New Wheels

[Pot Odds]

Freehub on my Boardman Road Comp is noisy and on its way out so starting to think about replacement wheels as the freehub is OEM and looks like Halfords may not be able to get them anymore.

Current wheels are Mavic cxp22's with OEM hubs/freehub.

I dont want to downgrade (but i'm guessing the CXP22's are entry level) but also havn't much budget - probably no more than £150 for the pair.

Have seen / been recommended on another thread Shimano R501's:

http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-r501-wheels-49...

Cant find a rim weight to compare to the CXP22's but comparing overall wheel weight they seem marginally lighter than my CXP's.

Has anyone had a set or have any other recommendations - would want it to fit my existing SRAM PG1050 cassette as I love the bigger climbing gear.

Key priorities for the wheels need to be:

- Reasonably cheap
- Strong - i'm ~180lbs but do most of my riding on country lanes which have variable surfaces. Should I be worried about the reduced spoke count ?

I'm riding approx 80 miles / week split 20,20,40 but am aiming for a 100 miler later this year. Cant afford to upgrade the bike anytime soon and TBH am very happy with it.

Do road wheels generally all come with the same length axle or will I potentially need to change this out or add spacers to get them to fit the frame ?

Thanks for any recommendations / comments

[subsea99]

Keep an eye out for superstar wheels they have some good deals from time to time

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/elite-24-ult...

[richardxjr]

CXP22s weigh a lot and are dead feeling. R500/1s are still heavy. Fulcrum Racing 5 imo for price:weight:stiffness:looks (had all 3 btw)

Decent tyres too of course.


£148.59 + a bit of postage from ze Germans @ bike-discount.de

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/fulcrum-racing-...

Edited by richardxjr on Friday 17th April 11:02

[tjdixon911]

subsea99 said:

Keep an eye out for superstar wheels they have some good deals from time to time

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/elite-24-ult...

They have 20% off all their wheels currently, discount code is WHEEL20 advertised on their home page.

[tjdixon911]

richardxjr said:

CXP22s weigh a lot and are dead feeling. R500/1s are still heavy. Fulcrum Racing 5 imo for price:weight:stiffness:looks (had all 3 btw)

Decent tyres too of course.


£148.59 + a bit of postage from ze Germans @ bike-discount.de

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/fulcrum-racing-...

Edited by richardxjr on Friday 17th April 11:02

I ordered a couple of tyres from bike discount last Wednesday, first attempted delivery was made on Monday, very good service (£4.99 delivery).

Last year I purchased a set of wheels which turned out to be V Brakes (MTB) - returned them for free and full refund made a week or so later.

[Usget]

Pay a bit extra and get Quattros. Bombproof and currently £194 from Wiggle.

[okgo]

richardxjr said:

CXP22s weigh a lot and are dead feeling. R500/1s are still heavy. Fulcrum Racing 5 imo for price:weight:stiffness:looks (had all 3 btw)

Decent tyres too of course.


£148.59 + a bit of postage from ze Germans @ bike-discount.de

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/fulcrum-racing-...

Edited by richardxjr on Friday 17th April 11:02

This, I've bought some 7 LG (the new 23mm wide ones) and they're nice for £100.

[TheLemming]

I've had those wheels on the scales before - they are approximately 2kg.

You wont find it hard to upgrade. Ebay Aksiums normally come in well under the £100 mark and are a definite upgrade. There's better out there but not much that's better and cheaper (although I once picked up some Ritchey WCS Protocols for £60)

[thiscocks]

I personally dont see the point of reducing spoke count for commuting / general riding wheels. I wouldnt want to regularly commute on 16 and 20 spoke wheels. Save a bit more money and get some nice box section handbuilts on sapim race spokes.

[Pot Odds]

Hmmm seems like there's lots to choose from....

The superstar components at £147 (20% discount) are the lightest weighing in at 1492 for the pair and I liked the garmin mount i had off them earlier this year.

3 recommendations for Fulcrum but all different wheels - is there much difference between the 7's, 5's and Quattros that I would notice ? The Quattros can be had for £166 + delivery from bike-discount, the 5's for £144 and the 7's £108.

Are axle lengths generally universal on wheels - will all of the above just slot straight in in place of the CXP22's that came on the bike ?

If i'm going to spend a little more than just a £65 set of R501's to replace the borked CXP22 then i'm hoping that i'll notice a difference (it certainly seems to be suggested above that I will)

Thanks

Pot Odds

[nammynake]

Fulcrum 5, preferably the new "LG" wide version. Brilliant wheels.

[richardxjr]

Weight, iirc, 7, Quattro CX, Quattro, 5. All stiff enough.

Just sold on the R501s I had on the winter bike and moved the 5's over. Much nicer for the extra bit of dosh.

[okgo]

Axels universal yes.

You may notice a difference. Fit good tyres will be best bet for difference.

[Pot Odds]

Thanks for the continued feedback - been really helpful.

Am erring towards the Fulcrum Racing 5's as the ammount of wind around here the last month or so probably steers me away from the Quattros deeper rim (thanks for the PM offer).

Just one more quick query - has anyone had to replace bearings or freehub (the reason for my upgrade) on the 5's or any other fulcrum. A quick look on Bike-Discount suggests that they are not cheap at 50-60 quid compared to say shimanos. Anyone found servicable parts cheaper or new single wheels for sale ?

Also how have people found they stand up in the wet eg bearings etc.

Has anyone got a similar price bracket Shimano wheel (given apparent cheaper parts) that they can recommend.

Finally the shimano compatible 5's on Bike-Discount are listed as LG and HG - any idea what the HG stands for.

Price match request is in with wiggle so will pull the trigger on the 5's later unless any other worthy suggestions leap off the page.

Thanks again

Pot Odds

[gazza285]

Bearings are cheap and easy to replace, I've not had any problems with the freehub on my Fulcrum 5s, which live on my cyclocross bike. Not the lightest, but definitely strong enough.

[duff]

The bearings on my Racing 7s were very easy to do, bought some generic bearings for £5 per wheel. Oddly the OE bearings on the 7s are only sealed from the outside rather than both side of the bearings.

[nammynake]

Bearings are still smooth on mine following some pretty foul wet rides during winter. They also do a CX version with extra sealing:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-5-lg-cx-all...

[TheInternet]

Are the current FR5s still cartridge bearings or now cup and cone? I've cartridge ones which are starting to show the smallest amount of play after about 3000 miles albeit mostly in the dry. Cheap and easy to replace.

Have used 9 and 10 speed cassettes with no issues.

[subsea99]

Pot Odds said:

Hmmm seems like there's lots to choose from....

The superstar components at £147 (20% discount) are the lightest weighing in at 1492 for the pair and I liked the garmin mount i had off them earlier this year.

3 recommendations for Fulcrum but all different wheels - is there much difference between the 7's, 5's and Quattros that I would notice ? The Quattros can be had for £166 + delivery from bike-discount, the 5's for £144 and the 7's £108.

Are axle lengths generally universal on wheels - will all of the above just slot straight in in place of the CXP22's that came on the bike ?

If i'm going to spend a little more than just a £65 set of R501's to replace the borked CXP22 then i'm hoping that i'll notice a difference (it certainly seems to be suggested above that I will)

Thanks

Dont forget the lifetine free truing and crash replacement that comes with superstar ...i have a set of their mtb wheels and very impressed with them so far.

I also have a set of fulcrum racing sport that came on my moser and they are also nice wheels and have been impressed so far with them

Pot Odds

[TKF]

My Allez came with the CXP22 wheels and I still use the rear as a turbo wheel. Whenever I change the wheels over for a TT session I'm always surprised at how heavy they are. With the newer wheel on the front and the old one on the rear the bike is really unweighted.

I changed them with Shimano RS30 but probably should have got Fulcrum 5's instead. Both cheap and robust though.

I also have Quattros on another bike and don't notice the crosswinds too much unless it's really gusty. We're similar weights and wind affects us much less than mountain goats.