How much to spend on new wheels....if anything
Discussion
It's coming around to the time of year where I can order another cycle to work voucher and I was thinking about upgrading the wheels on my road bike.
It's a Specialized Allez Elite, so was about £900 new. I've had a look at what's available at my LBS and the prices seem to ramp up pretty quickly from about £150-200 (which I'm guessing won't really be any better than what I've currently got) to over £600. I can spend up to £1k but am trying to figure out the sweet spot price-wise for a bike like mine.
It seems a bit odd to be running a £1k set of wheels that are worth more than the rest of the bike put together and just wondered what people's thoughts were on what I should be looking to spend without ending up with wheels that are vastly superior to the rest of my bike.
Also interested if anyone thinks I should upgrade something other than the wheels.
For a bit of context, I mainly use the bike for commuting when the weather is nice (about 25km round trip), weekend rides (up to 60km) and the occasional sportive or triathlon.
Any opinions gratefully received!
It's a Specialized Allez Elite, so was about £900 new. I've had a look at what's available at my LBS and the prices seem to ramp up pretty quickly from about £150-200 (which I'm guessing won't really be any better than what I've currently got) to over £600. I can spend up to £1k but am trying to figure out the sweet spot price-wise for a bike like mine.
It seems a bit odd to be running a £1k set of wheels that are worth more than the rest of the bike put together and just wondered what people's thoughts were on what I should be looking to spend without ending up with wheels that are vastly superior to the rest of my bike.
Also interested if anyone thinks I should upgrade something other than the wheels.
For a bit of context, I mainly use the bike for commuting when the weather is nice (about 25km round trip), weekend rides (up to 60km) and the occasional sportive or triathlon.
Any opinions gratefully received!
Shimano RS11 wheels are nice for about £120
Campag Ventos/Fulcrum Racing 5s are nice for about £200
Zondas are nice at around £300
Although it depends how heavy you are and the riding you do, handbuilt high spoke counts are nice if you fancy something built to last and never break
I wouldn't spend more than £300 on a bike @ that price, anymore is better invested towards a new bike..
Unless you intend to keep them for a while and transfer to a new bike
Campag Ventos/Fulcrum Racing 5s are nice for about £200
Zondas are nice at around £300
Although it depends how heavy you are and the riding you do, handbuilt high spoke counts are nice if you fancy something built to last and never break
I wouldn't spend more than £300 on a bike @ that price, anymore is better invested towards a new bike..
Unless you intend to keep them for a while and transfer to a new bike
Crippo said:
Spend a Grand on new wheels. Then next year upgrade your frame with another voucher. Repeat as often as is nessasary until you arrive at a nice Dura Ace Di2 Carbon wonder bike
That thought had occurred to me! Ultimately I would like a bike in the £3-4k price range so perhaps this is a sensible way to go about it.My only concern is that by the time I'd finished the build, the oldest components would be 2-3 years old, so not quite like having a nice shiny new bike.
The advice to spend around £400-500 seems sensible in the context of my existing bike though.
Decisions, decisions...
I went a different route and spent money on a set of 60mm chinese carbon clinchers with alloy brake surfaces, as I do triathlons and wanted an upgrade. I've done nearly 1000km on them now and think they're excellent value for money and fast :
http://www.carbonspeedcycle.com/product/20-52325mm...
If it was me using a cycle to work voucher, money no object, i'd probably look to spend £875 on a pair of 2017 mavic cosmic pro carbon wheels that could take 25mm tyres, that way, they're great for racing and will survive the next frame upgrade as well. I suppose that Mavic's Ksyrium wheelset come in around £300-400 and would make a decent upgrade if money is tighter.
http://www.carbonspeedcycle.com/product/20-52325mm...
If it was me using a cycle to work voucher, money no object, i'd probably look to spend £875 on a pair of 2017 mavic cosmic pro carbon wheels that could take 25mm tyres, that way, they're great for racing and will survive the next frame upgrade as well. I suppose that Mavic's Ksyrium wheelset come in around £300-400 and would make a decent upgrade if money is tighter.
Just had a look at the Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbons and they are stocked by my LBS where I can use my cycle to work voucher so they are definitely in contention.
I think I might be talking myself into a longer-term bike build over the next few years. Looked at the prices of some of the groupsets though and nearly choked. I had no idea you could spent that much on some cogs and cables!
The only problem is that most of the frames are significantly more than £1k (which is my maximum cycle to work voucher value) so wondering if I'm going to be a bit limited.
I think I might be talking myself into a longer-term bike build over the next few years. Looked at the prices of some of the groupsets though and nearly choked. I had no idea you could spent that much on some cogs and cables!
The only problem is that most of the frames are significantly more than £1k (which is my maximum cycle to work voucher value) so wondering if I'm going to be a bit limited.
Thing is with cycle to work, you still have to pay it back, buying a grand section of a bike a bit of a time will just be a PITA and its not worth putting £800 wheels on a £900 bike IMO
I would just find somewhere that offers interest free credit and buy a £2k-3K bike or get cheap credit and pay it back over three years
I would just find somewhere that offers interest free credit and buy a £2k-3K bike or get cheap credit and pay it back over three years
TwistingMyMelon said:
Thing is with cycle to work, you still have to pay it back, buying a grand section of a bike a bit of a time will just be a PITA and its not worth putting £800 wheels on a £900 bike IMO
I would just find somewhere that offers interest free credit and buy a £2k-3K bike or get cheap credit and pay it back over three years
I think that you're right about it being a PITA. The main benefit though is that it costs me 40% less using the cycle to work vouchers since I don't pay tax on the voucher value.I would just find somewhere that offers interest free credit and buy a £2k-3K bike or get cheap credit and pay it back over three years
I might just go for some £400-500 wheels for now and in a couple of years time, get a discounted, last season bike on 0% credit.
lauda said:
TwistingMyMelon said:
Thing is with cycle to work, you still have to pay it back, buying a grand section of a bike a bit of a time will just be a PITA and its not worth putting £800 wheels on a £900 bike IMO
I would just find somewhere that offers interest free credit and buy a £2k-3K bike or get cheap credit and pay it back over three years
I think that you're right about it being a PITA. The main benefit though is that it costs me 40% less using the cycle to work vouchers since I don't pay tax on the voucher value.I would just find somewhere that offers interest free credit and buy a £2k-3K bike or get cheap credit and pay it back over three years
I might just go for some £400-500 wheels for now and in a couple of years time, get a discounted, last season bike on 0% credit.
Can you add your own money to the grand? That might be a goer
TwistingMyMelon said:
Yeah that would be my caveat if you can save 40% it makes it worthwhile
Can you add your own money to the grand? That might be a goer
Officially, definitely not. However I have heard that some independent bike shops might be prepared to bend the rules a bit on that front.Can you add your own money to the grand? That might be a goer
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