Road bike wheels - training wheels worth it?

[hugh_]

I recently thought I'd broken a spoke on my Xero Lite XR1 rear wheel, only to find I've slightly kinked the rim and pulled the nipple through it as well.

As much as I love the way they ride, and the front is still going strong having only had new bearings relatively recently I'm a little fed up with having to re-true them, theyve done me for 3 years and ~4000miles though so they've done okay! Thinking about what to replace it/them with, I'm tempted to get a set of "training wheels" for the time being, and get some better (eg. as light or lighter than the xeros but stronger) when I eventually get round to racing at some point in the future. Has anyone done this, and realistically how different do slightly heavier wheels feel? Although I don't race at the moment I ride fast and like to push myself.

The LBS can get Mavic Open Pro rims on Tiagra hubs for £140 a pair built up by Raleigh. They are 32 spoke rather than 16/20 like the Xeros so should be much stronger. The LBS is fairly mtb focused though and openly admit that they dont do what they call fancy road wheels and this is the highest spec road wheel they want to have anything to do with.

Any thoughts on these wheels or other options that might be better?

Thanks

[Jimbo.]

Nothing wrong with that setup. Not the lightest nor the bling'est, but it'll be tough: Open Pros are the benchmark road rim, and Tiagra, well...keep 'em greased (easy!) and you'll be 'reet for years.
I'd go for 'em, or something similar), it'll give you something to (literally) grind away during the winter/crap weather/dull-n-dreary miles, keeping your good wheels for summer, races etc. Plus a spare wheel/wheelset is always handy, be it for turbotrainer duties, throwing together another bike (the while bikes = n+1 thing), last-minute Sunday morning "Oh st snapped spoke" spare, lending to mates etc, etc.

[anonymous-user]

simple answer is go to a different LBS but open pros are lovely and on tiagra hubs with some quality double butted spokes they will go for years so there is no reason why they should worry too much... £140 is good value but good spokes are crucial. dont forget to add on for stuff like rim tape, tubes et al £140 will quickly be £200 when you have tyres too even if they are humble conti ultra sports...

[hugh_]

Cheers guys I think I'll go for them then. The £140 includes rim tape, and I'll just put my old tyres and tubes on (Hutchinson Fusion 2 & Michelin ultralites) as they've been fantastic so far (only had them 500miles ish).

[hugh_]

Picked them up after work today, got them on the bike and went for a bash this evening. They aren't much heavier, but the added stiffness felt wierd at first. Once cruising there wasnt alot of noticable difference. The hills felt hard, but it's not a route that I do often and is more likely to do with having had a beery weekend at a mates wedding. It's nice to be able to go off low kerbs now, which it did without fuss, something that I wouldnt have dared before!