Worth Upgrading LW OBERMAYER GEN III (16/20) to LW MILEINSTEIN SCHWARZ?

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leej88
Posts: 354
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:22 am

by leej88

I've had my pair of LW OBERMAYER GENII's for almost 5 years and they've seen less than a 1000miles.

As I was lighter back then, rider + baggage + bike combo came to a kilo short of their 90kg limit.

I'm much heavier now and am well over the weight limit set by lightweight so I'm really worried about riding on these wheels.

As such, I was wondering if I should swap out the GENIII's for a pair of MILEINSTEIN SCHWARZ in a 20/20 config.

Gaining some weight for more stiffness and ceramicspeed bearings do seem like an attractive proposition.

I'm afraid of breaking these wheels since I'm over the weight limit by almost 10kilos when I'm on the bike.

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maverick_1
Posts: 742
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:20 pm
Location: Tokyo

by maverick_1

@leej88,

If you enjoy the feel on LW wheels, then I think it's a worthwhile upgrade considering you're approaching the system weight limit.
The ceramicspeed bearings may not be necessary, but I believe the difference should be apparent.
Personally the standard bearings on the Obermayer is good enough for me.

Cheers

by Weenie


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mrgray
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Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2015 1:56 am

by mrgray

4 sure its worth it. trouble free riding is what you want and worry free. that way you can get out on the bike with an easy mind and enjoy yourself. i say, go for it! if too expensive just get std meils. still very good. also could just swap obie's for lw std 3. they are rated for 100 kg too.
Bobo S&S Steel Bike - 7.5 kg
Oltre XR2- 6.6 kg
Look 585 - 6.8 kg
Look 695 SR :D

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kgt
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Location: Athens, Greece

by kgt

10 kg over the weight limit is not that much IMO and I doubt you'll have any issues. But, as you say, for peace of mind you better get the Meilensteins 20/20 with the 120kg limit. These will be stiffer also (according to the tests) and that's another big plus.

leej88
Posts: 354
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:22 am

by leej88

I guess I'm gonna go for it.

Will have to find a way to trade these Obermayer's in.

I'm all for a peace of mind and the 90kg limit constantly bothers me.

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maverick_1
Posts: 742
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2007 4:20 pm
Location: Tokyo

by maverick_1

Get in touch with Carbonsports.
They may take in your Gen3 Obermayer and you just pay the difference for a brand new pair for Obermayer (but usually at a lower market value, since they will have to resell it for some profit)
Alternatively you can sell it locally or over the net.

Cheers

2old4this
Posts: 366
Joined: Mon Jan 13, 2014 7:26 am

by 2old4this

I have both. The Meilesntein SchwarzED has the new breaking surface. They simply brake better. IMO, just that is worth the upgrade. Second, ceramicspeed bearings definitely spin the wheels longer. Finally, I am not as big rider as a you are (no offense intended) but I can still tell Meilesnteins are stiffer.

Having said all that; the difference in weight between those two wheel sets is ~165 grams. That is a boat load of grams in weightweenies world. Just saying ...

leej88
Posts: 354
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 4:22 am

by leej88

Thank you all for the advice!

Although I don't ever ride when it's wet, the improved braking surface is still a plus for me. With my newly attained mass, I'll definitely need all the braking force I can get.

The increased overall wheelset weight is a bummer for sure and looking at the stats, the standard Meilenstein's are 85 grams heavier than the Obermayers and assuming that I've gotten the hub weights right, the breakdown of the difference in weight would be as shown below:


(rear wheel)
Meilenstein: 625g
Meilenstein Obermayer: 540g

Delta: 85g

Meilenstein DT240S Rear Hub: ~209g
Meilenstein Obermayer DT190 Rear Hub: ~183g

Delta: 26g

Out of the 85g increase in weight over the Obermayers, 26g is due to the difference in hubs. The good news is that this doesn't increase the rotational inertia of the standard Meilenstein's by much since the bulk of the weight in located at the axis of rotation.

The remaining 59 grams however, are spread out across the circumference of the rims thereby increasing the rotational inertia which in turn makes the standard Meilenstein's suffer a bit in terms of acceleration.

The upside however is a pair of wheels that would keep their speed slightly better due to the increased mass.

On top of that, since I'm interested in the 20/20 setup, those extra spokes up front would definitely cause me to suffer as they're no longer as aerodynamic when compared to the 16/20 setup that I'm currently on. However, since I don't intend to race, this seems like a small trade off and with the added confidence that a sturdier wheelset can inspire, I might have to settle with this option.

Another option that I have in mind would be to replace just the front wheel with a 20 spoked Obermayer but I'm not sure what are the weight limits for such a configuration as I can't seem to find any info on them online.

by Weenie


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cyclespeed
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by cyclespeed

I don't think you can get the Obermayer in 20 spoke? Just the normal Meilenstein offers 16 or 20.

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