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'Im looking at upgrading my wheels and not sure what to go for. I've seen the ultegra's for around £220 and the fulcrums at around £180. I want a stout pair of wheels, but fairly lightweight, its going on my one and only roadbike which does a lot of commuting miles throughout all seasons, the last pair that were on it were bonty's that came on the bike, and the rims just worn through. What do you guys think would be a good choice, or its there's anything else i've missed, I cant really go over £230 on price. Cheers
I've just got some Mavic Cosmics to replace my ageing Fulcrum 3s.
Only ridden them a couple of times, but seem spotty dog so far..
[url= http://www.merlincycles.com/mavic-cosmic-elite-s-wts-wheels-pair-61397.html ]Mavic[/url]
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If it interested you I have a pair of ultegras with about a hundred miles on them I'd part with?
(email in profile)
Racing 5s are around £165 from [url= http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/fulcrum-racing-5-lg-hg-8-9-10-11-speed-wheelset-257686 ]ze Germans[/url]
I've just bought some [url= http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/wheels-factory-built-wheels-factory-road-tri-campagnolo-vento-asy-g3-clincher-wheels-pair/campwhfr614 ]Campag Vento[/url] from ribble for £135 (after code PAY10 for 10% off) for my wife's bike.
Ventos are the same weight and campag make fulcrums anyway.
I have racing 5s on my road bike, they're ace. Hopefully the Ventos will be just as good, I dont see a reason why they wouldn't be.
Edit: you could also use the PAY10 code at ribble to get the racing 5s for £158.40
Fulcrum take inside seal off all bearings in wheel and freehubs, which explains why the bearings don't last too long.
Plus fulcrum have a very flimsy pawl design, which relies on a thin band of wire holding in all the pawls ... once this breaks, it affects all pawls from engaging.
It's a cheap fix ... but bit of a nuisance when your 50 miles from home.
Shimano or mavic every time for me.
its going on my one and only roadbike which does a lot of commuting miles throughout all seasons,
I'd look at wheels which don't use proprietary spokes so you can quickly and cheaply repair if needed.
I have 5s on my summer bike and they are great - but as mooman and CP point out, I wouldn't say they are do-it-all commuter and weekend wheels
Superstar Pave 28 - decent hubs, proper spokes and the rims are allegedly the same as very posh Reynolds (same factory) but rebadged. in budget. 28 spoke give you the resilience and the option to rebuild if/when the rims burn out
Fulcrum 5s for me as both training wheels on my 'best' bike and also winter hack wheels on my training bike. Tough, light, stiff, look good. I've changed one bearing so far across the two pairs and that was as easy as any other hub.
hummm, good to hear some peoples opinions about fulcrums, thanks. Keep it coming though:)
So what do people think about the ultegra's in comparison?
I must admit the fulcrum with that ribble discount for £158.40 sounds tempting!
its going on my one and only roadbike which does a lot of commuting miles throughout all seasons,
I'd be avoiding any lightweight rims, which will wear out quickly, and getting handbuilts where you can replace them easily.
I really like Shimano wheelsets, my old R-550's did a lot of miles with only 1 broken spoke. Just bought some RS61's to replace them.
Wish I'd paid a little bit more for the 6800 wheelset, it looks much better (I assumed the RS61 was just a non-series version of the ultegra, but it's actually a lot heavier and doesn't get the new axle/bearing system 🙁 )
Al's right though, if you do a lot of miles then handbuilts make much more sense. Depends if your 'lot of miles' is the same as other peoples though and how much you're spending and whether you can build them yoursel, at £150-£200 it's probably marginal as 2 good rims, new spokes and labour will come to £150, or you could just buy shimano/fulcrum and bin them (or relegate to the turbo) when they're shot.
Hummm, well my commute is 46 miles round trip, often go a bit further just for fun/pain though. so 250ish mile per week. im impressed how long the bontrager wheels lasted that came with the bike, and they must only of been cheap as the whole bike was £900 in 2009, so they lasted all that time!! Saying that I do have a cross bike so maybe it did half the miles as use other bike also for offroad commutes.
Oh I don't know what to go for, just want something lightish, strong, and easy to service.
I have fulcrum 5 on the road bike. Light, fast, VERY stiff (bordering uncomfortable), very easy to service.
They do a few models now: The 5, the 5s (wider rim), and CX version with 'better sealing'.
For daily use id prefer a set of 32h open pro on Shimano hubs. Will last longer for same price, but you might prefer the weight saving and treat as disposable. That's a personal call.
I'd go for something like:-
Ultegra hubs from Ribble £85h is with current discount
Black ACI F1 spokes from sdeals.com circa 30 quid
H Plus Son Arch Type rim 32 hole, £100 quid the pair, wiggle.
That's just over 200 for parts for a great reliable stiff set of wheels with lowish rim weight.
Then either self build or pay someone to build if you're not confident.
im impressed how long the bontrager wheels lasted that came with the bike, and they must only of been cheap as the whole bike was £900 in 2009, so they lasted all that time!
Heavier rims take longer to wear through, these will be heavy wheels.
I'd go Mavic Open sports myself, cheap and not too weighty.
good point, im not too sure how much they weighed, but yeah I'd be pee'd off if a new set wore out within a year or so after coming from those.