the ultimate wheelset for daily riding

[dgasmd]

I've had several and my top two favorites of all times are the LW tubulars and my Hyperons tubulars

[Calnago]

I truly believe that Boras are the best wheels out there, at any price. They'd be fine as every day wheels. If money is no object, that's great, and I'd still recommend the Boras. If something does go wrong they are easily serviceable. Since 2010 (when I first started riding Boras) I have only had one broken spoke, which I easily replaced same day and all good. They are dead true out of the box and stay that way. There are no better or more easily serviceable hubs/bearings. Just do yourself a favor and get some 2015 or newer Boras.
I also have 32 spoke Nemesis rims laced to Campy Record hubs. Super nice wheels in their own way and I love riding on them. I'd probably recommend something like that were it not for the fact that you want to go "all in" it seems and really spoil yourself.

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[sawyer]

Yeah, agree Calnago ... I use Boras as everyday wheels other than in winter (too often wet and dark to make it worthwhile)

I've been on them since 2008 or 09 I think and have had nothing go wrong other than the front go out of true in a crash.

If you wanted two wheelsets to cover everything and had some conception of VFM, and didn't put a huge premium on "exclusivity", then I'd go Bora 50s for everything except winter, and Zondas for that

[Multebear]

good question - obviously I'd like to sacrifice as little as possible. for instance I can put up with, say, 10% more weight if it means the wheel will be more durable in the long haul.

I need wheels I can depend on every single ride that will still provide me with top notch performacne and make it exciting. I know it's a hustle, but it's not like there that many options out there.

IMO LW's are for racing mountain stages and occasional training. But for everyday riding, definitely not. Well if you can afford new LW's every 2 or 3 years, then go ahead. But if you are riding any significant amount of km's, then I wouldn't pick them.

Boras are very praised on this board. And I don't see any reason, why they shouldn't be. Boras are the only factory wheels, I would consider buing. I build all my wheels myself.

If I where you, I would pick Enve's. IMO they make the most modern, best looking and best performing all round road rims out there. You can choose which kind of hubs suit you best out of the best hubs money can buy, and when the rims are worn, you can replace them and keep the hubs and spokes. I would choose between Chris King and White Industrie hubs. You can't find better hubs out there.

[tymon_tm]

I wan't those wheels to last few seasons. I was very happy wriding on Boras (1st gen) despite the set I got was a 2nd hand and turned out to have some issues with spokes not holding true (that's why I got rid of them), and it looks I won't look elswhere.

yeah as much as I 'desire' LWs I'm also kinda affraid I'll be scared of riding them.

thanks for all your comments

[Marin]

Get good rims, like Reynolds or Enve. Don't go too tall, 50mm is too much for everyday.
Get good Hubs, like King, DT or White Industries. Don't go too light, weight doesn't matter as much as we'd like it to here.

Have someone who knows what they're doing lace up the wheels with a good combo of Sapim spokes & nipples.

Ride the sh*t out of them for the next 10 years.

[Marin]

Reason: Whenever something goes wrong, every decent shop will be able to fix it.

[tymon_tm]

that's a good provided you're familiar with a solid, experienced wheelbuilder and have access to the parts. I know few guys who do it but I somehow wouldn't trust them - I know top carbon hoops is not their everyday thing. plus, getting all the right elements won't be much cheaper and I don't really believe it will make for a better wheel. then there's warranty issue if something goes south - I do not wish to learn how to deal with shifting responsibility between the builder and several distributors. too much hustle in my case.

[tymon_tm]

double post

[Multebear]

Where are you located? I'm pretty sure there'll be excellent wheelbuilders near you. You could also just buy prebuild handbuild wheels from one of the many vendors, that offer this option. They will have to figure out warranty issues at their cost.

[sawyer]

Where are you located? I'm pretty sure there'll be excellent wheelbuilders near you. You could also just buy prebuild handbuild wheels from one of the many vendors, that offer this option. They will have to figure out warranty issues at their cost.

Hi,
Yes, all wheels in some sense are handbuilt ... what you are getting at in your advice is the ease and cost with which parts can be replaced if something goes wrong. which is a fair point. This ranges from fairly easy (e.g. generic carbon rims, DT hubs, sapim spokes etc), to harder and probably more expensive but possible (Reynolds, Boras etc), to very hard/impossible (LW, some Corimas etc)

It really comes down to one's tolerance for this risk. And of course the quantum of risk itself is in part a function of how much stress you are likely to subject your equipment to. I ride daily on "factory built" carbon tubs and have done for 10 years or so, and almost nothing ever goes wrong ... I can live with the small risk of a crash meaning the rims/spokes have to be replaced, or the wheel written off

People often get the economics wrong or else apply one view to everyone. The rate of depreciation is pretty steep on these parts and the risk of the type of failure described above pretty small ... meaning that the ease of repair will in fact have little value, though of course pushing against this for many is the behavioural bias "what if something goes wrong??" (the same bias makes a fortune for some people on selling expensive warranties for household appliances btw!)

The main exception to the above is if you're racing regularly or are otherwise exceptionally hard on equipment. Then the risk of failure is sufficiently high that it changes the economics, and puts a premium on wheels that can be easily repaired.

[Multebear]

There are definitely advantages with buying factory built wheels. I just prefer the fact, that with handbuild wheels, everything is replaceable at relatively low cost, and it can be done either by yourself or a wheelbuilder at your LBS. Several friends with Zipp wheels and other brands, have been waiting if not months then at least weeks for warranty issues to be sorted.

Most factory built have straight pull hubs, and the simple task to find replament spokes, can be very difficult. I always buy a couple of spare spokes for my hanbuilt wheels just in case. And if one or to brakes, it's quick and easy to replace them.

And if I was in the market of buying factory built wheels, I wouldn't know where to start. So many options. With hanbuild wheels, I just pick the hubs I like, the rims I like, and the best spokes out there.

[Calnago]

With Campy Boras I've got the replacement spoke kit on hand. I've only ever needed it once (to replace a single spoke). Was very nice to have that on hand so I could fix it same day. Believe it comes with two spokes of each size needed, so 6 in all (2 front, 2DS, 2NDS) and the appropriate nipples and backing plates. Reminds me I need to get one for the new Boras, just in case.


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[sawyer]

There are definitely advantages with buying factory built wheels. I just prefer the fact, that with handbuild wheels, everything is replaceable at relatively low cost, and it can be done either by yourself or a wheelbuilder at your LBS. Several friends with Zipp wheels and other brands, have been waiting if not months then at least weeks for warranty issues to be sorted.

Most factory built have straight pull hubs, and the simple task to find replament spokes, can be very difficult. I always buy a couple of spare spokes for my hanbuilt wheels just in case. And if one or to brakes, it's quick and easy to replace them.

And if I was in the market of buying factory built wheels, I wouldn't know where to start. So many options. With hanbuild wheels, I just pick the hubs I like, the rims I like, and the best spokes out there.

Hi, Yes, that approach sounds like it works for you.

But the key point is it might not be necessary for everyone. If you can live with the risk of more hassle / perhaps more cost in the event of a rim or spoke going, and if your riding style/stressing of equipment means that is unlikely to happen anyway, or happen very infrequently, then the benefit you're talking of is less valuable.

By way of example, I don't damage wheels enough to care whether the spokes are easily replaceable. In 17 ytears or so of road riding I've broken 2 or 3 spokes ... all on the same (cheap Reynolds) wheel, which I tossed after the last one.

If I was 100kg and riding pave all the time ... it would be different!

[tymon_tm]

custom vs. factory is an ongoing battle with many hard evidence backing each side's arguments. I'm not opposing customs, it's just not for me IMHO. I can't remember destroying or harming a wheel - like ever. if I had, or raced often (like crits or smth) then I'd definitely look that way. being able to replace spokes pretty easily (like with Bora) is enough for me.

my short list for now is Bora Ultra 50 and... Bora One. it appears they come for nearly half the price I said price don't matter and I mean it, but I'm kinda sorta having second thoughts on this one... perhaps I could go with SR instead DA or look for some fancier frame (isn't Colnago like a middle life crisis pick?) having saved some pennies on wheels

oh, a pal of mine recommends Corimas (32 or 47), apparently he can get me a sweet deal on them too - but they're a bit on the heavier side of carbon tubulars.