Road Bike Wheelsets - £ for kg. Where's the sweet spot?
Discussion
First (and this is pretty much a universal view) one full rotation to clear the water off the rim. Brakes on and nothing for two metres.
Ok, so now I'm a bit closer that I was. Hey ho.
Keep squeezing and you start to slow. S-l-o-w-l-y. Slowly enough to have time to think "I wish I was braking faster". And finally they don't really bring you to a halt. You just keep slowing and slowing without stopping. Disconcerting.
This is the same across LW Standards plus Swisstop yellows, Reynolds Assaults/Attacks with Reynolds Blues, Zipp 808s/Super 9 with Reynolds Blues and Boras (pre 3Diament) with Campag Reds.
Ok, so now I'm a bit closer that I was. Hey ho.
Keep squeezing and you start to slow. S-l-o-w-l-y. Slowly enough to have time to think "I wish I was braking faster". And finally they don't really bring you to a halt. You just keep slowing and slowing without stopping. Disconcerting.
This is the same across LW Standards plus Swisstop yellows, Reynolds Assaults/Attacks with Reynolds Blues, Zipp 808s/Super 9 with Reynolds Blues and Boras (pre 3Diament) with Campag Reds.
alolympic said:
I'm no expert but isn't the difference in weight of the wheel and tyre actually seen as rotational mass and therefore a 200gram saving there has a much bigger impact than 200grams in static weight?
This is only important if you spend a lot of time accelerating on your road bike, which I don't. Once you are cruising it doesn't really matter whether the weight is rotating or not, to be honest weight probably doesn't matter very much on the flat. Climbing hills the weight obviously does matter.
The new Cero AR24 Evo wheels might be at the sweet spot: they're 1,456g and £249 a pair.
Their earlier version, AR24, scored a 9/10 in Bikes, Etc's review.
Their earlier version, AR24, scored a 9/10 in Bikes, Etc's review.
I'll second Cero offerings. I have the AR30s on my Cannondale and the ARD23 disc wheels on my Croix de Fer and theyre superb. The CRDs put up with all manner of terrains, and the AR30s are certainly stiffer laterally over a set of Aksiums I had on the Cannondale and the prices were less than the equivalent weight Mavics. Sapim spokes should mean for easy repair if required.
Kawasicki said:
This is only important if you spend a lot of time accelerating on your road bike, which I don't. Once you are cruising it doesn't really matter whether the weight is rotating or not, to be honest weight probably doesn't matter very much on the flat. Climbing hills the weight obviously does matter.
Even then, if the route has a fair amount of fast downhills and flats in between the climbs (e.g North Wales is very much like this) you'll possibly be better off with aero wheels anyway. It's only on courses that have lots of climbs and technical decents that the weight will come into play. Also if you're racing and having to accelerate there will be (very) small gains with less wheel weight
Except that a light set of wheels make the bike such a joy to flick about.
In the past I would've agreed that Fulcrum 3s are good (I've got a set) but nowadays I just build my own. Generally I use Stans rims and Novatrech hubs with Sapim laser spokes. They weigh about 200g less than fulcrums and are generally just as stiff. My lad races them and will soon tell me if anything is flexy (he certainly slags his PX RT-80 training bike compared to his Kuota or Spec Venge).
But off the peg F R3s are very good.
In the past I would've agreed that Fulcrum 3s are good (I've got a set) but nowadays I just build my own. Generally I use Stans rims and Novatrech hubs with Sapim laser spokes. They weigh about 200g less than fulcrums and are generally just as stiff. My lad races them and will soon tell me if anything is flexy (he certainly slags his PX RT-80 training bike compared to his Kuota or Spec Venge).
But off the peg F R3s are very good.
alolympic said:
I'm no expert but isn't the difference in weight of the wheel and tyre actually seen as rotational mass and therefore a 200gram saving there has a much bigger impact than 200grams in static weight?
I have a friend who swears this is true - like sprung v unsprung weight in a car (the justification for the carbon ceramics on his GT4!). I did ask that question a while ago on here and the general consensus was that it was b
ks! Shame though as 500g off the wheels would be much easier to lose than 2kg off me....williaa68 said:
alolympic said:
I'm no expert but isn't the difference in weight of the wheel and tyre actually seen as rotational mass and therefore a 200gram saving there has a much bigger impact than 200grams in static weight?
I have a friend who swears this is true - like sprung v unsprung weight in a car (the justification for the carbon ceramics on his GT4!). I did ask that question a while ago on here and the general consensus was that it was bks! Shame though as 500g off the wheels would be much easier to lose than 2kg off me....I bought some 38mm clinchers from Farsports as replacement for my Aksium Races. Massive difference for me - I am 2-3 mph faster. They are around half the weight. Braking is fine for me, not that I take in any huge hills and I havent died yet due to poor build quality. They are coming up for 3 years old now. Spokes still tight, freewheel still fine. I am impressed with the quality.
Catchme said:
I bought some 38mm clinchers from Farsports as replacement for my Aksium Races. Massive difference for me - I am 2-3 mph faster. They are around half the weight. Braking is fine for me, not that I take in any huge hills and I havent died yet due to poor build quality. They are coming up for 3 years old now. Spokes still tight, freewheel still fine. I am impressed with the quality.
The Askiums had worn bearings or something else majorly wrong. Before getting hung up on wheel weights I would take a look at the terrain that you ride.
A very lightweight wheelset will be great for climbing mountains, but not so good for smashing along a flat/downhill.
I went from the Fulcrum Quattros (Now for sale
) to Mavic Kysrium Elites (1500g weight) and haven't really noticed a difference.
A very lightweight wheelset will be great for climbing mountains, but not so good for smashing along a flat/downhill.
I went from the Fulcrum Quattros (Now for sale
) to Mavic Kysrium Elites (1500g weight) and haven't really noticed a difference. You don't have to buy new... which changes the £/g very considerably
I just picked up some very lightly used campag neutron ultras (with tyres) for £309 (which will be effectively reduced when I sell on the 10sp record titanium cassette that came with them)
1470g the pair so the saving of £222 over new retail price is quite a nudge on the £/g scale
But it isn't just about weight. Aero is important and build too. I had a close look at some quite light carbon rim wheels someone had bought on aliexpress. The bearings felt rougher than those in a pound shop fidget spinner
I just picked up some very lightly used campag neutron ultras (with tyres) for £309 (which will be effectively reduced when I sell on the 10sp record titanium cassette that came with them)
1470g the pair so the saving of £222 over new retail price is quite a nudge on the £/g scale
But it isn't just about weight. Aero is important and build too. I had a close look at some quite light carbon rim wheels someone had bought on aliexpress. The bearings felt rougher than those in a pound shop fidget spinner
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