Weight Weenies

Thanks everyone for the great advise. I'm still deciding on what to get but I've given myself until Saturday to place an order. I've given the Zero's the boot and I'm now deciding between the Campy Neutron Ultra and the C24's. At least now both sets of wheels have steel spokes which by all acounts improves the ride.

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What does a Neutron Ultra do better than a Zonda or a Fulcrum Racing 3?

Kjetil wrote:What does a Neutron Ultra do better than a Zonda or a Fulcrum Racing 3?

Weight.

Official weight, yes. But the current Zonda's real weight seems to hover around 1500 g, and it needs no rim strip. The real weights I've seen for the Neutron Ultra have been closer to 1500 g than 1470.

Neutron will be more comfortable and maybe react better in crosswinds.

i agree that 1500g or in it's middle, is a good benchmark. I've always ridden Mavic, simply because they have unrivalled reliability on crudy roads, and excellent stiffness. I would like to spend $150 putting some ceramics in them, but I can still climb medium to steep hills on the 50 with a macho sprocket at the back, which is my personal need met. And the harder I train, the more aerodynamic they get.

Those last 2 pages just confused my novice brain even further. Would anyone be able to comment on the stiffness of both zonda's and fulcrum 3? My only concern is that the rims may rub with the brakes in a crit ( from other threads, I seriously doubt it would be an issue).

Are there any other points i should think about, otherwise I'll just buy the zondas (purely for aesthetics reasons).

If it matters I'm running sram.

Thanks in advance.

IIRC, the difference (according to the tour magazine) is almost nil, but the Zonda is slightly lighter

Since you are running SRAM I would go with the Fulcrum 3s......not a fan of mixing wheels/groups

Peel the stickers off

Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.

Is there any difference between these 2 zonda wheelsets on wiggle? One is labelled 2012 and the other isn't. I'm just assuming this refers to the date of manufacture, as i couldn't find any relating design changes.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-zonda-clincher-wheelset/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/campagnolo-zonda-clincher-road-bike-wheelset-2012/

Also how would the RS-80's compare to the zondas and racing 3's?

I believe the RS80 has a much lighter rim, I've read somewhere that the RS80's rim weighs 380g and the Zonda/FR3 rims weigh 570g on the rear (2010 Model).

Between model years, the only thing I am aware of is that the Zonda got lighter in 2010 and the FR3 got lighter a bit latter (not sure when, but they made it 1555g claimed). For 2013 I think they just get a white hub instead of a black one and Mega G3 lacing, not sure what this means for weight

So in your opinion, in terms of overall performance (inc hubs etc) would the RS-80 be a better buy? I think i read on here somewhere that the Rs80's were less stiff? I could be wrong

Also is there any difference in the g3 and mega g3 lacing? I figure they're the same thing?

I'm not sure on the differences between the Mega G3 and "Normal" G3, but on a pic, it looks like the grouping is tighter, ie more unsupported rim.

If I were to choose between the two, I would go RS80, but thats because at 57kg, I don't think I'll be able to flex it. I think part of the reason why Shimano can run such a low spoke count is their hub geometries(I don't know this as a fact, but I suspect it, will be interested to hear a more informed opinion on it). I don't believe that Shimano will release a wheel that is too flexy, but its probable that the Fulcrums are stiffer.

Perhaps wheels are the most subjective part of the bike, so I'm def going Campy when I upgrade .Much superior bearings to my elite's, probably Zonda or Eurus.

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