baj32161

I have a 2011 Cannondale Synapse 5 (alloy) that came with Shimano RS10 wheels. I am totally in love with everything about the bike, except the wheels. I am getting to the point where I just, simply, do NOT like these wheels. I mean, they arre still true and rolling okay. They are, however, seriously flexy (granted I am 6'1" 210lbs) and I have zero confidence in them when hard cornering or riding hard. I do plan on upgrading them of course.

My old bike had Bontrager Select wheels and they gave me a much better ride than these and never felt an ounce of flex in them...in spite of the trashing I have seem them get regarding weight, paired spoke design, etc.

How many of you guys (and gals) were, or still are, happy with your bike's stock wheels, and what are (were) they?

Cheers,

Brian J.

AdelaaR

"Stock wheels" is a term that doesn't exist in my world and I believe it shouldn't exist in yours either.

I assemble my bikes myself and choose all components as I think best.
In the unlikely event that I would ever go to a bike shop and buy a complete bike there ... I would require the shopkeeper to swap the wheels for whatever I want instead and only pay for the price difference between the two sets. Same goes for tires, saddle, etc ...
If the shopkeeper would not allow me to do that I would find one that would.

Creatre

Yes, I love my wheels, but they are custom Neuvation's with a Powertap Pro+.

davecheng

I have a 2011 Giant Defy Advanced 1 that came with a DT Swiss TRICON wheelset. On the LBS' advice, I blew the budget to get the better wheels. Aside from the silly Torx spoke nipples, I'm pretty happy with them after almost 2000 km on the bike. They're stiff enough for me (I'm 5'9" 138 lbs) and have a cool (expensive) sounding freehub for the bling factor.

McTufferton

Very happy. SRAM AL30 Race. I also had Shimano RS10 stock on my previous bike... I'm 160lb, I couldn't imagine the flex under someone 210lb.

ahsposo 

My Bianchi came with Fulcrum 5 wheels and I have no complaints.

RacerOne

My Bontrager Race Lites have been great.

Padley

Nope, hate mine. Alex ALX-295 came on my Allez but any new one's will be worth more than the bike itself so I'm saving to buy a whole new ride instead.

beginnerbiker1

Don't want to derail the thread too much, but what does wheel flex feel like?

MegaTom

My Roubaix came stock with Fulcrum 4's. They were more than adequate for my needs; but already owning a set of CXP-33/Dura-Ace wheels and with my Psimets on order, the $450 credit that the shop offered me for the Fulcrums was way more enticing.

billallbritten

The FX came with Bontrager Select, Bianchi with Campy Ventos. Both have been fine. I'd have preferred a 32 cross 3 spoking on the FX but both wheel sets have been durable and rarely require truing. That being said, I sure like the Campy Eurus 2ways that one of our group rides on. And if I had the grand they cost, I'd like that even more

Seattle Forrest

Could you describe this in a little more detail, please? How do you know your wheels are flexing? What's that like? Especially while cornering?

bonz50

i've got no gripes with the Aksium's that came on my GT... the mavic hub is a bit noisy to coast, but not irritatingly so... I'll try to upgrade before they are no longer serviceable and put them aside at what I perceive to be the 'half-life' of the wheels and get a nice set that I will bring to my next bike and put them back on the bike when I sell...

UCIMBZ

Haven't bought a "bike" in 25 years. Always bulit them. So yes, I am very happy with the wheels. The notion of buying a complete bike is way over rated. They always leave somthing to be desired.

Cpt.America

I hate my RS10s too... they will be the first thing to go on this bike.

gettingold

Replaced stock Bontrager Race for Neuvation M28X Aero. Very pleased with the change.

calamarichris

I was happy with the American Classic 420's back in '05 when I bought my bike; they were light as a feather and slicker than owl-$#it, but time soon revealed their achilles heel.
A bicycle must come with wheels, but "stock wheels" are only slightly more useful than "stock saddle."

haaseg

Absolutely no issues what-so-ever with the stock Shimano R500s that came on my bike. While I would like to get some better wheels, there is absolutely no need to replace these until they are completely worn out (which may be never).

Bob Ross

Define "happy"

I tolerated the Mavic Ksyrium Elites that came with my 2006 Cannondale Synapse Carbon 2; but eventually I became un-happy with them, and after 2 or 3 years I had to get rid of them, couldn't deal with their constant need for re-truing and hub maintenance. Replaced those with some Joe Young handbuilts.

OTOH, I am very happy with the wheels that came with my 2010 Carl Strong (DT Swiss Mon Chasseral 1450's) ...but that was a totally custom build, so I spec'd wheels that I suspected I'd be happy with from the get-go.

tcwayne

Nope. I bought Zipp 101's and but the Bontrager race lites on my wife's bike.

snowman40

My Felt F75 came "stock" with wheels from a Felt AR3, does that count? If so, yes, I love them. Not much of my bike is stock though, I bought it new with full Ultegra SL, black saddle, tape and gray and black tires.

The wheels were left over from someone who bought the AR3 but wanted different wheels installed on it.

petalpower

My bike came with CXP22's, and they've been BOMBPROOF, as they should be at roughly 2200g. I've been shopping around for some new hoops, and think I'll be going with Psimet's 50cm carbon tubbie, laced with CXray's to Alchemy hubs. That's if I don't jump ship from my Specialized Tarmac to a Cervelo S3

badhat

ksyrium elites

theyre fine

pallen

Happy with the wheels that came on my bike, but they were hand built Velocity from a local shop.

Bacciagalupe

I'm fine with the stock wheels on my Allez (Mavic CXP22's).

They're fine for my uses, which is good ol' basic riding, without worrying about eensy performance differences that I personally cannot quantify.

I also have some doubts about the ability to objectively evaluate a wheel's ride feel. It's a subjective characteristic, and expectations can easily interfere with our evaluations. I don't know a lot of people who do blind tests on dozens of wheels to determine what they like.

Thus, while I know it's BF dogma that one must have good/expensive wheels, I don't worry about it as long as the wheels are true and in good shape.