wheels - weight, aerodynamics, spokes, stiffness

[onemanpeloton]

Ok guys, go easy on me, I know this is weight weenies.

I'm looking for some new wheels for my giant tcr disc. The stock wheels are 2100g!

Anyway, ive found 2 good deals on wheels, which one would you choose and why? Both are the same price.

1) dt swiss rc 28 carbon - 1375g - 28mm rim, straight pull spokes
2) prime rr38 carbon - 1700g - 38mm rim, j bend spokes

The 38s would definitely look better I think and the science supports an aero rim over a lightweight one in all but the steepest gradients.

But what about stiffness? The 38 would be stiffer, all other things being equal, but are J bend spokes less stiff, and would that negate the extra stiffness of the rim?

Keen to hear your thoughts. Sorry if this has been covered, a quick search didnt throw much up but feel free to throw me a link

Thanks

[alcatraz]

Even an 80mm rim is faster overall unless you ride over ~9 degree gradients and whatever time you lose there you will more than make up on the following descent or flat. For touring or easy riding up to 25km/h it doesn't matter much though.

1700gr for 38mm is quite overweight. 28mm is easy riding only, nice quality wheel those dt ones though.

I don't like either choice really. My friend is building a 58mm wheelset for like 350usd here in China and it's lovely aero and wide 28mm AND 1470gr (clincher straightpull rim brake).

/a

[Kurets]

Out of those I'd go DT Swiss. Prime is the Wiggle/CRC house brand for no name wheels snd the weight shows it, likely wet weather braking too. A heavy, no name, mid depth wheelset really checks no boxes. Sure, bling might be one of thrm, but how much bling is a cheapo wheelset anyway?

Sent from my H4113 using Tapatalk

[onemanpeloton]

Out of those I'd go DT Swiss. Prime is the Wiggle/CRC house brand for no name wheels snd the weight shows it, likely wet weather braking too. A heavy, no name, mid depth wheelset really checks no boxes. Sure, bling might be one of thrm, but how much bling is a cheapo wheelset anyway?

Sent from my H4113 using Tapatalk

I'm inclined to agree. The DTs should hold their value better too (assuming I ever wanted to sell them). The wheels are for disc brakes though so the braking surface of the rim is one less thing to worry about with cheaper wheels.

The primes are heavy, but they offer an incredibly competitive gram/£ saving.

My interests are more in aerodynamics and stiffness than bling, but admittedly the deeper rims do look better. I've had budget carbon wheels before from Planet X and was happy with their performance.

My other option of course is to wait and hope that I can find a good deal on some dt swiss 38mms

[Multebear]

Would you mind mentioning the width of both sets? That is of relevance as well weighing your options.

But generelly I would pick the deeper set, if the weightpenalty isn’t too much. But as others mention, there might be many other options out there, that would be better.

Besides that, wheel weight isn’t too much of a concern anymore with the newest research regarding weight vs. Aero.

[sawyer]

What about Racing Quattro Carbon DB or Hunt DB carbon wheels?

Or something better than the two you've suggested?

Of the two, I'd go DT (better hub, BIG weight advantage)

[onemanpeloton]

Would you mind mentioning the width of both sets? That is of relevance as well weighing your options.

But generelly I would pick the deeper set, if the weightpenalty isn’t too much. But as others mention, there might be many other options out there, that would be better.

Besides that, wheel weight isn’t too much of a concern anymore with the newest research regarding weight vs. Aero.

whilst width is an issue, i find it to be a smaller issue that the others Ive listed. If I listed every feature then we'd be discussing the millions of different possibilities and never settle on an outcome. I'd also have people making suggestions for wheels other than the 2 that I've listed which isnt what I'm asking.

[onemanpeloton]

What about Racing Quattro Carbon DB or Hunt DB carbon wheels?

Or something better than the two you've suggested?

Of the two, I'd go DT (better hub, BIG weight advantage)

Both look to be good wheels (as are most more expensive ones no doubt) but theres no deals at the moment that bring them even close to the prices I'm looking at for the 2 wheelsets ive listed.

[Multebear]

Would you mind mentioning the width of both sets? That is of relevance as well weighing your options.

But generelly I would pick the deeper set, if the weightpenalty isn’t too much. But as others mention, there might be many other options out there, that would be better.

Besides that, wheel weight isn’t too much of a concern anymore with the newest research regarding weight vs. Aero.

whilst width is an issue, i find it to be a smaller issue that the others Ive listed. If I listed every feature then we'd be discussing the millions of different possibilities and never settle on an outcome. I'd also have people making suggestions for wheels other than the 2 that I've listed which isnt what I'm asking.

Fair enough. Pick the deepest option and don't be to concerned about weight. As mentioned, aero is of more importance - even on this forum.

[hannawald]

For 500 euro you probably can not find many other options.. as 500 euro is still considerable amount of money to waste them on inferior product with no gain, i will add something small and buy light bicycle 45mm rims/wheels. It would be lighter and much more aero, not only because of higher profile rim but because it is a wider rim at 28mm, which will be ok for 25mm tyres. Prime 25mm wide rim is really too narrow and it will spoil aero you are looking for..