New wheels

smacl

I broke a spoke on my rear wheel recently, and talking to Holyboy the wheel is on the way out. Looking for a new wheelset without spending an arm and a leg, as the plan is to save the funds for a new bike. Considering one of the following (campag fitting)

Pro lite como 2011 €126
Campag khamsin €135
Campag vento €165
Mavic aksium €225 (incl tyres which I probably wouldn't use)

I don't race, but do regular longer spins on poor surface rural roads, so I'm more interested in reliability and cost than anything else. Currently leaning towards the khamsins, any thoughts on these or other suggestions?

G rock

i recently bought fulcrum 7's when i found myself in the same boat as you.

apparently they're good too.

about 130 from bike24 (but then they add delivery and bulky item surcharge onto that too

seamus

Aksium's appear to be the wheel of choice for a lot of people. Take a look around at the Randonnee on Saturday and you'll see that every second person is either running Aksiums or Ksyriums (the big brother). Which means that there's probably something in them

For my part, when I switched to Aksiums from the stock bontrager wheels, I noticed a few things immediately:
- They roll better
- They feel stiffer
- They flex side to side when climbing or sprinting.

I've also found that they're a little less durable than the stock wheels I had in terms of maintaining trueness. Overall I really like them.

Jawgap

As of yesterday evening I've put 9,565.7km into a pair of Fulcrum 5's without issues.

I replaced the factory issued wheels with them when spokes started to go. So far they 've been brilliant. Went to get them trued about 3/4 months ago (at about 5,000km) and was told they were fine - no work needed on them.

Went for the Fulcrum for their robustness and they haven't let me down.

cantalach

I've had very bad luck with a set of Pro Lite Merano wheels - the next model up from the Como. I got them last August and between then and Christmas, I popped 7 spokes on the rear wheel! I'm under 80kg and wasn't exactly riding on Roubaix cobbles during this time. They were all just spontaneous failures. I eventually got the rear wheel rebuilt (by Cork Bicycle Services) with Sapim CX Ray spokes and it has been fine since. But just last week, the front wheel hub became very stiff and when I hold the axle with my fingers and spin the wheel, the bearings are grinding and rough as guts. So I won't ever again be buying another set of Pro Lite wheels. YMMV.

smacl

Fulcrum 5s (€180) and 7s (€135) duly added to the list. Might go the 5s as the 7s are out of stock in Bike24 and cost €197 in CRC (€260 for the 5s). Looking at ebay for mavics with compag hub isn't showing much value. Any other good value vendors out there?

decdon

Got a set of Shimano RS 10's from Ribble for < €120. 3000 KM up sofar and as true as can be. Good delivery service and cost. RS 20's & 30's would be a bit more but going by the 10's , they would be a safe bet. I don't race either, just the long spins.

Jawgap

smacl wrote: »

Fulcrum 5s (€180) and 7s (€135) duly added to the list. Might go the 5s as the 7s are out of stock in Bike24 and cost €197 in CRC (€260 for the 5s). Looking at ebay for mavics with compag hub isn't showing much value. Any other good value vendors out there?

Fulcrum 5s on jedi-sports.de for €176, shipping is €28

They don't seem to have 7s

smacl

decdon wrote: »

Got a set of Shimano RS 10's from Ribble for < €120. 3000 KM up sofar and as true as can be. Good delivery service and cost. RS 20's & 30's would be a bit more but going by the 10's , they would be a safe bet. I don't race either, just the long spins.

The Shimano's dont have a campag compatible option, but thanks for the heads up on Ribble. Cheaper than Bike24 for many of wheels.

ashleey

I found that rs20s do flex but after 1 snapped spoke are excellent and have survived some of the rougher stuff. I have ksyrium elites on another bike and mavics are excellent too. They are lighter than the DT Swiss r1900s that came with my bike. Also snapped a rear spoke on them too.

jimmyjacob

I'll second Jawgap's recommendation for Fulcrums. Athough I only have experience of Fulcrum 7s, which came stock with my bike, and Mavic Aksiums. Nevertheless, the Fulcrum 7s win hands down. Stiffer, sturdier and (subjectively) sprightlier.

They have stood up to hard training and commuting for over two years on terrible roads, with only a minor true - and that was being fussy. I know you said you don't race but they've won me races against guys running Zipps, Carbones, Heds, Spinergys, etc. (Multisport and duathlons - but keep that quiet)

A good frame and strong wheels like Fulcrum 5s combined with hard training and you'll handle anything the Irish roads throw at you - apart from certain contributers to the After Hours forum.

smacl

Fulcrum 7s ordered up from Ribble. Thanks for all the feedback.

Kav0777

smacl wrote: »

Fulcrum 7s ordered up from Ribble. Thanks for all the feedback.

How did these work out for you? did they come with rim tape & skewers?

smacl

Kav0777 wrote: »

How did these work out for you? did they come with rim tape & skewers?

Came with skewers and rims already taped. No spare spokes or tape. They seem great so far, rolling better than the older wheels they replaced, but only time will tell how good or bad they really are.