Upgrading Mavic Askiums to Fulcrum Racing Quattro LG Alloys

richard36

I'm about to get the Btwin Triban 540 bike online. It comes with Mavic Askium wheels. I'll be using the bike mainly as a winter bike. I've no idea whether the Askiums are good wheels or not but someone has raved about the Fulcrums which Wiggle are selling for about £200. I don't want to get the Fulcrums and swap them for the Askiums for the sake of it but if the Fulcrums are a much better wheel then now would be the time to do it.

Are the Askiums okay or would the Fulcrums be worth getting?

Thanks

lincolndave

Hi Richard, personally I would say the fulcrum are better wheels, but if you are just using the bike for winter I would stick with the mavics

richard36

Thanks Lincolndave

I do have a 'summer' bike so the Triban will be a cheap winter bike. However, if there was a worthwhile wheel upgrade I would consider it especially now as I have some surplus cash. Not sure whether there are any other worthwhile upgrades to the Triban (perhaps upgrade the Tektro calipers for 105 calipers - the rest of the groupset is 105) or given it's only a winter bike just leave it as it is.

Oh, I may also change the Hutchinson Equinox tyres 2 25mm tyres for Michelin Pro4 Endurance 28mm tyres.

Any suggestions appreciated.

drwae

Changing Tektro to Ultegra 6800 with Kool Stop salmon pads made a massive difference in braking performance on my bike, especially in the wet.
Picked up a second bike recently with Tektro brakes and almost crashed into the rear of a motorcycle at a junction because I'd forgotten how sh*t the brakes were

imposter2.0

The Quattros are good-enough wheels, but it's not worth swapping out the Aksiums on a winter bike.

ayjaycee

Imposter wrote:

The Quattros are good-enough wheels, but it's not worth swapping out the Aksiums on a winter bike.

IMHO this is correct. I also doubt that you would ever regret changing the brakes to either 105 5800 or Ultegra 6800 as, even with better pads, those Tektro things are so cr4ppy. That said, although you didn't mention them, if you plan on fitting mudguards, I would go for the 105 brakes as they have a little bit more room under them. FWIW, I've got the 105s on one bike (with mudguards) and Ultegras on another (both with Swisstop BXP Pro Blue pads) and there is not a lot between them (i.e. Both very good and a big upgrade over the Tektos which I had on my Allez before the 105s).

richard36

Thanks

I think you're right; the best upgrade at the moment would be the brakes (would probably go for the 105 5800) and the swisstop pads.

dannbodge

If you're interested I'll have a brand new pair of Tiagra brakes for sale at the end of the month.

Bobbinogs

I would try just pads first. If they do not improve things then they can always be used at some later date if you decide to swap the brakes themselves. The Tectro brakes are not all bad, some are/are not. In most cases the biggest improvement comes with a pad change which people overlook, as in "changed the stock brakes and got a massive improvement", which overlooks a more obvious solution. Think about it, you pull a level, the cable tightens the brake...there isn't too much going on in that unless the calipers are made of cheese.

Don't forget to look at pad alignment when you set things up and don't just grab the brakes when you need them. In rubbish weather try and feather the brakes every now and then to clear the film/crud off so that you get a decent brake when you need it most.

ayjaycee

Bobbinogs wrote:

I would try just pads first. If they do not improve things then they can always be used at some later date if you decide to swap the brakes themselves. The Tectro brakes are not all bad, some are/are not.

In that case, my personal experience indicates that I must have had the bad ones fitted by Specialized when my Allez was new. My approach to upgrading them was the incremental one advocated by Bobbinogs - first I upgraded the pads to the aforementioned Swisstops which were a noticeable improvement, I then tried the Ultegra brakes with Swisstops from my Synapse which were a further noticeable step up. It was that experience that drove me to buy the 105 brakes as I needed to be able to fit mudguards and, as mentioned earlier, they give more headroom than the Ultegras and I have not found them to be much better or worse. One further comment - the stock shimano pads seem very good but, perhaps, not quite as good as the Swisstops in the wet - that might, of course, be down to my braking technique but......

keef66

I went from Tiagra 4600 calipers with the all-in one moulded brake blocks to 5800 calipers with the stock Shimano inserts / metal holders. Operated by older 105 5600 levers. Astounding improvement :shock: .

Thinking the brake blocks would be a large part of the reason I bought some 5800 cartridges + holders to replace the all-in-one blocks on the long drop BR450 calipers on the winter bike. Better, but nowhere near as dramatic.

I'm thinking that the older levers + 5800 calipers must have better mechanical advantage...

drwae

ayjaycee wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

I would try just pads first. If they do not improve things then they can always be used at some later date if you decide to swap the brakes themselves. The Tectro brakes are not all bad, some are/are not.

In that case, my personal experience indicates that I must have had the bad ones fitted by Specialized when my Allez was new. My approach to upgrading them was the incremental one advocated by Bobbinogs - first I upgraded the pads to the aforementioned Swisstops which were a noticeable improvement, I then tried the Ultegra brakes with Swisstops from my Synapse which were a further noticeable step up. It was that experience that drove me to buy the 105 brakes as I needed to be able to fit mudguards and, as mentioned earlier, they give more headroom than the Ultegras and I have not found them to be much better or worse. One further comment - the stock shimano pads seem very good but, perhaps, not quite as good as the Swisstops in the wet - that might, of course, be down to my braking technique but......

yes I also noticed an improvement going from tektro callipers/pads to tektro callipers / kool stop pads and again to ultegra callipers / same kool stop pads it was better again

JesseD

I would strongly advise against getting the Fulcrums as winter wheels, the seals on the bearings are terrible, I have sent mine back as a warrenty replacement as the bearings all went within 8 months, as others have said leave the mavics on there and get bigger better tyres and 105 brakes.