furiousferret

Today I upgraded my wheelset and got Mavic Open Pros/Ultegras with Michelin Tires (forget the model).

Prior to that I spent over a year on Alex DA55 wheels, and by the time I got rid of them, the front wheel was 'creaking'. My new wheelset is not any lighter, but it is built better and I really wanted a bulletproof wheelset.

Anywhos, I took the new set on its maiden voyage and broke my pr for my daily ride. Does a wheelset increase performance (ignoring weight issues)?

SDRider

Having gone from a set of cheap Alex wheels a couple years ago to a pair of lighter, more durable wheels I'd say that they definitely increased my confidence which was well worth the money I spent on the wheels. I had nothing but trouble from day one with my Alex wheels. I'd recommend your new wheelset over them any day.

TCR

Wow, now go buy a $1500 set and you'll be riding in the Tour next year.

urbanknight

It's all in your head, but whatever makes you ride faster is good.

operator

The heavier you are and the cheaper the wheelset is, the more likely you'll have problems. It also helps that you can check/retension and true the wheel before it hits the road (in case of machine built ones).

elgalad

Numbers don't lie. Whether it's an increase in wheel lightness/stiffness/aerodynamics or merely a placebo effect, if your average times over your training rides have decreased, then the wheels have made you faster.

orcanova

If you were going to upgrade one thing on your bike, wheels make the biggest difference. A few years back I upgraded from my training wheels, which were standard 32 spoke aluminum Campy rims with Mavic hubs, to a Campy Eurus wheelset, and I immediately found myself pushing one harder gear on a specific course, not to mention the Eurus, being much more aero, were completely silent.

badkarma

When you see an increase in performance due to wheelsets, it's usually the result of going from a non-aerodynamic set (i.e. Open Pros) to a deep-dish aerodynamic set (i.e. Zipps).

I imagine the difference between the Alex's and the Open Pros will be negligible at best, but now you have a set of bombproof, reliable wheels, so that's really the big advantage of your upgrade.

dtrain

New, higher quality hubs are responsible for a large amount of the difference. I recently upgraded from a stock set-up (similar to yours) to a pair of Mavic Cosmos. They aren't much lighter, but feel very smooth and roll really nicely.

FrankBattle 

New bike schwag always makes you faster. Even a new saddle or handle bar .. EVEN if they are the same brand/model and just new(er).

3rd law of buying speed on a bike.

Adagio Corse

Zipp claims that aerodynamic improvements in the rim can reduce your time by several seconds... if you're riding 40 kilometers. However, that's not to say that smoother rolling hubs and placebo can't take away a few more seconds, right?

alanbikehouston

Most wheels do a decent job at the speeds most of us ride. "High Tech" wheels can provide a few seconds advantage in a time trial at speeds of 30 mph or 35 mph. In the TdF last week, a guy in the time trial had one of those "ultra-light/ultra-aero" wheels come apart. Five minutes later, a second one came apart.

Unless you have a team car riding behind you with a spare wheel or a spare bike, you need a wheel that will get you where you are going. And, there is no wheelset more reliable than the one you selected.

zacster

When I upgraded my old Davidson steel bike's wheels from old-style 36h campy hub/mavic rim to Velomax Tempests I saw an immediate boost in speed. The new wheels were much lighter, were a lot more aero, and were a lot more solid as the old ones were, well, old and getting rickety.

These were my first (almost) new wheels in 20 years. They were silent and it felt like I was riding on air.

Which factor increased my speed? Who knows and who cares, I know I increased my standard loop by 1mph first time I rode them. And, more telling, when I rode the old wheels again they felt like lead and I couldn't get them moving.

My current wheels on my current bike are actually a downgrade from the Tempests and I keep looking to get new, but can't seem to find the $$$ in the budget for them. (Shimano tempests, Campy bike, oh well, and NO it doesn't work well enough to do it long term.)

curiouskid55

Pretty sure that was a Mavic solid rear that came apart during the tour TT. Unless it was a rebadged Alex. Not that has to do with anything.

LostBoizdown

I just replaced the wheels on my n-year-old Allez, from Mavic something-or-others (pretty sure it was open pros, whatever was stock when the previous owner bought the bike new) to the Ksyrium Equipe wheelset, and I noticed a 4 km/hr increase in my average and max sustainable speed.

But the best part of the new wheels was how much smoother the ride felt; they really eat up the road a lot better than the old ones did.

furiousferret

The main reason I think they may be faster is because maybe the Alex wheels have some bend/flex to them and may create rolling resistance, and the new set which does not have that would have better power transitions from the wheel to the road.

caloso

The Ultegras are probably better hubs too.

Phantoj

Some of the Michelin tires have really low rolling resistance. I'd expect a greater improvement from the tires than the wheels, because your new wheels aren't any lighter or more aero than the old ones.