banerjek

Given that a few sets of decent tires easily cost more than a set of cheap wheels, what's the point in going cheap on the wheels unless you'll be riding in slop and riding heavy flat resistant tires?

Also, I want to publicly apologize to one of my bikes (in particular, my highracer). I'd let the guys at the shop talk me into mounting gatorskins because this bike takes less available 650s so the durability seemed useful.

The GS has good flat resistance, but it delivers a miserable ride, traction is virtually nonexistent, and it feels slow.

No fast bike deserves crappy tires, and yesterday I couldn't leaving this wrong uncorrected any longer. I bought a a set of race tires on my way home from work and the difference was dramatic. Never again.

datlas 

I agree it's unwise to cheap out on wheels, or tires for that matter.

Sadly, a lot of bikes come with fairly crappy OEM wheels and tires, I am sure it's to save money and meet targeted "price points."

OTOH, if you get an entry level bike you can get a nice set of wheels and relegate the original wheels/tires to crappy weather or off season use.

bermanfb28

im looking to upgrade my wheels but they all seam so exspensive any wheels you would recommend?

hhnngg1

I cheaped out on the wheels after I found that the training wheels that came with my bike had no problems whatsoever, and upgrading to a deep dish rim (the only way to actually get a speed benefit) would cost over $1500. Totally not worth it.

If my training wheels were failing, coming out of true, etc., I'd definitely pay up for higher cost replacements. As it is now though, even with heavy riding sometimes, the training wheels are bulletproof for me. I have the Shimano Rsomethings that come stock on a lot of good bikes. Even the cheapie stock wheels that came on my $650 entry level bike have been bulletproof for me - I can't justify replacing them.

And Gatorskins are indeed clunky as hell. They seem to work in terms of added protection (not 100%, though), but the first time I put them on a bike compared to Rubino Pros, I was like "WTF happened to my bike?!"

haaseg

Exactly - the R500s that came on my bike have no problems what-so-ever. There's simply no reason to replace them until they've been bashed and thrashed and completely worn out. Unfortunately, after 1500 miles they still look new and they're still true.

I'm simply never fast enough to have to worry about the aero on the rims, and if I feel the need to shed 200g off of the bike, I'll start with a few kg off the rider first.

johnny99

How cheap are you talking about? $200? $500? $1000? Wheels come at a very wide range of prices. Wheels that cost more than the rest of your bike don't make much sense.

McTufferton

I've raced all season on Gatorskins, and notice no difference between them and higher end race tires that I've used.

banerjek

What's cheap depends on how much you paid for the bike. But it doesn't take long to burn through $200 in tires. Even $500 doesn't take that much if you put in many miles.

It's true that stock wheels work fine until you ruin them. But to take the R500's mentioned earlier in the thread, you can easily drop a pound from that weight for the price of 4 sets of good tires and you will definitely feel the difference if you accelerate or climb much.

achoo

Grasschopper

I just replaced the perfectly good stock wheels on my wife's Ruby (CXP-22 laced to formula hubs) with a set of Soul S3.0 wides and she says she can totally feel the difference. They are over a pound lighter stiffer and more aerodynamic...well worth the upgrade.

Christobevii3

I have some low end vittoria road tires that say 3d on them and cost $25. No flats, have around 2000 miles on them, and just finished the hotter n hell 100 on them. I might try another model up but if i spend $50 on a set or $150 I dont know if I would notice much difference. I live where the hotter n hell is and the roads are very bumpy, might go to 25 width next.

motobecane69

love my gatorskins too, not sure what the op is talking about. I don't detect much difference between them and my pro3race

Sixty Fiver

Your experience with the Gatorskins is opposite to the experience of most... find them to be a rather excellent tyre in all conditions and that for the buck they deliver a lot of bang.

Maybe your hub's pre-load is too tight and they are dragging.

haaseg

Indeed, but I can (and should) also drop 15lbs off of the rider, which will no doubt go much farther in the acceleration and climbing department than a pound off the wheels. I'm afraid this argument never dies, it just gets moved around to different threads

banerjek

There are certain applications I think the GS ain't a bad way to go such as commutes on relatively smooth roads containing a lot of debris. As a utility tire, they're decent.

I've put in at least 6K miles on them on different bikes and I stand by my assessment of harsh ride on anything except the smoothest roads, they feel sluggish, and traction sucks (particularly when wet).

A strong rider can go fast on any tire. Heck, even I've hit 30 on the flats and 50 on descents on my GS. But the ride and the handling is nothing like what I experience with Vittoria OC Evo CX, PR3, or GP4000s, and I can't imagine anyone wanting to race on GS. The differences are particularly noticeable on mountain descents and rough roads.

Not an option for me. I'm actually trying to gain weight and have a hell of a time maintaining what I have.

akansaskid

I only have 41,000 miles on my cheapo Open Sport rims with "Specialized" generic hubs that came on my Roubaix. Still just fine, but the cartridge bearings are starting to grind. Would prefer to just replace the wheels as the bearings, though. Someone suggest another cheap set of wheels good for 40,000+ miles, please.

Run Gatorskin on the front and Armadillo on the rear. After five flats and a final blow out on my OEM "race" tires in just 1,800 miles, you can keep them. It's no fun changing a rear tire when it's 12 degrees out and you're 20 miles from home surrounded by wheat fields.

StanSeven

You race with those?

All you need to do is look at data on tire test and see Gatorskins ranks slightly above bricks

banerjek

In the winter I swap out tires because as you point out, changing tires in the dark/cold/rain/whatever when you can't feel your fingers is no fun at all. Plus the rock chips they spread to improve traction for cars shreds race tires in no time. I also swap out wheels to some cheap crappy ones that weigh a ton because it rains nonstop and the grime works like grinding paste. I also switch to a steel bike with fenders. But utility riding is a different beast that calls for different equipment.

I rode 'dillos for about 30K miles. Flat resistance is very good, but it's the worst riding tire I've ever tried and is second only to the Schwalbe Marathon Plus for being slow. I ride Hardcases in the winter. I hate them, but flat resistance is excellent and they're better than the 'dillos or the MP in other respects as a straight commuting tire.

For the 3 or 4 months that it's dry out here and I can ride reasonably clean roads, I treat myself to the good stuff. Even the steel commuter gets race tires.

motobecane69

yeah, if not getting flats is your goal, armadillos are great, otherwise they suck

Grasschopper

Want the set off my wife's Ruby? j/k I will keep them as a backup set for her with the hope that we never need them.

patentcad

Fixed.

trustnoone

My bike came stock with RS500's. I picked up a set of 2011 Mavic Ksyrium Elite's for a little under $800 including the courier charge and the difference was dramatic. It's not hard to notice a pound of rotational weight gone. Easton EA90 SL's were on the short list as well, in the end I went with the LBS' recommendation.

banerjek

Even Fredly bikes deserve decent tires. I've never even considered mounting such crappy tires on my racer.

patentcad

Put Zipps on the recumbent, then post pics here.