new wheels: FSA RD-60 or Mavic Aksium

llatsni

Hey all

I need new wheels for my racer-commuter as my back wheel freehub and or bearings have gone, again (suspect hub / axle is buggered)
Budget is my prime consideration as possibility of bike being nicked is high.
So I'm looking at two sets of wheels on chainreaction and can't decide:

Mavic Aksium's or FSA RD-60's

both around the 160 euro mark, obviously other suggestions welcome for similar money.

Thanks,
Paul

blorg

The Aksiums are probably the most common entry-level wheelset available and get good reviews for reliability. I got them on a bike myself and generally happy although I do have an issue with some of the (aero) spokes rotating. Note you can get a rear wheel on its own if you only need one. I have a pair of Bontrager Select wheels off a Trek 5000 myself I'm looking to shift, these have been very reliable in my experience but replaced with Ultegra/Open Pro for loaded touring on a new frame. Would let them go for €90 as the front braking surface is a bit worn.

paddyb

for an extra €35, you could get fulcrum racing 5's
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=89&idproduct=4511
I have these and a few others on here as well.

llatsni

thanks guys, weighing up my options, current credit card bill is painful

penexpers

I have the Aksiums and I am very happy with them.

goods

Fairly basic question here , but whats the differences between older wheels with loads of spokes and ones with less spokes.
Obviously the less spokes the lighter but are they as strong ?

The reason i ask is because i have a hybrid type bike which was built lately but with older wheels on it. The wheels have been across spain twice and would have very high mileage on them. Now the problem is spokes have started to break and its time either to get them rebuilt or just buy a set online ?
I would prefer strength over light weight as i tend to do a fair bit of touring on it.

blorg

If you want strength and rebuildability go for traditionally laced 32 (or even 36) spoke wheels.

Low-spoke count wheels can be plenty strong (the Bontragers I have above are a low spoke count paired spoke design have been rock solid) but if you are touring in the middle of nowhere and a spoke does break your wheel is far more likely to go completely out of shape and make the bike uncyclable on a low-spoke count wheel. On a 32/36 spoke wheel a spoke breakage is not such a big deal.

The arguments for low spoke count are mainly weight and aerodynamics but these are questionable unless you are at a very high level. Regarding weight there is often a compromise as the rim may need beefing up to deal with the high spoke tension, particularly at the entry level.

Most of Mavic's high-end light wheelsets (Kysrium/R-SYS) are also reported to be dreadful in the aerodynamics department, at least as far as windtunnel testing goes.

Entry-level low spoke count wheels are mostly about marketing I suspect, but they do look good, and that is important too!

goods

Cheers for that, i suspected a lot had to do with how they look alright. Il go with the rebuild i think, the hubs are mavic and have generally been a solid wheel. As you said i dont need buckled wheels in the middle of nowhere.
And some of the roads i end up on id say i could do with as many spokes as possible !

cyco

have aksiums and had shimano r560's before and shimano were much better and can be found for the same price also lighter and i thought they were better in wind and stiffer too. I really dislike my aksiums and would shift for any good offer

Trojan

Going to threadjack this one a little bit...

I don't know anything about road wheels. I just ordered a Bowery (Pearson's price was too good) and wondering what the stock wheels are going to be like - any comments? (I'm a heavy guy - 106kg)

blorg wrote: »

Ultegra/Open Pro for loaded touring

(I went with exactly the same for my tourer)

Quigs Snr

Askiums are good for the money. The new model is lighter too.

For very low money (maybe 130) you could get the Fulcrum 7's from cyclesuperstore. Decent training wheel (I use the fulcrum 5's myself and love em)

The askiums like all mavic wheels are tough. I had older low spoked kysrium ssc sl's. Crashed them heavily twice into large non-moving objects breaking handlebars etc.... but the wheels remained true. A good winter training wheel for the money. The shimano's and fsa are ok too, but a bit flexy for my taste, not a problem unless you are doing out of saddle hill sprints really, but I never had that problem with a mavic wheel (or campag, fulcrum of zipp wheel for that matter)

Oh yeah and to the poster above... Ultegra and Open Pro ? Fantastic wheel. Not super light, but tough and roll well if build by a good wheel builder. The Ultegra hub is the best one Shimano do, the Dura Ace sacrifices durability for the sake of maybe a 50g weight saving. One of our lads is racing a long time and won't ride anything other than Ultegra Open Pro's during the winter. He was riding Helium/Dura Ace in races and the Dura Ace hub did not lost very long, according to a well respected local wheelbuilder here that is no surprise (he has since switched to tune hubs with the Helium rim)

llatsni

Sorry to drag this up again, but I'm STILL very undecided, I really hate saving pennies on bike stuff knowing if I'd spent a little more i could have gotten something great!

so..... the ultegra / open pro thing is gaining a lot of momentum in my mind (as the primary purpose of this bike is commuting and training)

Has anyone bought from this ebay seller:
cyclewales - ultegra / open pro wheelset
or can they recommend somewhere to get this wheelset for in or around the 200 euro mark?

blorg

My own Ultegra/Open Pros were €250 or so from Joe Daly's if that helps any.

llatsni

@blorg: do you mean 250 pounds or euros?

blorg

Euros, typo.

Mr. Skeffington

I have a pair of Open Pro's handbuilt by cliff in Cycleogical for sale if your interested, they cost me €300, would let them go for €180 if your interested.

They are the Open Pro CD, it is the most expensive open pro rim. Ultegra hubs and skewers. the wheels are a spair set that I have and have not been used all that much, they are perfectly straight and hubs are spot on.

As per previous posts these wheels are great, absolutly bomb proof, let me know if ur interested and you can come and take a look.

llatsni

@Mr. Skeffington: thanks, interested alright PM'd you.

Paul

Trojan

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Oh yeah and to the poster above... Ultegra and Open Pro ? Fantastic wheel. Not super light, but tough and roll well if build by a good wheel builder. The Ultegra hub is the best one Shimano do, the Dura Ace sacrifices durability for the sake of maybe a 50g weight saving. One of our lads is racing a long time and won't ride anything other than Ultegra Open Pro's during the winter. He was riding Helium/Dura Ace in races and the Dura Ace hub did not lost very long, according to a well respected local wheelbuilder here that is no surprise (he has since switched to tune hubs with the Helium rim)

Thanks Quigs - I absolutely love my Ultegra/Open Pros (also built by Cliff). I primarily chose them because of using them for loaded touring, but it's great to know they can handle Dublin street surfaces.

What I'm concerned about is the stock wheels on my new Bowery (yep, I'm another one of them). How will the Joy Tech hubs/Alex DA22 rims compare to my existing wheels? (I think I may have been spoilt with them!)

Can any of our fast growing boards Bowery owners club let me know what they think of the wheels?