I Bent My Wheel, Now I Need Some Advice

[carpeliam]

I bent the front wheel on my stock Cannondale CAAD10 (with the 105 groupset) when I went over my handlebars a few weeks ago and landed on my face. My face (and knees, and elbow, and wrists) are all healed now, but I still need a new wheel. My old wheel was a Shimano RS10, but it looks like they don't make those anymore (is this true?)... the new CAAD10s come with an RS11, but I can't find any mention of the RS series on Shimano's website. My LBS said Shimano doesn't have RS11s anymore (?), but they put in an order for an RS21 - a few weeks ago, and it hasn't arrived yet. So now after I've done a little bit of research, I'm thinking I'll just buy my own wheel and have done with it. A quick look around chainreactioncycles.com shows that they have an RS010 ($63, I'm guessing the same as an RS10?), an RS11 ($84), and an RS21 ($107). I've been pretty happy with my bike as is, so I'm leaning toward buying the RS010, but would an upgrade to RS11 be a no-brainer?

Long story short, should I just buy an RS010 or is the extra money on an RS11 a no-brainer? Also, what's the current state of Shimano's RS series? Why can't I find anything on their website?

EDIT: I've reposted this in the Cycling Equipment forum, but I'm not sure how to delete this post. Sorry!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

RS 21's are a good set of training wheels. ProBikeKit just had them on sale for $159. They get rid of the 'J' head spokes in favor of the straight 'Nail Head' style. So, they are maybe a little bit stiffer and stronger.

Your money. Your choice. There's nothing wrong with the RS 10/11 series. If you were happy before, buying the single wheel that replaces what you had should make you happy again.

 

[alfeng]

I bent the front wheel on my stock Cannondale CAAD10 (with the 105 groupset) when I went over my handlebars a few weeks ago and landed on my face. My face (and knees, and elbow, and wrists) are all healed now, but I still need a new wheel. My old wheel was a Shimano RS10, but it looks like they don't make those anymore (is this true?)... the new CAAD10s come with an RS11, but I can't find any mention of the RS series on Shimano's website. My LBS said Shimano doesn't have RS11s anymore (?), but they put in an order for an RS21 - a few weeks ago, and it hasn't arrived yet. So now after I've done a little bit of research, I'm thinking I'll just buy my own wheel and have done with it. A quick look around chainreactioncycles.com shows that they have an RS010 ($63, I'm guessing the same as an RS10?), an RS11 ($84), and an RS21 ($107). I've been pretty happy with my bike as is, so I'm leaning toward buying the RS010, but would an upgrade to RS11 be a no-brainer?

Long story short, should I just buy an RS010 or is the extra money on an RS11 a no-brainer? Also, what's the current state of Shimano's RS series? Why can't I find anything on their website?

UMmmm ...

CAMPYBOB is absolutely correct that it is your money, your choice ...

But, I think it's bad form if you asked your LBS to order a wheelset for you and then for you do not complete the purchase UNLESS he can cancel the order without a penalty (to him) due to the distributor failing to supply him with the product ...

Dura Ace & Ultegra hub'd wheels/etc. are always a little nicer than 105-series wheels ...

But, better-than-105 is probably not worth the difference in cost for 98% of the end users.

 

[carpeliam]

alfeng, I discussed this with my LBS before looking around for other wheel choices- it had taken 2+ weeks for the wheel to ship, and they said they didn't know where it was. I talked to them again yesterday, and they said they now know the wheel will arrive in 3 days, so I've decided to go with the RS21 wheel that they shipped. Thanks all for the help!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

I think you will like the RS 21 wheels. They are not the lightest set on the planet, but they appear to be durable, user serviceable, pretty nice looking for an inexpensive pair of wheels and my set are evenly tensioned when checked with my gage.

The joints are smoother/ better aligned than my Bontragers (which are the approximately same level weight and features).