First wheel upgrade

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tocayo
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:49 pm

by tocayo

Hi guys

I've decided to hold on to my Planet X RT57 for another year, and figured I would just upgrade the wheels to carry me through until next year.

The standard wheels are a set of Planet X AL30 coming in at around 1720g, and to be fair they've done a lot of miles and taken a fair beating in the 3 years I've had the bike.

The wheels will be used for standard training and monthly sportives, so not looking for something super racy more a decent all round wheel and I have a budget of around $500 (£320) +/- a bit depending on my options.

Initially I'd looked at some chinese carbon 38mm clincher rims but the first ones I'd found were only coming in around 50g lighter which hardly made any sense to me moving to carbon wheels when I could save more on another set of alu wheels.

So some questions:

What are peoples thoughts on the type of weight saving I could be aiming for with my budget?

Some people seem to be running larger profile carbon wheels at the rear, is there a particular reason?

Should I be looking at going tubeless?

Any recommended wheel builds or suppliers? Farsports?

Thanks in advance.

Spincycle
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:29 pm

by Spincycle

The cost of light, high performance wheels - which can easily exceed the price of a custom built frame - is daunting to say the least; particularly when one considers that like a pair of running shoes their life span is limited. That said, a good set of wheels that will last the long haul and maybe the next bike upgrade is a worthy investment.

It's difficult to shed significant weight and gain performance at that price point. If you increase your budget a little, or stalk the lightly used on ebay, you might consider the following:

Pacenti SL23, American Classic micro 58 hubs, Sapim CX-Ray spokes, 1330g ($799 USD)
Shimano Dura-Ace WH-9000-C35-CL, 1364g, ($850 USD)
Campagnolo Neutron Ultra, 1470g ($625 USD)

Any of these can be run tubeless, but I wouldn't run tubeless to save weight. Unless you ride on roads that routinely subject you to flats, I'd stick with tubes. I do like tubeless for gravel grinding and off road tires, but tubeless has its own quirks maintenance hassles.

Worth a read:
http://intheknowcycling.com/2014/09/02/ ... escending/

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ethanfiamingo
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:43 am

by ethanfiamingo

Spin cycling is pretty much dead on.

I do many custom build in the 700 range that will last significantly longer and are only marginally more expensive.

If you are really trying to keep the budget down look at http://www.bikehubstore.com/
I built a set of kinlin xr200 to bhs hubs with DT Swiss revolutions 20/24h almost 2 years ago, and they were 1270g and around $425 that are still racing crits! However, they are not the most solid rim and the rear is almost needing to be replaced. soooo, you get what you pay for in the end...

Look for local deals on stuff or maybe a nice used White Industries Hubset :}

patchsurfer
Posts: 138
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:27 pm

by patchsurfer

Campag zondas are usefully lighter (1550g) and'll save you a chunk of change too, especially if you're not too fussed about getting the tubeless version.

Spincycle
Posts: 31
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 7:29 pm

by Spincycle

I decided to take my own advice and ordered up a pair of Pacenti SL23's with American Classic micro 58 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes, 20/24 (2X front and rear because I believe in physics over fashion). Got them from wheelbuilder.com during their last promotion. I was expecting a calculated weight of 1330g, but the wheels as delivered weigh 560g/690g, or 1250g for the set. Very light and stiff, look stunning in all black. They are tubeless ready should I elect to explore that route. Very pleased so far, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value.

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