SaiKaiTai

I guess the only complaint I have about my new Felt Z3 is Felt's choice of wheels, the Shimano RS10.
Not very light (because a Clyde worries about weight ) at ~1900g which is pretty close to the Mavic Aksium Race wheels that came with my old Giant OCR C2. While the weights are close and the Mavics have proven, for me, to be pretty bomb proof, the RS10s just don't look like they're in it for the long haul (Non-enforced aluminum nipples? Come on). I have long been intrigued by Williams Wheels System 30s. Anyone use these wheels? $570, 1550g... Do I or don't I?

CraigB

Can't comment on the Williams, but I rode RS10 16f/20r (OEM wheels on my Synapse) for about a thousand miles or so at weights from 200-210 without any issues at all, though I would never discourage anyone from trying something else. In fact, just for fun I bought a pair of Neuvation's cheapest wheels (M28X Aero, again 16f/20r) and they worked great for me, too. Now that I've put a few (!) pounds back on, I built myself a pair of 32-spoke HED Belgiums for their wider (22m) profile, and love them.

stapfam

Couple of UK internet sites that are worth looking at. The one I do prefer for wheels though is Merlins.

https://www.merlincycles.com/bike-sho...y-road-wheels/


Wheels are the best improvement for a bike you can get and plenty that are better than the OM sets supplied and can be found at a sensible price occasionally. But if you are happy with the Aksium wheels--Proven solid wheels- why not just changes the wheelset over?

Biker395 

I have a pair of the cheaper Neuvations, and they're very good wheels. They stand behind them too.

Check this out: https://www.neuvationcycling.com/prod...ustom-1665.htm

1510g and < $350. And you can special order them with decals and spokes to match your bike.

ModeratedUser150120149

This reply in another thread makes me wonder just how much value there is in saving weight in wheels.

Biker395 

Yea, but that's not rotating weight. lol

Mobile 155

I have to go with Stapfam here and say any improvement over stock wheels will be noticed way more than Shifters. Cranks, bars or derailleurs. Most of the wheels mentioned are an improvement over RS-10s Even the older RS-20 or 550 Shimano worked better and were about the same wright as the Aksiums. I have two sets of Aksiums as back up however. Plus a set of CPx22 and two sets of hand builts. If I were going to do it all over again I think all my wheels would be hand builts. But that is besides the point. Nothing you will ever put on your bike will change the feel in how it rides as new, light weight, wheels.

DiabloScott

Lots of people like the Williams, they're fine but I vote for handbuilts as well. For another couple hundred grams you can get bombproof AND bling at about the same price.


https://vimeo.com/23406247

George

I have the Williams 30X and at 10k I had to rebuild the hubs. The hubs were shot.

I bought a set of Fulcrum Racing 3s and so far I like them better. I only have 500 miles on them though, but I had Fulcrum 5s before and they had about 5k on them before I sold them with another bike I had. I bought the Fulcrums from the site that stapfam posted and had them in a week. I live just west of Houston.

CraigB

One hopes, anyway.

John E

If you care about reliability, easy repairability on the road, and best strength-to-weight ratio in the rim (where it counts), go with at least 32 spokes per wheel.

stapfam

It is not always the weight saving that makes them better. Most OM wheels are machine built and they are made to a price. Upgrade a bit and better components are used that may be lighter and although they may still be machine built- they are better.

Few years ago and I replaced my Cheap OM wheels on the Giant OCR3 to a set of handbuilts. They transformed the bike. Next bike and a set of Ultegra Wheels that had been detensioned and retrued by hand- Unbelievable. Next bike and The OMs were not used and a set of Mavic Aksiums that were superstrong and although not my favourites they are bomb proof. The original OM's I did try a few times and I did not like them. Got the wheel builder to replace the spokes and rebuild and they are not bad wheels but they are the "Spare" set as I have better wheels for normal use.

So the thing to think about on replacement wheels is not weight- although that does help in most riding- think Qualtiy and you will be on the right track.

ModeratedUser150120149

You took a thread and its' posts that were emphasizing weight and turned it into a bit of education. Thanks for that. Now I just have to become skilled/knowledgeable enough to feel and see the difference.

bruce19

I have also learned a lot from this thread and am now wondering what might be a good upgrade for my Aksiums. Really asking for specifics about where to go to and what to consider buying. FWIW I went to the Aksiums when one of the spokes pulled right out of an Easton rim. And, they were a great deal at my LBS.

stapfam

Aksiums are a bombproof wheel- even for those of us carrying a bit of extra.

Plenty of wheels about and plenty of people have their own favourites. So 20 choices coming from 15 people soon. If you are a lighter rider then I would recommend Ultegra's as the next stage up but to give you a set of wheels that will last- be bombproof and lighter than the Aksiums--HAND BUILT. The old standard used to be Ultegra hubs on Open Pro Rims as a good wheel. Plenty of changes to be rung though and I have 105 hubs mated to Mavic CXP33 rims with 36 double butted spokes. These wheels will out last me and they are a joy to ride.

bruce19

190 lbs hoping to get to 180 lbs. Never going to be less than 175 lbs without being on life support.

Biker395 

Lol ...

sreten

Hi,

I've seem lots of comments that after the frame your wheels count the most,
so why on earth would you go and buy a bike with wheels that you don't like ?

rgds, sreten.

Wogster

Use the wheels that came with the bike, if you get repeated issues of broken spokes and a rebuild doesn't resolve it, then look at different wheels. The only time I would consider swapping out wheels that are not giving problems are if the manufacturer has put a weight limit on the wheel and your over it.

SaiKaiTai

Why? Especially since wheels are usually where bike mfrs "go cheap"? Honestly, I'm still in a small amount of sticker shock from the new bike, I'm not ready to sprint another $600-700 until the bill gets paid next month and, by then, I'll talk myself out of it.

stapfam

All manufacturers will cut costs wherever possible and the odd downgrade on groupset- some of the components and wheels are the usual ones to do. Unless you are going to settle into the occasional rider and not doing mileage then OM wheels are the easiest upgrade to do. I know for me the components will never get changed on a bike (Bars and stems etc) and even the downgraded parts on the groupset will only get changed when they wear out. BUT wheels are an easy change and one that will give performance. May not be in speed but handling will be better.

Now I am a lightweight but even I notice wheel flex on the fast downhills with cheaper wheels. Disconcerting to see the rim moving sideways as you tackle that curve on a fast descent. In fact I have found what are curves on a decent set of wheels are a corner with cheap ones.

Most of the "ODD" lacing patterns has disappeared on most wheels and I would look dubiously at the minimal number of spokes on some wheels if I had a bit of weight behind me. There are plenty of wheels that are good and not exorbitantly priced on the market and other members cam recommend various makes and models- but I am a firm believer in Hand built wheels. They may not be the lightest around and the quality of the builder has to be taken into account so start looking for those bargains that are around- and decide what you need in the wheels.

Wogster

You actually answered this yourself, your adding hundreds of dollars to an already expensive purchase and you may actually end up happy with the wheels that are on it. I don't know about wheels, being where manufacturers go cheap, there are lots of other places where they can do that. Wheels are a poor one, because wheels are complex and cheap wheels are more likely to result in more warranty claims. Better to go cheap on stuff like handle bars, bar tape, stems, seatposts, saddles, cranks, chain-rings, chains, cassettes, tires, tubes and rim-strips, parts that are simple and less likely to result in expensive warranty claims.

mapeiboy

You can not go wrong with Campy wheels . I have a pair of Shamal wheelset since 2000 . no problem so far .

Wogster

You can if your over Campy's weight limit, which if memory serves is about 70-75kg (154-165lbs).

Bikey Mikey

Wow, that's rather narrow. I more than qualify(only in the mid 140s), but you would think that wheels should handle up to 175 or 180 pounds for tall, well built(can just be tree-trunk legs) riders.