£200 Training Wheels

bomster
bomster Posts: 202
edited August 2015 in Road buying advice
Evening all,

Looking to upgrade the wheelset on my 2010 Giant Defy 3.5.

I am in the process of getting a Canyon Ultimate, but am keeping the Defy as a winter/commuter/training bike.

What wheels do you guys recommend at the £150 to £200 range?

So far looked at the Camnpag Scirocco 35's and Fulcrum Racing 5's.

Probably can't go wrong with either of those wheelers but thought I'd check in with you trusty old lot first.

Cheers,

Tom

Comments

  • overlord2
    overlord2 Posts: 339
    Evening all,

    winter/commuter/training

    What do you want reliability or speed?

    Personally after years of winter riding I want a wheel that is not going to break and leave me on a moor in the rain at 1C. So conclusion is a 32/36 spoke handbuilt you can probably get a tiagra hub on a decent rim for about £200. Campag I dunno should be something similar.

    But if you want speed get a speedy wheel. Just dont say I told you so when it breaks and you get home a broken man. :wink:
  • t4tomo
    t4tomo Posts: 2,643
    I have racing 5s , they are a decent wheel for the money and haven't exploded and left me stranded on a moor yet!
    Bianchi Infinito CV
    Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Ultegra
    Brompton S Type
    Carrera Vengeance Ultimate Ltd
    Gary Fisher Aquila '98
    Front half of a Viking Saratoga Tandem
  • Elfed
    Elfed Posts: 459
    Evening all,

    winter/commuter/training

    What do you want reliability or speed?

    Personally after years of winter riding I want a wheel that is not going to break and leave me on a moor in the rain at 1C. So conclusion is a 32/36 spoke handbuilt you can probably get a tiagra hub on a decent rim for about £200. Campag I dunno should be something similar.

    But if you want speed get a speedy wheel. Just dont say I told you so when it breaks and you get home a broken man. :wink:

    Pretty sure you can have both.
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    If you really are looking for a training wheelset then look for a set with plenty of spokes, slightly heavier, cheap and ultimately disposable. ..err that will be what you have already :-)

    £200 won't get you much of an upgrade as such...I would be looking at hand built with tiagra hubs and no frills rims. Easy to maintain and rebuild if needed.
  • ayjaycee
    ayjaycee Posts: 1,277
    edited August 2015
    As a very satisfied Fulcrum 5 LG user, I'll echo T4Tomo's view. They are very good wheels for the £150 that I paid for them and I always think it's a shame that ' lower price' wheels (I say that on purpose as £150 - 200 is not considered to be exactly 'cheap' by a some in these straitened times) are instantly disregarded by a lot of people. But for each one that says go and buy hand-builts, you will find another that says the Fulcrum 5 are perfectly fit for purpose. Then again that's only my opinion.
    Cannondale Synapse Carbon Ultegra
    Kinesis Racelight 4S
    Specialized Allez Elite (Frame/Forks for sale)
    Specialized Crosstrail Comp Disk (For sale)
  • mamba80
    mamba80 Posts: 5,032
    Evening all,

    winter/commuter/training

    What do you want reliability or speed?

    Personally after years of winter riding I want a wheel that is not going to break and leave me on a moor in the rain at 1C. So conclusion is a 32/36 spoke handbuilt you can probably get a tiagra hub on a decent rim for about £200. Campag I dunno should be something similar.

    But if you want speed get a speedy wheel. Just dont say I told you so when it breaks and you get home a broken man. :wink:

    Total rubbish.
    the only wheels that have ever let me down are HB's. sure easy to put right but thats not the point.
    F5's are bomb proof but have poor seals around the freehub, you could save some money and get some RS21's for aound the £100 mark, no... get the F5's they are great wheels.
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Evening all,

    winter/commuter/training

    What do you want reliability or speed?

    Personally after years of winter riding I want a wheel that is not going to break and leave me on a moor in the rain at 1C. So conclusion is a 32/36 spoke handbuilt you can probably get a tiagra hub on a decent rim for about £200. Campag I dunno should be something similar.

    But if you want speed get a speedy wheel. Just dont say I told you so when it breaks and you get home a broken man. :wink:

    Total rubbish.
    the only wheels that have ever let me down are HB's. sure easy to put right but thats not the point.
    F5's are bomb proof but have poor seals around the freehub, you could save some money and get some RS21's for aound the £100 mark, no... get the F5's they are great wheels.

    I back this up.. there is a lot of nonsense talked about handbuilts but people can do they own spending...
    I'm happy to back up Fulcrum... have had R5s to R3 to now 0s... ( I know expensive for training wheels)
    The5s actually survived in very good order one huge winter pthole on a fast reliability .. near to a 'moor'.. it was the inner tube that almost let me down not the wheels.
    I sold those HBs on.. getting my money back as I did , thankfully spec Chris King hubs that some people also drool over.... for some reason.... (they flexed like hell by the way)
  • overlord2
    overlord2 Posts: 339
    Evening all,

    winter/commuter/training

    What do you want reliability or speed?

    Personally after years of winter riding I want a wheel that is not going to break and leave me on a moor in the rain at 1C. So conclusion is a 32/36 spoke handbuilt you can probably get a tiagra hub on a decent rim for about £200. Campag I dunno should be something similar.

    But if you want speed get a speedy wheel. Just dont say I told you so when it breaks and you get home a broken man. :wink:

    Total rubbish.
    the only wheels that have ever let me down are HB's. sure easy to put right but thats not the point.
    F5's are bomb proof but have poor seals around the freehub, you could save some money and get some RS21's for aound the £100 mark, no... get the F5's they are great wheels.

    Come on. I've been out in the middle of winter I don't know where you live but out here 20 miles from anywhere with a handful of sheep for company I want a wheel that won't break.

    Do you see touring bikes on 24 spoke rear wheels? Total rubbish what a flip comment.
  • bomster
    bomster Posts: 202
    Thanks for all the advice guys.

    Think I'll stick with factory wheels as I don't have anywhere particularly close that can build up a set of wheels.

    If no one else can recommend a factory built wheel for £150-200 then I think I'll pull the trigger on some Fulcrums.

    Thanks again.
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,583
    At your budget factory wheels make the most sense. I reckon handbuilts probably come in to their own from about 300 quid when the hubs are going to be worth rebuilding when you wear out the rims. At £150 to £200 you may as well replace the wheels in that situation. Haven't seen much criticism of the Fulcrum 5 Lg wheels anywhere.