Cheap Wheels
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It's OK for those people who have lots of disposal income... to buy a nice pair of Krysiums or Ventos or Gipiemme wheels...
Do very expensive wheels actually make much of a difference?
I have a Giant OCR1 Aluminium bike, with cheap Mavics.
The bike itself weighs a fair bit so upgrading to expensive wheels will make a huge difference to my credit card but not to the riding.
Bike too damn heavy.
What's the point of getting a better (more expensive) wheelset?
if I were buying another bike, I'd rather spend the money on a nice light frame, and forget about the wheels- basic Mavics will do just fine.
Hi Steve,
I must agree. I prefer to spend a bit more on the tyres, GP4000 Contis on both bikes.
When I built the Wheeler, for Sunday Best I chose Velocity Deep-V Sparticus, about $600 the pair, with the tyres, tubes and cassette. For training wheels, I got off the forum a couple second hand Deep-V 32 spoke with ultegra hubs and a slightly used Conti Ultra Gator Skin rib tyre for the front. I bought a new 2006 Gator Skin slick for the rear and used the old 12-25 cassette off the Felt, it cost about $150 all up for the pair.
Yes, cheaper is good!! :D
Hey are you doing the Tour De Perth to Mundaring?
it is sometime in May
I might do the prologue one, for the fat, overweight and unfit riders, before the main event.
Next year I'll apply for "The Biggest Loser" on channell 10 and if I win, will finally be able to buy that Lightspeed Vortex that I have wet dreams about...
Check out the prices for shimano 550's or ksyrium equipe's or ksyrium elites...at the moment I am in your situation mavic cxp22 rims, 32 spokes (not aero) and sora hubs. VERY HEAVY!
Make sure if you invest in new wheels that have good bearings and aerodynamics these two things make more of a difference than weight.
In the meantime invest in some michelin pro races with ultralight tubes for racing that will help em roll and save some weight. Whack on some armadillo's or gatorskins for training so when you go to raceday with your race tires atleast your wheels feel a lil faster ;) .
Check out the prices for shimano 550's or ksyrium equipe's or ksyrium elites...at the moment I am in your situation mavic cxp22 rims, 32 spokes (not aero) and sora hubs. VERY HEAVY!
Make sure if you invest in new wheels that have good bearings and aerodynamics these two things make more of a difference than weight.
Bearings make a differnece, but the aerodyanic savings of going from 32 round, butted spokes to 20 "bladed" spokes is less than keeping your jersey zipped up. You pretty much have to get up over the $500 mark before pre-built wheels are going to outperform a hand built set. For example, a standard set of Ultegra/Open Pro wheels with 14/15 spokes comes in about $50 cheaper and 150g lighter than the Kysrium Equipes. And with better, more serviceable bearings.
Often ride home from work with a colleague who has a Carbon De Rosa, he runs about 3 or 4 spokes per wheel - actually maybe about 16 on the back and 12 on the front. Last time I took his bike out of the Cage for him, I marvelled at how light it was. It must be only 7-8 kgs. Mine is around 9-10 kgs i'm guessing.
At a speed range of 28-35 kph, I have no trouble staying with the dude, but on one of our downhill runs (not very steep, very gradual and gentle) he always pulls away too easily, about 150 metres ahead before the road flattens and he lets me catch him. Is that the lightness? My aluminium monster being heavier, (the nut holding the handlebars :p is heavier too :D ) I figure I could go fast downhill...
Got me buggered. !!!!:confused:
It's OK for those people who have lots of disposal income... to buy a nice pair of Krysiums or Ventos or Gipiemme wheels...
Do very expensive wheels actually make much of a difference?
I have a Giant OCR1 Aluminium bike, with cheap Mavics.
The bike itself weighs a fair bit so upgrading to expensive wheels will make a huge difference to my credit card but not to the riding.
Bike too damn heavy.
What's the point of getting a better (more expensive) wheelset?
if I were buying another bike, I'd rather spend the money on a nice light frame, and forget about the wheels- basic Mavics will do just fine.
You know you are right Ausie. Anyone with a 'mediocre' bike will probably balk at the idea of getting a nice pair of boutique wheels. With cash on hand, bike fanatics (for lack of a better term) will probably upgrade the frame or the component group first before attending to the wheels - assuming of course one has a descent pair to begin with (a descent pair in this case would be entry level shimanos or campys or customs with entry level groupset hubs on entry to mid level rims). However biking as a hobby can be addicting. Once you splurge on that nice frame you'll probably splurge on the component group and then splurge on the wheels and then... so on and so forth. So where does it all end? probably until you run out of disposable income or find some other hobby to go nuts with. To conclude, I think most of us always buy the best we can afford at that time.
I have to agree with gclark8, I have been racing for 37 years and have tried almost every tyre known to Aussie bitumen, concrete and wood. I have ridden Campag Discs, Shamahls, Mavic, Fiamme and the list goes on. The only time I really notice any difference in the ease of riding (rolling resistance) is when I use good, fast tyres. The quickest clinchers I have found so far are the Veloflex range. Yes I have tried the Conti's. I currently have Veloflex Corsa on my road bike. They are stand out leaders in the clinchers. For tubulars I have to go for the Andre Dugast range. The rest of the bike can be an old Dinosaur as far as I'm concerned. At least then I am with something close to my own age.
The quickest clinchers I have found so far are the Veloflex .where do you get your Veloflex?
I don't think I've ever had one, and I haven't seen any in Melbourne shops for ages
Do very expensive wheels actually make much of a difference?I have a Giant OCR1 Aluminium bike, with cheap Mavics.
The bike itself weighs a fair bit so upgrading to expensive wheels will make a huge difference to my credit card but not to the riding.
Bike too damn heavy.there's an American guy on another forum who said "why ever race on aluminium rims?" He has Zipp ### carbon wheels!! Crikey!! :p Those wheels would cost as much as my best bike!! I seem to be the only guy on Beach Rd. still using Ultegra hubs!!
If i were you, I'd be getting a new frame or a new bike. Some of those aluminium OCRs are complete bricks, and heavier than some of the steel bikes I have, so, I really think you'd feel the biggest difference at the moment with a much lighter frame. I'm no weight weenie, and people will correctly say that a lighter bike won't make much real difference on the speedomoter on flat ground, but they sure feel faster, and some of those OCRs are ANVILS!!! :)
However, if your wheels are old and clpped out, with loose spokes and rough hubs, new wheels will also feel great!!
Bearings make a differnece, but the aerodyanic savings of going from 32 round, butted spokes to 20 "bladed" spokes is less than keeping your jersey zipped up. really? I hope this is true, coz I'm gunna use it to avoid buying fancy wheels for a long time!! :)
My LBS in Bairnsdale stocks them, Riviera Cycles, owned by a guy I coach. I don't know anyone in the Metro area that has them. I'm sure Riviera Cycles would post them to you if you wanted them.
My LBS in Bairnsdale stocks them, Riviera Cycles, owned by a guy I coach. I don't know anyone in the Metro area that has them. I'm sure Riviera Cycles would post them to you if you wanted them.thanks
What's the point of getting a better (more expensive) wheelset?
if I were buying another bike, I'd rather spend the money on a nice light frame, and forget about the wheels- basic Mavics will do just fine.
I agree with what hd reynolds was saying about the addictiveness of investing in something you love. For me, cycling is my indulgence. Hence, I like buying good stuff (my good stuff is sort of in the middle of the spectrum).
I had a pair of wheels that weighed almost a kilo. They where the only real heavy thing on my bike. I replaced them with pair that weighed 1490g and a little less profile. The difference was significant. They feel faster, they handle a crosswind much better, they have more jump to them, and they're snappy. Does this mean I'm going to start pulling away from guys that used to kick my butt??? Absolutely not. But I still enjoy the upgrade.
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