Weight Weenies

Hi

I'm really having trouble deciding for which wheels to buy next year. It seems like I can't find that perfect wheelset. I need an allround wheelset as I'm planning on only having one racing wheelset. My weight is 65 kgs. I need the following:

1: Campy compatible hubs
2: AERO (don't need 808 aero though)
3: Light weight - (light rims preferred)
4: Stiff enough to handle my 1350w sprints and not rub like my current zipp 404s when climbing at 600w standing
5: Somewhat durable hubs
6: Good braking performance
7: Replaceable/repairable after a crash

I've been looking at these wheels:

Lightweight Fernweg (are they too deep for allround use?)
Lightweight Standard (how aero are these really? Are they "outdated"?)
Zipp 404 (allthough not the stiffest, they are aero and feels great)
Enve 3.4 / Alchemy
Campagnolo Bora

I can get Lightweights cheap(er), and they are obviously the lightest and most sexy wheels. I'm only unsure of aerodynamics and crash costs as you cant replace a spoke and true them.
I can get Zipps very cheap, but they are not very "campagnolo compatible" in terms of aesthetics. They also rub on the brake pads when hammering.
Campagnolo Boras will be sexy and match great with the EPS group. I can get these cheap too. But they have an outdated rim profile and they are old.
Enve 3.4 would be a great wheelset, but they will cost me more than LW, and twice as much as Zipp and Bora.

Have I missed something? Are there no perfect wheels?

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Out of what you posted my first choice would be the Enve wheels but at the price you would have to pay, maybe not. I haven't seen test to confirm how aero the Lightweights are or how well they handle in crosswinds. If you can get the Zipp 404FC rims at a good price and have a good wheelbuilder lace them to some different hubs (Alchemy) that might give you the stiffness/weight/aero combination you are looking for.

Recently went thru a bit of the same. In my case I was not considering full carbon and ended up hesitating between Bora and custom built Enve. At the end I went with the Bora. Yes they are older but it does not mean they are not very good and bomb proof.

If I were you I wouldn't rule out Mavic Cosmic Ultimates, again they face the same issue in terms of replacing/repairing but I've raced on mine for 3 or 4 years now (I've even crashed them... A number of times...) and run roughly the same weight/power as you and have had no issues whatsoever with them. The rim profile is your very traditional 'V' shape but they certainly feel like the spin up and hold pace well.

Martin.F wrote:Zipps.They also rub on the brake pads when hammering.

Have I missed something? Are there no perfect wheels?

What brakes are running & how open are they?

I don't have issues with the 404 firecrests I use. 72kg & I send them up plenty of hills with 15-20% gradients. I'm using mk2 EE with reynolds blue pads & about 4mm clearance either side on the rear.

FWIW that's the same amount of space I'd run with other builds I also use atm - such as 32h open pro / record hubs or 28h & 32h 340alpha rims / record hubs.

I run them with pre 2012 Sram red brakes. It's gotten worse lately, so I suspect it's because of the spokes loosening up or something. I have to admit though that I run the pads fairly close to the rim.

I'm not really into Mavic. I don't feel like they'll match my new build, and they're sort of like Shimano. They work, but they're not sexy.

The bizarre pricing in your country I think is confusing you.

Lightweights are the best wheel on your list. You sound like you are a big watt man, get the Fernwegs. You think pros shell out of pocket for them because they are flimsy and slow?

Enve wheels are 1/2 to 1/3rd the cost of Lightweights in the USA, which is in line with their quality.

Boras are a good choice, but likewise at 1/2 to 1/3rd the price of the LW.


Listen, Lightweights are BUILT for professionals to RACE at the highest level. They are NOT fragile. They have something called ServiceUp which for a 10% premium protects your wheels from just about everything for 3 years.

The only people who would ever counsel you against Lightweights have never owner or ridden them. seriously. I mean this. They are THAT much better than anything else.

If you want repairable after a crash you need a commonaly avialable rim and commonly avalible spokes. I am not sure you can have everything you want in any wheelset. I not sure if weight is a deciding factor in how a wheel performs in races. Weight in the rim is what makes a difference in how much energy it takes to spin them up to a particular speed but the rims weight is never givem just total weight. Even then I would not obsess about the weigth at the expense of the other atributes. I would worry about the asthetics even less, it a race bike built for performance, not looks.

Lightweight wheels are very very good wheels and very very expensive. Two things:

1: Race what you can repair (costs)
2: Lightweight wheels are not easy to repair. If you break a spoke it is end of wheel, I believe.

So I would recommend the Bora Ultra two or Fulcrum Racing Speed XLR. Very very good and stiff wheels. They have all that you ask for.

To give an estimate of price based on the discounts etc i'm getting:

Lw: 2400€
Zipp: 1300€
Bora ultra: 2100€
Bora two: 1350€
Enve: 3200€

The LWs would be with the service up of course. However I like the regular spokes of the Boras, theyre replacable without shipping to Germany...

And to be clear: yes, I want a light rim and more durable hubs. And around 1300gms is light enough.

At those prices the Zipps would be a no brainer for me. As has been pointed out, you should be able to solve the brake rub problem by opening up your rear brake a bit or replacing the rear hub.

The new Zipp FC's are stiffer I believe.

The Enves are much more expensive, but the 5 year warranty program really makes up for it. They are super high quality, durable rims, and the people at Enve do a great job with customer service. I wouldn't go with the Zipps seeing as the hubs are quite lacking in durability. Cracked flanges seem to pop up here and there and they are quite a high maintenance hubset.
You could always defray the costs of the Enves by swapping the hubs from Alchemys to the new White Industries T11. They would be a tad bit heavier but they be cheaper, and easily just as durable.

reggiebaseball wrote:
Listen, Lightweights are BUILT for professionals to RACE at the highest level. They are NOT fragile. They have something called ServiceUp which for a 10% premium protects your wheels from just about everything for 3 years.

The only people who would ever counsel you against Lightweights have never owner or ridden them. seriously. I mean this. They are THAT much better than anything else.

Seem to be quite a few threads on RBR about brand new LW's having true variance of up to 3mm. Seems kinda ridiculous considering the pricetag.

How about Madfiber as an alternative? Light, areo, mt bike hub guts and from what I can tell plenty stiff. Sub 1300g as clincher, near 1000g as tubulars.

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