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So i have about £800 to spend on a new wheelset for my Genesis Equilibrium.
Looking for something that can handle the awful Sussex roads but is going to be lighter and stiffer than what i'm currently riding. i don't race but do a lot of miles and a few sportives.
What say you?
Mavic Ksyrium SlS and make sure you buy the mp3 warranty.
Or Dura Ace C24s offa Planet X for £640 and some posh tyres.
I would avoid Mavic, overpriced for what they are.
The Dura Ace on the other hand are a fantastic wheel set and have the ride and performance qualities of a wheel costing much more...
Dura Ace.
Interesting, I also was considering the Mavic until I saw this...
Sorry but this is going to sound rude, it's not meant to, but that's a lot to chuck at an Equilibrium.
It sort of screams out for top notch handbuilts, the Equilibrium is the steel one right?
Unusual frameset:wheel price ratio!
I would get planet x carbon tub wheels, the 20mm ones are very light. But if speed matters then aero ones.
Oldgit, yes it's steel and I love it. I figure a wheelset upgrade will be a good investment.
What would you recommend for wheels?
I'll get flamed, but you did mention awful roads. Personally? Something on Hopes. Probably lighter and rebuildable. £800 will put you in race wheel territory.
Get a set of akasims and don't waste your money on £800 for that bike. The mavics are perfectly good wheels for under £200
There is nothing between the Da c24's and the mavics tbh.Admittedly some of the cheaper mavics (equipes,I'm looking at you) are not the best value but the sls are spot on the money.Making sure you take out the mp3 is no reflection on their quality at all.For £70 you are covered for 3 years for ANY eventuality!!You smash them into a wall,new wheel.You reverse over them,new wheel.It's a no brainer.We've sold 35 pairs+ of sl's/sls and about the same again of the other models in the last 12 months and hav'nt had any issues (but quite a few replaced under mp3 when crashed).
I run shimano c24 rims which I've built into other hubs (after the originals died -my fault) and they're great.Nearly 200g lighter now helps but they still are'nt the stiffest for a fatty like me (great ride quality though).
Non factory.
H plus sons Archtype on DT240 or American Classics with either sapim Lasers or Cx rays if you're feeling flush....in silver.Look amazing,ride great (well mine do).Speak to JRA.
Wow.....I've written a lot 😯
Mavic are expensive and look bling, but for the money they're heavy, high drag and flexy compared to just about anything else for the money.
Thanks for the feedback gang.
One other question: will my 10 speed cassette fit an 11speed hub? Do I need a specific spacer or would one that comes off an old cassette be ok?
For factory wheelsets I've found that Campagnolo wheels are reliable, light, and fast. I only killed a pair of 98 Electrons last year when I got hit by a car (which didn't stop - thanks). I still managed to ride home the last 9 miles though, although both front and back wheels had a good wobble in them.
At the end of last year I swapped a pair of 06 Eurus from my best road bike onto my cross bike after 6.5 years of completely reliable service including 3x Tour of Flanders, 6x Dragon Rides, 1x Marmotte, 4 weeks in the Pyrenees, 1x Maratona dles Dolomites and thousands of miles of Sunday runs and some commuting. Not once have I ever had a problem with them.
I've replaced them for best riding with a pair of Shamal Ultra's which are super smooth, and will be coming with me to the Gran Fondo Stelvio in May.
Mavic sls 1395g.Shimano Da9000 c24 1364g.
I'd put my c24's at about the same stiffness as my aksiums.Not bad,not great.
You'll get a spacer with the wheels to run 10sp.
Buy something hand built, you can get some really good deals out there, but they tend to be factory built bollox. A mate built some realy nice wheels on some pro 3 road hubs, spokes and some good lightweight rims for around £400. If your spending £800 on wheels, then they are almost to nice to ride. I'd spend a bit less on something that is a bit more robust. Of spend £800 on something only for racing...
If you buy wheels only for racing.Then you almost certainly buy tubs.And if you're racing,you'll almost certainly crash at some point.In which case you but something you can replace economically.
Oldgit how does road surface affect hub choice?
I wasn't actually speccing a hub, thinking more along the lines that they might suit his bike?
footflaps - Member
Mavic are expensive and look bling, but for the money they're heavy, high drag and flexy compared to just about anything else for the money.POSTED 2 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST
Sorry but that's total B.S.
I am no Mavic employee, but have used there wheels for close to 30 wheels have a set of open 4cd rims for over 20 years on my steel classic, have mavic cross trail on my mtb and akasims for training wheels, all perform superbly. Also had an original pair of ksyruims, they were great wheels.
Not saying you can't get lighter, but they are week made and fast strong wheels. Mavic probably sell more than anyone else.
Would love a set of SLR 29ers but out my price range right now, spending too much on my road bike these days.
Is the Mavic spares situation still the same horror show it was 15 years ago?
If you look at the numbers, handbuilts seem the best value.
Mavic = more than 50% of wheel market
I posted on here about some nearly half price giant p-slr1 wheels at pedal on. I'm thinking they might be too light (?16 and 20 spoke) and delicate for poor roads round here and will probably get some made at some point. Any rim recommendations for solo rides, not racing, with lots of climbing (lakes based) on poor Tarmac appreciated!
I think £800 is alot of money to spend on wheels if you arent racing.
The mavic wheels I've tried have been good and stiff and long lasting, but some sort of s****y carbon race frame is probably best to get the most from expesnive wheels.
I've had a few sets of handbuilt wheels on my equilibrium from JRA. All have been great till I've broken them or worn them out. £400 will get you something decent (hopes with velocity rims for example).
TomB I've got those, I just use them for racing though and nothing else. Sub 1400g and proper tubeless ready.
That's a cracking deal, only they don't have any!
You could get fulcrum racing 3 for under £400 a few months ago, not sure if you still can. They are a good pair of wheels too. Loads of decent options.
What about some light bicycle carbon jobbies, bang for buck, look pretty good to me
Is the Mavic spares situation still the same horror show it was 15 years ago?
They keep spares for about 5 years, that's it. Anything older than that, it breaks and you bin it. 🙁
Try [url= http://www.amclassic.com/2013/en/products/road-wheels/sprint-350 ]American Classic Sprints[/url]
1400g, about £450 ish the pair. You could get a really nice set of handbuilts on Hope hubs for about 2/3rds that price as well.
£800 on wheels for a bike like that is overkill IMHO.
Hope on Open Pro
I have fulcrum (5s) on my summer bike and they are great
I reckon a set of handbuilt would be the thing tho - you could treat yourself to some nice hubs that would last a good few sets of rims, a lot of miles on poxy roads will eat rim braking surfaces, better to have something that can be rebuilt (kit wheels are often treated as kinda disposable 🙁 )
Hope on Open Pro
If you are going to get handbuilt wheels, I'd go for anything (well almost) over Open Pros
Why are open pro so bad? I'm just about to order that very same wheelset for my new Croix de Fer build ....
Somthing different , stans do road wheels
Good spares back up proper spoke count and light ish 1400 for alpha 400
Another vote for Dura Ace C24s. By far the best value wheel in that price range - comparable in wight, stiffness and performance to wheels costing twice as much from Mavic.
About 75% of the pro-tour teams are riding Shimano wheels this year too, and I tend to look at the kit used by teams that buy their own. The majority use C24/C35 wheels. I think that tells you a lot about their reliability.
I remember looking at Kristian House's Rapha bike at the the Bike Show last year, just after he'd won KOM in the ToB. The wheels (C35) looked like they'd been to the moon and back - absolutely shagged. But if the team are still happy to put a KOM contender out there on those wheels, it shows just how much hammer they can take...
absolutely shagged. But if the team are still happy to put a KOM contender out there on those wheels, it shows just how much hammer they can take...
If that is your criteria, i would suggest getting hand built wheels with Open Pros, Hed ardennes, Ambroiso excellights. The wheels that get pulled out each year for the spring classics.
My only problem with d ace wheels is the hot and miss spares back up
Had issues getting spokes and cones for wheels that are only a few years old
Normaly find shimano very good with those things but not Latley
I went for a handbuilt option from JRA... Chris King hubs, CX-ray spokes, Stans Alpha 340s. Light, blingtastic, noisy.
Also - loads of spokes so less likely to go out of true, and easier to fix if they do. Could have gone for a lower spoke count but I wanted something that would last 🙂
I'm not aware of any spares issues with Dura Ace... All spares seem readily available which isn't surprising given that they're such an widely used wheelset.
I had to replace my planet x rear wheel so went with a kinlin xr200 (385g) built up with 28 spoke novatech hub (think 24h is too flexy for the rear on a lot of builds) Very stiff and light.
Will get the front when i can afford it. On advice from roger musson i didn't bother with cx rays or stupid lightweight spokes.. they make hardly any difference. Went with sapim race spokes
Last week could not get a cone for the rear hub
Even the tele sales guy at Madison was surprised they could not supply one
Was not out of stock just unavailvle
Think it was a 7850 rear wheel
Was not out of stock just unavailvle
which shocks me, when i can get the bearing surfaces for a set of Campag Daytona hubs that are 10+ years old!
Yep was very surprised. Shimano are Normaly very good
Guess its just an oversight. Madison must have a crazy amount of spares to keep track of
failedengineer - Member
Why are open pro so bad? I'm just about to order that very same wheelset for my new Croix de Fer build ....
I dont think they're bad, just everything else is better.
OK then, which rim for my new wheelset? Hope pro2 hubs (disc brakes)
I've never used these, but I guess they make sense since you won't be using rim brakes. Nice and wide too, and a fair bit lighter than open pros
http://www.notubes.com/Iron-Cross-C127.aspx