New wheels

smolkomartin1

Hi, I want to buy a pair of wheels for my new bike, concretly Bianchi Oltre XR.1. I'm thinking about Campagnolo Bora One 50 and Campagnolo Shamal Mille. I want just one pair of wheels. I've never ridden a deep wheelset before (also never ridden carbon wheelset ). Which one will you choose and why.

Also I was thinking about moving from 50/34 to 52/36. Would and when you will recommend it?

Thanks

cycleclinic

One pair of wheels is probably not carbon but carbon rims do wear alot slower than alloy rims. Also while carbon rims with campag pads (campag do make good rims) do brake very well and brake fine when wet (fine for rim brakes) I still dont use mine during the cold dark winter months as I do not want to trash the braking surface. If you are a regular cyclist you should have more than one pair of wheels anyway as wheel can break and then what do you do. I took an order this week from a chap who had a nipple pull through on his brontragers and he is without wheels until I get him these. That is not a great situation for him. So my advise is if you are looking at spending £800 to £1100 on one set of wheels send £800 on two sets. You can get very good wheels for £400.

gearing is too personal for any to offer advise. you have to know the cadance range you are comfortable and the pace you normally ride at various gradients. Then you can calculate if a 50/34 or 52/36 is best. No other way. Me saying I get on fine with 53/39 or 53/41 is useless to you and everyone else.

smolkomartin1

thecycleclinic wrote:

One pair of wheels is probably not carbon but carbon rims do wear alot slower than alloy rims. Also while carbon rims with campag pads (campag do make good rims) do brake very well and brake fine when wet (fine for rim brakes) I still dont use mine during the cold dark winter months as I do not want to trash the braking surface. If you are a regular cyclist you should have more than one pair of wheels anyway as wheel can break and then what do you do. I took an order this week from a chap who had a nipple pull through on his brontragers and he is without wheels until I get him these. That is not a great situation for him. So my advise is if you are looking at spending £800 to £1100 on one set of wheels send £800 on two sets. You can get very good wheels for £400.

Hi,

thanks for reply. I´m not using my road bike at winter (that will be a suicide on our roads ). Summer is my season for road bike. Now in winter I have it on my trainer, so there is that. So you would choose the Boras, right?

thecycleclinic wrote:

gearing is too personal for any to offer advise. you have to know the cadance range you are comfortable and the pace you normally ride at various gradients. Then you can calculate if a 50/34 or 52/36 is best. No other way. Me saying I get on fine with 53/39 or 53/41 is useless to you and everyone else.

Based on my trainer, I run at cadence around 80 - 85 rpm. My current setup is 50/34 and 11-32 (on other bike), going for 11-29 (on Oltre) and thinking about 50/34 or 52/36. I´m scared about the climbs, especially longer ones. Can you do the calculations? Thanks.

ugo.santalucia

thecycleclinic wrote:

One pair of wheels is probably not carbon but carbon rims do wear alot slower than alloy rims.

That is of course impossible, given, as you know very well, any aluminium alloy is order of magnitudes harder than composite. Given the same conditions and pads, aluminium should outlast carbon by a factor of ten at the very least.

The reason typically carbon lasts longer is that folks use it more in good weather and use far softer pads than they use for alloy.

Nobody stops you from using blue pads with alloy rims

Secteur

thecycleclinic wrote:

...If you are a regular cyclist you should have more than one pair of wheels anyway as wheel can break and then what do you do...

...So my advise is if you are looking at spending £800 to £1100 on one set of wheels send £800 on two sets. You can get very good wheels for £400...

Good advice, I think.

Secteur

PS I love Fulcrum 3's - currently £280 (I've had 3 sets and sure I paid £350-400 each)

cougie

Where do you live with the roads thing?

Most people are going for lower gears. I've never not looked back at my cassette and wished for less teeth.

cycleclinic

Yes but carbon brake pads are not the same as rim brake pads. All I know is ugo my carbon rims have 16000km on them and they are not worn, not even close to starting. They have been used in all weathers. In fact given it was summer today I used them for a long ride. I use mine regualrly between feb and nov as I consider those summer months. I am an optimist.

No alloy rim I have ever had has lasted this long. I have 17 bikes and I ride alot. Every bike has a different wheelset so I end up seeing which rim type last longer pretty quickly. In all cases the carbon rims with campag pads do not wear no matter how much I use them. In contrast all my alloy rims even with soft pads wear more quickly than I like.

My experience is not uncommon ugo. Many people find carbon rims lasting many tens of thousands of km, well those that use good rims and good pads at least.