand for a set, I know in real terms it's not that much (did say I wasn't going to talk money) as regards to what you can pay for top end wheels but hay lets get real here I'm never going to be in the Tour de France, I just want to achieve the best i can within reason, and I know my stock wheels aren't doing me any favours, I've been putting out over 1.5mph over my norm with these sls wheels, it's just there so bad with a cross wind, they should come with a hazard warning lol.
Thanks I'll take a closer look at the full carbons and see what my money can get me. Cheers.

trailflow

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19675012#p19675012]thecycleclinic[/url] wrote:

Carbon rims with an alloy brake track are pointless. First the alloy brake track can delaminate and then why bother with an alloy brake track. It make the rim heavier and is only there to alley concerns over braking which are over played. Modern carbon rims have mostly addressed many of the issues and good pad choice solves poor braking too. I use mine in all weather's, I started using them this year in march I will continue until racing is over on the 18th October. Never had any issues. So if the op is thinking of the carbon route don't bother with an alloy brake track.

Can you post any examples of the alloy carbon wheels delaminating ? I've been looking but i've yet to see any. Wouldn't a full carbon rim have a higher chance of delamination overall ? Surely if modern carbon wheels are now great then the bonding glue/resin used in alloy carbon wheels is equally as good ? Yes,no ?

An alloy rim brake track will be consistently smooth when manufactured by a machine. A carbon rim brake track will have more room for human error if they are hand made. i would imagine it makes manufacturing faster and cheaper. i think alloy carbon wheels also exist to fit a different price category.

Alloy rim beads will resist higher tyre pressures better and will also not warp due to heat.

gethinceri

Agreed.

isojet

This is my original point, everyone has his/her opinion on what's best, even when I know my riding style, goals and my budget it's still a hard choice.

cycleclinic

I know one chap I ride with who had it happen to his shimano wheels. The delamination thing is not a big risk but the risk that people talk about with carbon rims are overplayed if the wheels are used under normal conditions. I see a lot of broken alloy rimmed wheels very few broken carbon ones. I have alloyed rimmed wheel sets where the braking is not a patch on my carbon ones I ride on. So my over conclusion still stands. Alloy brake track is a marketing gimmick as most people who buy them don't ride mountains and it has to be a fairly extreme decent to over heat a modern carbon rim with a high tg resin brake track.

Also yet to find a carbon rim with lumpy brake track. The thing is by reading the horror stories on the Internet it stops you trying things. Also most of the horror stories will never happen under more normal conditions.

isojet

Hi everyone, ok I've bought my new wheels and about to fit them probably tomorrow, after a lot of deliberation I've opted for the Fizz 303 firecrest carbons on conti grand prix 4000 ll tyres, bit more than I wanted to spend but the reviews are 5 star and they fit my type of riding.
I'll let you know how I get on with them after a few weeks on the road.
Thanks.

isojet

Zipp not Fizz, predictive mode enabled I'm afraid.