Wheel Upgrade

-K2-

I've a Giant road bike (Defy) and I'm looking to upgrade from the standard Giant wheels.

In the good times I'll be out on the Wicklow hills for 100-200km rides, sportives etc.. Any advice on a decent wheelset for upgrade? Budget is in the €400 range.

Thanks!

IM0

get a set of open pro's built up with 105 hubs, should come in around your budget and you get a SOLID no nonsense light wheelset. great for wicklow roads

sy

These wheels get great reviews and are very light, Read the reviews on a few sites. Best price is on Ribble around €215 delivered! Great for climbing and under 1500g which is excellent for the price. They win best wheels under £400 in a few reviews. Other wheels to consider are Fulcrum 3's about €375 which are strong and reliable especially if you are heavy and Mavic's Ksyrium Equipes a little over €300. Campag Zonda's are around the same price as the Fulcrums but I think your Defy is shimano groupset?

Raam

sy wrote: »

Campag Zonda's are around the same price as the Fulcrums but I think your Defy is shimano groupset?

You can also get Zondas with a Shimano hub (HG).

niceonetom

me@ucd wrote: »

get a set of open pro's built up with 105 hubs, should come in around your budget and you get a SOLID no nonsense light wheelset. great for wicklow roads

Parker-International will do a pair of OpenPros on 5700 hubs for ~180GBP. I have a pair on 6600 hubs and like 'em a lot. They're solid and reliable and cheap enough that I don't worry about potholes too much. They are a bit lacking in bling though... and I'm guessing the Defy came with some variety of 32 spokers on shallow rims anyway.

If I was going hand-built I'd be tempted to go for some DT Swiss RR585 rims on 6700 hubs, laced 3 cross on the back radial on the front. I just think they look good.

I've tried the Pro-Lites. Really really nice and at €215 they're a screaming bargain. Comparable wheels from other manufacturers go for 400+. I'm not sure they'd be as sturdy as Ksyriums if you put them under a heavy rider, but I'd be very tempted by them.

bcmf

again +1 on the Pro-Lites. I had a set of the bottom of the range Como's and couldnt fault them so I would imagine the step up to Bracciano's to be a good one. I would be classed as a heavier rider and bashing over the North County 'pave' they didnt whimper once.
plus they look pretty good too.

markcroninbsc

you can get a pair of spinergy xaero on ebay for around 320 delievered, they are a good wheel and they have the pbo spokes so they look savage cool so for 400 you could have them with cassette & tyres n tubes. an extra couple of cuid and you could get the spinergy stealth.

savedbythebell

I just received a Set of Soul s4.0's .

Came in @ €375 + €30 import tax for a set of 41mm aerodynamic deep section aluminium clinchers.

Nice looking set of wheels too .

http://www.bikesoul.com/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=12

nomadic

savedbythebell wrote: »

I just received a Set of Soul s4.0's .

Came in @ €375 + €30 import tax for a set of 41mm aerodynamic deep section aluminium clinchers.

Nice looking set of wheels too .

http://www.bikesoul.com/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=12

I'm trying to decide between them and the s2's. Whats the story with wind and deep section wheels? Are they a no no in windy conditions. I was up the sally gap today and was been blown around the place with my current shallow wheels.

100Suns

If you are a confident bike handler 41mm alloy rims shouldn't be a problem in cross winds. Beautiful wheels too. Might be in the market for a set myself.

savedbythebell

nomadic wrote: »

I'm trying to decide between them and the s2's. Whats the story with wind and deep section wheels? Are they a no no in windy conditions. I was up the sally gap today and was been blown around the place with my current shallow wheels.

Ill find out soon enough when i fit them! They do take a while to get built and delivered, but communication from Sean at Soul is great and you can get various colours for hubs and nipples. This picture is what started my research into Soul wheels. Going for a similar look on my all white Px, nice and understated. :pac:

Raam

100Suns wrote: »

If you are a confident bike handler 41mm alloy rims shouldn't be a problem in cross winds. Beautiful wheels too. Might be in the market for a set myself.

Speaking of handling...
Did you go for deep section in the RAI at the start? I didn't fancy going aero with them in the wind we had up north.

nomadic

savedbythebell wrote: »

Ill find out soon enough when i fit them! They do take a while to get built and delivered, but communication from Sean at Soul is great and you can get various colours for hubs and nipples. This picture is what started my research into Soul wheels. Going for a similar look on my all white Px, nice and understated. :pac:

My next dilemma is red hubs and nipples or just nipples.

savedbythebell

Red spokes and hubs, not sure if you can get this configuration on the S4.0 though..........http://www.bikesoul.com/2009/images/stories/wheeldivision/s3red.jpg


Or go all out :eek: http://www.bikesoul.com/2009/images/stories/wheeldivision/s4whitenblue.jpg

savedbythebell

A quick 'n dirty picture of the S4.0's fitted.

-K2-

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll make a decision after I've cleared my cc bill for winter gear.

-K2-

So I eventually got around to buying new wheels. I went for Fulcrum Racing 3s from Jedi Cycles. Really nice wheels, run well. About 1000km on them so far over rough roads.

letape

That was a long wait! Good luck with the wheels.