Wheel-set Upgrade?



wmorrison818

New Member
Aug 4, 2013
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I currently have the Felt AR4 road bike w/ SRAM Rival components. Was just curious and wanted to hear some opinions on what a decent upgrade on the wheels would be. I know a lot of it comes down to how much I want to spend. Any insight into what is out there would be appreciated.
 
From a performance standpoint, aero is better than lighter. A rider dropping a couple lbs. off the bike over a distance of 40k(25mi.) would gain a few seconds on a flat course. A rider with some deep section aero wheels could save over a minute.

For aero wheels, wind tunnel data recommends the U shaped wheels (which HED, Zipp, Easton and many others are adopting) vs. the V shaped wheels (pretty much all the aero designs of yesteryear). The U shaped wheels also tend to be more aerodynamically sound in crosswinds, and less susceptible to poor handling under those conditions (the shape of the wheel grabs less air as it passes across the rim).

There is also a new "wider is better" paradigm. Almost all older wheels were 19mm wide measured at the brake track, many manufacturers are adopting 21mm, 22mm, 23mm widths, and some even wider. The advantage is supposedly a slightly faster rolling wheel (less rolling resistance), slightly better handling (because the tire is spread out more), and because tire pressures can be (and should be) run a little lower on wider rims, more comfortable too. And if going with aero wheels, windtunnel data indicates a 19mm wide rim will loose ALL if not MOST of it's aero benefit with a tire wider than 23c-25c (due to the "light-bulb effect"). So on race day you'll want to run a narrower tire if you expect any advantage, but seriously, who the heck wants to ride around on a 20c or 21c tire? They don't feel that terrific, and don't handle corners all that well. And isn't riding for the most part to experience the joy of riding?

Whichever option you choose remember that a wheel needs to get you home at the end of the ride, so depending on body weight you'll want something that can hold up too. A wheel that has say a 32rear/32front spoke count, or even 28r/24f, is going to be quite a bit more durable than one that has 20r/18f for instance.

And finally, if considering carbon wheels, remember wheels with aluminum brake tracks stop waaaay better when it's wet out.

I personally like the offerings from HED, whether it's a wheel built up at you local bike shop or reputable mail order house using their C2 Belgian rim using your hubs/spokes of choice (and possibly the cheapest option for any new set of wheels), or one of their factory built equivalents, like the Ardennes FR (the Ardennes LT, or CL which are a tougher version w/more spokes, are a slightly more economical version of the same wheel). The Jet5 Express which someone brought to my attention recently also has many perks... wider rim, alloy brake track, and superb aerodynamics.

In my opinion, because wheels are usually not a cheap investment, unless one is going to accomplish one of the benefits mentioned above (faster, more comfy, or better handling - preferably all 3), there's no point upgrading. Some riders do however like to see how light they can make their bikes, and there's nothing wrong with that either.
 
Wow, I appreciate all of that info. Definitely helped out big time and put a lot of it into perspective. I'll see what I found out based on this information. Thanks again.