Light Alloy clincher wheelset advice

Hendrix2430

Hello all,

I’ve been looking to upgrade the wheels on my CAAD12 to some lighter ones – It currently has full ultegra, fulcrum racing 5 LG wheels, and it weighs in at 7.8kg. Since I’m pretty light at 61kg I’m looking to bring its weight down a bit, hopefully to 7.3kg or thereabouts with a few small changes.

I am really happy with the fulcrum racing 5 LG, but they probably weigh about 1.7kg, maybe slightly more, which isn’t helping with the whole “shedding some bike weight plan”… With that said, the riding character of the racing 5s suit me well : they are really stiff and not uncomfortable to ride at all, even at my weight.

Ideally I’d like similar characteristics in a lighter package, stiff and durable, hopefully in the sub 1550 zone. I’ve been looking around but the weight of wheels are notoriously underestimated and vary from brand to brand, which doesn’t help shortlisting!

My max budget would be £500 - £600

I’ve been looking at the following :

Ksyrium Elite – maybe slightly too heavy?
Ksyirum Pro – is the lower weight enough to justify to price over Elites?
Fulcrum Racing 3 (or 0 on sale) – Are they enough of an upgrade to the Racing 5s?
RS81 C24s (or Dura Ace on sale) – Are they stiff enough?
Hunt Aero Wide – Have heard they use inferior spokes and generic parts, the weight is good though

Please can I have your opinions and suggestions?

Many thanks!

trivial_poursuivant

For 500 - 600 quid you could save the weight in other places. Get a full carbon finishing kit. Carbon railed saddle. carbon seatpost, integrated carbon bars.

Or just use one water bottle. That'll save you 500g for free.

dannbodge

I have the Ksyrium Elites and they are brilliant imo.
They look really good with the wavy profile rims and the red nipples/hubs on mine compliment my bike perfectly.

They are very stiff and I've heard no real bad reports about them. They weigh about 1.6kgs in my experience.

trivial_poursuivant

Dannbodge wrote:

I have the Ksyrium Elites and they are brilliant imo.
They look really good with the wavy profile rims and the red nipples/hubs on mine compliment my bike perfectly.

They are very stiff and I've heard no real bad reports about them. They weigh about 1.6kgs in my experience.

You've never heard about Mavics notoriously bad hubs? Death Squeal anyone?

mfin

I wouldn't touch Mavic, seen repeated hub problems, some I have ridden are as wooden feeling as you could get, plus they look crap and don't suit many bikes aesthetically (people seem to look at them as objects in their own right, not as part of a bike).

OP you are only 61kg, you don't have to worry about stiffness of the Shimanos, I also think your assessment of the Hunts is wrong, and they'd be a wheel that would spring to mind as being a good potential choice for you.

Racing Zeros are good if you can get them at the right price, as are Shamal Ultras. Be prepared for £100 to replace the bearings in a wheel though (ceramic) with no real world performance benefit over the Hunts, or the £12 bearings in the Racing 3s (or Zondas).

sloppyschleckonds

2014 wants its thread back

Hendrix2430

Apologies for the outdated thread lol...

lostboysaint

If you're looking to spend that much then speak to a decent wheelbuilder and get something that you agree will suit what you want. Spada, Spokesman or The Cycle Clinic are all excellent.

mrb123

A handbuilt suggestion...
Ryde Pulse Sprint rims, CX Ray spokes, DCR's own hubs. A 1330g wheelset for under £500
https://dcrwheels.co.uk/products/rims/7 ... yde-pulse/

beanstalk

MrB123 wrote:

A handbuilt suggestion...
Ryde Pulse Sprint rims, CX Ray spokes, DCR's own hubs. A 1330g wheelset for under £500
https://dcrwheels.co.uk/products/rims/7 ... yde-pulse/

There are several reports of Ryde Pulse Sprint rims with cracked spoke holes...

Given my experience with Shimano WH-6700 wheelset, I reckon RS81 C24s are not very stiff, certainly not as stiff as Fulcrum Racing 5s (which I like very much), I weigh 71kg.
So I would get next years Fulcrum Racing 3s.

Hendrix2430

Thanks for all the responses guys

schlepcycling

How about a pair of these handbuilts from Malcolm at thecycleclinic.co.uk https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collections/road-rim-brake-wheelsets/products/borg22-light-tubeless-ready-wheelset

Hendrix2430

Nice, these vs the hunts?

JC78DSL99

https://www.cycledivision.co.uk/product ... elset-2017

Less than £200, under 1500g, wide rims and tubeless ready out of the box. I've got some and they're really good. Use the spare budget for some tubeless tyres and a lightweight cassette.

davidof

JC78DSL99 wrote:

https://www.cycledivision.co.uk/products/wheels/wheelsets/cero-ar24-evo-alloy-wheelset-2017

Less than £200, under 1500g, wide rims and tubeless ready out of the box. I've got some and they're really good. Use the spare budget for some tubeless tyres and a lightweight cassette.

Nice deal.

mr_mojo

I got some Tune hubs on Stans Alpha 340 rims and Sapim CX Rays spokes within your budget, weigh 1250g for the pair.

cookeeemonster

These at 1260g and 680 euro? No idea how good they are: https://www.spadabike.com/en-en/15/stiletto/

cycleclinic

The fulcrums use a narrow rim which is a shame.

The DAC24 are not even close to stiff. Sure they can hold up a rider but the lack of lateral stiffness does create relability issues for some. I built a wheel like that i would be ashamed of myself.

hunt use the Pillar 1422 spoke. I dont know if it is inferior though to the sapim CX-ray. They are under 1/2 the price though at trade. Pillar are a well regarded spoke company but as I have never used pillar spokes so i cannot comment on there long term relaibility. It is the hubs that will let the Hunt wheel down if you use the wheels in the wet alot. Tiny bearings in those novatec hubs are the only issue, however they are easy and cheap to to replace so that may not be a concern. Given the number of wheels they sell I'd wager it is not a big concern for many.

i do worry when companies supply spares spoke with there wheels (I am refering to that cero wheelset). What are they saying about what they expect to happen. also sapim D light are available everywhere why would you need a spare spoke.
At under £200 they maybe light but have been machine built quickly and it would be worth getting the spoke tension checked for evenness. if they are uneven sorting that out before you start riding them will reduce the risk of breakages considerably. I have experiment with wheels like this and my conclusion built it with a 28 spoke rear. There are ways round this use a deeper stiffer rims and or triplet lacing with a rear hub sporting a 65mm flange to flange spacing.

The ryde rims that DCR offer and DCR acknolwedge this, are a pig to get tyres onto to. IT is a while since /i have used them. They are nice and light though but the conti GP4000sII tyres are mountable. Perhaps the vitorria corsa is doable too.

Of the wheels picked by the OP the hunt on balance is probably the best pick but the hubs are light novatec with less than stellar bearing life but they are easy and cheap to change.

So in the goal for less weight are you willing to sacrifise bearing life or are you willing to pay for light but reliable hubs.

sloppyschleckonds

Hendrix2430 wrote:

Apologies for the outdated thread lol...

Read Malcolms post above, you are making poor choices to save weight.

imposter2.0

Just to say that I've had a set of DA C24s for several years now, which I've used variously for crits, road races and general riding/training - and it has never occurred to me that they might be flexy - laterally or otherwise - certainly no more or less so than any other wheelset I ride on..

svetty

Imposter wrote:

Just to say that I've had a set of DA C24s for several years now, which I've used variously for crits, road races and general riding/training - and it has never occurred to me that they might be flexy - laterally or otherwise - certainly no more or less so than any other wheelset I ride on..

+1 - I'm 77kgs and have put many 000s of miles on a set. Hubs still smooth as butter.......

beanstalk

thecycleclinic wrote:

The fulcrums use a narrow rim which is a shame.

Next year's Racing 3s will have a 17c rim.

matt_n-2

The other thing to consider with off the shelf wheels is that whilst the hubs may be robust and last a good while, a lot of rims are built to cost and have thin brake tracks, when they're worn you're forced to throw the wheelset away as they use spoke counts that negate any replacement rim options, those Fulcrum 3 for e.g. are 16f / 21r, try and get a new rim for that.

Same with Ultegra 16 f, not many options for that, rear is 20 so has options.

beanstalk

How affect thin brake tracks the cost?

Fulcrum and Shimano rims are available as spare parts.

trivial_poursuivant

Matt_N wrote:

The other thing to consider with off the shelf wheels is that whilst the hubs may be robust and last a good while, a lot of rims are built to cost and have thin brake tracks, when they're worn you're forced to throw the wheelset away as they use spoke counts that negate any replacement rim options, those Fulcrum 3 for e.g. are 16f / 21r, try and get a new rim for that.

Same with Ultegra 16 f, not many options for that, rear is 20 so has options.

I have a set of Zondas and a set of Fulcrum 5s . Both are over 4 years old and still have life in the rims. Both have done a good 10,000km or so in all conditions. Still plenty of life left in them. I don’t think I have ever binned a wheel due to worn rims. I usually buy new beforehand and donate the old stuff on to others . But for 2 wheelset s still going strong after 4 years and 1000s of km they are hardly easy wearing.

mr_mojo

beanstalk wrote:

How affect thin brake tracks the cost?

Fulcrum and Shimano rims are available as spare parts.

They are, you're quite correct but price them up and tell me it makes economic sense to replace the rim.

beanstalk

Mr_Mojo wrote:

They are, you're quite correct but price them up and tell me it makes economic sense to replace the rim.

It doesn't since they are quite expensive.

But as Trivial poursuivant pointed out, rims don't waste away in a week, so I think it makes economic sense to buy a new wheelset every some years.

matt_n-2

beanstalk wrote:

How affect thin brake tracks the cost?

Fulcrum and Shimano rims are available as spare parts.

Yeh at something like £90 for an Ultegra rim last time I looked.

cycleclinic

imposter you may not notice the flex when riding that is not what i refered to as the wheel and frame flex together. if the flex is matched you wont notice. If it i mismatched you might. Flex is noticed when you place the wheel on a bench and side load to check your stress relieving. I have done this with a c24 and was alarmed. how stiff a wheel is will in part deterime how long the spokes last. the lower the stiffness (lateral as radial stiffness on spoked wheels is high) the bigger the spoke tension changes and therefore the faster they fatigue. Sure there are other factors that affect spoke life so wheels that show lateral flex are not unreliable per se they just have the potential to be, if loaded suitably.



10,000km is the average life span of a machined sidewall rim in the u.k it seems. Those that get longer are doing well those that don't must be doing something different, like lots of long ride in sloppy muck or daily commutes.. Given we all ride, we all know how quickly or not we wear through rims. If it is a non issue for you that great but if it is an issue for you then you end up throwing away good hubs often.

PeteK25

I also had considered the Fulcrum Racing Zero's and the Hunt Aero Wide's. Ended up buying ROL Race SL's which have been amazing (very stiff, corner well, and very stable going downhill). They come in at 1555g which is probably in the upper limit of what you're considering.

https://www.rolwheels.com/wheels/wheel/race-sl

beanstalk

PeteK25 wrote:

I also had considered the Fulcrum Racing Zero's and the Hunt Aero Wide's. Ended up buying ROL Race SL's which have been amazing (very stiff, corner well, and very stable going downhill). They come in at 1555g which is probably in the upper limit of what you're considering.

https://www.rolwheels.com/wheels/wheel/race-sl

What did you pay for them?