Winter wheels

craigus89

I'm after a set of wheels for the winter bike. I was hoping to get some Fulcrum 7 or 5's but the CX version which I understand has a better/more resistant hub, cannot find the Shimano hubbed versions in stock anywhere so looking for recommendations.

Max budget about £180, but if less then great. Primarily need to be fairly sturdy, but don't want to sacrifice too much weight for something "bomb proof". Does anyone here run the standard versions of the Fulcrum 7 or 5's in the winter? The roads can be fairly cruddy round here.

cycleclinic

Depending on you mileage you might be better of with wheels that can be rebuilt with new rims. that in the long run might work out better. Also freehub for the fulcrum wheels are £50 odd quid.

The hubs in the CX version of those wheels are not really better sealed. The freehubs are the same for starters so the bearings in these wont last any longer and the bearings in hubs that campag/fulcrum use in these wheels all have seals, the bearings are off the same size too so I would not get too hung up on the wheels being a std or CX version, bearings in both will last a similar length of time.

Best thing you can do with winter wheels in not to wash them with anything more than a bucket a brush. Pressurised water from a hose pipe and degreasers all kill hubs.

Anything from a wheel builder is going to cost more money but the pay off is when the rims wear out, they can be replaced.

mugensi

Fulcrum Quattro CX wheels are £219 delivered from Bike-Components.de

I'd find the additional £40 for them as they truly are bomb proof and 1750g in weight so reasonably lightweight.

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Fulcr ... tz-p44853/

daniel_b

MugenSi wrote:

Fulcrum Quattro CX wheels are £219 delivered from Bike-Components.de

I'd find the additional £40 for them as they truly are bomb proof and 1750g in weight so reasonably lightweight.

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Fulcr ... tz-p44853/

If he can hang on for 3 weeks, Wiggle should allegedly have them at £189 - cashback:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-quattro-lg-cx-clincher-wheelset/

fat daddy

I want to put the Shimano rs010 out there .... a little heavier at 1848g .. but hard as nails. and at only £78 if you do manage to kill a hub on them, its easy enough just to buy a new wheel they are so cheap .. that's IF you can kill one. I have one that I use as a training wheel, I got it of a mate who swears by them for his all year commuter .. he eventually wore the rim down on the front so decided to bin that one and give me the rear for the turbo ... BUT, before dumping the rs010 front in the skip he thought he would bend it so no one could steal and use it ... he is a bit of a fat fcuker and watching him jump up and down on that rim and it not bend was an eyeopener.

craigus89

Daniel B wrote:

MugenSi wrote:

Fulcrum Quattro CX wheels are £219 delivered from Bike-Components.de

I'd find the additional £40 for them as they truly are bomb proof and 1750g in weight so reasonably lightweight.

https://www.bike-components.de/en/Fulcr ... tz-p44853/

If he can hang on for 3 weeks, Wiggle should allegedly have them at £189 - cashback:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-quattro-lg-cx-clincher-wheelset/

They have been doing that for the last couple of months, just gets delayed a couple of weeks each time when you get to the deadline, hence looking for something else.

trek_dan

Campag Khamsins are almost (if not completely?) identical to Fulcrum 7s and plenty of places online have them for £<100. Mine are onto second year of daily commuting in all weather and have lasted just fine.

cycleclinic

how many miles though. 2years could be 20,000 miles or 4000 miles that will give the OP a better idea.

craigus89

To be honest if I manage over 1,500 miles over winter I'll be doing well...

The standard Fulcrum 7's seem to be a good choice then? Plus a good £50 cheaper than I was hoping. I don't mind doing a bit of mainetenance on them if they are half-decent wheels and parts aren't too expensive, I currently can't be bothered to sort mine out as they are Giant SR2's and are very heavy and unresponsive. I realise I'm not going to notice an enormous difference but still fancy something different, I'll probably repair/service the SR2's as a way of learning over the winter.

trek_dan

thecycleclinic wrote:

how many miles though. 2years could be 20,000 miles or 4000 miles that will give the OP a better idea.

Probably 5000 miles. I have 5 bikes to cover mileage on so not mega mileage. The rims are going to wear out before I have any issues with the hubs or freehub.

Replacement parts definitely not cheap for Fulcrum/Campag. Especially freehub. They are pretty much disposable wheels, ie. why spend £50 on a new freehub when you get new wheels for £80.

keef66

For winter wheels I went with the cheapest Shimano R501s. Round, J-bend spokes which are widely available, well sealed cup and cone bearings which can be quickly serviced / adjusted / regreased / replaced (eventually) and a freehub that can be quickly whipped off and lubed. And if the freehub fails it's only £20 to replace.

2 winters on and they are still mint. Why pay more than £65 a pair??

daniel_b

keef66 wrote:

For winter wheels I went with the cheapest Shimano R501s. Round, J-bend spokes which are widely available, well sealed cup and cone bearings which can be quickly serviced / adjusted / regreased / replaced (eventually) and a freehub that can be quickly whipped off and lubed. And if the freehub fails it's only £20 to replace.

2 winters on and they are still mint. Why pay more than £65 a pair??

They seem to be a little more tricky to get a hold of these days, wonder if Shimano are phasing them out, and according to Ribble they are only up to 10spd compatible, where as the RS10's claim to be 11spd compatible as well (Bit bemused by that though, as though th RS11\21\31 were the 11 spd variants) - might not be of any concern for the OP, but thought it worth pointing out if he ever wants to use them with an 11 spd groupset.

But I agree with you wholly, as I think I mentioned them today in another winter wheels thread, they just run and run and run, and seemingly never go out of true!

craigus89

keef66 wrote:

For winter wheels I went with the cheapest Shimano R501s. Round, J-bend spokes which are widely available, well sealed cup and cone bearings which can be quickly serviced / adjusted / regreased / replaced (eventually) and a freehub that can be quickly whipped off and lubed. And if the freehub fails it's only £20 to replace.

2 winters on and they are still mint. Why pay more than £65 a pair??

I have considered this.

I know this may be subjective, but am I likely to notice a difference between a pair of those Shimanos and say the Fulcrum 5's? The claimed weight is about 250g less on the Fulcrums which isn't much in the scheme of things, but more noticeable on wheels. I would like something a bit better than what I have at the moment, I doubt the Shimanos are...

If in a couple of years worth of use, if I have to fork out for new hubs or whatever on the Fulcrums I don't mind that, as I would rather have something nice to ride over something that I never need to worry about but aren't as good.

keef66

Daniel B wrote:

keef66 wrote:

For winter wheels I went with the cheapest Shimano R501s.
They seem to be a little more tricky to get a hold of these days, wonder if Shimano are phasing them out, and according to Ribble they are only up to 10spd compatible, where as the RS10's claim to be 11spd compatible as well (Bit bemused by that though, as though th RS11\21\31 were the 11 spd variants)

Yes, the R501s are only 10 speed, but my winter bike is only 9 speed

They probably are phasing them out; makes little sense to make wheels that won't take 11 speed cassettes now...

RS10 / RS20 / RS30s were 10 speed too, but the RS010s are 11 speed, as are RS11 / RS21 / RS31

super_davo

RS010s are the same as R501s, just with an 11 speed hub. And I've found mine to be very good indeed.

Personally I think worth paying the extra £4 for so you get the extra flexibility. A spacer and you can run 9/10 speed, and when you've killed the rim they will make a great turbo wheel if your best bike is 11 speed (or might be in future)

daniel_b

super_davo wrote:

RS010s are the same as R501s, just with an 11 speed hub. And I've found mine to be very good indeed.

Personally I think worth paying the extra £4 for so you get the extra flexibility. A spacer and you can run 9/10 speed, and when you've killed the rim they will make a great turbo wheel if your best bike is 11 speed (or might be in future)

That's good to know about the RS010, I was confused with that versus RS11 etc, why they could not just have called them R511 is beyond me!!!