climbing wheel recommendation
- Thread starter Mojo1988
- Start date
I'd look at a set of Boyd 44mm carbon clinchers in that price range. Either that or used Zipp or Enves but new they'll likely be out of your stated budget. All of those designs paid attention to heat dissipation which is key in a carbon clincher climbing wheelset.
You could find others but for a full carbon clincher climbing wheelset I'd focus on something newer with designs that worked on addressing heat issues during extended braking as what goes up has to come back down. That's if you're focused on full carbon clinchers as there have been some pretty dramatic failures due to brake related heating of first generation carbon clinchers on extended technical descents or other situations where folks rode the brakes (like crowded roads in Gran Fondos where you can't just let the wheels roll).
-Dave
Well even with a super light set of full carbon tubulars you'll pull what one pound, maybe two off of around 200 pounds of bike plus rider plus bottles plus kit weight. Don't expect magic out of a light wheelset especially on shorter climbs. On a steep five minute climb shaving 1% off of your total weight will reduce your climb by roughly 1%. IOW, if you pull 2 pounds off of your total weight (which is way more than you'll likely reduce weight with a set of carbon clinchers) you'll reduce your time by roughly 3 seconds. Drop your total weight by 1 pound out of 200 and you're talking about a second and a half on a five minute climb for the same power, not exactly earth shattering improvement.
If you're set on carbon clinchers then you'll be lucky to pull a few hundred grams off of a similar alloy rimmed wheel so now you're talking about around half a percent decrease in weight which is all but meaningless.
I'd go for a good set of mid deep wheels, set them up with fast tires over latex tubes and you'll see more performance improvement than trying to shave every last gram with a shallow full carbon wheelset. But seeing as you don't have big hills to deal with you could go with some Reynolds Assaults or other similar full carbon though personally I like the HED Jet series with alloy braking surfaces that come in around a hundred and fifty grams heavier or so. The reality is that weight difference is all but meaningless on anything except a steep pure hillclimb and for group riding over varied terrain a decent aero wheelset that's not so crazy deep it impacts handling in gusty winds is a really good investment.
I still like the Boyd 44s for such a wheelset but faced with a similar decision and I do like to ride some big mountain descents I went with HED Jet 4s for racing even in the mountains and I love them. BTW, I own a set of 1100 gram Lew tubulars, great very light wheels for sure but all in all the Jet 4s are my go to wheelset for all racing and fast riding situations even at five hundred grams or so heavier for the wheelset.
-Dave
What he said. As it happens right now you can get a Hed Jet 5 wheel set for a bit less than $1600 at Bike Tires Direct. There are also Hed wheels all over Ebay. At Excel Sports, they've got Hed Jet 5's, Reynolds Assault wheel sets, and Campy Bullet 50's at great prices. I'd advise you to seriously consider the Bullet 50's at that price. You can get a Shimano freehub for that wheel set for an additional $100 or so.daveryanwyoming said:
With my current wheel set Kinlin rims PT SL+ rear hub and White Industries front I am now looking to make an upgrade. In my search and getting quotes from my usual go to builders over the past couple of months I think I am getting closer. After using the FLO 60's on the TT bike I am now one of those that are liking the 23mm width. I am not sure about the marketed aero qualities of the 23 rim with 23 tire aspect and eliminating the light bulb shape, but I am pretty convinced about how well they handle on fast twisty descents and corners.
My front hub is having more issues lately with some lateral play. I press the cap and bearing in, but after a few minute it seems to work its way back out. There is about 1/16 of an inch of play and I can feel it descending on small downhill turns. I have been down some bigger descents hitting upwards up 35 mph, but I don't have enough confidence to take that wheel above 40 mph on a descent. Rather than continue to fool with it I am thinking it is a good time to freshen up things a little and go with a wider rim for my road wheels. The front wheel has served me well, but maybe it is time to freshen up things a little.
All of my quotes so far were builds using HED Belgium C2's, my PT SL+ (28H 3X) and a new White Industries T11 front hub (24H 2X), CX-Ray spokes.
I thought about waiting until the new HED Belgium Plus (25mm) is available, but my friend in the cycling industry says it is out of stock and would be a long wait.
I tried to get a set of FLO 30's a couple weeks ago, but trying to process an order is very difficult and failed to get a set (like bidding/winning on Ebay).
At the moment I am still considering the HED Belgium C2, but another rim now has my attention. The Pacenti SL23 is a little cheaper than HED and seems to get pretty good reviews. It has a 24mm outer width and the newer rounded shape.
Using the build tool at prowheelbuilder the estimate to replace my front wheel is $308 shipped. That is with Pacenti SL23 rim, White Ind. T11 front black, CX-Ray black, DT Swiss black nipples and rim tape. If I go with a DT Swiss 240s hub it will bump the price up another $50 +/-. The HED Belgium C2 is about the same price as the Pacenti.
At the moment I am trying to decide between using HED Belgium or Pacenti for the rim and between using another WI T11 hub or DT Swiss 240s hub.
My oldest wheel set uses 240s and it has the most miles of all my wheels. I still use that front wheel for weekday indoor training. It has been a really solid hub.
My front hub is having more issues lately with some lateral play. I press the cap and bearing in, but after a few minute it seems to work its way back out. There is about 1/16 of an inch of play and I can feel it descending on small downhill turns. I have been down some bigger descents hitting upwards up 35 mph, but I don't have enough confidence to take that wheel above 40 mph on a descent. Rather than continue to fool with it I am thinking it is a good time to freshen up things a little and go with a wider rim for my road wheels. The front wheel has served me well, but maybe it is time to freshen up things a little.
All of my quotes so far were builds using HED Belgium C2's, my PT SL+ (28H 3X) and a new White Industries T11 front hub (24H 2X), CX-Ray spokes.
I thought about waiting until the new HED Belgium Plus (25mm) is available, but my friend in the cycling industry says it is out of stock and would be a long wait.
I tried to get a set of FLO 30's a couple weeks ago, but trying to process an order is very difficult and failed to get a set (like bidding/winning on Ebay).
At the moment I am still considering the HED Belgium C2, but another rim now has my attention. The Pacenti SL23 is a little cheaper than HED and seems to get pretty good reviews. It has a 24mm outer width and the newer rounded shape.
Using the build tool at prowheelbuilder the estimate to replace my front wheel is $308 shipped. That is with Pacenti SL23 rim, White Ind. T11 front black, CX-Ray black, DT Swiss black nipples and rim tape. If I go with a DT Swiss 240s hub it will bump the price up another $50 +/-. The HED Belgium C2 is about the same price as the Pacenti.
At the moment I am trying to decide between using HED Belgium or Pacenti for the rim and between using another WI T11 hub or DT Swiss 240s hub.
My oldest wheel set uses 240s and it has the most miles of all my wheels. I still use that front wheel for weekday indoor training. It has been a really solid hub.
Thanks alienator. I had not heard of it until about a day ago, but I am about ready to make that leap and go with that rim.
Changed back to the HED Belgium C2 rim after talking with the builder gave me a couple of things to consider about the Pacenti rim. It is still a good rim, but the main point was the HED should last a few more years. He said for a general training wheel the C2 was hard to beat.
He also gave me some insight to the HED Belgium Plus, which is the same rim that HED uses in their built Ardennes wheel set. HED is running behind and will use all of those rims and it may be a long time if ever to sell the Belgium Plus as a stand alone rim sold to those that want to custom build.
The front wheel order has been processed with the C2 rim, black CX-Rays, black brass nipples and the black White Industries T11 front hub.
The rear I am trying to figure out what to do.
Option 1: send him my PT SL+ hub and have it laced to a matching rear wheel.
Option 2: Get a new G3 hub at the new price drop and have it laced to a matching rear wheel. Sell my current wheel set to someone that would like to get a low cost PT wheel and start training with power. The wheel and hub are working great and I use it just about everyday in my training.
I was planning on going with either another Quarq or P2Max crank when the SL+ eventually wore out, but with the price drop of the G3 it sure is enticing especially when going to the trouble of getting a new set of wheels.
He also gave me some insight to the HED Belgium Plus, which is the same rim that HED uses in their built Ardennes wheel set. HED is running behind and will use all of those rims and it may be a long time if ever to sell the Belgium Plus as a stand alone rim sold to those that want to custom build.
The front wheel order has been processed with the C2 rim, black CX-Rays, black brass nipples and the black White Industries T11 front hub.
The rear I am trying to figure out what to do.
Option 1: send him my PT SL+ hub and have it laced to a matching rear wheel.
Option 2: Get a new G3 hub at the new price drop and have it laced to a matching rear wheel. Sell my current wheel set to someone that would like to get a low cost PT wheel and start training with power. The wheel and hub are working great and I use it just about everyday in my training.
I was planning on going with either another Quarq or P2Max crank when the SL+ eventually wore out, but with the price drop of the G3 it sure is enticing especially when going to the trouble of getting a new set of wheels.
I don't know what prices your builder is quoting you or what your budget is, but Excel Sports has a deal right now on a rear wheel built with a PowerTap G3 hub and a Hed Belgium rim. It seems like a pretty damned good deal. Excel has a solid rep for building wheels. http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp...Clincher&vendorCode=CYCLEOPS&major=3&minor=23Felt_Rider said:
Wow!! Thanks for the tip. I got a quote a couple weeks ago from Excel so I did not go back and look again. I have some older DT Swiss wheels built by Excel (2008) that are still running true.
That is an excellent price. I am waiting on my friend to give me a quote on the G3 build. If his price is higher I know where to go now.
Thanks
That is an excellent price. I am waiting on my friend to give me a quote on the G3 build. If his price is higher I know where to go now.
Thanks
I'm not sure about the price on mine. I have a friend that owns a bike shop and does a fair amount of turnover in his consignment area. For a small fee he takes care of advertising and then the sale. When he sold my 04 Felt he got a really good price, more than I expected and raised it up high enough that he made his money out of the overflow. Plus I did not have the issue of people calling me and coming to my house.
I was looking at used wheels last night on ebay trying to get a feel for the used price. Just not sure yet, but with a deal like the Excel G3 wheel I think I need to go a bit lower than what I was seeing on ebay.
I was looking at used wheels last night on ebay trying to get a feel for the used price. Just not sure yet, but with a deal like the Excel G3 wheel I think I need to go a bit lower than what I was seeing on ebay.
Hi
I find that you are looking for wheels
About you requires "carbon clinchers. shimano/sram free hub. front rim 30-50 mm. rear 50-80 mm"
I recommend you look at http://www.diy-carbonbike.com/carbon-wheel-sets/r50c-detail.html
It's right to choose carbon wheels,It's so lightweight.
