sub €200 wheelset

enas

Hey,

(disclaimer: I know, it's yet another one of those "what to buy" threads, but this time, I am the one asking, so, in my perspective, it's much more interesting.)

So I'm in the market for new wheels. They're for my commuting bike, so I'm not looking for something fancy, but still a good training wheelset, for a budget of up to €200 or even £200, depending on the offer. The Mavic Aksium are very popular as far as I know in this category.

They come at roughly the same price here (£143) or here (€179). Are those good prices, or could I expect something better by shopping around a bit more/hunting for bargains?

The Fulcrum Racing 7 come for £132 or even £125 for the 2011. That sounds like a good offer. Are the Aksium worth the extra price?

Finally, the Fulcrum Racing 5 look good at the top end of my budget (£192). Are they worth it?

Many thanks.

Chips Lovell

Campagnolo Khamsin are another to consider. Been riding them recently as training wheels and very happy with them.

bcmf

+1 on the Khamsins. If I can ride them over pothole strewn roads and still be true then they are good.
Got them off Ribble.A nice wheel and spin nicely but the feeehub is as loud as a loud thing with loud shoes and trousers on.

Captain Havoc

If you're not in a hurry you could wait and see if something appears on the super Wednesday deal.

seamus

Captain Havoc wrote: »

If you're not in a hurry you could wait and see if something appears on the super Wednesday deal.

Murphy's law is that if you're agonising over buying something, a better deal for it will appear about 12 hours after you've made your purchase. It's happened to me twice. Always wait until Wednesday before buying anything.

fat bloke

Css have aksiums and gatorskins for 209. Not as good as the wednesday deal of yesteryear but still a good deal, considering you'll pay ca 35 quid each for gatorskins:

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=89&idproduct=50674

SWL

Vladimir Kurtains wrote: »

Campagnolo Khamsin are another to consider. Been riding them recently as training wheels and very happy with them.

Are the Khamsin a similar wheel to the Askiums or higher spec thus better wheel?

velo.2010

SWL wrote: »

Are the Khamsin a similar wheel to the Askiums or higher spec thus better wheel?

Fulcrum is a Campag brand. Khamsins would be similar to Fulcrum 7 apart from the spoke layout. I'd go for the Fulcrum 5's if I had the choice. Sorry I sold mine. Fairly bombproof wheels. Aksiums can be picked up cheap but don't stand up well IMO to Fulcrum.

bcmf

Have ridden
Campy Khamsins, Askiums and Pro Lite Como's.
Which do I prefer most?
The Como's. No particular reason except I like their understated deep section black with big white lettering But they are all pretty bombproof wheels. I gave them all a serious bashing on the North County 'Pave' and stood up well.

enas

Thanks for your answers. I think I will settle for the Aksiums at the moment, can't see any compelling reasons to go for the more expensive ones, although the Fulcrum 5's look nice. Still giving it a few days of thought though (what am I saying, in a few weeks I will be still losing my sleep over which ones to buy, if I didn't get a cracked rim before).

velo.2010 wrote: »

Fulcrum is a Campag brand. Khamsins would be similar to Fulcrum 7 apart from the spoke layout.

That was my understanding too. And it was my understanding too that both have a very noisy freewheel, which kind of puts me off (I just love the silence of a moving bike - not that I ever freewheel of course ).

fat bloke wrote: »

Css have aksiums and gatorskins for 209. Not as good as the wednesday deal of yesteryear but still a good deal, considering you'll pay ca 35 quid each for gatorskins:

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=89&idproduct=50674

Thanks for the link, but I'd already seen that. That's not too interesting for me though, seeing as I just bought new tyres... to replace my Gatorskins (tried GP 4 Seasons, will see if I'm happier with them).

cdaly_

enas wrote: »

That was my understanding too. And it was my understanding too that both have a very noisy freewheel, which kind of puts me off (I just love the silence of a moving bike - not that I ever freewheel of course ).

The Aksium freehub isn't exactly quiet either. Mine have held up well over about 2 years now though I've had to strip/clean/lube the freehub a couple of times as it was starting to grab.

kuro_man

I got these for my commuter - strength is more important for commuting and these are tough for the weight and they spin very well. look good in white too.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Shimano-RS30-Road-Bike-Cycling-Wheels-WHITE-RRP-250-/270825599272?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item3f0e76b128

enas

Thanks for your answers again. I finally went for the Aksiums, bought on CRC, with an extra £10 voucher I had, worked out at a good price I reckon.

(Of course, I saw this just after, but I wonder if I could have used it with the voucher anyway.)