what wheelset?

bigbeezer
bigbeezer Posts: 80
edited March 2010 in Road buying advice
Hi people,

i have a giant tcr advanced compsite road bike,and i love it to bits! the thing is though the wheels on it weigh just over 3kg [inc cassette the frame is as light as a feather and i feel these sturdy wheels are holding me back!] surely i can find a cheaper affordable wheelset out there somewhere?

any advice would be greatly appreciated :wink:

thanks.

Comments

  • Depends on budget but I love my Easton EA70s which are 1.6kg ish. Light, stiff and durable. £300 but there are lots of other choices at this price
    Burning Fat Not Rubber

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  • careful
    careful Posts: 720
    Depends what you mean by cheaper - but you wont get better value than these superb wheels http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/mountain-and-road-bike-wheels/mavic-fulcrum-and-campagnolo-wheels/shimano-6700-ultegra-wheels-pair.html
  • cheers lads,

    so i take it 3kg is considered heavy for a wheelset and cassette? was looking to half that weight if possible? prob have up to £500 quid to spend,it's a 9 speed cassette i have.

    Also are michelin pro race 3 the best and lightest tyres around? could bring some weight down by getting newer tyres i think.

    cheers
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    wheel weights are usuallu quoted without the cassette, or skewers and 1600g is good, 1500g is light and anything under that is super dooper.

    The 6700 are good value and 1650g ish I think. Also look at Fulcrum Racing 3, Ksyrium Elites and handbuilts eg. Ambrosio Excellights on DA/DT/Tune/Chris King hubs etc. depending on price.

    There are dozens of options out there, depending on price and what you want them for. Do a search - there's a wheel thread every week....
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • richa
    richa Posts: 1,631
    3kg? What are your current wheels?
    Rich
  • I brought a pair of Planet X Model B's for £99 last week. I think they weigh about 1.7KG.

    Here: http://www.planet-x-warehouse.co.uk/aca ... ODELB.html Shimano pair linked there.

    I think it's a special offer price though normally twice that? I think.
    The British Empire never died, it just moved to the Velodrome
  • ascurrell
    ascurrell Posts: 1,739
    Hi, what are your current wheels that weigh so much ? You say the weight includes the cassette, does it also include the skewers, tyres and tubes ?
    Even for 1.5 kg wheels those additions will bump the weight up quite a bit. Also what model is the 9 speed cassette ? Cheers, Scurry
  • RichA wrote:
    3kg? What are your current wheels?

    Gipiemme ones,
    the guy at my lbs said they are quite a heavy make.
    so i weighed them with the cassette on at the big scales at my work and they came in a 3kg,
    i really want to get the weight down as much as i can coz the frame is a cracker http://archive.giant-bicycles.com/uk/03 ... model=9981

    i think it deserves good wheels etc.
  • ascurrell wrote:
    Hi, what are your current wheels that weigh so much ? You say the weight includes the cassette, does it also include the skewers, tyres and tubes ?
    Even for 1.5 kg wheels those additions will bump the weight up quite a bit. Also what model is the 9 speed cassette ? Cheers, Scurry

    the cassette is a shimano ultegra,
    the weight includes cassette,tyres and tubes.
    no skewers.
  • Lads,
    this is the exact same frame that i have,

    http://archive.giant-bicycles.com/uk/03 ... model=9981

    what with decent wheels do you think would be a good weight for the whole bike,wheels and everything else included?

    cheer
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    TBH, 3kg is not too bad including tyres, rim tape and cassette.

    I would just keep the ones you have until the rims and/or bearings are worn and in the meantime save up for some uber-bling rather than go off half cocked now for not much benefit.
  • u need to weigh your wheels without cassette, tyres tubes rim tape or skewers to get an idea of how heavy they are.
    Use digital scales
  • I have a pair of Novatec Jetfly wheels for sale (RRP £375) brand new, in their shipping box, with skewers and spare spokes if you are interested. They are lightweight (1570g) and get a 4.5 / 5 review on the Bike Radar gear section.

    You can have them for £275, as I am sticking with MTBing (safer than this road riding business!).
  • bigbeezer
    bigbeezer Posts: 80
    ok lads,
    i weighed the buik anbd wheels at work today,

    front wheel with tyre on 1.4kg
    rear whell with cassette and tyre 1.8kg

    total front and back wheels with tyres.inner tubes and cassete 3.2kg

    the rest of my bike without the wheels attached weighs 5.6kg

    in your opinion's, would a pair of good wheels and light tyres ]maybe micheiln pro 3] be worth while investing in?

    and is 5.6kg for everything apart from the wheels considered heavy?

    thanks again :wink:
  • if you are quick you could get a pait of 2009 fulcrum 3s for £299 from merlin which is a bargain. i had a look at them in TBAS and was really impressed, they felt very light and kept spinning...
  • grim3ur
    grim3ur Posts: 46
    Bigbeezer you have a very good wheel builder down the road from you if hand builts are a consideration. Steve is the builder, races in TTs - may have bumped into him on your training runs?
  • bigbeezer
    bigbeezer Posts: 80
    cheers mate,
    i recognise the face.
    is it him that goes out cycling with his gf?
  • grim3ur
    grim3ur Posts: 46
    His gf is a cyclist so yes quite possibly. If its not his gf you may have just landed him in it!
  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,021
    out of interest, i weighed my Mavic Ksyrium Equipes last night - on analogue kitchen scales, so not 100% accurate, but,

    Front, with tyre, tube and rim tape, but no skewer, was 1220g
    rear, with tyre, tube, rime tape and ultegra cassette, byt no skewer, was 1660g
    total weight 2880g

    mavic publish wheel weights at 1770g, plus lets say 80g per butyl tube, 275g per Clincher tyre (ive got winter tyres on there at the moment, so not the lightest) 10g for each rim tape, plus 350g for a 6600 ultegra cassette gives me a total of 2860g - so not a million miles away.

    I'm looking at a set of 50mm gigantex wheels from wheelsmith -
    total wheel weight - 1380g
    vittoria chrono evo cs tubs 165g each
    ultegra 6700 10 speed cassette - 305g
    total wheel weight - 2015g

    thats a saving of approx 850g for about £600 all in.

    not bad IMO
  • I suppose Pro-Lite Braccianos are difficult to beat value-wise. I bought a pair from Tri and Run for all of 175 squid, they tip my scales at (just) under 1.5kg with the Campagnolo freehub body and have done very well in tests. Just bought three sets of Planet X Model-Bs with Shimano body and they all weigh less than quoted by the vendor, I think the average was roundabout 1.6 euroweights. A geezer on a cycling forum here in Finland is convinced that the Model B and the Pro-Lite Stelvio are one and the same. Comparing the hubs of the Model Bs and the Braccianos I would tend to agree with him.