A question of wheel weights

colm_gti

Seems to be a consistent hot topic amongst cyclists....how important is wheel weight?

I have training wheels and racing tubs, but I'm looking at picking up a set of racing clinchers. My problem is that I am torn between going for something light off the shelf like Campag Zondas/Mavic Ksyrium Elites/etc. or something handbuilt like open pro on DA hubs with a relatively high spoke count. I know the latter will definitely be heavier, but they'll also be cheaper, stiffer, easier to service and have nicer hubs than the off the shelf options, right?

Are there any other arguments in favour of the latter? Surely there are other factors that are just as important as weight when choosing wheels? Or should I just shut up and buy a pair of zondas?

pprendeville

A mate of mine who did his first race at the weekend just commented that he realises that fitness is the most important factor in racing. But apart from that, I'm in the process of building my own wheels for the simple reason that its a great skill to have, graeat to have the option of repairing your own stuff (you know spoke lengths, if you got with Shimano hubs they are relatively easily servicedetc). Best thing is to speak to wheelbuilders who have a lot of knowledge. Great guy in Eurocycle near Powerscourt shopping centre in town. Apparently the weight of the wheel is not the be all and end all. A lot to do with inertia as well. Also, if you have time checkout wheelpro.co.uk - guy has a great pdf on wheelbuilding for a tenner and he isn't convinced by low spoke counts. It's a marketing thing.

colm_gti

pprendeville wrote: »

A mate of mine who did his first race at the weekend just commented that he realises that fitness is the most important factor in racing. But apart from that, I'm in the process of building my own wheels for the simple reason that its a great skill to have, graeat to have the option of repairing your own stuff (you know spoke lengths, if you got with Shimano hubs they are relatively easily servicedetc). Best thing is to speak to wheelbuilders who have a lot of knowledge. Great guy in Eurocycle near Powerscourt shopping centre in town. Apparently the weight of the wheel is not the be all and end all. A lot to do with inertia as well. Also, if you have time checkout wheelpro.co.uk - guy has a great pdf on wheelbuilding for a tenner and he isn't convinced by low spoke counts. It's a marketing thing.

Oh I agree completely about wheels not being the limiting factor, sure one of the top lads at Rás Connemara was racing on Aksiums, says it all, I just want to treat myself to a fancier new set to race on

AstraMonti

All you need to know about wheels: http://www.analyticcycling.com/WheelsConcept_Page.html
Since you are saying about light.. zondas are not that light. Go for a set of Stans 340 rims, with BHS hubs, it will be much lighter than anything you can buy off the shelf at this price. Second choice, 38mm wide carbon clinchers from farsport (they have great reviews). (Why don't you get another set of tubs though? 24 or 38mm? )

Pawlie

Shut up and buy the Zonda's :-),

531

colm_gti wrote: »

Oh I agree completely about wheels not being the limiting factor, sure one of the top lads at Rás Connemara was racing on Aksiums, says it all, I just want to treat myself to a fancier new set to race on

That does say a lot. Can you say who it was and is there any pics? Many would refuse to believe that.

I remember seeing a picture of Sean Kelly winning a night race in Newport about 8 years ago. He was on Mavic Cosmos, Aksiums predecessor. Of course, as someone said to me once, Sean Kelly would win if he was riding a steel gate!

colm_gti

531 wrote: »

That does say a lot. Can you say who it was and is there any pics? Many would refuse to believe that.

I remember seeing a picture of Sean Kelly winning a night race in Newport about 8 years ago. He was on Mavic Cosmos, Aksiums predecessor. Of course, as someone said to me once, Sean Kelly would win if he was riding a steel gate!

Pretty sure it was your man Eddie Dunbar, just remember a club mate pointing it out to me and us both laughing about our obsessing over 1k wheels to be competitive. Eddie then proceeded to ride off the front of the bunch with one other lad in the first of 5 laps and stayed away til the finish...

Pawlie

I use Campag Kashmins wheels and weigh in at around 1.8kg ex tube and tyre,and they are a fantastic wheelset,I am currently saving to get the Zonda's and use them for racing.

Lads get too caught up on the weight of them but main thing is if you cant ride and dont have the strenght to go hard during a race either on flat with 50-80m rims or up climbs with 25-35m rims it doesnt matter how light they are :-)

lennymc

i have the shimano rs80s if you want a shot of em. I find them nice for racing, they roll well, are reasonably stiff (i havent noticed any flex) and Im heavier than you and they are pretty reliable. Still true after a couple thousand kms usage. I like em (but am thinking of getting a set of tubs for racing )

Weight of wheel set with skewers, conti gp4000s tyres, conti tubes and ultegra 11-28 cassette is 2543 grams. Wheels without skewers is claimed about 1550.

Pawlie

lennymc wrote: »

ultegra 11-28 cassette.

Surely you should be racing on an 11/23 cassette :P

lennymc

Pawlie wrote: »

Surely you should be racing on an 11/23 cassette :P

Yeah yeah yeah.

(actually - its an 11-25 105 cassette. I just checked)

macnab

I posted a test I did last week where I replaced an OEM set of wheels with a set of RS80's. The OEM Carrera TDF wheels weigh 3.9kg fully dressed while the Shimanos weigh 2.5kg.
I knocked nearly 6 minutes off a 37km circuit with similar conditions and effort.
I don't know what that equates to in energy but I would rather have it in the bag for the final sprint than use it pushing a heavy set of wheels for an entire race.