Wheel advice

horatio1965

I dare say this might have been discussed before, but I'm new to the forum and need some good advice on which way to go. I currently have 2 bikes, a Pinarello FP2, 57cm frame and also a De Rosa Idol Disc with Di2, 59cm frame.

My Pinarello has RS Eighty wheels and 23mm Schwalbe V-Guard tyres fitted and is a joy to ride but now getting a bit dated. My De Rosa is fitted with RX31 wheels and 28mm Continental 4 tyres (I think) and feels sluggish and slow. I bought the De Rosa from a well known online auction site for not a lot of money, with the thought that it's only a couple of years old, well equipped and would see me through a good few years riding (I'm 53).

My question is, would some different wheels make much of a difference to the De Rosa or is it just the way they are?

Cheers

Paul.

imposter2.0

Change the tyres first - that's likely to make far more difference than the wheels themselves..

Fzs1000n

Put on a pair of Schwalbe One's 25mm 85-90psi and happy days!!

I'm not a fan of big 28mm and 23 touch small. Depends on the types of roads you ride on of course

I can't comment on the De Rosa personally but decent shops sell them and they're expensive! can't be bad....hopefully not

Killerclown

Wheel upgrades are pretty much the best ‘bang for the buck’ Upgrade you can do. The choice of which to go for, is down to your preference, and involves a mix of cost, performance, and intended use. If it was my money, I’d be looking at getting some hand built wheels put together, with a spec of my choosing, but there are plenty of very acceptable ‘off the shelf’ offerings out there as well.

Vino'sGhost

Like Imposter said. Tyres will make a massive difference. The conti 4 seasons are not the most lively of tyres, the 4000s 2 tyres on the other hand are excellent. a goood mix of speed, grippiness , puncture protection and longevity.

imposter2.0

Killerclown wrote:

Wheel upgrades are pretty much the best ‘bang for the buck’ Upgrade you can do. .

Nonsense. As usual.

Killerclown

Imposter wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

Wheel upgrades are pretty much the best ‘bang for the buck’ Upgrade you can do. .

Nonsense. As usual.

Really? You’ll be in the vast minority of experienced cyclists that would agree with you on that.

imposter2.0

Killerclown wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

Wheel upgrades are pretty much the best ‘bang for the buck’ Upgrade you can do. .

Nonsense. As usual.

Really? You’ll be in the vast minority of experienced cyclists that would agree with you on that.

Experience and knowledge are not the same thing, Nick - which seems especially true in your case. Tyres are generally regarded as the best 'bang for buck' upgrade - not wheels. I'm sure you meant to say 'tyres' though.

If you keep trotting out nonsense like this again you'll soon be on your fifth user account...

Killerclown

Imposter wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

Wheel upgrades are pretty much the best ‘bang for the buck’ Upgrade you can do. .

Nonsense. As usual.

Really? You’ll be in the vast minority of experienced cyclists that would agree with you on that.

Experience and knowledge are not the same thing, Nick - which seems especially true in your case. Tyres are generally regarded as the best 'bang for buck' upgrade - not wheels. I'm sure you meant to say 'tyres' though.

If you keep trotting out nonsense like this again you'll soon be on your fifth user account...

You can put whatever tyres you want on. If the wheels are gash, you won’t be helping as much as you would with better wheels.

imposter2.0

Killerclown wrote:

You can put whatever tyres you want on. If the wheels are gash, you won’t be helping as much as you would with better wheels.

Perhaps you could explain how 'gash' wheels will make a difference - and what constitutes a 'gash' wheel?

Killerclown

Imposter wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

You can put whatever tyres you want on. If the wheels are gash, you won’t be helping as much as you would with better wheels.

Perhaps you could explain how 'gash' wheels will make a difference - and what constitutes a 'gash' wheel?

Weight, quality of bearings, build quality, braking surfaces ( assuming rim brakes ) they all add up to a big, and noticeable difference.

imposter2.0

Killerclown wrote:

Imposter wrote:

Killerclown wrote:

You can put whatever tyres you want on. If the wheels are gash, you won’t be helping as much as you would with better wheels.

Perhaps you could explain how 'gash' wheels will make a difference - and what constitutes a 'gash' wheel?

Weight, quality of bearings, build quality, braking surfaces ( assuming rim brakes ) they all add up to a big, and noticeable difference.

The measurable differences between wheelsets are demonstrably small, so I've no idea where you got that info from. Perhaps you could provide a link or something?

Either way, you may already know that the RX31 is actually a reasonably well-regarded mid-range wheelset. So given that, what would you be suggesting he 'upgrades' to?

svetty

Can't help thinking that this time the choice of the name 'Killer Clown' might be presciently apt. Certainly a clown....

haydenm

To be fair to him, it is fairly well worn advice about new wheels being the first and best upgrade but that is largely because stock wheels are often rubbish and Primes for example are 'cheap' and light. That really depends on how rubbish the stock ones are though, the stock wheels on my cannondale were ~2.2kg... :shock:

But as you say, actual value for money wise upgrading tyres is good

craigus89

As above, try tires first.

Also funny that our resident expert has been outed already.

imposter2.0

HaydenM wrote:

To be fair to him, it is fairly well worn advice about new wheels being the first and best upgrade but that is largely because stock wheels are often rubbish and Primes for example are 'cheap' and light. That really depends on how rubbish the stock ones are though, the stock wheels on my cannondale were ~2.2kg... :shock:

But as you say, actual value for money wise upgrading tyres is good

'Well worn' is not necessarily the same as 'correct' unfortunately. The first and most obvious option is - and always has been - tyres.

haydenm

Imposter wrote:

HaydenM wrote:

To be fair to him, it is fairly well worn advice about new wheels being the first and best upgrade but that is largely because stock wheels are often rubbish and Primes for example are 'cheap' and light. That really depends on how rubbish the stock ones are though, the stock wheels on my cannondale were ~2.2kg... :shock:

But as you say, actual value for money wise upgrading tyres is good

'Well worn' is not necessarily the same as 'correct' unfortunately. The first and most obvious option is - and always has been - tyres.

But in the specific case of a lower spec bike with notably heavy wheels it is correct advice, which was my point. Obviously in the case of the cannondale tyres and wheels made a huge difference, but the wheels cost £450...

imposter2.0

HaydenM wrote:

But in the specific case of a lower spec bike with notably heavy wheels it is correct advice, which was my point. Obviously in the case of the cannondale tyres and wheels made a huge difference, but the wheels cost £450...

I see where you're coming from, but I don't get why it should be correct advice and I don't agree that it is. Obviously cheaper wheelsets might not contain particularly high quality components when compared to more expensive wheels, but as long as they are functional they will perform nominally, the same as any other wheel.

You might climb marginally quicker on a lighter set, or you might go marginally quicker on the flat on a more aero set (both of which could be seen as an upgrade), but the real world differences (in the context of the OP's question) are fractional at best.

cycleclinic

schwalbe V gaurd. Well that could be Durano' possibly and they are no way faster rolling than GP4 season tyres but the OP did not name them right either. So the sluggishness could be the tyre, it might be the wheels (or badly mainanted hubs) or it could be position difference. We are guessing. I dont like guessing.

First.Aspect

Any reason you can't switch your pinarellos wheels on to the de Rosa and see if it helps?

Matthewfalle

First Aspect wrote:

Any reason you can't switch your pinarellos wheels on to the de Rosa and see if it helps?

1 rim brake 1 disc maybe?

First.Aspect

Matthewfalle wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Any reason you can't switch your pinarellos wheels on to the de Rosa and see if it helps?

1 rim brake 1 disc maybe?

bugg3r. He could still try it up a hill.

svetty

First Aspect wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Any reason you can't switch your pinarellos wheels on to the de Rosa and see if it helps?

1 rim brake 1 disc maybe?

bugg3r. He could still try it up a hill.

If he could fit a 142mm rear hub in a 135mm spaced frame and swap the TA end caps for QR ones.....

PaulLCFC

OK coming back into the sport after 25yrs things have changed some what. If your upgrading your wheels I would think you would your tires to. So why not up grade your tires and try for two weeks. If no real benefits buy the wheels then put the two week old tires on them.

First.Aspect

Svetty wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

Any reason you can't switch your pinarellos wheels on to the de Rosa and see if it helps?

1 rim brake 1 disc maybe?

bugg3r. He could still try it up a hill.

If he could fit a 142mm rear hub in a 135mm spaced frame and swap the TA end caps for QR ones.....

Minor details.