Do different wheels make that much of a difference?

shooter999

Hi everyone

I've been riding a boardman road carbon with the stock mavic cxp22's on it and I have been very happy with its performance.

Last week I bought a 2013 MEKK poggio 3.0 with Shimano RS31's on it. Today was the first time out on it and I found it a real struggle going up hills. On flats and down hills they are quite a bit quicker than the mavic's.

Is this what you'd expect to see, I thought that as they were a more expensive wheelset, they would be better in all areas. It seemed that once I'd got them spinning they performed really well, but on the hills it was tough going.

Thanks for all opinions.

meanredspider

I don't think the RS31s are anything special so probably make very little overall difference. Good wheels (typically a multiple of cost over cheaper ones) can and do make a difference in my experience. But, like everything, it depends a fair bit on the rider too as to how much.

shooter999

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19729823#p19729823]meanredspider[/url] wrote:

I don't think the RS31s are anything special so probably make very little overall difference. Good wheels (typically a multiple of cost over cheaper ones) can and do make a difference in my experience. But, like everything, it depends a fair bit on the rider too as to how much.

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate that the rs31's aren't the best tyres, but I thought (possibly wrongly) that they would be better than the mavic's, but the mavic's are considerably better on the hills?

bbrap

Could you swap the wheels from the Boardman onto the Mekk just to make sure it is the wheels and not something else?

Anonymous

The difference in wheels is more than just weight. You could buy an expensive set of carbon rims that are light and aero but if they are not particularly stiff they will not climb well. The quality of the hubs the width of the rim, spoke numbers, depth, all play a part in a wheels ability to do a certain type of riding and there is no one wheel that does everything better than the rest.

cycleclinic

Wheelset performance is not guided by price really. Wheels do make the bike feel different. They can make a small difference to your pace but that comes almost always from good aerodynamics.

Wheels loose very little power through flex even if they are considered flex. Don't confuse wheel flex with lateral wheel stiffness though as deeper rimmed wheels of the same lateral stiffness as a shallower rimmed wheel will flex more for given side load.

Wheel weight makes little difference to how fast you go. You need a big saving on weight to make a difference on a climb. Saving a 200g will make sod all difference to your pace but the they will feel different and most like the feel of a lighter set of wheels.

Stiff wheels will have longer spoke life than less stiff wheels if they are built properly. Otherwise stiffer wheels feel more responsive without actually being more responsive. It another case of feeling different without being different in a measurable way.

A wider rim will allow your tyres to spread and you can use slightly lower pressure. This combined with the increased air volume improve ride comfort. Add the different tyre profile for improved handling and this is the biggest difference a new wheelset will make.

How a bike feels to ride though is important.

So as to what difference the wheels make will depend on you.

Your struggle up the hills is not the wheels I am afraid and feeling of extra pace over the mavic could be down to different road and weather conditions. As I said wheels can feel different without changing anything. Also if the tyres are different then that could explain the difference in pace all by itself.

You don't have to spend a huge ammount to get something lighter, stiff with a wide rim. Hills however will be no easier as is simply down to rider and bike weight how aerodynamic the rider is and power output.

meanredspider

That's a rather confused/confusing reply

RS31s cost £98 and weigh over 2kg

Typically good wheels start at at least double that cost (if bought carefully) and weigh nearer 0.5kg less

0.5kg on the wheel will feel different because it's rotating mass: the flywheel effect of starting and stopping it and the gyroscopic effect of turning it - on top of the additional mass of a full water bottle.

shooter999

Thanks for all the replies guys, it's really appreciated.

I know sod all about cycling, but enjoy going out on the bike and trying to learn more from you guys.

I will try and swap the wheels and cassette back on to the mavic's and try the MEKK again.

The difference is not a perceived one as the route I went on yesterday is one that I've done lots of times on the boardman,and the weather conditions were favourable and I was feeling ok before going (but knackered after 75 miles).

OfficerDigby

AS well as swapping wheels; Check your position between the two bikes and try to make the new bike same as old one. Moving about position can affect the way you can produce power in a variety of ways so could result in you thinking your not able to go up hills so well. Can take a a couple of weeks to get used to new bike and possibly new position.

Also you said, you are faster on flat and down hills. So you've gone faster on the ride overall perhaps you knackered yourself out riding faster in flats/downhills (new bike effect) and then was surprised you nowt left for hills!

me-109

The 31s are heavy. You will feel the difference, but with a different bike there are plenty of other variables contributing. A wheel swap will help identify the 'problem' areas.