Wheel advice

[D1bram]

OK, another 'what shall I buy' thread

I have a Giant Defy Composite 2 - running standard wheels, after a failure of a spoke the other week I resolved to replace them with something a bit better (as it's pretty much accepted the wheels are the low point of the spec on the bike).

Also thinking it would be an idea to keep the original wheels for the Turbo or spare.

I was thinking something Mavic, maybe kysrium, but then I'm finding it hard to get a definitive steer on a decent set of wheels.

I've also see Shimano Ultegra wheels at £229 for a set - is this too little to be spending for a decent upgrade?

Any advice please

[Dammit]

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/3t-accelero-40-...

Bargain price for these- 23mm wide, so a modern design (unlike the Ksyriums).

[Dammit]

You can spend more, if you want: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/3t-accelero-40-...

[Dammit]

I'd never spend this on a pair of alloy clinchers myself, but I have a HED Belgium wheelset and they are seriously good wheels, so these should be even better: http://www.hedwheels.com/proddetail.asp?prod=ARDFR...

However, if it was me spending my own money I'd get a pair of FLO30's, I bought a pair yesterday for the girlfriend: http://www.flocycling.com/wheels_front_flo_30.php

[Dammit]

This is a 25c Conti GP 4000S-II on a Flo30:

[MadDad]

For the £250-ish mark personally I would be toying with any of these;

http://www.merlincycles.com/zipp-30-alloy-clincher...

http://www.swissside.com/shop/category/heidi-shado...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-zonda-clincher-... (excellent wheels, I run these on my Ti bike and recommend them highly)

Because they are 'old' these are good value; http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-5-blackwhit...

And if you can find another £50 the 3's are also a good wheelset (although they are the Fulcrum equivalent of the Zonda's); http://www.wiggle.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-3-clincher-...

[esuuv]

The prices for those Zipps from Merlin are per wheel........

[Bobley]

You can get Krysium Elite performance from things like Fulcrum 3s for a lot less money. Never had any issues with ours. Alternatively a good wheel builder can tailor you something to suit your weight and usage for similar/less money. We just got a set of Stans Alpha on Novatec hubs which are stiff and light (1300g) again a lot less than Krysiums. Things like H Plus Son or Mavic Open Pro are very popular too.

I've had a couple of sets of wheels built for me by Spokesman Wheels. He's does a very good service overall and because he uses popular Novatec hubs and Sapim spokes you can always buy spares easily (not that I've needed any spares yet).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H-Plus-Son-Archetype-whe...

[Dammit]

Section through a Flo30:



Internal width is 19.35mm, which is 0.65mm away from the external width of the Open Pro (which is 15mm internally).

This makes a huge difference to how the tyre sits on the rim - moving from the lightbulb profile that you'll find with the Open Pro etc to a profile that is significantly closer to that of a tubular tyre.

I'd really advise you to try some of the modern generation rims in comparison to the older gen stuff - the difference in the ride is quite eye-opening.

[Bobley]

Got my geek hat on now.

Just got the verniers out and measured a few of our wheels

Conti GP 4 seasons 23mm on 15mm Aksium = 24.80mm
Schwalbe One Tubeless 23mm on 17mm Stans = 25.00mm

Surely 25mm on 19mm rims would be wider than 24?

[louiebaby]

Dammit said:

Section through a Flo30:

Internal width is 19.35mm, which is 0.65mm away from the external width of the Open Pro (which is 15mm internally).

This makes a huge difference to how the tyre sits on the rim - moving from the lightbulb profile that you'll find with the Open Pro etc to a profile that is significantly closer to that of a tubular tyre.

I'd really advise you to try some of the modern generation rims in comparison to the older gen stuff - the difference in the ride is quite eye-opening.

Funnily enough, I've just gone from Open Pros to Flo 30s. It's too early to tell for speed, but I sure had to loosen the brakes off to get them round the rims.

[Dammit]

Bobley said:

Got my geek hat on now.

Just got the verniers out and measured a few of our wheels

Conti GP 4 seasons 23mm on 15mm Aksium = 24.80mm
Schwalbe One Tubeless 23mm on 17mm Stans = 25.00mm

Surely 25mm on 19mm rims would be wider than 24?

In my picture above the 25c Conti is measuring 27mm on a 19mm internal width rim.

[Bobley]

Doh, amateur caliper reading mistake!!!!

I'll go now...

[Dammit]

I just measured then again and now that the tyres are worn in they are just under 28mm wide.

[MadDad]

esuuv said:

The prices for those Zipps from Merlin are per wheel........

Doh, thought they were mega cheap.....!

[D1bram]

Thanks all for the advice!

Those wheels posted look good for the price - question I have though is; will a £2/300 wheelset be a notable upgrade over my standard wheels?

[nammynake]

It depends. What wheels do you currently have?

[D1bram]

The standard Giant ones - Giant P-Elite C Wheelset