shovelhd

They could have reset it for you.

Life is treating me like dog****. I retired from racing last year for medical reasons but I have stayed in the sport by club riding, Zwift, becoming a USAC official, and by promoting races.

jsutkeepspinnin

Sorry to hear man, at least you are helping the sport continue to grow by becoming a USAC official and setting up races. I have been so out of touch with the cycling world, so i figured I should try to at least see a few familiar faces haha!

TheKillerPenguin

canuckbelle

Thinking of picking up some Vision Metron 55 tubulars for $1000 (lightly used, I know the owner, with tires). Yes?

Current race wheels are Reynolds 46 clinchers.

Doge

I would think overbuilt for you - racing. But if you want them consider new campy for about $100 more, Shimano for $300 more.
https://www.bike24.com/p282848.html
Using Bike24 data

What I like:
Rear wheel lacing.
Way strong

What I don't:
1520g
Brass nipples.
Sapim AERO bladed spokes - Sapim is a great brand, but I know of the Race and cx-Ray. I think these are lower end.

canuckbelle

What do you mean by 'overbuilt'?

Hida Yanra

a set of DA 9000 tubulars c50 went for sub 500 on the 'bay a few days ago...
Two weeks ago I bought a set of DA c50s w/ high-end, new-ish rubber and an Ultegra cassette for sub 475...
there have been multiple sets of 808s and 404/808s go for 800-850.
HED stuff is cheaper on the 2nd hand market than Zipp, and Stinger 6s are great wheels -

So, "NO"

Doge

Very few (I did) use tubulars as everyday wheels. As such, there is just too much material there for a racing wheel.
If that is a daily rider - I take it back.


Then again, I'm (for junior) are a go big or go home for single day races. So I spec light. Those are not light.

Hida Yanra

This quickly gets to the idea of replacement cost, and long(er) term cost projection.

wheels that are "light", but not light enough to be in your terms a "daily rider" are more likely to fail, and the only time of the year I'd ever dive full speed through a brick gutter, or take a line others are avoiding because of a gap/manhole cover - well, that'd be while I was racing.

It depends on the individual, but given that plastic wheels are a bit of a cost item - if I'm paying for them, I'll be getting ones that I am less likely to replace.
Buying once >> Buying twice because I broke the rim on a pothole.

I just bought a set of c50s, and they aren't the most aero thing out there, but they are some of the strongest, and that absolutely factored into my decision.

canuckbelle

11spd? I haven't seen any going for less than about $1000 for the set.

Hida Yanra

Not the set I bought, but one I had my eye on....


of note, milling down the freehub body is a 100% way to make 10s free hub bodies into 11s -
There are various guides online for how to do it - I'd take it to a metal/engineering shop, they'll do it cheap.
quite importantly - you only want to do this with steel or Ti FHBs - alloy ones tend to crack with less material there.
so, DA/WI or others of that ilk.

Hida Yanra

There's been piles of deep tubular wheelsets over on Paceline for 600-800 over the last months.

Aeolus sets for 700ish
Zipps for 800ish
Open label stuff w/ White Industry hubs for 400-500.....

deals are out there

canuckbelle

I believe you...if I knew what to look for (e.g., when it's safe to buy used carbon from someone I don't know).

Doge

All you say is true but there are a few things we know.
We know tubular.
We assume for racing vs training.
We know gender of racier and approximate speed of the group she competes in.
We know relative weight of rider and what she sees as her strong suit (sprinting).
And she has shared where she races.
She has posted pictures of her race bike.

So I'm not thinking she is hitting pot holes, doing cobbles, training on them or using as daily riders. I think these are for racing - for her, in high level women's races by a sprinter.
Certainly we don't want things folding under her, but these are not Paris Roubaix wheels - they are too heavy.

canuckbelle

All correct. These would be race-only wheels. My spares would be my current race wheels: Reynolds 46 clinchers. I'm 170-175lbs racing PRT and regional crits/RRs. And yes...sprinter

FWIW, some of the races do have some really messy roads (North Star Grand Prix, for example).

Hida Yanra

Anyone (really, actually, anyone) can break a set of light wheels in a single pot-hole, and I've been in the eastern seaboard enough to know that RR tracks/bad pavement/holes do in fact exist. So, while I don't think she'll be training on them, I have seen enough smashed 404/808/whatevers to believe that a more robust rim/wheel combo has some advantages for any racer buying their own gear in an expensive sport. Different people view and spend their money differently - my point was that there's an argument for at least taking a look at lifecycle cost, and that includes looking at durability as well as upfront cost.


A sprinter, going hard can without question destroy a set of wheels - it only takes one.
Maybe that's not how you'd do it - maybe that's not how random person X off the street would do it, but it's worth thinking about.

As an aside - @canuckbelle, I was moving away from being an active poster around when you were figuring the sport out - and wanted to say, "hats off", you've come a long way and when I looked it up, you've had some great results - well done.

Doge

Local crits, RR's and PRT (stage races) all ideally have different wheel selection. Anyway, I'd suggest you go lighter wheels and focus on tires.
I was not about to post weight :-), but yea - too overbuilt for you.

Switching tires for events is not practical, so pick your best fit (or buy another set). Maybe North Star you do on last year's set and make these your light fair weather sprinter set (we live in SoCal - so biased). $1,000 gives you a lot of used tubular options on eBay.

For reference junior was riding Flanders cobbles on 1110g wheels (trick setup) and junior Paris Roubaix on 1250g.
He cracked a set riding over the parking curbs (5"high) but finished the race up front. With big 25.5 tires those handled everything except water. He's < 150# but never saw a pot hole worth dodging.

Doge

First - as you said - anyone, and any wheel can break under certain situations. So don't do that.

This was the go big or go home philosophy we went with. As I posted a PRT stage race would have different wheel selection.

In a PRT/stage race - the goal is to win the GC (normally). So riding a heavier wheel increases the chances of being there at the end.

But in a single day it is 1st and maybe the podium that is remembered. So taking the risk of flatting and not finishing seemed good. Junior generally had a faster lighter setup than those he competed against. He had several races he didn't finish due to equipment issues, and more he won. I think if he'd been on a robust set of wheels he would have finished more and won less. In the end, it is risk/reward. For us - nobody cared about nth place. So the choice is/was easy.

canuckbelle

...like this?

canuckbelle

Thanks!! Still a lonnnnng way to go! But it's been exciting, and this forum has been extremely helpful.

Doge

Those look like a nice PRT/RR/climbing set. I could not find specs in https://reynoldscycling.com/ and as they say "Custom" I would not expect to. I don't know spoke specs, but Reynolds is a good brand and weight conscious. Being lower profile they should be <1,200g and they are. They are also narrower. The width is not as important on a RR as it is on the crit, and is the likely reason they are discounted. These would pair well with a 22-25mm tire, maybe the 23 being what they were designed for. The Pro's Closet is a reputable seller. Got juniors' FELT DA2 there. So their price is likely fair and on the lower side.

I think for crit riding and sprinting for rider of your weight a 40-55mm profile, 24/25mm wide would be more what is expected. You could go a few less spokes on a larger profile, but 24/20 would also be normal.

These are also internal nipple. Internal nipples fit a larger profile wheel even better (where it is assumed speed is higher). I like internal nipples, but to true you need the tire off (or rip that section off - not good). So be aware of that.

canuckbelle

Thanks. I just don't really see finding 40-55mm wheels, that are light, and <$1500.

Doge

I didn't either. That set you found was good! I'd favor those over that original set.
Just narrower and lower profile than what is currently popular. They would accelerate very quickly. They are not the typical high end sprint configuration. I do watch some women's racing - nationals and local (and married a very talented one) the speeds are slower than the classic guys Cat 1/2 crit and therefore wheel aerodynamics matter less. Meaning those are a good choice. The Shimano guy was commenting to junior last week that they see lower profile fewer spokes faster than higher profile more spoke. Which is not the way wheels normally come - higher profile normally have fewer spokes.

Go-Big-Or-Go-Home shoes = Veloflex Records 22mm, 190g - super fast.
Otherwise Specialized has some great 24mm rubber and lots of choices in the 23-25 range.

If you are doing PRT races you may benefit from asking sponsors. They like their stuff out there at PRT level. There is/was more benevolence toward juniors for free stuff but it would not surprise me if a few calls from you got some discounts. Worth a try.

canuckbelle

Thanks again Very helpful.

We're with Vittoria, so I'll be using their tires.

topflightpro

I think I've seen some Boyd tubulars in the 40-55mm depth on Online Swap Meet on Facebook for about $600.