Shimano Ultegra vs Prime Primavera

secretsam

Hiya all, another wheels thread - it's sale time, and the soon-to-die Wiggle is offering its Primavera wheels at £675, whereas Sigma has the Ultegra 8170 at £799. I know that there's varying opinions on the Primes, plus there's the whole future of Wiggle to consider, but the reviews are good and they're £125 cheaper; the Shimano's are the 'safe' choice, and build quality is likely to be better.

Any thoughts on which to go for? I'm really torn. Or I could get some handbuilts using Venn rims...

MidlandsGrimpeur2

Not on the wheels as I have no experience of either set, but with regards Wiggle I would personally avoid any high value purchases at present. At least until the future of the company is resolved.

slowmart

Use your credit card if your choose prime. The card provider is also the guarantor in law on any purchase over £100 and under £30k.

Of course it may not be a timely or straightforward claim.

I have prime carbon bars, they have been faultless and I wouldn’t have a problem purchasing any prime product.

Except I wouldn’t purchase from wiggle until/if they come out of administration.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Crazy how I've still got a pair of https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Vel/50-RL-Carbon-Tubeless-Disc-Wheelset/QS28 still yet to be fully setup for their first ride ~14 months on from buying them in their Black Friday sale... Rotors fitted; valve extensions on the Vittoria latex tubes; but yet to fit tubes; tyres and cassette!

Hopefully '24 will be a better year for me, my lack of power (speed) and stamina in '23 through long covid fatigue made the idea of riding them feel a waste, ironically for most of '22 they could have made a chunk of difference.

Personally, I'd be wary of buying Prime wheelsets given Chiggle's financial position, but then it's possible to grab bargain wheels that could last a handful or more seasons.

secretsam

Mmmmm...thanks all, quite right about spending big money on a company that's in real bother. I mean, they owe £21k for Haribo...

super_davo

I don't know about buying a set of wheels but some of Wiggles sale prices have been amazing recently and I've made a number of small orders since they've been in administration. Things like Aeron Lab jerseys for £10, speed/cadence sensors for £10, Garmin mounts for £5 etc, and my personal favourite a Castelli Perfetto Light for £27. Stuff you don't really need but is so cheap you take a punt.

Each order has come in a max of 2 days despite not paying for fast delivery and all top notch stuff. Would miss Wiggle hugely if they went. Not that I think they will - they've made a lot of money from their sales since in administration and lots of buyers are interested.

Issue is clearly warranty and parts, but if you buy using a credit card, you should have some protection, and you should be able to get parts for the hubs as ultimately they are Novatech anyway.

pangolin

Yeah similarly I've spent about £100 on various sale bits and they've all come with no issue. Some folks in the bargain thread also bought a couple of wheelsets I think.