A definitive guide to wheelsets for the newbies please

ugsparky

I'm still considering myself as a newbie so all information and guidance greatly appreciated. I've read that one of the best ways to upgrade a bike and cash wisely spent is to invest in a good set of wheels. Both myself and the honey are way past trying for olympic qualifying times but we do cycle 100km/160km sportives/an post events (we are doing the ROK this year). I still have my trusty Claud Butler San Remo and Caroline has a CB Roubaix. Both have Jalco DRX3000 wheelsets (standard fare I would imagine). I also have a Ridley Orion 1204a with 4Za Stratos wheelset (I've seen a few on here for sale as their owners are upgrading). I wouldn't spend much over €250 for a wheelset (or is this a false economy ?). I have seen various Mavic/Fulcrum/Miche wheelsets on sale on WiggleEvans/CRC and the 25%/50% reductions look to be good value. My main question is would a wheelset within my price range be a good investment and would it be worthwhile spending €250 on wheels for a bike that's worth €500 - €700 ? Like wise is it advisable to upgrade the 4Za wheelset on the Ridley ? I'm not looking for a magic fix to improve performance but would better wheels enhance performance - is there a marked improvement ? Thanks people.

lescol

I can't give a definitive guide I'm afraid, however, I've just been researching wheels as my Mavics have reached the end of their life. In your price range I was tempted by Shimano Ultergas, these are €334.86 on CRC....but, on Bike24 are €269.99 with €10 postage. Excellent reviews, eg:- http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/components/wheel-sets/product/review-shimano-ultegra-6700-wheelset-13-46924

http://www.bike24.com/p211695.html

Wheels can transform the feel of a bike, but so can tyres! You always go faster with new bling:D

Lumen

The honey?

ugsparky

Lumen wrote: »

The honey?

Yeah - my wife - you saying she's not a honey ?

Andalucia

also looking at upgrading my wheelset
looking at the fulcrum 5's or equivalent
had a chance to buy fulcrum 3's second hand but they were 3 years old and i'd prefer something new - cost was Eur 200
but from my non extensive research, is it true that it is very difficult to fit tyres to these fulcrum wheels??

also had a look at the shimano r 30's, in or around the same bracket
its a minefield out there
please help

ugsparky

Any advice - maybe ? I was hoping some of the wiser heads here might impart some knowledge ... it is difficult to know what to spend money on and if indeed it would be money well spent.

Get In There

For simply thanking Lumen's post as it had amused me, I got this PM from the OP

<Snipped>


ban·ter
/ˈbantər/

Noun
The playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.
Verb
Talk or exchange remarks in a good-humored teasing way: "the men bantered with the waitresses"; "a bantering tone".
Synonyms
noun. jest - joke - raillery - pleasantry - badinage
verb. joke - jest - chaff - lark - tease - jape - mock

johnk123

Well this is awkward....

dave_o_brien

johnk123 wrote: »

Well this is awkward....

Quality example of banter right there.

dave_o_brien

ugsparky wrote: »

Any advice - maybe ? I was hoping some of the wiser heads here might impart some knowledge ... it is difficult to know what to spend money on and if indeed it would be money well spent.

A decent entry(ish) level set of wheels will likely make a big difference to you. Aksiums/Racing 7's will be more than enough. More expensive than that is likely not to give you a huge benefit unless you're planning on racing, which you say you're not.

DirkVoodoo

My bitch be riding' tubs, yo!

Wheel upgrades are never a question of need, just a question of want. Unless your wheels are busted, super cheap or unsuitable in some other regard (aesthetic being numero uno for most people), then an "upgrade" rarely makes much of a difference.

I honestly couldn't tell a huge amount of difference between Aksiums and Ksyriums, maybe that's a sign of how crap I am, but like most things in cycling it comes down to the engine pushing the whole thing. Everything else is just window dressing, icing on a cake, bling on my ho', yo!

For me, I'd have: A set of deep section tubs, an uber lightweight set of carbon clinchers and then a high spoke count set of training rims on a decent set of hubs.

Lumen

ugsparky,

The cycling internet (and this forum) is full of very lengthy wheel discussions. I chose to draw attention to your choice of the word "honey" because (a) I thought it was odd and/or charming; it make me hum this to myself, (b) you didn't seem much bothered to do your own research, so I couldn't bothered to attempt to summarise the issues, a difficult task at the best of times, and (c) there was a slight smell of 'the weird' about your post which I was attempting to draw out.

The fact that you first took my post to be insulting to your wife and then pursued a "thanker" by PM totally validates motivation (c).

If it helps I also have a lovely wife called Caroline. Maybe we could swap?

Anyway, to answer your questions with my opinions...

>> would a wheelset within my price range [€250] be a good investment <<

Wheels wear out eventually. The hubs need maintenance and the rims wear down through braking. So buying new wheels when your existing wheels work fine is in no way a "good investment" in the conventional meaning of the word "investment". If you broaden it to "shopping experience" then maybe, yes.

>> is it advisable to upgrade the 4Za wheelset on the Ridley <<

They're quite conventional (but modern) shallow section, 19mm wide, 24 spoke wheels with cartridge bearings. If you haven't had any problems and the hubs spin freely then they're doing their job. You can buy significantly lighter and/or more aerodynamic wheels of the same design, but probably not for anywhere near €250. On a €750 bike it wouldn't make a lot of sense.

>> I'm not looking for a magic fix to improve performance but would better wheels enhance performance - is there a marked improvement ? <<

No.

TinyExplosions

dave_o_brien wrote: »

Quality example of banter right there.

Dermot Illogical

johnk123 wrote: »

Well this is awkward....

I've gone back and thanked the honey post to see if I get one as well. Kicking myself I didn't do it before.

ford2600

Dermot Illogical wrote: »

I've gone back and thanked the honey post to see if I get one as well. Kicking myself I didn't do it before.

Same here.

"Honey" always sounds American to me, "the honey" just sounds wrong.

TinyExplosions

ford2600 wrote: »

Same here.

"Honey" always sounds American to me, "the honey" just sounds wrong.

That's the part that got me too - 'my honey' is fair enough, 'the honey' makes it sound like said person is passed around a group of people

ugsparky

Get In There wrote: »

For simply thanking Lumen's post as it had amused me, I got this PM from the OP



ban·ter
/ˈbantər/

Noun
The playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.
Verb
Talk or exchange remarks in a good-humored teasing way: "the men bantered with the waitresses"; "a bantering tone".
Synonyms
noun. jest - joke - raillery - pleasantry - badinage
verb. joke - jest - chaff - lark - tease - jape - mock

PRIVATE

/pri - vate/

1
a : intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class <a private park>
b : belonging to or concerning an individual person, company, or interest <a private house>
c (1) : restricted to the individual or arising independently of others <private opinion> (2) : carried on by the individual independently of the usual institutions <a doctor in private practice>; also : being educated by independent study or a tutor or in a private school <private students>
d : not general in effect <a private statute>
e : of, relating to, or receiving hospital service in which the patient has more privileges than a semiprivate or ward patient
2
a (1) : not holding public office or employment <a private citizen> (2) : not related to one's official position : personal <private correspondence>
b : being a private

3
a : withdrawn from company or observation <a private retreat>
b : not known or intended to be known publicly : secret
c : preferring to keep personal affairs to oneself : valuing privacy highly
d : unsuitable for public use or display

4
: not having shares that can be freely traded on the open market <a private company>
— pri·vate·ly adverb
— pri·vate·ness noun

For simply sending a personal message that I believed to be a private conversation - hence "personal message" asking the reason for thanking Lumen for posting "the honey ?" ... I got a reply of sorts - but I'm still unsure of the value of upgrading a wheelset. Meanwhile, the wee honey/pet/chicken/light of my life/armchair general and overall cutie and myself cycled 100km together yesterday in preperation for the Ring of Kerry cycle. I was very impressed and proud of her, particulary considering that this time last year she was struggling with a fairly serious thyroid problem. However she's doing fine now and off all medication, losing weight and looking and feeling fine. Just wondering if I got a better set of wheels for her bike ...:)

smacl

Andalucia wrote: »

is it true that it is very difficult to fit tyres to these fulcrum wheels??

Got the fulcrum 7s and had no major difficulty with tyres, although I believe it is more down to the tyre than the wheel, with Marathons being among the toughest. New tyres are also that bit harder to fit.

Get In There

ugsparky wrote: »

PRIVATE

/pri - vate/

1
a : intended for or restricted to the use of a particular person, group, or class <a private park>
b : belonging to or concerning an individual person, company, or interest <a private house>
c (1) : restricted to the individual or arising independently of others <private opinion> (2) : carried on by the individual independently of the usual institutions <a doctor in private practice>; also : being educated by independent study or a tutor or in a private school <private students>
d : not general in effect <a private statute>
e : of, relating to, or receiving hospital service in which the patient has more privileges than a semiprivate or ward patient
2
a (1) : not holding public office or employment <a private citizen> (2) : not related to one's official position : personal <private correspondence>
b : being a private

3
a : withdrawn from company or observation <a private retreat>
b : not known or intended to be known publicly : secret
c : preferring to keep personal affairs to oneself : valuing privacy highly
d : unsuitable for public use or display

4
: not having shares that can be freely traded on the open market <a private company>
— pri·vate·ly adverb
— pri·vate·ness noun

For simply sending a personal message that I believed to be a private conversation - hence "personnal message" asking the reason for thanking Lumen for posting "the honey ?" ... I got a reply of sorts - but I'm still unsure of the value of upgrading a wheelset. Meanwhile, the wee honey/pet/chicken/light of my life/armchair general and overall cutie and myself cycled 100km together yesterday in preperation for the Ring of Kerry cycle. I was very impressed and proud of her, particulary considering that this time last year she was struggling with a fairly serious thyroid problem. However she's doing fine now and off all medication, losing weight and looking and feeling fine. Just wondering if I got a better set of wheels for her bike ...:)

cutie pie/honey/pet/chicken lol brilliant!

ugsparky

Dermot Illogical wrote: »

I've gone back and thanked the honey post to see if I get one as well. Kicking myself I didn't do it before.

Stop kicking yourself Dermot - it's not going to happen. Any thoughts on wheelsets per chance ?

ugsparky

Get In There wrote: »

cutie pie/honey/pet/chicken lol brilliant!

Surely these are fairly common terms of endearment - or am i just really old fashioned ? I have a pet name for her (NO - NOT ROVER OR FIDO) but that's private, so I didn't share it here.

I pm'd you just to ask a simple question as I thought I missed something - I could have asked you directly here, maybe I should have, but my post was about seeking advice on wheelsets ... and a few answers are starting to filter back ...

ford2600

Dave O'Brien and Lumen's advice seems sound to me.
Fulcrum 7's or Mavic Aksium would be decent reliable wheels without breaking bank.

For non racing cyclist, such as myself, I noticed a difference generally when changing tyres.

For comfort a wider up to perhaps 28mm(depending on frame clearance) can make a big improvement on comfort. I haven't noticed any speed loss as a result.

I bet your dear wife won't say no to more comfort?

Chips Lovell

Folks, private messages are just that. There's a site wide rule against reproducing PMs. Don't do it please.

Dermot Illogical

ugsparky wrote: »

Stop kicking yourself Dermot - it's not going to happen. Any thoughts on wheelsets per chance ?

I picked up Fulcrum 3's 2nd hand so I'll see how it goes. I had 4ZA stratos on my Ridley and the rear hub seized on me so I wouldn't get them again if I could help it. I've been told the issue is cured but one bitten etc.

Racing 7's new would be my choice in your position.

ugsparky

ford2600 wrote: »

Dave O'Brien and Lumen's advice seems sound to me.
Fulcrum 7's or Mavic Aksium would be decent reliable wheels without breaking bank.

For non racing cyclist, such as myself, I noticed a difference generally when changing tyres.

For comfort a wider up to perhaps 28mm(depending on frame clearance) can make a big improvement on comfort. I haven't noticed any speed loss as a result.

I bet your dear wife won't say no to more comfort?

My dear wife never ceases to amaze me - 101km yesterday in 4hrs 30m at an ave speed of 22.5km/h. That included two fairly long steep pulls near the end of our spin (trying to simulate the Moll's Gap scenario - at 67km we were ave 23.9km/h). It was her first complete 100km . She - the ray of sunshine in my otherwise grey and dour existence - feels comfortable on her CB Roubaix and this morning before I left for work assured me that she felt no aches or pains. I've thought about upgrading her bike with a view to making it easier/better/more comfortable to enjoy - should she have a compact crankset instead of the 53/39T ? - would Mavic/Fulcrum/Miche wheels allow the bike to freewheel/spin/travel more efficiently ? On yesterday's performance, she - the dear wife - is doing fine - much better than I did when I first cycled 100k. Maybe I shouldn't make any changes to her bike before the Ring of Kerry. A nice wheelset might make a nice Christmas/Birthday/Anniversary present though - better than an iron or a set of saucepans :cool: ...

paddydriver

This thread would be more fun in After Hours..

ugsparky

No ... it's still about wheelsets ... however coming soon to a forum near you "A definitive guide as to what petname to call your Wife/Cycling Partner/Lover/Bit on the Side for newbie cyclist's" ... but I doubt it will get 1025 views ...

cdaly_

ugsparky wrote: »

Maybe I shouldn't make any changes to her bike before the Ring of Kerry.

Sounds like a plan...