Advice on new graphene wheels

SmithAndEastern
SmithAndEastern Posts: 7
edited February 2017 in Road buying advice
Hi guys long story short i'm planning a long trip to france using only my camping gear and bike but one of my biggest concerns is obviously the weight issues, i can do without a lot of things but the easier i can make it on myself the better, one such thing i come across is vittoria qurano 46 (does anyone know about these wheels?) they are super light and feel i may benefit from them, is this something i should look into or are there other more important things i should be concerned about regarding weight? i read a promising review of the wheels which can be found here http://www.aerogelgraphene.com/vittoria ... ne-wheels/ with the hefty price tag convincing the wife might be harder than the up hills :) whats your take on this? worth it or not?

Comments

  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Your tourin in france and you think expensive carbon wheels are a good plan. You make me look sensible thanks.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • SmithAndEastern
    SmithAndEastern Posts: 7
    I'm no expert in this kind of thing which is why i'm after some advice, you may think i'm mad or stupid, but once i set my mind to something i sure as hell will do it
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    Why, when you've set your mind on it you do it, have you asked for advice?

    If touring then you want some reliable wheels with readily serviceable parts /replaceable spokes
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    You want to be self sufficient and by the sounds of it carry all tou need on the ride. Not sure a light road bike is what you need. Where do you intend storing all your stuff? Panniers? Rucksack? You can forget them wheels for 3 reasons

    1. They won't take the weight even if you are light the kit wont be once added

    2. French roads will destroy them. You never wayched Paris Roubaix? Those are very typical northen france roads. If you want to stick to smooth tarmac then you defeat the whole purpose of your initial challenge

    3. Carbon braking surface rims in anything other than dry weather are deadly.

    Wjy not just get some very sturdy hand built wheels with the widest tyres your frame will allow
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    SmoggySteve wrote:

    3. Carbon braking surface rims in anything other than dry weather are deadly.

    Any stats to back this up?
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • mamba80
    mamba80 Posts: 5,032
    i got these wheels from Merlin when they had them on offer for 600, some 15 months ago
    they are very strong, the spokes are not unique to Vitt so u could take a few with you just in case and the wet weather braking is great BUT why? touring isnt about going fast and any marginal gains will be wiped out by the camping kit and clothing you ll be carrying - they are also tubular rims, so you ll need to take spare tubs and know how to glue/repair them.

    Get some HB alloy clincher wheels and a few spare spokes.

    the roads throughout france are very good.
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    SmithAndEastern wrote:
    Hi guys long story short i'm planning a long trip to france using only my camping gear and bike but one of my biggest concerns is obviously the weight issues, i can do without a lot of things but the easier i can make it on myself the better, one such thing i come across is vittoria qurano 46 (does anyone know about these wheels?) they are super light and feel i may benefit from them, is this something i should look into or are there other more important things i should be concerned about regarding weight? i read a promising review of the wheels which can be found here http://www.aerogelgraphene.com/vittoria ... ne-wheels/ with the hefty price tag convincing the wife might be harder than the up hills :) whats your take on this? worth it or not?

    There are all sorts of sites (blogs and forums) out there offering advice on touring. Start there. But don't mention graphene wheels; you'll get laughed off the page.

    Weight issues, when it comes to the wheels, should be the least of your concerns. When you spec wheels for touring, you think about the spoke count and rim sturdiness and reputation. Weight does matter a little - no need for extra tough rims if you are keeping to the roads and not heavy yourself - but really, this is somewhere to errr on the side of caution. Rigida rims, Shimano Deore hubs are a good option.

    I spent three months in Scandinavia in 2015 - kept things lightish and shared the load a bit with a mate. I was still carrying getting on for 20kg on top of a 15kg bike. How much weight would lighter wheels save off that? But as it was a touring bike, the low gearing meant the climbs were not an issue. They just took longer.

    I would start by making sure I had a proper touring bike to tour on - if you haven't got that then the wheels are neither here nor there. You can get a complete tourer for less than the price of those wheels. This would do - http://www.spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s21p2983 ... eel-Tourer. You probably need the rest of the money for a decent set of Carradice or Ortlieb panniers and the numerous other bits that add up to a surprisingly expensive trip.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Got to be some kind of spoof thread, surely...
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    Looking at saving a few grams on wheels on a loaded trip is a new for me...

    Not sure whether you have ever toured before, but the key is reliability... you want reliable wheels, not light wheels. I don't know much about the Qurano, but one thing for sure, they are not designed with touring in mind.

    Pretty sure you can save a lot more weight on your camping equipment
    left the forum March 2023
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Imposter wrote:
    Got to be some kind of spoof thread, surely...
    Had crossed my mind........
    Faster than a tent.......
  • smoggysteve
    smoggysteve Posts: 2,909
    SloppySchleckonds wrote:
    SmoggySteve wrote:

    3. Carbon braking surface rims in anything other than dry weather are deadly.

    Any stats to back this up?

    If you want to get literal then maybe not. But they are far from ideal
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    I've never heard of anyone wanting to go on a long camping bike ride and use tubs. How many tubs would you take with you ? Any old bike shop will have inner tubes. Tubs ? Not so much - so whatever weight you'd save on the wheels you'd more than make up for it with spare tyres. You do know what tubs are ?
  • Hinaultscrapcousin
    Hinaultscrapcousin Posts: 647
    It's spam, ignore it.
  • thegreatdivide
    thegreatdivide Posts: 5,807
    b.1998 aka Blond aka Boswell & Percy aka SmithAndEastern
  • Harry182
    Harry182 Posts: 1,170
    preemptive touring rig suggestion:

    Lotus_Type_108_-_LotusSport_bicycle.jpg
  • SmithAndEastern
    SmithAndEastern Posts: 7
    Seeing that has made me weak at the knees:) literally drooling
  • k-dog
    k-dog Posts: 1,652
    I touched it once - well, one of them. They toured around after the Olympics and you could go and see it. Not sure it was exactly the one but it was very cool.
    I'm left handed, if that matters.
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    k-dog wrote:
    I touched it once - well, one of them. They toured around after the Olympics and you could go and see it. Not sure it was exactly the one but it was very cool.

    Apparently they used to split in half... there is an entertaining story about it by Hutch, who owned one
    left the forum March 2023

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