New bike wheels - confused about what to go for?

shamrock2004 · 18-05-2016 11:50PM #1

Hi

Yesterday I got a brand new TCR advanced 1. The stock wheels are Giant P-R2 and are quite heavy at 1900 grams. I have done some reading and have just finishe this article about upgrading wheels (https://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/buyers-guide-wheel-upgrades.html) and don't really feel any closer to making a decision. Budget wise, I can spend up to 1k. I suppose in terms of my riding profile, I would be fairly strong all round. What I have taken from the article I read is that you are fairly hard pressed to get quality carbon wheels for around 1k and that carbon wheels, while providing better aero-dynamics can incur more weight during climbs... whereas something like the shimano 9000 c24 are very light and good for climbing. What I want also is a wheel which can withstand the crappy roads in dublin and a wheel I can use all year round. I don't race, I do hilly sportive mainly. I'm a fairly big bloke weight-wise, at 94 kg. I feel so confused about what to go for. I want to invest in good wheels and don't want to be stuck with the stock wheels.

Many thanks

sbs2010 · 18-05-2016 11:59PM

Three things tell me you should go custom handbuilt.

You're 90+ kg
You want to use them all year
You want to use them on Dublin roads.

Talk to a good wheelbuilder about your requirements - the bike, your weight, what kind of riding you do etc.

They should be able to give options and recommendations on hubs, rims , spokes, the whole lot.

shamrock2004 · 19-05-2016 12:13AM

Thanks for the reply. Are there any in Dublin? And which would you recommend?

nilhg · 19-05-2016 08:08AM

shamrock2004 wrote: »

Hi

Yesterday I got a brand new TCR advanced 1. The stock wheels are Giant P-R2 and are quite heavy at 1900 grams. I have done some reading and have just finishe this article about upgrading wheels (https://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/buyers-guide-wheel-upgrades.html) and don't really feel any closer to making a decision. Budget wise, I can spend up to 1k. I suppose in terms of my riding profile, I would be fairly strong all round. What I have taken from the article I read is that you are fairly hard pressed to get quality carbon wheels for around 1k and that carbon wheels, while providing better aero-dynamics can incur more weight during climbs... whereas something like the shimano 9000 c24 are very light and good for climbing. What I want also is a wheel which can withstand the crappy roads in dublin and a wheel I can use all year round. I don't race, I do hilly sportive mainly. I'm a fairly big bloke weight-wise, at 94 kg. I feel so confused about what to go for. I want to invest in good wheels and don't want to be stuck with the stock wheels.

Many thanks

I had many of the same concerns as you, and was roughly the same weight, 2 years ago now I bought a pair of these,

http://www.swissside.com/shop/category/gotthard-collection/

I've raced two years of club league, done multiple WW200s, Orwell Randonnees, Mizen to Malin and basically all my ridng between the end of march and November on them, the rear one died in a crash last year but the front is going as well as ever, never really had a moment's regret about buying them.

If you wanted a deeper section wheel have a look at their Hadron collection, list price may be a little above your budget by I believe folk who have emailed and asked if there might be some discount available haven't been disappointed...

flatface · 19-05-2016 08:23AM

Personally I would ride your present wheels and enjoy your new bike. Then you can get a fancy set of wheels down the road (so to speak) and enjoy it even more.
This also gives you the enjoyment of reading wheel threads, drooling over expensive wheels etc like the rest of us.

jon1981 · 19-05-2016 08:50AM

Hi,

I have the same bike and wheels as you. After about 800km the rear wheel is f**ked. It started with a grinding sound in the freehub ( not the good noisy sound you hear from the Zondas

) and then last week the bike won't freewheel, whenever I stop cycling the chain falls off because the cassette is still trying to move.

Brought to the local bike store I trust and they confirmed a) that the wheels are pure sh*te and b) they are indeed f**ked.

I'm now running Zondas on my TCR and Pave icon ultras in place of my PR2s which I had put on my commuting bike.

J

Chips Lovell · 19-05-2016 09:04AM

shamrock2004 wrote: »

What I want also is a wheel which can withstand the crappy roads in dublin and a wheel I can use all year round. I don't race, I do hilly sportive mainly. I'm a fairly big bloke weight-wise, at 94 kg.

If it were me, I'd be seeing how the stock wheels held up and, if they weren't up to scratch, buying something sturdy like handbuilts or Campagnolo Scirocco or Mavic Aksium.

Don't buy carbon wheels. And you don't need to spend €1,000. €250 should be plenty.

Deagol · 19-05-2016 09:31AM

Jep Gambardella wrote: »

If it were me, I'd be seeing how the stock wheels held up and, if they weren't up to scratch, buying something sturdy like handbuilts or Campagnolo Scirocco or Mavic Aksium.

Don't buy carbon wheels. And you don't need to spend €1,000. €250 should be plenty.

Got to agree.

I bought a set of Shimano Ultegra 6800 wheels for around €360 and they are excellent. Lightweight (around 1600g), tough (I hit a really deep pothole at 50km/hr and not the slightest damage) and they take both clincher and tubeless tyres.

Have put up ~4500km on them and they are still perfect.

Saying all that, I weigh ~80kgs but I don't think an extra few would do any harm

shamrock2004 · 19-05-2016 09:52AM

Ok thanks for all the info guys. The reason I'm eager to get off the stock wheels is because I was looking at the TCR advanced pro 1 initially and one of the main differences between that and the bike I actually bought (the TCR advanced 1) is the wheelset. So in the end I went for the TCR advanced 1 with the idea of upgrading the wheelset. Again, thanks for the feedback and I agree that perhaps I don't need to spend as much as I think.

New bike wheels - confused about what to go for?

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