Shimano R 501 Wheels quality question

1964johnr
1964johnr Posts: 179
edited February 2016 in Road general
Just purchased these for my winter bike from Ribble for £68 with skewers which seemed very reasonable. Interested in what they are going to ride like compared to the cheap stock wheels I have on my Giant SCR 2 and particularly interested in durability. Anyone with these wheels have any views?

Comments

  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,317
    If bang for buck is a linear correlation, they are the best wheels money can buy... if you accept a logarithmic correlation, then you can do better by spending 1-2 grand.

    As you have bought them, why don't you tell us how they compare with your stock wheels?
    left the forum March 2023
  • herzog
    herzog Posts: 197
    My 501s have held up very well after use in all sorts of conditions (currently around 3k miles on them). Solid, cheap and heavy but they will last.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I bought them for my winter / wet weather bike. Went for the plain, round j-bend spoked vesion to make sourcing spares easier.

    2 winters on and they are still good as new despite a lot of night riding with the unavoidable pothole or two. No sign of rim wear, but that's probably helped by the fact that I don't do much braking.

    Can't say they feel any different to the RS10s on the carbon bike. Why would they; they were budget wheels too and the only difference is a few extra spokes in the R501s...

    I like the fact that with both sets I can faff about with the cup and cone bearings.
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,986
    They are like the cockroach of wheels, they just keep going (And in my experience perfectly true), amazing for the £60 you can pick them up for.

    I looked at replacing a rear hub on my gf's stock Trek 1000 Bontrager wheels, and it would have cost £28 from an LBS, or spend another £32 and get another set of wheels, and lighter to boot.

    The Bonty rear now serves as my turbo wheel too!
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    1964johnr wrote:
    Just purchased these for my winter bike from Ribble for £68 with skewers which seemed very reasonable. Interested in what they are going to ride like compared to the cheap stock wheels I have on my Giant SCR 2 and particularly interested in durability. Anyone with these wheels have any views?

    They are good wheels for the money. I did find the bearings went quite quickly but I was riding them in totally sh*t weather and didn't really look after them.

    Not sure you will notice any difference between them and stock wheels though.
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,291
    Are they cup and cone or cartride bearings?
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    Mine were cup and cone.
  • homers_double
    homers_double Posts: 8,291
    Sod that then...
    Advocate of disc brakes.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    homers double wrote:
    Sod that then...

    Don't be put off. It's an easy home maintenance job servicing them.
    The issue I had with mine was purely down to riding through all sorts of sh*t and not really maintaining them.
  • pastryboy
    pastryboy Posts: 1,385
    Solid and reliable. Only thing that put mine out of true was a white van.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    pastryboy wrote:
    Only thing that put mine out of true was a white van.

    They tend to have that effect .... :x
  • germcevoy
    germcevoy Posts: 414
    Bullet proof. I got mine for £59. I wouldn't let cup and cone put you off in the slightest. Easy servicing making them even better value for money.
  • Sportiveman
    Sportiveman Posts: 158
    I bought a cheap second hand set to replace my buckled stock bonty wheel 9 months on still going well and in my opinion they are slightly lighter as easier on hills . Bike is a trek 1000
  • bluemoon17
    bluemoon17 Posts: 718
    Bought mine 16 months ago, have used them in all weathers both commuting and training. Have been pretty bomb proof and they feel like they have been put together properly unlike the stock wheels that came on my Allez.

    Started racing on them last year, did a few Crits and a Hill Climb. Don't exactly look very bling, but super happy with the £68 I paid for mine.
  • pastryboy
    pastryboy Posts: 1,385
    redvision wrote:
    pastryboy wrote:
    Only thing that put mine out of true was a white van.

    They tend to have that effect .... :x


    Yeah and it's proved impossible to get it back to normal. At least it was cheap and had a decent amount of miles on it.
  • redvision
    redvision Posts: 2,958
    pastryboy wrote:
    Yeah and it's proved impossible to get it back to normal. At least it was cheap and had a decent amount of miles on it.

    Did you get any compo from the van driver for the damage?
  • iron-clover
    iron-clover Posts: 737
    As above, they are probably the best bang for your buck you can get. My only fault with them is the rear rim wore out quite quickly in grotty weather- but then I was also using cheap pads that might not have helped.

    I've not had to adjust the bearings of my longest pair- the front did at least 5k miles before I had to replace both after a really bad run in with a pothole...

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