£1500 to spend on race wheels

JesseD

Majority of races next year will be road races, plus around 6-8 crits max.

The cycleclinic I hadn't considered tubeless, are they that much better?

As for special occasions, nothing better than donning my tux to go for a ride!

antfly

JesseD wrote:

antfly wrote:

How are you getting on with those Quattro wheels, have you noticeed any aero advantage and what's the braking like in the wet ? I was going to get them but read a review on road.cc that put me off because of the wet weather braking.

Aero advantage, no not really though they look nice!

However I am a big lad and I find them stiff enough when sprinting which is what I was looking for, I rate them to be honest, they are not the lightest but for the money they are great.

Not noticed any issues with wet weather braking to be honest. 8)

Thanks for that but I was really referring to the Quattro Carbons that MugenSi bought, assuming yours are the Quattro LG ones..to answer your original question though, If I were spending that kind of money on wheels I would get the new Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL C.

isotonik

Never buy 2nd hand wheels, especially carbon.

imposter2.0

isotonik wrote:

Never buy 2nd hand wheels, especially carbon.

Why ever not?

mugensi

antfly wrote:

How are you getting on with those Quattro wheels, have you noticeed any aero advantage and what's the braking like in the wet ? I was going to get them but read a review on road.cc that put me off because of the wet weather braking.

Took the wheels out on their maiden voyage last Saturday morning. It was quite windy here, average wind speed was 45kmph with stronger gusts so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to see how they behave in crosswinds so I picked a near circular 40km loop to ensure the wind was hitting me from all angles throughout the spin.

First off all the most noticeable thing was the comfort on them, they really did soak up rough road surfaces and left the ride 'softer' Theyre stiff but not harsh. I didn't notice any brake rub but then again I didn't do any sprinting or steep climbing out of the saddle on them yet.

The wheels spin up to speed very easily and holding higher speeds definitely required less effort. I definitely felt like there was some 'free' speed once over 30kmph. There is a 5km stretch on the route which is near dead level and I set a PB on it despite the fairly strong direct crosswind and I'm being honest when I say I really wasn't trying to break any PB's .

Crosswinds didn't effect them too dramatically, they do tend to get steered a little off course in stronger crosswinds but nothing serious or unmanageable and at no stage did I feel unsafe or insecure because of the wind. I guess at 40mm theyre not deep enough to make a huge difference in strong windy conditions.

Braking is as good if not better than my Zondas which I had paired with Swissstop green pads and which I thought offered brilliant braking. I was surprised how good the braking is on the Quattros with the supplied red pads, excellent modulation and a real firm Stopping power when needed. The rear brakes will lock the wheel if the brake is pulled too much. I haven't been out on them in the wet yet and so cant really comment on wet braking but saying that theyre on my 'good' bike which doesn't get taken out in the wet anyway as I have an alloy bike for wet/winter use but I'm sure I'll caught in the rain at some stage but I will adjust my braking distance and speed accordingly if the braking is poor however according to the reviews I have read, it isn't too bad in the wet and like with any carbon wheelset, you have to allow for slower and longer braking distances if its wet/raining.

There were no real climbs on the route bar one 2km drag (3% average) and so I can't really comment on how they climb but they felt great on that drag and certainly weren't holding me back.

I fitted them with GP4000's and Michelin latex tubes and those combined with the carbon body of the wheels create a lovely hum on the road. Overall I'm absolutely delighted with them and recommend them to anyone looking for a mid section carbon wheelset. The look simply beautiful, they're light, comfortable and make a lovely noise, what more could one want!!

The claimed weight is 1555g according to Fulcrum. Mine weigh 1482g on the Digital kitchen scales. The QR's are 115g but I have a set of titanium/carbon QRs (45g) on the way. The wheels don't require rim tape and so the weight is very favourable when you consider Zipp 303's are 1640g without rim tape which will add another 20-25g to the overall weight.

antfly

Thanks for that detailed summary, MugenSi.

MikeWW

https://www.cycledivision.co.uk/products/wheels/cero-rc45-carbon-clincher-wheelset-0045-f20-r24-7282I reckon The Cero RC45's are good value and they ride great

mamil314

MugenSi wrote:

strong direct crosswind and I'm being honest

You, sir, are a poet.

mugensi

mamil314 wrote:

MugenSi wrote:

strong direct crosswind and I'm being honest

You, sir, are a poet.

Ha ha, I meant the crosswind was coming straight from my right hand side and not an angle... :?

On another note, Tour magazine have conducted an independent test on the aero-ness of various wheels and the Quattro Carbons faired pretty ok compared to much more expensive wheelsets. I took the figures from WW forum and without having read the article (its not available online) I'm assuming the figures represent the power required to propel the wheels over a certain distance in a identical conditions. The 303 were wheels I also considered but at nearly twice the price of the Quattros and their heavier weight, it was hard to justify. The figures below re-inforce my belief that the Quattros are considerably better value.

zipp 404 - 222 watts
zipp 303 - 225 watts
zipp 202 - 226.8 watts
Campy Bora 50 one - 224.7 watts
Quattro carbon - 226.4 watts

ugo.santalucia

It would appear that now Farsports wheels are UCI approved... got this email yesterday from the ever-useful if oddly named Windy


Good day.

So happy to tell you that we have just received the confirmed approval of our wheels from UCI.
(1) FSL30CM-25T carbon clincher rim
(2) FSL35CM-25SL carbon clincher rim
(3) FSL38CM-25T carbon clincher rim
(4) FSL45CM-25SL carbon clincher rim
(5) FSL50CM-25T carbon clincher rim
(6) FSL55TM-25SL carbon tubular

The list of approved wheels will be updated on UCI website in the next new days.
Attached confirmation letter for your reference.

If there is any question, please feel free to contact us.

Having a great weekend.

Thanks & Regards,

Farsports-Windy

JesseD

Borrowed a set of Fast Forward F6r's to race on this week and I have to admit I was blown away by the difference between them and my racing quattros!

The FFWDs are tubs and racing them was a revelation, so much faster to accelerate and held speed much better too, definitely getting tubs as my race wheels now and after doing research I think I want 60mm deep rims and will probably go the custom route from Wheelsmith, DCR or The Cycle Clinic and get advice on spoke count, hubs etc!

nicklong

Reynolds do a very competitive crash replacement scheme. Complete replacement wheel for €550. Replacement rims for less.

They also do an insurance scheme, but their crash programme was the reason I went with Assaults. (Plus an awesome deal off eBay)

DavidJB

A lot of very jealous people on this thread.

I use Campag Bora's love them...also used FFWD F6R's and they were great, got good customer service from FFWD too.

And for the jealous ones...no one gives a **** if you ride a £600 bike and wouldn't dream of spending x on wheels...good for you. That wasn't the question. People assign different values to different things...I'd rather a nice set of wheels than a new TV for example.