New Wheels - Advice please

2011

I'm looking for some advice please.
I am mid 40s "born again cyclist". In the late 80's I took cycling and training very seriously. I had my dream bike, a Vitus that I built myself (aluminium frame) with Mavic SSC, Campagnolo and Dura Ace components. I loved this bike and at the time I was very familiar with all of the components and options. Although this would have been considered a fantastic bike at the time I realise it is very dated. Since returning to cycling two years ago I am amazed with how components have changed and find myself completely out of touch. A friend advised me to buy a new Felt AR4 with Shimano Ultra group set for €2,400. Good value? I think so, but would be interested to see what other think. In my opinion this was excellent advice, I love this bike. I appreciate that this is considered a heavy frame for carbon, but my understanding is that it is stronger than most lighter carbon frames. At my age I am heavier than I would like to be (part of the reason for getting back into cycling) and on that basis the extra strength is no harm

I work very hard and feel like treating myself. People in the know tell me that the single biggest improvement that I can make to the bike is to change the wheels. I am told that Mavic Ksyrium Elite S wheels would be very suited to me due to their strength, stiffness and light weight making them ideally suited to climbing.

I am also considering Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 C35 Clincher Wheelset, but I am told that these wheels may not be as strong and the aerodynamic advantage only really works at speeds in excess of 30 kph.

Obviously there is a big difference in cost between the above, but this will not be a deciding factor. My cycling is mainly on the mountainy roads that can be in poor condition of Wicklow such as Sally Gap, Glenmelure etc. I am unlikely to race, but just want to enjoy cycling as much as possible on a great bike (great by my standards).

All advice appreciated, many thanks.

07Lapierre

Mavic are excellent wheels. Also, the fact that you "love" the Felt, in my opinion is the main reason you should go for it.

Have you taken the felt for a test ride?

ford2600

If you put a high value on strength and durability, think about getting wheels built for you, I.e youe weight, riding type etc.

Think dura ace, record, hope, royce, chris king etc.

Chose rims spokes and lacing to suit you.

Wheels for life with replaceable rims.

Cee-Jay-Cee

If you plan on mainly cycling on mountain roads and roads with poorer surfaces then the AR4 is not the bike you want. The AR is a very stiff frame and aero, it's not built for comfort although they're not hugely uncomfortable either but the F or Z range on bikes from Felt are more comfortable with the Z being the long distance/sportive suited bike.

At least get a good long (40km+ ) spin on an AR4 before you decide to but one just so as you know how one rides.

2011

Apologies, my last post was not that clear. I bought the Felt AR4 about 2 years ago new for €2,400. I am very impressed with it. However it is the only "modern" bike I have cycled so I have no other reference. I would be interested to hear opinions from others on my choice for the money spent. I find it very comfortable, but I did get professionaly fitted.

My intention is to improve the bike with superior wheels.

ford2600 wrote: »

If you put a high value on strength and durability, think about getting wheels built for you, I.e youe weight, riding type etc

Thanks. Is there anywhere you would recommend?
I weigh 89 kg.

Think dura ace, record, hope, royce, chris king etc.

Ok.

Chose rims spokes and lacing to suit you.

Any suggestions?

Thanks again.

2011

07Lapierre wrote: »

Mavic are excellent wheels. Also, the fact that you "love" the Felt, in my opinion is the main reason you should go for it.

Thanks for the reply. Can you expand in your reply please?

nilhg

OP, I was in the same boat as you, I knew that a good set of wheels was the best upgrade I could make to my alu Trek, I also knew that when the day came to upgrade if I had a decent set of wheels already I might have more options and that's the way it worked out, I was able to buy the bike I wanted without wheels, which suited me and the seller on the day.

The wheels I went for are these,

http://www.swissside.com/shop/gotthard-wheelset

I could have bought Krysiums for a little less but a couple of things swayed me, these for a little less weight have 24 spokes per wheel, I'm roughly the same weight as you and thought they might be a little more robust long term, that remains to be seen but with about 5000km on them this year I haven't had a problem at all with them. Also every second bike on our club spins has Krysiums on it, I just wanted something a little different.

Just another option for you.

ford2600

2011 wrote: »

Thanks. Is there anywhere you would recommend?
I weigh 89 kg.

I have a set of wheels built by Dara in Bee Cycles(@holyboy on here) and they have been excellent; have never heard any bad reports on here.

Expert cycles have also got good reviews on here. They normally recommend hope hubs.

I'm 80kgs but with audax spins have had a few more kilos on and the 28 spoke hplus son rims have held up well. I have them in black, @seweryn has them in silver and they look really nice.

Chainrection in my experience are expensive for wheels/tyreshubs etc. Have a look on German sites, bike-discount.de, bike24, rose bikes for better prices on wheels/wheel components.

Might be a good idea to buy 11 speed compatible hubs so you upgrade drivetrain/bike in time without needing to replace wheels.

Listen to a good wheelbuilders advice on spoke type, count, lacing and rim type.

Plenty of good wheelbuilders in UK also, which might suit. Harry Rowland and wheelsmith.co.uk have got good reviews on here also. have a search on yacf.co.uk for good wheelbuilders also.

Get a set of spare spokes if you go custom build so you don't spend a lot of time of road in event of spoke breakage.

Best of luck, you'll get lovely wheels whatever you decide to do at that price point

Seweryn

ford2600 wrote: »

If you put a high value on strength and durability, think about getting wheels built for you, I.e youe weight, riding type etc.

Think dura ace, record, hope, royce, chris king etc.

Chose rims spokes and lacing to suit you.

Wheels for life with replaceable rims.

I would also be going that direction, and I speak from my own experience.

I used to ride on Mavic Ksyrium wheels, as they came with the bike. But when the rims got worn, I decided to build myself a set of serviceable, good quality wheels. They came up quite nicely and having ridden both, I can tell that they are better than Mavics in every area - quality of hubs (I used the 7700-series Dura Ace), ride comfort (my set have 23mm wide rims), responsiveness, and most importantly - they are repairable, so when the rims wear out, I will be able to replace them at a reasonably low cost. The bearings only need occasional service, and if you do it right they should last about 120 years or more. The wheels are also built specifically for me, for my body size, my weight, my riding style, etc.

I would recommend going for that option. Surely, any wheels will get you going, but a custom, hadbuild set is designed and built for your purpose, and much more enjoyable and satisfying to own than buying something off the shelf that was designed as one-for-all product. If you are a middle weight person (say around 80-90kg), the factory wheels may suit you just about OK, as they are build for the middle man type rider.

Diggabot

nilhg wrote: »

The wheels I went for are these,

http://www.swissside.com/shop/gotthard-wheelset

I could have bought Krysiums for a little less but a couple of things swayed me, these for a little less weight have 24 spokes per wheel, I'm roughly the same weight as you and thought they might be a little more robust long term, that remains to be seen but with about 5000km on them this year I haven't had a problem at all with them. Also every second bike on our club spins has Krysiums on it, I just wanted something a little different.

Just another option for you.

Interesting to hear this. I've been looking at the Gotthard wheelset for a while now and Swiss Side seem to get favourable reviews. Obviously its a bit of a punt with wheels that you can't test/view but like you I want something a bit different.

FISMA

2011 wrote: »

I had my dream bike, a Vitus that I built myself (aluminium frame) with Mavic SSC, Campagnolo and Dura Ace components.

979?

2011 wrote: »

My cycling is mainly on the mountainy roads that can be in poor condition of Wicklow such as Sally Gap, Glenmelure etc. I am unlikely to race, but just want to enjoy cycling as much as possible on a great bike (great by my standards).

I would stay away from the low spoke rims. They flex too much in the hills. For me, the more spokes, the better. Preferably, 30+ spokes.

I have ridden lots of wheels and always find myself coming back to a pair of Dura-Ace hubs and Mavic Open Pro rims.

nilhg

Diggabot wrote: »

Interesting to hear this. I've been looking at the Gotthard wheelset for a while now and Swiss Side seem to get favourable reviews. Obviously its a bit of a punt with wheels that you can't test/view but like you I want something a bit different.

If you are Kildare way no problem with a viewing, just give me a bit of notice.

diomed

I usually chip in on these threads with http://www.harryrowland.info/
He built 36 spoke front & rear, Royce hubs, Mavic Open Pro rims, Sapim spokes.
I got them delivered to deliverme.ie in Newry and €22 from there to my door in Dublin.

2011

FISMA wrote: »

979?

Yep.
A sort of dark blue on the 3 main tubes and I always remember that there was a feather on the sticker at the top of the front forks.