Zonda's still the golden standard for alu wheels

[Alumen]

Hi there, are Campagnolo Zonda wheels still the golden standard for alu training wheels ?

What about Ksyrium's, Zero's, others ?

It is a shame that the Fulcrum Racing 3's still don't have a C17 rim.

Thoughts ?

[ntb1001]

I have a set of Campy Eurus that I love...hard to beat

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[gravity]

I use zonda as my daily wheels. IMO this is a great set and forget wheels where you don’t have to spend a lot on wheels. Sure Shamal is the gold standard for alu rims but you can get 90% of shamal for 50% the price. I don’t lust over shamal once I got my Zonda.

Those dark alu rims don’t do it for me. Its not even black, more like dark grey. Aesthetic is very important but this is just stupid IMO. And also, like everything else - Your mileage may vary.

[rlanger]

I didn't know there was a gold standard?

Sure, the Zondas are a great wheel set for the price, but not everyone's needs are the same and not everyone is so price sensitive either.

Fulcrum Racing 3s don't have a C17, but the Zeros and Shamals do. So if cost isn't a big concern, the Zeros are a much better choice, given their wider profile, lighter rims, and much better hubs.

And you can get the Shamals without the black brake track, if you weren't aware, gravity.

[syplam]

I didn't know there was a gold standard?

Sure, the Zondas are a great wheel set for the price, but not everyone's needs are the same and not everyone is so price sensitive either.

Fulcrum Racing 3s don't have a C17, but the Zeros and Shamals do. So if cost isn't a big concern, the Zeros are a much better choice, given their wider profile, lighter rims, and much better hubs.

And you can get the Shamals without the black brake track, if you weren't aware, gravity.

No Racing 3s with c17 shouldnt be an issue, there are c17 zondas


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[Multebear]

Zondas are the gold standard? Huh? How did you come to that conclusion? They are shallow, narrow and box section ish. If we're aiming that low for gold standard, then I'd say open pros are more gold standard.

[Asteroid]

This reminds me of other threads that pop up where the originator proclaims, "______________ (fill in blank with favorite component) are the best, no matter what!"
Way better aluminum track wheelsets out there.

[jch3n]

Let's replace "gold standard" with "best bang for the buck." I'm pretty sure that's what the OP meant. Of course there are way better aluminum wheelsets out there, but you'll also pay 2-3x more.

[Alumen]

Let's replace "gold standard" with "best bang for the buck." I'm pretty sure that's what the OP meant. Of course there are way better aluminum wheelsets out there, but you'll also pay 2-3x more.

Fair enough, I can live with that

Don't get me wrong, budget is not the issue, only looking for a every day use solid set of alu clinchers though. The Zero's are certainly tempting too... But not what I would like to spend on an every day use wheelset.

[Multebear]

If you're not on budget then Zipp 101 are the best alu clinchers ever made IMO. Madly over prized though and... well discontinued since 2013. They are reasonably light for a rim that deep and wide, and they run only 18/20 spokes, and they work fine for clydesdales up to 250 lbs. One of the best toroidal shapes, very close to carbon rims.

"Nowadays" a couple of other contenders come close or maybe even beat the 101. The Flo30 is very aero, but also very heavy at around 560 grams a rim. The new Al33 AForce looks promising, but lets have some long term reviews first. Finally there are the Boyd Altamonts. They look very promising as well. Good toroidal shape and reasonable weight and reasonably priced as well. Those are the alu rims that I would recommend for performance/aero.

If you're on budget, then the zondas are probably a good option. Several Kinlin rims come to mind as well. I like the DT Swiss R460 very much - very reasonably priced. Besides the Zipp 101 I'm not very much into factory wheels. There always seem to be drawbacks. Most factory wheels don't even offer replacement rims. And they build them with so few spokes, that using other rims seems a risk unless you're a very light rider.

[Alumen]

I see that the Zipp 101's are getting hard to get unfortunately... nice wheels though ! Then what about the Zipp 30's ? I like the rim width of those...

[stormur]

Nothing, absolutely nothing puts me in so fabulous mood like comparing Kinlin to Campagnolo

Zipp 101: 3x more expensive, 100g heavier, known hub issues ; just BTW. were so "fabulous" that no one wanted to buy it ( totally ridiculous price ) .

Aeroness-ish-ism of Zipp wheels is recently also much more disputable than while ago ( did they cut budget for advertisers here and there ? )

460 : CHEAP rim from DT. Cheaper , not welded nor CNC'd version of 411. Not asymmetric either.


For the money ( 350€ish... I still remember I paid for my 1st set 245€.... )is hard to find better wheelset than Zonda. Will be or heavier or much more expensive ( or both ) , and in category of "low profile aluminium clincher" won't offer anything more than Zonda. Big plus of Campy is ease of hub service.

Over the years Zonda simply proved its strength as everyday-allround-training-climbing(for heavier guys) set of wheels.

I used them even in gravel/CX.

Are better wheels than Zonda ? : sure. Lighter ( we stay in clincher, low profile, alu league ) ? Not so sure ( if then low weight limits apply ) , Stronger ( for same weight )? Doubt it. For sure they'll be more expensive.

[Multebear]

I was just offering alternatives to Zondas. There's no doubt Campagnolo make very good wheels. My point is, when considering how best to invest your money, you need to consider, what to do when the brake track of the Zondas is worn. If I'm not mistaken, Campagnolo don't offer replacement rims (correct me if I'm wrong). Which means you have perfectly good hubs and spokes, that'll be very difficult to reuse.

If you build custom wheels with e.g. Kinlin rims, you'll always be able to replace rims only, which is far less expensive than buying new Zondas. In other words, Zondas are probably best bang for buck if you only plan to ride that one wheelset for the rest of you cycling career. But if you plan to ride longer than your Zondas will last, then you need to plan further ahead than just the next pair of Zondas.

Besides that, as mentioned, the Zonda rim technology is getting a tad obsolete.

Campagnolo make good hubs. But so does Shimano, White Industries, Chris King, DT Swiss and a couple of others.

[rlanger]

Don't get me wrong, budget is not the issue, only looking for a every day use solid set of alu clinchers though. The Zero's are certainly tempting too... But not what I would like to spend on an every day use wheelset.

You won't be disappointed with the Zeros. Try to find a used set of C17s if you don't want to spend quite that much.

[sawyer]

I was just offering alternatives to Zondas. There's no doubt Campagnolo make very good wheels. My point is, when considering how best to invest your money, you need to consider, what to do when the brake track of the Zondas is worn. If I'm not mistaken, Campagnolo don't offer replacement rims (correct me if I'm wrong). Which means you have perfectly good hubs and spokes, that'll be very difficult to reuse.

If you build custom wheels with e.g. Kinlin rims, you'll always be able to replace rims only, which is far less expensive than buying new Zondas. In other words, Zondas are probably best bang for buck if you only plan to ride that one wheelset for the rest of you cycling career. But if you plan to ride longer than your Zondas will last, then you need to plan further ahead than just the next pair of Zondas.

Besides that, as mentioned, the Zonda rim technology is getting a tad obsolete.

Campagnolo make good hubs. But so does Shimano, White Industries, Chris King, DT Swiss and a couple of others.

LOL ... the worn rim thing is only an issue if you were braking a lot in the wet or perhaps if you were riding all the time in the mountains ... in those cases there is maybe a case for replaceable "handbuilt" wheels ... though tbh I'd ride carbon tubs in the hills.

But really, it all depends on the value of your time. The financial cost of replacing factory wheels like Zondas isn't high - I just bought another set when I screwed the front rim on the first pair. Much less hassle to click a mouse than go through the faff of having a wheel re-built etc. Value of time for me is far greater than any possible financial benefit from fiddling about changing rims

oh, and C17 rim is ok. I would say obsolete is a bit harsh, even if it's not massively aero