New race wheels - High end clinchers or budget carbon tubs?

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campbellrae
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by campbellrae

So, the time(and the funds) have come and it's time to get myself some new race and fast training wheels. I am really struggling to decide between some nice alloy clinchers or some budget carbon tubs. Budget is about £1000 max, but I would prefer it to be nearer £700 where possible.

Stiffness is a priority as I am a big guy(95kgs). But I would also like them to have some aero advantage, given my size I wont be getting near the finish of any hilly races so ultra light weight isn't really a priority. Although I would like to stay below 1500g where possible.

Some of the choices I have looked are are:

Fulcrum Racing 1/Zero
Mavic Ksyrium
Planet X Pro Carbon 50s, or buying just these rims and building onto some nice hubs
Gigantex on Novatec from wheelsmith.com
Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL
Or many different options for hand built alloy clinchers on nice hubs

I am keen to hear peoples views and experiences with the different options and others that I may not have thought of!

Edit: I should also add that I currently have Ambrosio Evolution laced to Hope Pro-3 hubs to use for the majority of my training, so which ever I go for wont be used all the time.

Thanks,

Campbell.
Last edited by campbellrae on Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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eric
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by eric

The first question is if you are willing to deal with carrying and replacing a tubular tire during a training ride. I'm not, so it'd be clinchers for me for a race/training wheel set.

Second, there are inexpensive carbon clinchers, such as FarSports, which many people here have had good experience with. At your size I'd suggest one of the sturdier rims they sell such as the new wide clinchers or the CN series narrow rims. Velobuild is a good source if they are running a group buy on the wheels you want, or you can buy direct from FarSports like I did. Gigantex also makes durable carbon clinchers.

If you don't want to deal with swapping brake pads and worrying about braking on steep technical descents, then aluminium clinchers are the way to go. Mavics have poor aerodynamics so I'd cross them off the list. The new wide rims are nice. I have a set of the KinLin XC279s but the Piacentis look good too, as do the HED wide rims.

kulivontot
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by kulivontot

What do you ride, how often do you race? What's your backup set of wheels?

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btompkins0112
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by btompkins0112

It depends on how many wheels you want to have. If I was limited to one set it would be a nice set of handbuilt clinchers with nice hubs (Kings, etc) and decently light weight rims (Pacenti, Archtype, etc....)

If I could have multiple I would have a good sturdy aluminum clincher and a nice carbon set, which is what I have with my OPs and Farsports 38's (1250g).

campbellrae
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by campbellrae

I'm riding a Scott Cr-1. Will be racing every second or third weekend on average with a mid-week tt most weeks through the season.

I would only use the tubs for one training ride a week, a very fast chain gang, which is also quite short, and then my back up wheels for the rest of my training. They are a set of Ambrosio Evolution rims laced to Hope Pro-3 hubs. They are heavy, but good reliable training wheels.

ticou
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by ticou

I'm a little heavier than you so carbon hoops are out of the question. There's a link to a chap who has tune mig mag -or is that Orc?- on H Plus Son rims, which are the new ref for us porkies. I'm very happy with Zonda's and feel you might get the same smoothness a few rungs above Elite's; a fair few rungs mind as they are sludge in comparison.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

H Plus son Archetypes on Dura ace or Campag record hubs would be my choice. The archetype rim almost bild it self as when tension is applied to the spokes the rims is round and straight requiring little work really. The perfect rim and look good.

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Zen Cyclery
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by Zen Cyclery

I'd second the Archetype vote. That is a super high quality rim with a finish that's hard to beat. Those laced up to Mig 70/Mag 170s or Alchemy ELF/ORC hubs would make for a stiff and light build.

kulivontot
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by kulivontot

I'd vote for a budget pair of 50mm tubs for racing. Even if you get a super beefy spoke count, it'll still be significantly lighter than your training set, and as light or lighter than a high end aluminum clincher. Even if the aero shape is completely unproven, it should still be better than rando shallow aluminum rim. A high end clincher may get you to 1200-1300g, but a build with enough spokes and a heavy duty rim for stiffness may push that closer to 1400-1500g, which at that point is not that much better than your training set. Another consideration as a heavier guy, is that running clinchers will increase the probability of a pinch flat during a race, which is often critical, especially in TT's. Tubs/tubeless clinchers w/ sealant would eliminate this problem.

milroy
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by milroy

Given some of the responses, I must have read a different original question.
For (pretty much) race only wheels, and given the wheels you already have, I would think that a budget set of carbon tubs would be perfect.

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campbellrae
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by campbellrae

Ended up ordering a set of Williams System 58 tubulars last night. They are probably not the smartest choice, but I 'wanted' the carbon tubs more than another set of nice clinchers. Have had a couple of sets of good alloy wheels before and always wanted the tubs.

Thanks for the comments and advice though! Will be helpful for n+1 wheelsets!

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