DoublePepperoni

Hi all, I posted this question on cyclingforums.com without a reply, so I'm trying my luck here...

Hello, I'm a newbie cyclist converted from running some months ago. I bought an entry level road bike and have been riding it everyday and have seen some good improvements since starting out. A friend of mine tells me that the frame is fairly decent but that its about time I upgraded the wheels. The bike I currently ride is a Cannondale Caad 8.6 with Maddux R3.0 wheels and I paid around $1200 for it. If anyone has any recommendations or even any opinions on wheels in general, I would love to hear them. Thanks all in advance.

datlas 

What's your budget and weight and riding style?

If on a major budget, look at offerings from Neuvation or Soul.

But we need more info to give better advice.

Elvo

Mavic Cosmic 80's are pretty cool

joe_5700

Just do not expect any significant improvement in your riding no matter what wheels you get. After the placebo affect wears off that is.

DoublePepperoni

I'm 5'8, around 165lb, and as far as riding style goes it's seems to be changing a lot as I'm developing and improving almost weekly and the better I get, the more I want try everything at all different intensities. The thought of upgrading the wheel wasn't even on my mind in fact, but when my friend told me that good wheels would make me accelerate faster and climb easier, I started asking around for some advice. Only thing certain about my riding is the amount and that's roughly 2 hours 5-6 times a week. Budget wise... that is a good question and something I haven't been able to come up with on my own. Initially I thought I would spend about half the bike's original cost, about $600, but knowing nothing about wheels, I wondered how much of an improvement I would be getting for that amount. My friend suggested a $1600 wheelset from Mavic but at the time it seemed like overkill to me to put on a $1200 bike... or is it? I guess a lot depends on whether or not my current wheels are crap or actually decent enough for the bike I have. I've spent most of my time trying to get better physically and didn't spend enough time on the equipment/gear to really know much about anything at this stage so please accept my apologies if I'm asking dumb/frustrating/uninformed questions.

reshp1

I get the itch to upgrade wheels a lot... then I go out and ride and realize how sh*tty the roads here are and decide I don't need to spend money on wheels just to wreck them. If you're riding recreationally I would say the extra money isn't worth the 0.5% increase in performance. Then again, that applies to most cycling gear/upgrades so I guess do what makes you happy. Check out these guys
https://www.novemberbicycles.com/

Good reviews and good to deal with. I probably will order a set this winter and totally go against what I said above

DoublePepperoni

ah... that's a good point, I never considered the road before you brought that up. So in your opinion, the wheels aren't that big of a deal?

joe_5700

No, you actually have been doing it 100% correct! Your bike is really not holding you back at all. In my opinion, spending $1600 on a wheelset for a $1200 bike is overkill. Your friend is completely exagerating on the benefits of a better wheelset too. On the other hand if you do have some extra coin to drop on a nicer wheelset, then by all means do so, but why not wait until your current wheels are starting to wear out?

joe_5700

Agreed. That is why many people on here have race day only wheels...

DoublePepperoni

Good to know, Thanks to all for your replies. I'm gonna go with what joe_5700 said and wait until i wear these wheels out, and keep concentrating on becoming a stronger rider until I really feel that my gear is holding me back.

motobecane69

look at neuvation wheels those maddux wheels arent anything special and weigh in around 1900 grams. you can get a more Aero set of neuvations or their super light wheels and have them weigh in around 1500 grams and they have very good reviews and at your weight they should still be quite durable. Best part, they are only about $350 for the set, maybe $400 by the time you are done with shipping. www.neuvation.com they also often have a deal of the day and cut prices really low on the wheelsets for one day every so often

cptsilver

That sounds like a good plan to me! Report back in a year?

cptsilver

FWIW, I was in a similar situation - I had a $1200 bike, was itching to upgrade the wheels, looked at Williams, November, Soul, etc. Finally decided to sell the bike and get a carbon bike all together. Spending that much on nice wheels on a bike at that price range didn't make sense to me.

Carloswithac

Bicyclewheelwarehouse.com
I bought a Blacksete Race 11 wheelset and have been very impressed. Lightweight, durable and affordable.

hyhuu

Any wheels (doesn't have to be expensive) beside the cheap stock wheels will make climbing and sprinting much more enjoyable. You can get stronger on either set of wheels.

joe_5700

So better wheels can now make you stronger? Really? Why was it that I was passing people on Zipps attached to Cervelos like they were standing still in a duathlon on my lowly Felt with boat anchor Mavic Open Pros?

motobecane69

Did your saddle cut off blood flow to both of your heads or do you just have reading comprehension problems? How does "You can get stronger on EITHER set of wheels." turn into "New wheels will make you stronger."

joe_5700

It apparantly did as I obviously did not read the post carefully at all. Still waking up this morning. The blood flow has returned and the either is quite obvious now.

DoublePepperoni

@cptsilver - that sounds like a plan. Just out of curiosity, why would my friend suggest I upgrade the wheels in the first place? What is it about one set of wheels that makes it better than another? My limited comprehension on gears doesn't allow me to see how I can pedal one set of wheels faster... is it mostly in the weight? Is that why climbing will be easier? What other factors other than weight is there?

Homebrew01

Weight and/or aerodynamics. Weight is mostly helpful when climbing, aero mostly helpful at faster speeds. And lighter wheels handle a bit better, but deep profile aero wheels can get blown about a bit by the wind. I don't know why your friends suggests a new rider spend $1600 on wheels, unless he's concerned you won't look cool enough without them. As a new rider, money might initially be better spend on good quality clothing, shoes, better saddle, helmet, sunglasses .... the things that you will actually notice & appreciate while riding.

Top quality wheels do make a difference, but what's the cost/benefit for you, compared to other upgrades ?

ahson

I am at a similar situation like you right now. For me, I decided to purchase the Soul 3.0SL wheels by next season as an upgrade. Getting a new, better bike completely is right but that depends on your budget.

By the way, that Soul 3.0SL wheelset is $500 shipped. I am pretty comfortable on this kind of upgrade myself.

motobecane69

cptsilvers advice is poor in my opinion. bike cost is largely a component of the material it is made out of. Aluminum bikes can be every bit as fast as a carbon bike yet it may only cost $1200. doesn't mean it's not worth putting pricey wheels on it. Trek madone 5.2's are $3200 bikes that come with absolute piece of crap wheels stock. I'd rather pay $1000 and spend $2000 on wheel upgrades than spend $3200 and still need better wheels to maximize the bikes capabilities.

As homebrew said, what makes wheels better are weight and aerodynamics. Lightwheels are regarded as better for climbing, but I also believe they are better for stop and go riding. you can get them up to speed easier. I live in NYC so I have a lot of stopping and starting. Aerodymanic wheels allow you to go faster at speed. generally they weigh more but you can also get some pretty aero wheels that are also very light in comparison to many wheels that come stock. For example, a 40 mm tubular wheel isn't the most aero wheel you can buy, but it's a lot more aero than what you are riding on now and it probably only weighs 1350 grams which is WAY less than what you are riding on now. Likewise, there are 24mm tubulars that weigh closer to 1000 grams for the set (climbing wheels) and there are 88mm tubulars that are closer to 1800 grams (incredibly aero)