Campagnolo Zonda disc brake wheelset - yay or nay?

[Shrike]

Was gonna grab a cheap chinese carbon wheelset but spotted these and like the style and price. Want something bombproof for heavy mileage but has to feel nice too. Was close to pulling trigger as I’m going on a trip for Easter and want wheels before then maybe. Any thoughts on these or alternatives at same price? They’re on sale around £370 in the UK.

Going on a Topstone, so not for a posh race bike or anything but I'm using the bike for training on and spending stacks of time on it. Current wheel set weighs around 3KG apparently.

Also eyeing up Fulcrum's 4 and 5 wheelsets.

[graeme_f_k]

Was gonna grab a cheap chinese carbon wheelset but spotted these and like the style and price. Want something bombproof for heavy mileage but has to feel nice too. Was close to pulling trigger as I’m going on a trip for Easter and want wheels before then maybe. Any thoughts on these or alternatives at same price? They’re on sale around £370 in the UK.

Going on a Topstone, so not for a posh race bike or anything but I'm using the bike for training on and spending stacks of time on it. Current wheel set weighs around 3KG apparently.

Also eyeing up Fulcrum's 4 and 5 wheelsets.

I am biased in that I look after Campagnolo Service, Warranty and Tech-Ed in the UK but I'd simply ask, if you are looking for something bombproof, why would you go for a Chinese no-name against a product (not necessarily Campagnolo or Fulcrum) from a manuafcturer that is a well-known quantity, offering a full warranty and spares back up service?

Fulcrum R3 is the direct equivalent to Zonda (same rim extrusion, differently milled and drilled, same adjustable cup-and-cone hub bearing system), R4 uses a different rim extrusion and a cartridge bearing system, so it's closer to the Campagnolo Scirocco DB in terms of specification.

[sychen]

Only have good things to say about zonda rim brake wheels.

No issues with bearings, spokes, rim ..

Solid and never had issues.. Just rolls and rolls.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[mrlobber]

Zondas are the close-to-ultimate training wheels. If DB version is anywhere close to the rim version, you can't get wrong on these.

Fulcrums probably are the same wheel, you just need to find out exactly which model. There are price differences at times, which you might explore to your advantage.

[robertbb]

I sold my Shamal C17's, preferring my Zonda C17's. Do most of my miles on these. Brilliant wheelset at a steal of a price for what they are.

Whatever you do, don't buy a wheelset with thick alloy spokes... not even Shamals!

[AJS914]

It was $25 to replace one spoke on my Eurus wheels! I'd rather have Zondas.

That said, I also have a set of Farsports wheels. They are relatively inexpensive, have DT Swiss hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes. All the parts are standard and spares are readily available.

[Multebear]

Is there any reason to choose alloy rims on a DB bike unless you're on a tight budget?

That said, campa hubs are some of the best. But Farsport wheels with DT hubs will do the job just as fine. And they are carbon rims.

Since there's is no wear of the rim on DB, I don't see any reason to choose alloy rims anymore.

[Shrike]

It’s really just price. I’m trying to lighten a little two Topstones but they’re used for training in all weather and commuting, touring etc. Hard to find the balance between a nice bike to ride at an acceptable price to leave unattended once in a while.

[Multebear]

If Farsports with DT hubs are in you're pricerange, I'd definitely go there. But if performance is of no concern, just pick the cheapest ones out there IMO. Zondas are pricewise somewhere in between. Not really top performance, and not really budget.

[Shrike]

Cheers that convinced me. Saw them for £330 today so couldn’t say no. Got some ultegra rotors to go with them..

[PrimO]

Where did you see them at £330???

I was in the same position as you last year, in the end up I went with Fulcrum Racing 5DB's. I've approx 2k kms on them now and theyve been 100%. They roll really well, are lighter than zondas (mine weighed in 1642g) Zondas are spec's at 1675g, the freewheel is near silent (which i like) and i know this is relative, they were 450g lighter than the factory spec wheels that came on my bike (Felt VR30) and made a very noticeable difference in accelerating and more so on climbs.

[wintershade]

I sold my Shamal C17's, preferring my Zonda C17's. Do most of my miles on these. Brilliant wheelset at a steal of a price for what they are.

Whatever you do, don't buy a wheelset with thick alloy spokes... not even Shamals!

Interesting, why did you sell the Shamals for the Zondas? Were you getting blown around in the wind due to thick Shamal spokes?

[robertbb]

I sold my Shamal C17's, preferring my Zonda C17's. Do most of my miles on these. Brilliant wheelset at a steal of a price for what they are.

Whatever you do, don't buy a wheelset with thick alloy spokes... not even Shamals!

Interesting, why did you sell the Shamals for the Zondas? Were you getting blown around in the wind due to thick Shamal spokes?

Yes. And I also noticed they kind of "maxed out" speed wise - again because of spoke drag. The Zonda's were only 70 grams heavier... and most of that is at the alloy hub. I don't have empirical data to prove it, but I believe the Zonda's are faster wheels as well as handling better.

[Shrike]

Where did you see them at £330???

I was in the same position as you last year, in the end up I went with Fulcrum Racing 5DB's. I've approx 2k kms on them now and theyve been 100%. They roll really well, are lighter than zondas (mine weighed in 1642g) Zondas are spec's at 1675g, the freewheel is near silent (which i like) and i know this is relative, they were 450g lighter than the factory spec wheels that came on my bike (Felt VR30) and made a very noticeable difference in accelerating and more so on climbs.

Tweeks Cycles to get them at 330. Didn't get mine as I left to go on holiday today so asked them to hold the order until next week. They said they'll come Monday now so will test them then. I have a set of Fulcrum 5 db's here though which haven't been ridden on the missus' bike. I'll give those a spin and compare to the Zondas shortly. Pretty sure the Fulcrum 5's will roll nicer than the bricks that came on our Topstones

[PrimO]

Where did you see them at £330???

I was in the same position as you last year, in the end up I went with Fulcrum Racing 5DB's. I've approx 2k kms on them now and theyve been 100%. They roll really well, are lighter than zondas (mine weighed in 1642g) Zondas are spec's at 1675g, the freewheel is near silent (which i like) and i know this is relative, they were 450g lighter than the factory spec wheels that came on my bike (Felt VR30) and made a very noticeable difference in accelerating and more so on climbs.

Tweeks Cycles to get them at 330. Didn't get mine as I left to go on holiday today so asked them to hold the order until next week. They said they'll come Monday now so will test them then. I have a set of Fulcrum 5 db's here though which haven't been ridden on the missus' bike. I'll give those a spin and compare to the Zondas shortly. Pretty sure the Fulcrum 5's will roll nicer than the bricks that came on our Topstones

If theyre the 5's with the three white 'Fulcrum' decals around the wheel, theyre the older wheels and nearly 120g heavier (1642g v 1760g -weighed by me) than the Racing 5's which have dark graphics and a red '5' on the wheel rim.