Shimano R540 wheelset Vs Mavic CXP33

[kathanas]

Hi,

I'm a relative newcomer to cycling. I've been reading up on bikes and wheelsets but would love some feedback on wheels.

I am 6ft 2 and weigh 95kg's and dropping. The bike I'm looking at comes standard with the Shimano R540 wheelset. The guy selling me the bike assures me that I won't have any problems on the 16 spoke wheels, but I'm not so sure. He has told me that if I was concerned about the stability of the wheels he would be happy to put the CPX33's on as an alternative.

I have 2 questions:
1) Should I be worried about the stability of the R540 in the first instance.
2) if I should, is the CXP33 a suitable alternative, or am I being short changed.

Would appreciate some feedback.

Thanks

 

[cachehiker]

Originally posted by kathanas
Hi,

I'm a relative newcomer to cycling. I've been reading up on bikes and wheelsets but would love some feedback on wheels.

I am 6ft 2 and weigh 95kg's and dropping. The bike I'm looking at comes standard with the Shimano R540 wheelset. The guy selling me the bike assures me that I won't have any problems on the 16 spoke wheels, but I'm not so sure. He has told me that if I was concerned about the stability of the wheels he would be happy to put the CPX33's on as an alternative.

I have 2 questions:
1) Should I be worried about the stability of the R540 in the first instance.
2) if I should, is the CXP33 a suitable alternative, or am I being short changed.

Would appreciate some feedback.

Thanks

I've only test ridden R540's, but I'm buying a bike with them very soon. This is the skinny I've managed to gather on them. They're light enough and pretty aero for wheels without a deep rim section. They also do well in crosswinds. If you're riding long distances on flat roads you will find them very fast for the money. However, with only 16 spokes they are a bit flexy. If you try and use them for crits with lots of sharp turns and sprints you'll snap spokes. Fast descents on twisty mountain roads may also be scary. I will personally have a second set of wheels for such conditions.

 

[davef]

My LBS told me that they have only seen one broken spoke and that was a 100kg "ape of a sprinter".

I'll second cachehiker that they are a bit noisy on hard descents. It has sounded like I've broken a spoke about 3-4 times now, but nothing wrong with the wheel. A bit disconcerting

Also, I did a sprint out of hard downhill corner and it felt like the wheel had buckled, but it hadn't. Maybe, a gear change in mid-corner was not the right thing to do.

I can only compare them with 32 spoke rims that are 30 years old, so I am not much help. I weigh 66 kgs.

 

[pudster]

I think that I would go for the CXP's. The rims are light but strong and with 32 spokes they should be stiffer. I am not a fan of the less spokes because you then have to have a rim that is quite heavy to make up for less spokes. This can make the wheels feel slow when sprinting and climbing. I work at a place where we sell both and I have not seen any problems with either though.

 

[kathanas]

Thanks for the feedback. I still have a while before I make a decision, but I think I may err on the side of caution and go for the CXP's.

Then again a spare set of wheels might not be a bad option.

Any other feedback would be great in the meantime.

 

[Author]

Have you checked out roadbikereviews?


Shimano R540

 

[yayaya]

Originally posted by kathanas
Hi,

I'm a relative newcomer to cycling. I've been reading up on bikes and wheelsets but would love some feedback on wheels.

I am 6ft 2 and weigh 95kg's and dropping. The bike I'm looking at comes standard with the Shimano R540 wheelset. The guy selling me the bike assures me that I won't have any problems on the 16 spoke wheels, but I'm not so sure. He has told me that if I was concerned about the stability of the wheels he would be happy to put the CPX33's on as an alternative.

I have 2 questions:
1) Should I be worried about the stability of the R540 in the first instance.
2) if I should, is the CXP33 a suitable alternative, or am I being short changed.

Would appreciate some feedback.

Thanks

I have been riding the R540 wheelset for about a month and a half now. I weigh 92kgs. I havent had the slightest problem with these wheels as of yet and ive been averaging about 7-9 hours a week of riding. If your going to be doing alot of climbing they arent the best for that, second heaviest wheel ive found. The flex mentioned by someone else earlier does exist but I have found it to be very very minimal. On the upside for these wheels once you get them up to speed on the flats they really want to motor. I would say the stability is not an issure with these wheels. Just make sure your bike shop can get the nipples for the spokes. The spokes themselves are pretty common spokes but the nipples can be hard to locate, although I havent had to need one yet.

The CXP33...Im think I had an earlier version of these...1996 model(i think). Not bad wheels. Probably little more durable due to the spoke count..maybe.

 

[firc56ab]

When i was buying wheels i had the same decision to make and chose the cxp33's as they looked stronger. The shimano wheels look a bit un finished at the hubs as the spokes are put on backwards. i use cxp33's on a 105 hub and they seem to accelerate well and are very comfortable.

 

[Author]

Originally posted by firc56ab
When i was buying wheels i had the same decision to make and chose the cxp33's as they looked stronger. The shimano wheels look a bit un finished at the hubs as the spokes are put on backwards. i use cxp33's on a 105 hub and they seem to accelerate well and are very comfortable.

Aren´t R540 basically the same? It is built on S105 hub with less spokes.

 

[yayaya]

Originally posted by Author
Aren´t R540 basically the same? It is built on S105 hub with less spokes.

Actually they are built on Ultegra-level hubs.

 

[Author]

Originally posted by yayaya
Actually they are built on Ultegra-level hubs.

I thought that Shimano WH-6500 are Ultegra level or am I wrong??

Shimano WH6500

 

[yayaya]

Originally posted by Author
I thought that Shimano WH-6500 are Ultegra level or am I wrong??

Shimano WH6500

I thought I read somewhere that they were Ultegra hubs..but I can't find any written material to say so now. Shimano's website dosn't say which hub, just Shimano quality hubs. So it could be either, I don't know. However there is probalbly very little difference between a 105 and Ultegra hub.

 

[kathanas]

The CXP wheel the LRB is offering has an ultegra hub. I'm quite happy with that as the bike will have ultegra groupsets. A lighter, stronger wheel than the Shimano.

I have read the reviews on roadbikereviews but I can't find anything on the CXP's, unless I'm not looking in the right place.

 

[shokhead1]

540's are ****.If they were anygood,they wouldnt be on most of the new bikes.

 

[rugby01]

2 questions:
1) Should I be worried about the stability of the R540 in the first instance.
Yes and no - I weigh 250 lbs and lost one spoke on the WHR-540s about 20 miles for nowhere North America. The bend in the wheel was so great I destroyed a tire riding only 5 miles back to a main highway. The 540s are great distance riding wheels and ran great on my Seattle to Portland 206 mile ride. Very little side wind effects and very stable at speed. They also handled the RAMROD mountain ride. 156 miles and 10,000 feet of climb. So with my weight and the climb - they held up. But, the failure on the training ride 2 weeks after the RAMROD made me really worry, but then to show up at the bike shop and have to wait three days for a spoke and soffet - thats when the light went on - if I was at 5200 feet on a hill - would a support team carry an extra 540 spoke - no. They say you can use a regular spoke as the the spoke doesn't break off in the soffet( which mine did)
2) if I should, is the CXP33 a suitable alternative, or am I being short changed.
The Triangle shape of the CXP33 is made for pothole and training rides. Also to hold up larger riders. The ride is a little softer becuase your not using a high tension wheel. I had a set build with Ultegra hubs and 15-14-15 spokes. These are great durable wheels. not as much Aero as the 540s, but you could lose two spoke and still make it home.

 

[mrowkoob]

WARNING!

Stay away from the 540`s
They dont last, they are not stiff and they come very easily out of true.

If dont know of a single rider who have has a set of trouble free 540´s. I ride about 10000 km a year and I know many riders who have owned a pair and tossed them. Including yours truly.
I went through three pairs each replaced with a new pair from the importer. So Shimanos service is nothing one can complain about! Once or twice a year my local lbS get a visit fro a shimano official who (this is 2 years ago) paled when he was told about all the out ogf true shimano wheels.... he said that noone over 75 kg should use them. Still there is no official weight limit from shimanos side a big mistake on their part cause it makes their product look bad.

They have a few advantages: they look good, they are very easy to clean, and they are supposedly aero and just fine on the flats.

Negatives, Not stiff, actually not light!, easily out of true, weight limit 75 kg!, impossible to ride up hills with cause they flex into the brakes even when theyre fully opened. Aero design flawed by the outer placed spokes who ruin the aero function of the rims...
Deadly scary flex in sprints.....

There is a good reason why they came down to half what they initiallly cost at the LBS. They are utter and complete ****! They higher range shimano wheels are supposedly stiffer though. Notice that the new Dura Ace wheels have lots of spokes compared to the old model wich have the same design as the 540.

If the wheels are supposed to last ,32 spokes ,CXP33 and Ultegra hubs... is a very very good choice those will last a long time for sure. Get those for training and If you fall in love with a special wheel set, buy that later for racing or "special" occasions and be prepared that they wont last you as long as a set of cxp33 training wheels