New wheels

[2ky]

I've had my Madone since February and managed to break 2 spokes on the standard wheels (Both on the rear wheel).

The bike currently has these:

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equipment/cycli...

Trek have agreed to send a new wheel but the bike shop have offered to take the new rear wheel and used front back and offer a store credit if I'd like to upgrade. They sell Zipp, Mavic, DT swiss and Bontrager wheels so I'm leaning towards a carbon set instead of the replacement rear.

So far I'm looking at the following:

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equipment/cycli...

https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equipment/cycli...

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/zipp-302-carbon...

I haven't seen a Mavic pair that I'm keen on and I wasn't impressed with a budget pair of Mavic wheels I had before.

DT swiss are a bit out of my budget really.

I'm tempted by the Zipps but I think that's just because of the fact that their Zipps and I have no experience of them. I'm guessing at this price compared to their other wheels the ones I'm looking at are pretty basic! I think the Bontrager Aeolus pro 5's are at the top of my list at the moment, the weight difference between the Aeolus 3's & 5's is minimal so I think the 5's would look better with the deeper section!

Any recommendations? I'd be keen to hear about Mavic's, they seem to be the lightest out of all of the wheels above.

[langy]

I purchased some Hunt 36 carbon wheels https://www.huntbikewheels.com/collections/road-wh... and I'd be more than happy to recommend them to anyone.

[neil-1323bolts]

Have a good look at the bontragers, they get excellent reviews and really are a great brand in there own right away from trek , I have some on my Emonda

[Mark83]

I have Zipp 302s. Really like them as they're stiff and strong but take a little more effort to get up to the speed than my Reynolds 46 Aeros. They brake ok in the dry. Wouldn't dare ride carbons in the wet though after a scare previously on the Reynolds.

[lukefreeman]

neil-1323bolts said:

Have a good look at the bontragers, they get excellent reviews and really are a great brand in there own right away from trek , I have some on my Emonda

This.

A friend has a pair on Emonda H1, they look beautiful, he's hammered them, and the quality is excellent.

Don't bother with Hunts. You're paying for a label. Same wheels on ebay for cheap without the brand.

[rastapasta]

I have a set of Mavic cosmics that are ok. Ive had to send them back twice under warranty to get the rear bearings sorted. I would in light of this not recommend them. I would recommend fulcrum however but they weren't an option on your list.

[JEA1K]

I have set of Aeolus 5's on my Emonda SLR ... great set of wheels, DT Swiss hubs feel like they'll run for ever if serviced properly. They're my race wheels although they're clinchers as I do use them on a few days when I know there's zero chance of rain ;-) They're expensive so for the money there are so many options. I have a set of Zuus 55mm wheels for training on .... they're ok but Novatec hubs are terrible so you get what you pay for.

[mooseracer]

lukefreeman said:

Don't bother with Hunts. You're paying for a label. Same wheels on ebay for cheap without the brand.

How is this? everyone seems to rave about them!

[langy]

mooseracer said:

How is this? everyone seems to rave about them!

No complaints about my Hunts, quality and price.

[Jimbo.]

mooseracer said:

How is this? everyone seems to rave about them!

Easily available, moderately-priced components (Kinlin XR31T rims etc) used by wheel builders all over the ‘net. They make for good wheels, but somewhat expensive at Hunt prices...

[Usget]

I think the prices Hunt charge are very reasonable. See their response at the bottom of this thread:

http://road.cc/content/review/170213-hunt-race-sea...

[ALawson]

I bought virtually the same wheels as those Hunts from http://www.spokesmanwheels.co.uk/ built on Miche hubs (could have been novatec if I wanted) for the same price, not Pillar bladed by decent round Sapim spokes

20/24 or 24/28 wheels with Kinlin XR26T/RT rims, Novatec A291SL front hub, Novatec F482 rear hub, black Sapim D-Light spokes and silver alloy nipples. Cost is £349 inc std rim tape, QRs and UK delivery. Weight is around 1510g for the 20/24 set and 1550g for the 24/28.

I am about to get a pair of 20/24 or 24/28 spoke 50mm deep x 25mm wide carbon clincher wheels built using Novatec A291/F482 or Miche Primato hubs, silver Sapim CX Ray spokes and silver alloy nipples is £609 inc QRs, std rim tape and delivery.

He has just rebuilt a rear wheel (kinlin) for £95 after pothole damage, I would normally recommend Malcolm (thecycleclinic) but his waiting list is 5-6 weeks, and his carbon rims are less wider than the Carbonal ones that Spokesman uses.

I looked at the 302s as I could get a good deal on them but they are not tubeless, even my local mechanic who works in a shop selling Mavic wouldn't recommend them (much).

[Zigster]

Usget said:

I think the prices Hunt charge are very reasonable. See their response at the bottom of this thread:

http://road.cc/content/review/170213-hunt-race-sea...

Good response from Hunt Wheels. I live near them and they are top of the list for my new wheelset when I get around to blowing the cobwebs off my wallet. Lots of my cycling club have Hunt Wheels and they are all pleased with them.

I've no real feel for whether it might be cheaper to source all the bits separately and pay someone to build them, but I'm happy to pay a premium for avoiding that hassle.