Specialized Allez replacement wheel and rim options

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prokyon
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 11:12 pm

by prokyon

Hello, my 2018 Allez Elite comes with DTSwiss R460 rims, 2.0mm spokes (14g, 20h front / 24h rear) and unknown hubs - I'm guessing hubs and spokes are by Specialized.

I noticed that the brake track on my rear wheel is nearing the end of its life and I progressed quite a bit as a rider (can cruise at 23mph effortlessly for hours now). I thought of some options
  • 1) replace the R460 rim: I guess if I do this, I should replace the spokes as well, correct? I've built wheels before with a 3-cross pattern (32h) on my track fixie bike, but not sure if it's a good idea to re-build a 20/24h wheel.

    2) get some budget carbon aero wheels: was thinking of Bontrager Aeolus Pro 5 TLR for some aero gains. I'm also hoping that the brake track on a carbon rim will last longer than aluminum, is this true?

    3) get quality aluminum wheels: either Mavics, or Roval SLX 24, or HED Jet RC Plus - these won't be really aero and will wear out same way my original DTSwiss wheels have worn out, so not really seeing a point getting these...
So in summary, are the current wheels that I have even rebuildable or should I just go 50mm budget carbon or just keep buying quality alloy wheelsets? :noidea:

hlvd
Posts: 438
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2016 4:54 pm

by hlvd

Go for the 50mm carbon wheels as it sounds by your average speed that you’d really benefit.

by Weenie


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prokyon
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 11:12 pm

by prokyon

Yeah, so price is another issue - good set of 40-50mm carbon hoops cost twice as much as 24mm alloy SLX 24... Bontrager Aeolus Pro 5 are 300g heavier than SLX 24 - what I gain in aero I lose in weight. So if I do need to go carbon I'd go for Roval CL 50 or Next Quick wheels, which are double the cost of alloy hoops but have the same weight and provide aero advantages.

frommel
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:00 pm

by frommel

Have you considered the Zipp 30 Course wheels? I have been thinking of adding them to my setup as a set of winter wheels with 28mm tubeless. They have nice and wider 21mm internal width and goes for around $850.


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Dannnnn
Posts: 225
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:00 pm

by Dannnnn

Unless you're doing a lot of climbing and steeper gradients then aero trumps weight.

Iirc weight only really comes into play when the gradient goes above something like 5%

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prokyon
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 11:12 pm

by prokyon

We do 10% gradients frequently, realistically 8-16% on some hill rides... also the whole bike was $1043 on special ($1350 + tax normal retail). I would put the Roval CL50 on there, but seems like a waste of money TBH - rim brakes will wear the rims and $1750 wheels on $1043 bike seem ridiculous. Even cheaper Bontrager wheels seem overkill. SLX24 at $800 seems like as high as I would be willing to go... at least I get the weight savings with those.

Might just save up for when Tarmac Pro Disc starts shipping with a power meter and get it all in one shot at a discount. Giant just released 2021 TCR with a power meter, so I'm guessing Tarmac won't be left behind. Also SL6 Tarmac is more aero (so are the claims) than the 2016 Venge, so... tech just keeps improving

dcorn
Posts: 427
Joined: Thu Oct 05, 2017 4:21 pm
Location: NoVA

by dcorn

You wore out a set of DT Swiss rim brake wheels in 2 years...?

Absolutely just get a new bike with carbon wheels already on it. Since you are doing so much steep climbing, I'd stay away from deep wheels. Go with the Tarmac Disc Expert that still comes with Di2 disc, but C38 wheels instead. Save yourself $1200.

prokyon
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 11:12 pm

by prokyon

LoL Yeah... they're $50 R460 rims... I started riding with stock hard Tektro pads and only later found out about SwissStop BXP blue pads which I currently use. But going down 16% gradients has been hard on my rim brakes - on one occasion I had TRP pads start to smell like they were burning on one of my other bikes - again, they use a harder compound to BXP pads. Haven't had an issue with BXP pads yet - what wears the rim the most are long descents where it goes from 16 to 10 to 16 to 10 back and forth - I'm always on the brakes, even alternating front and rear brake doesn't help much. That's why MTB guys run organic pads on the front disc brake and metallic (sintered) on the rear - just coast down with the rear brake, use the front for hard stops.

Yeah, I like that suggestion - Tarmac Expert is a great bike! BTW new Giant TCR Pro (2021) disc brake version with power meter just weighs 16 lbs! Another great bike to consider. No group rides in 2020 with COVID though, so... new bike can wait to 2022 at this stage - will keep riding my Allez hard in the meantime, smoking them brake pads :thumbup:

Hexsense
Posts: 3254
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

prokyon wrote:
Wed May 13, 2020 4:03 pm
That's why MTB guys run organic pads on the front disc brake and metallic (sintered) on the rear - just coast down with the rear brake, use the front for hard stops.
That's clever. I might adapt the idea of different pads front and rear on my road bike. I'd want rear pad to be always silence (Swisstop Disc RS) and front pad for robustness and heat dissipation (Shimano resin pads with heat sink).

AJS914
Posts: 5392
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

prokyon wrote:
Mon May 11, 2020 9:16 am
1) replace the R460 rim: I guess if I do this, I should replace the spokes as well, correct? I've built wheels before with a 3-cross pattern (32h) on my track fixie bike, but not sure if it's a good idea to re-build a 20/24h wheel.
For the cost of a $50 rim, I'd try this option. I'd even reuse the spokes. Line up the rims and transfer the spokes over. Pay your shop to install it if you don't feel comfortable giving it a go.

The other option is the find another R460 wheel on ebay or somewhere like that. You often see OEM take-offs selling for little money.

prokyon
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 11:12 pm

by prokyon

AJS914 wrote:
Wed May 13, 2020 7:13 pm
For the cost of a $50 rim, I'd try this option. I'd even reuse the spokes. Line up the rims and transfer the spokes over. Pay your shop to install it if you don't feel comfortable giving it a go.
I'm def comfortable building wheels, just not sure about radial wheels - my understanding was that after a machine builds them they are stress-tested for an hour on a drum machine - if they don't fail, they get sold. Obviosuly I can't test them like this and know of others who have built their radials and they failed... am I wrong about this? Is it OK to build radials? The spokes are beefy 2mm, can't imagine much harm happening apart from spoke pulling through the rim, which is noticeable but not catastrophic.

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prokyon
Posts: 86
Joined: Fri May 03, 2019 11:12 pm

by prokyon

. double posted by accident

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