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$1270 to save 1/2 lb at the rim?

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$1270 to save 1/2 lb at the rim?

Old 06-11-19, 11:20 AM
  #1  
TimothyH
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$1270 to save 1/2 lb at the rim?

Would you spend $1270 for new wheels to save 223 grams (7.87 oz) if all the weight savings were at the rim?

The new wheels would be exactly the same as the existing wheels except for much lighter rims. Assume for now that the hubs, spokes, nipples, tires and tubes are already as light as they can go.

The bike flies and I've no need for new wheels. This would be a luxury purchase.

Wheels would be built by ProWheelBuilder and come with 2 year warranty and lifetime 25% off crash replacement. I could probably sell the existing wheels for a couple hundred.

This is on a sub 16 lb bike.


-Tim-
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Old 06-11-19, 11:21 AM
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Nope.
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Old 06-11-19, 11:23 AM
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shallow or deep aero wheels?
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Old 06-11-19, 11:28 AM
  #4  
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Originally Posted by dalava
shallow or deep aero wheels?
Shallow. Boyd 28 clinchers.


They would replace H+Son Archetypes.




The bike has an Enve flat top aero bar if only for comfort and looks, and I supposed the Enve 2.0 fork is aero enough but tubes are round and the bike isn't designed with aero in mind. Increasing aerodynamics would not be a benefit. All the benefit would be weight. I'm not a particularly powerful rider.

If anyone knows of a lighter/cheaper rim brake carbon clincher then I'm all ears.


-Tim-

Last edited by TimothyH; 06-11-19 at 11:38 AM.
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Old 06-11-19, 11:31 AM
  #5  
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Personally I would not.

Unless I really wanted them.
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Old 06-11-19, 11:36 AM
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My rule of thumb used to be, when making the weight vs cost trade-off was, that I would spend up to a dollar per gram saved for static weight, or up to a dollar per 1/2 gram saved for rotating weight. I'm less concerned about weight nowadays - I need to lose 15 lb off my arse before I start obsessing about bike weight. But, my comfort levels are not yours, and if you have the cash and the wheels make you feel good, go for it.
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Old 06-11-19, 11:40 AM
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The money would be much better spent with something deeper, e.g. 40-50mm, while keep the weight the same or a bit less than your current wheelset. Personally, I would just get a set of used but great condition Zipp 303's for about $1k, or ENVE SES3.4 for $1.5k.
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Old 06-11-19, 11:46 AM
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If I would, I already would have. Since I have not, then no.

You do whatever you want.
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Old 06-11-19, 11:56 AM
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If it's a luxury purchase and you can afford to be luxurious...go for it!
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Old 06-11-19, 12:13 PM
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I don’t have that kind of money to burn, but if $1300 was pocket change, sure.

is your annual income over $338k ?
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Old 06-11-19, 12:51 PM
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No. But I'd probably spend about half that money on some wide-rimmed, 50+ mm carbon wheels if my intentions were maximizing speed.
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Old 06-11-19, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by rubiksoval
No. But I'd probably spend about half that money on some wide-rimmed, 50+ mm carbon wheels if my intentions were maximizing speed.
$800 will get you that from Light Bicycle
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Old 06-11-19, 12:57 PM
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
Would you spend $1270 for new wheels to save 223 grams (7.87 oz) if all the weight savings were at the rim?

The new wheels would be exactly the same as the existing wheels except for much lighter rims. Assume for now that the hubs, spokes, nipples, tires and tubes are already as light as they can go.

The bike flies and I've no need for new wheels. This would be a luxury purchase.

Wheels would be built by ProWheelBuilder and come with 2 year warranty and lifetime 25% off crash replacement. I could probably sell the existing wheels for a couple hundred.

This is on a sub 16 lb bike.


-Tim-
If you want to save grams and $ go carbon tubular.
Tubular rims are less popular than clincher, so resale prices are lower, you can pick up zipp 303 or nice Reynolds rims for $500ish on ebay. I've done it. The zipp 303 tubular rims are around 380g for 45mm deep, that beats any alloy clincher by far
My regular wheels now are tubular Bontrager Aeolus, I got used and got tires on them for less than half of your $1270 budget.

The other day I saw ax lightness tubular 24mm for around $1200, those are 215g rims...with good tubular tires you save 500+ grams rotating mass vs alloy clinchers. your bike will be under UCI weight
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Old 06-11-19, 01:55 PM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
If anyone knows of a lighter/cheaper rim brake carbon clincher then I'm all ears.


-Tim-
My 46mm Light Bicycle wheels are lighter and only a lil more than half the price. Catch is you have to wait about a month to get them, but the quality is great, and customer service is good too. They have a North American operation as well, if you don't want to buy direct, it's a lil more expensive tho.

They have a similar spec wheel to what you're looking at, just under 1300g with Bitex hubs, 1450g with DT240s.

https://www.lightbicycle.com/U-shape...ompatible.html
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Old 06-11-19, 02:32 PM
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Aero trumps weight, right?

So no.
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Old 06-11-19, 02:55 PM
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No. How much would you pay a dietitian to help you lose 1/2 lb? Think of it that way. You can spend $6,000 to get a bike that's 3 lbs. lighter, or you can lose 3 lbs. OTOH if your fat % is below say 7, maybe spend the money . . .
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Old 06-11-19, 04:52 PM
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Is the weight savings for the wheelset or per wheel?
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Old 06-11-19, 05:08 PM
  #18  
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
No. How much would you pay a dietitian to help you lose 1/2 lb? Think of it that way. You can spend $6,000 to get a bike that's 3 lbs. lighter, or you can lose 3 lbs. OTOH if your fat % is below say 7, maybe spend the money . . .
I'm 5' 10" and went from 198 lb to 170 lb last winter, so I feel like I'm good.



Originally Posted by Rides4Beer
My 46mm Light Bicycle wheels are lighter and only a lil more than half the price. Catch is you have to wait about a month to get them, but the quality is great, and customer service is good too. They have a North American operation as well, if you don't want to buy direct, it's a lil more expensive tho.

They have a similar spec wheel to what you're looking at, just under 1300g with Bitex hubs, 1450g with DT240s.

https://www.lightbicycle.com/U-shape...ompatible.html

Thanks. I'm going to email them but here is the rub...

The bike is fixed gear and the hubs use 15 mm track nuts. To be clear, it isn't a track bike and will never be ridden on the velodrome. It is used exclusively for road riding.

As a general rule, track hubs are not light but the ones on the bike now are about the lightest available - 176 g front/224 g rear - and go for about $150/pair. ProWheelBuilder would build the wheels around them with whatever rim, spoke and nipple I choose.

The front could use a traditional road quick release but I'm not going to save much weight and it would drive up cost. I want matchy-matchy hubs for the sake of pride anyway.

If a company like Light would build a wheelset around my hubs with their rims at $700 and they came close to 1300 grams then I'd go for it.


-Tim-
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Old 06-11-19, 05:10 PM
  #19  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Is the weight savings for the wheelset or per wheel?
Sorry, total, not per wheel.

Ha ha, I'd love to save 14 oz per wheel!


-Tim-
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Old 06-11-19, 05:34 PM
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
Shallow. Boyd 28 clinchers.


They would replace H+Son Archetypes.




The bike has an Enve flat top aero bar if only for comfort and looks, and I supposed the Enve 2.0 fork is aero enough but tubes are round and the bike isn't designed with aero in mind. Increasing aerodynamics would not be a benefit. All the benefit would be weight. I'm not a particularly powerful rider.

If anyone knows of a lighter/cheaper rim brake carbon clincher then I'm all ears.


-Tim-
Carbon clincher and rim brake...I wouldn't do it. Saving weight or not.
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Old 06-11-19, 08:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Marcus_Ti
Carbon clincher and rim brake...I wouldn't do it. Saving weight or not.
Oh Nose! It'll assplode.

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Old 06-11-19, 09:15 PM
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You could probably lose more body weight and it wouldn't cost a dime.
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Old 06-11-19, 09:25 PM
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current wheel weight

compare for us the current wheels with the prospective wheels.
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Old 06-11-19, 09:27 PM
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Body weight and bike weight aren't really connected except when you're riding up a hill. You can be twice Timothy's (healthy) weight and still enjoy having a light bike - check The Rules, nothing prohibits it.

I personally wouldn't buy the wheels we're talking about because I have wheels I love ... but it's easy to understand the appeal of a 14 pound bike. Especially for someone who has other bikes.
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Old 06-11-19, 09:44 PM
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For me it’s not worth it to save 1/2 a pound, but I’d gladly pay it if I thought the wheels were cool and they put a smile on my face.
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