What wheels?

[okgo]

The r2w thing is coming round again, and I have scrapped my other idea of getting a new bike.

However I'd like some new wheels, mine are a bit screwed due to wear and an off, so what would people reccomend as a step up from the £120 RS10 Shimano ones I have now?

Budget up to £500?

[Parsnip]

For everyday use?
28 spoke Mavic Open Pros built onto Ultegra hubs, save the rest of your pennies for something else.

[okgo]

OK.

What do they cost?

What would they offer over my cheapo ones at the minute?

[Jimmy5]

For added bling

Fuerta Bici carbon clinchers

[Parsnip]

Depends on who you get to build them, but probably talking about £250.

They are completely bombproof, require next to no maintenance and are generally the perfect training wheel. I have raced on them a few times when it was a bit windy to take the deep carbon rims out and they do the job fine.

They may not be as bling as factory wheels (fulcrums etc.) but they are, in my opinion, far better - they are a piece of piss to service and the bearings last forever.

[okgo]

Well push has now turned to shove as my rear wheels has now given up completely.

So I managed to find a chap on bikeradar that was selling some of these

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Mavic_Aksium_Bla...

brand new and unused for £100, he also is chucking in the brand new conti ultra race tyres and tubes. I'm very please with that. Hopefully a bit better than my RS10's and will last me till I want to upgrade properly.

[okgo]

The difference is incredible. They are probably the next grade of wheel up, nothing special, but they are so much quicker than the Shimano ones.

[itsnotarace]

Interesting as they are only 50g lighter on paper and the hubs on the RS10's are pretty good, I have a pair myself

[BliarOut]

Can you describe what's different? I'm looking for a set of 29'ers for my MTB so I can hold a higher top speed more easily with a budget circa £200.

[okgo]

It might be placebo at this point, but they seem quicker, stiffer, and they obviously look the nuts not to mention the hub is Fulcrum loud which I quite like . I was pleased with the RS10 set, but the rear wheel just died on my after the chain slipped onto the hub and buckled it.

[anonymous-user]

for everday use i would get hope pro3 on open pros as the hope hubs are so much nice looking and have a better reputation than ultegra.

for an uber race pair, planet x carbon 50mm on sale now for £399
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPPXCAR70050/p...

if you dont want tubs then i would consder one of the following;

campag zondas (which can fit shimano)
shimano dura-ace 7850 sl clinchers
fulcrum 3 (merlin usually do a good deal on fulcrums and they are built using campag hubs)
krysium elites

i think quest doa pair of carbon 50mm clinchers too

[okgo]

Thanks Pablo.

Decided to do it on the cheap this time round (see above), and will be looking at something like the planet-x next time round.

[BliarOut]

okgo said:

It might be placebo at this point, but they seem quicker, stiffer, and they obviously look the nuts not to mention the hub is Fulcrum loud which I quite like . I was pleased with the RS10 set, but the rear wheel just died on my after the chain slipped onto the hub and buckled it.

Fulcrum SL29's are at the top of my list at the mo...

[okgo]

I think Fulcrum have got a good rep.

I just couldn't turn these down as they were brand new and came with tyres and tubes too. And I could go and get them on the day.

[Rocksteadyeddie]

I have Open 4CDs on Dura Ace on my training bike. They have lasted me forever with virtually no maintenance. When a car ran over the back one last week I chose to replace the rim (Open Pro) rather than the whole wheel.

Maybe look at some used carbon wheels? Something like this which will go for about £550 ish I imagine:

Clicky

[CVP]

As a bit of a wider question at what kind of speed can one really notice the difference with an wheel with a deep aero rim (say over 40mm) compared to a more traditional style wheel a la Open Pro type design?

Googling shows a massive range of thoughts on the topic and some scientific test data and lots of less quantifiable feedback.

Is it really a case of TT'ing and crits they really should be useful due to higher average speeds but for the more century type rides on rolling / hilly they are likely to be less of an impact as average speed may be too low for most riders?