Climbing wheels

[964Cup]

Yeah every post seems to blast anyone who responds. If you're looking to jack up your post count you can be nicer about it.

If you really want to improve your hill climbing buying 3k wheels aren't going to make you superman. It's 99.9% fitness and training. Your current wheels are already pretty good, Enve 45s are not a 1500g OEM wheelset that shipped for cost savings.

You can lose 1kg off your belly and that would be cheaper and faster than losing 1kg off your bike. At some point you're going to reach 4-5kg on the bike and you won't be able to go further. But you can lose another 2-6kg (weight of a whole other bike) and you'll be like 5 mins faster on any climb.

Yes, yes, yes. Boring. How do you know I can lose any more weight? Why do you assume I think the wheels will make me superman? And isn't this Weight Weenies forum, where it absolutely, positively is all about the bike?

I didn't ask for general climbing advice, or fitness help, but about people's experiences of ultra-lightweight wheelsets. I also didn't ask for money-saving tips, either - there are special websites for that, you know.

So far, no-one has put me off the AXL wheelset, so, last question - if you had to have the wheels by the start of July and were ordering now for delivery to the UK, would you buy the AXL Ultimate 24s from Starbike or the CyberClimb 24s direct from Extralite? Caution says Starbike and damn the extra 10g...

[istigatrice]

If you can't verify the exact weight of the CyberClimbs then I'd go with the safer option... 10g is well within +/- 5%.

supposing it were up to me, I'd consider the rims eric proposed, except I'd order a batch of them (I assume chinese carbon tubular rims are well within budget) and cherry pick the lightest options. They might not be stiff enough if you're over 75kg though (sorry if you mentioned your weight earlier, I only skimmed this).

[964Cup]

If you can't verify the exact weight of the CyberClimbs then I'd go with the safer option... 10g is well within +/- 5%.

supposing it were up to me, I'd consider the rims eric proposed, except I'd order a batch of them (I assume chinese carbon tubular rims are well within budget) and cherry pick the lightest options. They might not be stiff enough if you're over 75kg though (sorry if you mentioned your weight earlier, I only skimmed this).

I think I'd have some concern about the quality of Chinese rims at that weight; don't much fancy doing QA down the Croix de Fer. I'm 77kg and not likely to get that much lighter at 1m86 - I'm aiming for 75kg for the Alps so probably a bit borderline for those rims anyway.

I suppose I'll be giving Starbike my money. I did think about RZR46 as a do-it-all option (about 175g heavier than the AXL) but no-on seems to have stock, and I have heard more than one story about snapped spokes.

[istigatrice]

77kg is probably pushing it. Friend of mine is that weight and complains about ebay tubular rims being flexxy and having poor heat dissipation. Thinking back, if those AX rims are really 200g then cherry picking 250g rims isn't going to help in terms of losing weight.

RZR46 would also be a good option if you're after superlight all round wheels. Looking back on your thread that seems like a backward step? Though they may be more practical in the long run if you plan on keeping these wheels after your trip.

[djcharlou]

Nice i'll be at Bourg St Maurice, probably doing Col du Petit Saint bernard too !

[leicaman]

I'd order some Enve 6.7 if I were you.

Why do you want a lighter wheelset? By getting a set of super duper lightweight wheels you are voiding your best excuse "Sorry lads. Thanks for waiting. I really should get some lightweight climbing wheels. These beastly wheels make me feel like I'm dragging a boat anchor up here".

With lightweight wheels you are still gonna get dropped but you'll have no excuse to fall back on. Better get some Enve 6.7 ordered.

[istigatrice]

except the OP isn't looking for excuses...

What happened to the 'good old days' when you could ask for a component at x weight and y dollars and this forum would give you z options, along with people doing awesome tuning to get x weight for y/2 dollars...

[russianbear]

Is this a hill climb bike? Then one of the ax options.

Otherwise a 30 ish mm with an aero profile laced to light hubs. You'll be faster overall.

[964Cup]

I'd order some Enve 6.7 if I were you.

Why do you want a lighter wheelset? By getting a set of super duper lightweight wheels you are voiding your best excuse "Sorry lads. Thanks for waiting. I really should get some lightweight climbing wheels. These beastly wheels make me feel like I'm dragging a boat anchor up here".

With lightweight wheels you are still gonna get dropped but you'll have no excuse to fall back on. Better get some Enve 6.7 ordered.

Great idea. I'll put my CXR80s on there. That'll go well. See many of those in the mountain stages ofthe Giro? Thought not.

[964Cup]

Is this a hill climb bike? Then one of the ax options.

Otherwise a 30 ish mm with an aero profile laced to light hubs. You'll be faster overall.

Please. Read. The. Thread. Before. Commenting.

It's on Enve 1.45 tubulars on CK45s now. So, yes, this is about making it more of a hill climb bike. I am not concerned about being dropped on the descents. I'm not really concerned about being dropped on the climbs.

I just wanted knowledgeable opinions about lightweight climbing wheel options. Thankfully at least some of the posts in this thread have provided them.

[Tenlegs]

Try posting in the sub-forum "Everything wheels" for wheel advice,
It's here- viewforum.php?f=113

In the the UK ask here for build advice http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/product/a ... -ultra-24/

[bm0p700f]

The problem about taking about chinese rims is they are not all the same. There are different factories and some are better at the rim game than others. Some produce rims as good as the more well known names. Perosnally I think the claims about R&D made by ENVE and the like are overblown. There sales are not so big they can afford to do lots of novel R&D. they tinker slowly over time borrowing ideas they glean from elsewhere and introducing some of there own. The chinese firms do the same. They all learn of each other it is not a one way street any more.

Stiffness issues can come from many things like poor bracing angles of the hub or people just thinking the wheels are flexy when they are not they are feeling something else and putting it down to the wheels.

Personally for a "climbing" set I would always go with stiffer over as light as possible. The set I have at 1020g are nice comprimise. Best part is they don't cost anywhere close to £1000.

My worry for you 964cup is using the super spoke on the rear wheel with the AX lightness rims would lead to a wheel with flex.
The one set of 22mm deep 20mm wide carbon tubulars I did (rim weight 265g) in 20F/24R with Cx-ray spokes and Novatec A291/F482 hubs which have pretty good bracing angles where not that stiff. Stiff enough but I decided not to list that build. That build for a very light lady and she wanted wheels for hill climb events.

However what I consider flexy wheels other think are stiff. Different standards and all that.

[kgibbo1868]

I have the AX Ultra 24 wheels with tune 150/45 hubs. I have put on 2000+ kms on them and really like them. They are stiffer than I expected and have been more than satisfied with braking. The rims have an amazing finish and look fantastic, they also are rated for a very high spoke tension. There is no reason in my opinion to be fearful of these rims from AX. This is indeed WW so get the light wheels and enjoy every ride!!!

[THUNDERHORSE]

I was looking at both the AX Ultras or the ENVE 2.2s for my build but ended up going a different direction.

Both/either of those got my nod.

[leicaman]

I'd order some Enve 6.7 if I were you.

Why do you want a lighter wheelset? By getting a set of super duper lightweight wheels you are voiding your best excuse "Sorry lads. Thanks for waiting. I really should get some lightweight climbing wheels. These beastly wheels make me feel like I'm dragging a boat anchor up here".

With lightweight wheels you are still gonna get dropped but you'll have no excuse to fall back on. Better get some Enve 6.7 ordered.

Great idea. I'll put my CXR80s on there. That'll go well. See many of those in the mountain stages ofthe Giro? Thought not.

I believe that Chavez was kicking himself for not using his CXR80s on stage 20. Rookie mistake I guess

In all seriousness though, I was in a similar situation to you with regards to climbing wheels. I've never ridden any AX wheels but finally decided against getting the Ultra or premium as I didn't trust such lightweight wheels (although I'm sure they are way stronger than I imagine). I finally plumped for the Enve 2.2 which I know isn't really an option for you as you want something hyperlightweight. Interested to see how you get on with them.