What wheel upgrade

[ambuletz]

Got a puncture on the way to work this morning. Locked my bike up in a rather crap location and took the bus. Came back in the evening and someone had made attempts to nick it, as I use an old motorcyle lock of mine they couldn't do a single thing..except for get pissed off and bend my rear wheel.

Was always told by people that

1- the best upgrade to make is the wheels
2- the decathalon triban 3 has some rather crap wheels.

so can anyone suggest any? I wouldn't know where to start. It's my only bike, so gets used for going any and everywhere on roads. Wouldn't know where to start in terms of how much to spend but lets tetatively set a budget of £100-150.

Thoughts & suggestions?

Edited by ambuletz on Thursday 15th January 18:47

[Deanno1dad]

Pushing it with that £100 budget...Fulcrum wheels always get good ratings..Believe Racing 7's are the entry level and may not be miles away from £100

[ecsrobin]

Are they 650 or 700 wheels? Smaller frame sizes come with a smaller wheel.

A good selection here: http://www.merlincycles.com/factory-road-wheels-44...

[ecsrobin]

Deanno1dad said:

Pushing it with that £100 budget...Fulcrum wheels always get good ratings..Believe Racing 7's are the entry level and may not be miles away from £100

£20 more for racing 7's

[SixPotBelly]

How about

Mavic Aksium for £130 at Merlin:

http://www.merlincycles.com/mavic-aksium-road-whee...

or

Shimano R501 at £70 delivered from Rose:

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-wh-r501...

The Aksiums would be the better wheel, but the 501s would still be an upgrade from your (now bent) B'twin wheels I believe.

[ambuletz]

ecsrobin said:

Are they 650 or 700 wheels? Smaller frame sizes come with a smaller wheel.

A good selection here: http://www.merlincycles.com/factory-road-wheels-44...

700c.


So far 2 people suggest Racing 7's.


Also, I know its a rather petty thing, but if I could buy a pair that doesn't have that garish contrasted lettering in white all over the rim, that would be a bonus.

[BadgerBenji]

ambuletz said:

Also, I know its a rather petty thing, but if I could buy a pair that doesn't have that garish contrasted lettering in white all over the rim, that would be a bonus.

Just peel them off they are usually only stickers.

[nammynake]

Another vote for the Fulcrum 7s but go for the latest LG model - this is slightly wider than a standard clincher and results in a rounder/wider tyre profile.

http://www.merlincycles.com/fulcrum-racing-7-lg-cl...

[Some Gump]

Controvertial call, but what about scouring the bay for oem wheels someone is looking to upgrade from?

E.g often see Focus bikes oem fit which is a fulcrum 6.5 (hub from ine, rim from other) and they go pretty cheap..

[ambuletz]

Some Gump said:

Controvertial call, but what about scouring the bay for oem wheels someone is looking to upgrade from?

E.g often see Focus bikes oem fit which is a fulcrum 6.5 (hub from ine, rim from other) and they go pretty cheap..

why is it controversial?

[upsidedownmark]

R501's are OEM fit on a lot (I'd almost say most), bikes. YMMV, but in my opinion they're a definite stay away, possibly responsible for the wheels are the best upgrade movement

For me the bearings rarely survive more than 6 months, and the races pit (in my experience), ruining the hubs (i.e. replacing the balls doesn't help). Never had a problem with anything else.

I'd say the mavics in whatever form are a pretty tried and tested solution to the wheel upgrade question, although wide rims are definitely nice if you can find some. Don't know fulcrums, no opinion there.

[Some Gump]

ambuletz said:

why is it controversial?

Because this is pedal powered! The answer will always end up "mavic cosmic carbones" or similar for the bling factor.

I actually checked the bay, pity you're not running campag - because someone is selling a campag hubbed set of racing 5's with tyres for 100 quid!

[anonymous-user]

Save your money till you have £300 or so, then you will notice the difference and you can look for some Zondas or equivilent, then you are looking at under 2kgs all in and far better rolling hubs.

Changing from the stock wheels to Racing 7s wont make any difference to the bike, with tubes and tyres you are still looking at at least 2.5 kgs for the Racing 7s. The stock Ritchey wheels on my Boardman were equally light and the hubs ran smoother than the Racing 7s I "upgraded" to.

[SixPotBelly]

upsidedownmark said:

R501's are OEM fit on a lot (I'd almost say most), bikes. YMMV, but in my opinion they're a definite stay away, possibly responsible for the wheels are the best upgrade movement

For me the bearings rarely survive more than 6 months, and the races pit (in my experience), ruining the hubs (i.e. replacing the balls doesn't help). Never had a problem with anything else.

Oh dear, they don't sound too good in that case. Take it the new hub that the 2013-on R501 had over the earlier R500 wasn't all it was meant to be then?

Disappointing to hear, especially as mine are in transit from Germany. Oh well, they were only destined for turbo trainer duty (rear) and spare (front) duties anyway. Reviews elsewhere are more positive (not the lightest but solid) so I can only hope I'll be happier with mine than you were with yours!

[Bobley]

Aksiums are tough old brutes. I've done a couple of years commuting on mine and they're fine. I've never touched the bearings. I nicked my lads Fulcrum Racing 3 a while back which in theory were 250g lighter but I couldn't tell the difference over a 35 mile ride. A mate just gave me a pair of 1 yr old Fulcrum 7s with a broken spoke and a duff rear bearing as it was going to cost more at the LBS to fix them. Now fixed for £30 parts and they're nice enough but not as tough as the Mavics.

Don't spend any money on second hand ex OE wheels are they're often soft as cheese. I bought a spare pair of new DT Axis 3 for my lads CX bike (which came with DT Axis 1) for £70 from a bike shop (takne off a new Specialized Tarmac I think). I had them trued about 3 times in 6 months (with a 10 year old doing crit races on them) and given up on them now.

[blugnu]

pablo said:

Save your money till you have £300 or so, then you will notice the difference and you can look for some Zondas or equivilent, then you are looking at under 2kgs all in and far better rolling hubs.

Did you read the bit where the OP said that their rear wheel has been damaged in an attempted theft? I expect a pair of round wheels will be noticeably better than a pair of not-round wheels regardless of their price.

If you came on asking for advice on what car to buy giving a suggested budget of, say £10k, would you appreciate an answer that said, essentially - 'you might as well get the bus until you can triple your budget'?

Such a post would be arrogant in the extreme, implying as it does that *your* spending priorities, taste and budget are the only acceptable ones. The OP has suggested a budget - pay some heed to it eh?

(and at £300 I'd be getting a wheel-builder to make me some sensible wheels, not getting some machine made, fashionable faux-racer nonsense)

[upsidedownmark]

SixPotBelly said:

Oh dear, they don't sound too good in that case. Take it the new hub that the 2013-on R501 had over the earlier R500 wasn't all it was meant to be then?

Disappointing to hear, especially as mine are in transit from Germany. Oh well, they were only destined for turbo trainer duty (rear) and spare (front) duties anyway. Reviews elsewhere are more positive (not the lightest but solid) so I can only hope I'll be happier with mine than you were with yours!

In fairness that opinion is formed over a R500 front, and 1 each of 500/501 rears. Can't say I noticed any difference between the 500/501, but I do think it's weather / water ingress that kills them, hopefully OK on a trainer! If you're DIY inclined, my front now has a novatec hub which was not many pounds off ebay. Transformed it

[Justin S]

So, we are talking about a £300 Triban 3 and putting expensive wheels on a bike, which seems is used for commuting ? I would pop into Decathlon, spend my £35 and buy a new rear wheel and fit that. They aren't 'great' wheels, from experience of setting up 2 mates Tribans. the bearings are too tight, which 2 mins with a cone spanner will sort and they need proper grease in them. So a sum of nothing. Fancy wheels on a commuter may amount to someone taking more of an interest to them than the standard wheels. It will get you moving cheaply.

[pembo]

SixPotBelly said:

Oh dear, they don't sound too good in that case. Take it the new hub that the 2013-on R501 had over the earlier R500 wasn't all it was meant to be then?

Disappointing to hear, especially as mine are in transit from Germany. Oh well, they were only destined for turbo trainer duty (rear) and spare (front) duties anyway. Reviews elsewhere are more positive (not the lightest but solid) so I can only hope I'll be happier with mine than you were with yours!

Don't worry about them, I'm just about to finish a season of cyclocross on mine and they are fine after plugging them through deep mud and jet-washing them almost every week. The stickers are peeling off and constant washing and tyre changes mean that the rim tape has come loose and needs replacing but they are still running fine.

I just picked up a pair of Shimano RS010's from Chain Reaction for £68 for my commuter, I haven't ridden them yet but they look like they will do the job for well below your budget.

[ambuletz]

pablo said:

Save your money till you have £300 or so, then you will notice the difference and you can look for some Zondas or equivilent, then you are looking at under 2kgs all in and far better rolling hubs.

Changing from the stock wheels to Racing 7s wont make any difference to the bike, with tubes and tyres you are still looking at at least 2.5 kgs for the Racing 7s. The stock Ritchey wheels on my Boardman were equally light and the hubs ran smoother than the Racing 7s I "upgraded" to.

My bike alone cost £300 new. It's basically my commuter/go everywhere bike (and only bike). so I'm not keen to spend that much

pembo said:

Don't worry about them, I'm just about to finish a season of cyclocross on mine and they are fine after plugging them through deep mud and jet-washing them almost every week. The stickers are peeling off and constant washing and tyre changes mean that the rim tape has come loose and needs replacing but they are still running fine.

I just picked up a pair of Shimano RS010's from Chain Reaction for £68 for my commuter, I haven't ridden them yet but they look like they will do the job for well below your budget.

now i'm in a pickle. do I spend a little more and get a pair of shimanos, or just buy the rear wheel from decathalon? I need to make sure however that my cassette, brakes etc will all fit on it though.

Justin S said:

So, we are talking about a £300 Triban 3 and putting expensive wheels on a bike, which seems is used for commuting ? I would pop into Decathlon, spend my £35 and buy a new rear wheel and fit that. They aren't 'great' wheels, from experience of setting up 2 mates Tribans. the bearings are too tight, which 2 mins with a cone spanner will sort and they need proper grease in them. So a sum of nothing. Fancy wheels on a commuter may amount to someone taking more of an interest to them than the standard wheels. It will get you moving cheaply.

I had never even thought to check decathalon! for some reason i assumed they wouldn't sell the wheels. Out of the list of rear wheels below I have no idea which one I would need to get?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-755629-bike-wheels-an...