Recommend me some lightweight road wheels

[TallTony]

Hi everyone,

Last year I bought a 2024 Giant Defy Advanced 1. I knew it would feel slower than the Cannondale it replaced however it’s sluggish and lacking in agility/fun. However there is a lot to like about it, especially the riding position, so I am keen to keep it.

The crux of the problem is the wheels, which are Giant PR2 and apparently weigh just over 2000g which is bonkers for a bike that retailed at £3300.

Can anyone recommend some wheels that will weight around the 1500g mark? I see these Hunt ones are good value: https://www.huntbikewheels.com/products/hunt-30-ca...

Does anyone have any experience on these, or can recommend anything else? I don’t really want to spend ah huge amount more than the £600, but I’m open to budget creep 🤣

[Mark83]

Zipp 303S? I really rate them for the cost and come with a lifetime warranty.

[Master Bean]

Here we go.

https://partington.cc/en-gb/products/r-series-mkii...

[Robertb]

Before shelling out for wheels, try some new tyres if you've not already, such as Continental GP5000. They can make a big difference.

But if you're set on new wheels then the Hunts would be a decent choice, always seem to get good reviews.

[Harpoon]

Master Bean said:

Here we go.

https://partington.cc/en-gb/products/r-series-mkii...

There's budget creep and there's budget creep

Value wise I doubt you'd do better than Hunt or a competitor like Scribe eg

https://www.scribecycling.com/collections/inceptio...

If you want something a bit more bespoke, I'd have a chat with David at DCR Wheels. I have a set of his wheels and they've been faultless in almost seven years of riding.

https://dcrwheels.co.uk/

[_Hoppers]

I haven't got any complaints with my Winspace Lun wheels.

Available from a UK supplier

https://jedicyclesport.com/

[boyse7en]

Robertb said:

Before shelling out for wheels, try some new tyres if you've not already, such as Continental GP5000. They can make a big difference.

But if you're set on new wheels then the Hunts would be a decent choice, always seem to get good reviews.

This ^^

I swapped my Specialised tyres for some Conti GP4000 and it made a huge difference to the feel of the bike – much more of a difference than swapping the wheels did

[Voguely]

I've got Shimano C60 wheels and like them a lot. Widen enough internal rim to run a 28mm tyre easily whilst maintaining aero profile.

If you want lighter then there is the DuraAce version, but they are only marginally lighter and quite a lot more expensive.

There is also the C40 and C50 less deep wheels which are also lighter if weight is more of your focus than aero.

[Wardy78]

Swap to better hubs if opting for Hunts though, from what friends have said.


As for road wheels suggestions. I've got ENVE 4.5s on two road bikes, Bora Ultras on another and Shamal Ultras on another (I've then got Bontranger on an old Trek and Mavics on Gravel bikes).

The Shamals are lovely, roll well and fairly light but narrow in both directions, meanwhile the ENVEs are beautiful. Not the ultimate lightest, but so stable in cross winds. They would be my absolute go-to, hence two sets. (The Boras look great, and are nice and aero, but really get caught in crosswinds)


Agree on tyres too. My ENVEs both came with their own SES tyres which they rated as next-gen. They're st. Sticking GP5000s on is night and day. (All tubeless)



EDIT: Sorry, just see the £600 budget. Forget the ENVE. The Shamals however are great and in budget most of the time.

[BoRED S2upid]

I’ve got hunt carbon aero 30 on my 12 year old Focus. Can’t fault them a great wheel set. But I’ve obviously never tried anything else to compare them with.

[WPA]

Hope hubs on decent rims, very good quality hubs and spares easy to source.

[Gin and Ultrasonic]

I've had a couple of bikes with Giant's in-house wheels (S-R2) and my experience has been really bad. The last set went back to the shop twice in the first few weeks of ownership with snapped spokes, and when I snapped a spoke for a 3rd time I gave up and got a set of Hunt 4 season wheels, which were a massive improvement in terms of weight / feel, and I've had no issues with them in nearly 3 years.

I don't think better tyres are a solution for such bad wheels, although they will make a bit of a difference.

[jamm13dodger]

I fitted these to my Giant Revolt Advanced with 35mm Pirelli Cinturatos and they run great. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000033583741.html...

[TallTony]

Thanks everyone, some good ideas there. Changing the tyres sounds a good start

[mikey P 500]

Would highly recommend light bicycle wheels. Been going for years and offer great value custom spec wheels. Plenty of options under the £600 budget.

[klootzak]

I have the older Hunt Carbon 30 Aero Disc wheels on my Fairlight. They have the older hubs and a 1mm narrower section, so they are a touch lighter than the current model (1357g vs 1408g).

Aside from an insignificant cosmetic issue on one rim, the wheels have been excellent and completely reliable. The freewheel isn't nearly as noisy as Hunt's reputation suggests and the bearings are as smooth and play-free as one would hope after a year and a bit of riding through all weathers.

k

[markcp]

Another vote for Light Bicycle. I've had a set of AR36 on Hope hubs on my winter bike for a few years and they've been faultless and far better than anything else I could have bought from the money.

I've also got a set of their new Airia wheels on order for my summer bike, which again are at least half the price of anything similar from one of the branded manufacturers.

[IroningMan]

Also a fan of Light Bicycle - although I only bought rims from them and built up the wheels myself. Choice for rim brakes is beginning to get limited.

Winspace appear to be good value and Sigma Sports occasionally discount their Vel wheels quite heavily: I’ve had a pair of those on DTSwiss hubs on my winter bike for three years without complaint.

[JEA1K]

I'll add the Reserve 34/37's into the mix, at your budget, with the DT swiss 370 hubs, currently £699 at Merlin. They come in at just under 1400g as well. I've had Bontrager/DT Swiss wheels for years and recently bought a Soloist with these wheels on ... I upgraded them to the 40/44's before riding but I've done a good couple of thousand miles on them since March and am really impressed. Firstly, the rims are super wide so mounting tubeless tyres is a piece of piss.

They 'feel' light ... I'm used to riding 60mm wheels so these are bound to feel lighter but they feel considerably so. I'm not lightweight myself but they feel solid, probably due to the rim width ... I'm running 30mm Pirelli P Zero's which come up about 33m when measured.

[SCH]

I can recommend Just Riding Along (JRA) wheels. Mine have had a few years of abuse on our pot holed roads and are still as straight as when they arrived. Mine are the Mahi Mihi wheels - I paid £800+ but there look to be some currently some on sale.

https://www.justridingalong.com/product/mahi-mahi-...