Wheel upgrade

mr_eddy

So I got my Btwin Triban 500 road bike - Cost me only £280 and its been brilliant for the commute to work - Its not my best bike so I am not bothered about pimping it out or anything that being said I have only done 75 miles and the rear wheel is already out of true. I have not hit any pot holes and have tried to be as light footed as poss. I am just over 13 stone so not a massive bloke but not super skinny either.

I have considered taking it back to have the wheel re-trued but Decathlon (its under warranty) is a long way from me and they can't sort it same day anyway so its a massive inconvenience - They said they are understaffed so all workshop jobs are subject to a 5 day waiting list. My next thought was to get the LBS to sort and try and Decathlon to either pay me back or give me a credit note etc.

However I have since discovered that the wheels in question are notorious for being rubbish, Just looking at the reviews suggest they are fundamentally unfit for purpose so I am not sure I want to repair a wheel that is not designed for the job:

These reviews suggest the wheels are basically naff to start with:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/road-bike-r ... 05016.html

With the above in mind do you think I maybe just better off getting a new set of hoops - Given the cost of the bike and the fact its my commuter bike I don't want to spend lots maybe up to £80-100. Any thoughts on the below?

Giant SR-2 NOS Wheelset - £80 eBay
Wilkinson / Shimano 2200 Hubs Wheelset - £90 Evans
Shimano RS010 Wheelset - £90 CRC

Any others worth looking at ? I don't want 2nd hand as I want the piece of mind knowing that they have not been crashed/repaired etc. Also How often do Shimano hubs need servicing ?

If I am to change the wheels I want something that is basically fit and forget, I don't mind wheels that need hub services etc as long as I can go for several months / 1000+ Miles between services.

Advice please ?

bendertherobot

Fulcrum Racing 7 LG from Merlin with GP40000iiS tyres and tubes. £140 ish.

mr_eddy

This is a direct quote from Deacthlon so they seem to have accepted that their wheels are no good:

"Thank you for taking your time to review the product. The wheel was known to have problems with water getting past the seal and into the causing it to fail. B'Twin have since made some improvements and the product is better than it was, but still not as good as it needs to be for us in the UK. B'Twin are looking into replacing the whole wheel in the near future. As before I would suggest you return the wheel and get it exchanged as per the warranty."

slowbike

Second on the Fulcrum Racing ... "bomb proof" - £110 off Wiggle or for a 2014 set - 99 from Merlin (no tyres)

I've got FR7's and given them loads of stick - I've had the bearings replaced once ...
Wife has FR5's and they've had loads of stick - no issue with them at all.
I've also got Quattros and whilst they've not had loads of stick, they are nice wheels ...
I'm now riding FR sport (basically FR7's) - again, they get loads of stick - crappy weather, bad roads - no issues at all.

daniel_b

mr_eddy wrote:

This is a direct quote from Deacthlon so they seem to have accepted that their wheels are no good:

"Thank you for taking your time to review the product. The wheel was known to have problems with water getting past the seal and into the causing it to fail. B'Twin have since made some improvements and the product is better than it was, but still not as good as it needs to be for us in the UK. B'Twin are looking into replacing the whole wheel in the near future. As before I would suggest you return the wheel and get it exchanged as per the warranty."

So why not get a cheap set of wheels like these for £75:
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPCAKHAM/campagnolo-khamsin-wheelset
Campagnolo and Fulcrum are the same company btw.

And then get your BTwin wheels replaced\repaired by decathlon when you next have the time, or are going somewhere near them?
Alternatively, I have a pair of white Shimano RS30's that have covered about 300 miles at most (on my gf's bike) for sale, which I could do for the same price as those Campags posted.

Bobbinogs

Errmm, get a mate to retrue the back wheel which should take about 5 minutes. Then, when convenient, send the wheel back and get the replacement as Decathlon are suggesting.

svetty

Given the huge number of Tribans out there it isn't surprising that a few wheels develop problems - especially at the price the whole bike sells for. There is an old expression : 'Buy cheap, buy twice' that may have some relevance here.

Given the budget nature of the wheel I'd suggest you try truing it yourself - lots of online videos/advice guides. You have little to lose and might just sort the problem

mr_eddy

Thanks for the advice, I will look at the Fulcrums. Re the Campag's They are Campag freehub only I believe in which case no good for me (Shimano).

I will try truing but I suspect it will go wrong again very soon so just want to plan ahead.

Ideally I need to get it below £100 for new wheels - No point spending £140 on a bike that cost £280.

Also in answer to 'buy cheap buy twice' I think you will find that with the exception of the wheels the Triban bike series gets glowing reviews so in this instance your statement is unfounded, Here is a link to the review of my bike (although mine is the drop bar version).

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/ ... -road-bike

I suspect with new wheels the bike will be far better.

Thanks for wheel advice some options to mull over.

daniel_b

mr_eddy wrote:

Thanks for the advice, I will look at the Fulcrums. Re the Campag's They are Campag freehub only I believe in which case no good for me (Shimano).

Nope they say Shimano fit:

Size: 700c
Type: ShimanoSram 10/11sp
Spokes F&R: 24/27h

At an alleged 1765 grams, I would wager they would also chop a bit of weight off your bike - 300 grams ore thereabouts.
I don't have them msyelf, but others on commuting have been singing their praises, especially at that price.

mr_eddy

Ah ok my bad will check them out thanks, They will defo shed weight as the current wheels are around 2kg.

Although reliability is key for me - I want something that is as robust as poss.

Will the lower spoke count be an issue or is a quality lower spoke count wheel better than a cheap higher spoke count wheel?

As mentioned I am around 13 stone also I carry up to 10kg of stuff on me when going to work (laptop / clothes / lunch / D-Lock etc) so any wheels I get need to be able to take an overall rider weight of up to about 100kg that should cover me / my clothes plus my bag and bike etc.

slowbike

the FR wheels will be fine ... for that weight ...

AK_jnr

So because the bike isnt expensive you are only going to stick another set of crap wheels on? The Fulcrums mentioned above will probably transform your bike at a low price and can always be transfered over to a new bike if you ever get one.

bendertherobot

Incidentally I added my wheel and tyre suggestion as it makes the LG 7's effectively £85 (given how much the tyres and tubes cost)

https://www.merlincycles.com/fulcrum-ra ... 85411.html

And you'd see a huge difference in tyres as well

dinyull

Daniel B wrote:

mr_eddy wrote:

This is a direct quote from Deacthlon so they seem to have accepted that their wheels are no good:

"Thank you for taking your time to review the product. The wheel was known to have problems with water getting past the seal and into the causing it to fail. B'Twin have since made some improvements and the product is better than it was, but still not as good as it needs to be for us in the UK. B'Twin are looking into replacing the whole wheel in the near future. As before I would suggest you return the wheel and get it exchanged as per the warranty."

So why not get a cheap set of wheels like these for £75:
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPCAKHAM/campagnolo-khamsin-wheelset
Campagnolo and Fulcrum are the same company btw.

And then get your BTwin wheels replaced\repaired by decathlon when you next have the time, or are going somewhere near them?
Alternatively, I have a pair of white Shimano RS30's that have covered about 300 miles at most (on my gf's bike) for sale, which I could do for the same price as those Campags posted.

I bought a pair of these Campag a week or 2 ago. Replaced a set of Mavic Cosmic Elite which retail for towards £300 and haven't noticed any difference whatsoever, but perhaps that's just me. Impressed with them so far.

Rollett

I am hijacking your Wheel topic to add my own question... (and not start yet ANOTHER wheel upgrade topic) I am looking to do two things get a second set of wheels for my Roubaix 2015 SL4 Sport and turn my Axis 2.0 into back-up wheels or maybe even Gravel tyres so I can do Sea Otter Classic Sportive (one can dream). I am currently looking at Fulcrum Race 3's and am wondering if I am headed in the right direction? (Rider 6'3 195lbs)

Bobbinogs

Personally, I would go for something like the 5LGs. The extra internal width makes handling better and will nicely flatten some 25s out which would be ideal for the heavier rider like yourself. Saving a few grams for the 3s and paying extra for it, along with a narrower rim doesn't make much sense, IMO. Ideally, I would also recommend you define a clear max budget and then look at some nice handbuilts, but we all say that ;-)

bendertherobot

Yep. I don't really see what the F3 offer over the F5LG at the moment, 100g or so aside.

Rollett

Good points, honestly almost anything is probably better then axis 2.0 they flex and they are super heavy.. will check out some 5's as well sad thing is no local stores sell them so can't even look or buy in person. Chain reaction has them for under 250$ shipped to the USA, prices in US (amazon) are 400+.

mcstumpy

I've put quattro LGs on my triban with 25mm tyres, would recommend

mr_eddy

Ok so I have got the LBS to true the wheel, I had a go myself but screwed it up - LBS only chharged £10.

I will see what happens if it goes out of true again or causes any issues I will be going for the FR7 as everyone on here seems to give great feedback.

Ta.

ajlowin1983

Hi,

I have some of these wheels http://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/Giant ... heelSystem. The have done roughly 2000 miles, rear hub serviced after 1000. Never been trued, absolutely bombproof. Also have some BNIB tyres. https://www.merlincycles.com/continenal ... 0wodtfkFCg.

Can sell both together if interested?