cormacf

51 years old, weekend rides usually around 60 miles down the coast (often with a heavy crosswind, which could be annoying if I had super-deep wheels, maybe?). I do centuries now and then, and I'd like to start doing more randonneuring en route to a bucket list 2027 PBP. Hoping to also do an Everesting (probably a slow one) in the next year.

Primary roadie is a Lynskey Sportive Disc with Ultegra 8020 and older (pre-tubeless) Mavic Ksyrium Elite Disc wheels.

Given that I'm not racing and I'm not particularly chasing deep aero shapes, would upgrading to a carbon wheelset be something I'd notice? It would probably be something relatively inexpensive (like a Hunt 30 Disc set) if I did.

Thanks!

Koyote

No.

joesch

Your Lynskey Sportive Disc is a great setup and TI frame with Ultegra 8020 / Mavic Ksyrium Elite Disc wheels is should really be a great ride for your coastal cruising. That is a wonderful ride that I always enjoy. I would not consider going to carbon wheels unless your wanting to improve PR's on the hills or compete with faster riders.

BTW, I love riding and showing off my classic steel bikes on the OS <> Del Mar rides.

beng1

Between the age of 40 and 80, people who maintain physical fitness lose half of their ability to pull oxygen from the air they breathe, so now is always the best time to try for personal bests once you are older.

Light parts do not translate into speed very well because although one particular wheel may be ten or twenty percent lighter than another, say a pound lighter for both wheels, one pound is probably only a half of one percent of the total weight of the rider and bike together. The heavier the rider the less effect lighter bike parts will have.

Top quality tires, according to one well-known cycle shop can be ten times more effective in giving a rider more speed than aero rims or lighter rims. An Aero riding positions is king, racing tire rolling resistance is second, everything else is not worth it unless you are a pro with a real career.

An aero riding position is even more time-saving for slower riders, because it takes them much more time to finish a race than a pro, they save much more minutes overall.

Troul 

if what you have now is in need of repair, & are thinking about trying out something different, now is the time to consider it. What I wouldn't do is go cheap with the hubs. Try setting up the experience of something different to be a positive one.

Sometimes going from the best of a low budget thing to a very low budget of something that has a high expectation will ultimately skew the results.

Barry2 

For an Alloy wheelset the Mavic Ksyrium Elite was very light.

The Alloy Mavic Ksyrium Elite UST Disc I own are about 1520g/pair.
My Carbon Mavic Cosmic SLR 45 Disc are deeper and 1440g/pair

Yes 80g lighter, but the real benefit is they are deeper.
If it's windy out, I ditch my Cosmic bike (R5) and switch to my Ksyrium bike (R3).

Personally I went with the carbons just because I wanted some carbons, performance didn't enter into it being that I'm 59 and slow.

All the best

Barry

superdex

YES. We're the same age, and similar riding preferences. ~4 years ago I bought a set of LightBicycle 45mm carbon clinchers. Still amazed at the difference. If you have regular crosswinds, I wouldn't go deeper than 45, but 45 is a great all-round depth...

edit: I dug up the link to the rims: https://www.lightbicycle.com/U-shape...ompatible.html

LarrySellerz

There is this idea that unless you are racing you don’t “need” nice stuff, or it’s somehow “wasted” on you. I don’t get it, I think you’d notice faster wheels and enjoy them (I don’t have any experience with carbon wheels, but think you should consider them because you ride long distances.)

people often have the money to buy nice bikes after they are old enough that they would never touch their personal bests set in their youth on clunkers, and that’s just part of life.

Koyote

The OP is talking about cf wheels which will, at best, be only a handful of grams lighter, and not much more aero, than the wheels he's already got...And he asked "would upgrading to a carbon wheelset be something I'd notice?"

Answer is 'no.'

I'm not saying he shouldn't buy them. That's a related, but separate question.

VegasJen

Interesting. For a tube/clencher wheel, is there a type that's faster than others? (I've heard something about latex or silicone or something, but don't remember the details.) Or do you need to switch out to tubeless or glue or some other kind of magic? I've been playing with the idea of upgrading a wheelset, but if I can find a tube/tire combo that will give me roughly equal or better performance for a fraction of the cost, I would rather do that.

LarrySellerz

idk how nice his current wheels are, but from my understanding typical advice for “what can I buy to make my bike faster” the answer of “aerodynamic wheels” is a relatively cheap worthwhile option. In fact I thought that after tires, the wheels would be the next most economical change.

shelbyfv

OP specified what he has in his first post.

Barry2 

And they are nice !
I like them so much I have a pair
Mine are also nice!

Link to how nice they are

alcjphil

I think that it is always useful to go back to the original question
OP, you ride often on coastal roads presumably often with crosswinds. Deeper rims will equate with more difficulty handling your bike. More expensive wheels have been optimized for better handling, but you claim that price is a consideration. You say that you are interested in Everesting, therefore light weight is a big consideration at the slow pace you will do. You want to do PBP which involves a lot of climbing, but speed on the flat isn't a big consideration. If you want carbon fibre rims on your wheels, don't cheap out, find high quality wheels that are as light as possible. Don't worry about rim depth, the lightest ones will have relatively shallow rims

LarrySellerz

yeah it meant nothing to me

Koyote

Then why are you offering an opinion?

genejockey 

Huh. And here I was under the impression that aerodynamic drag increases as the square of velocity.

asgelle

As the cliche goes, two things can be true at once.

tFUnK

Absolutely, latex and TPU inner tubes are a significant upgrade over standard butyl tubes (though there are lightweight, performance oriented butyl tubes offerings as well). As for tires, the difference between a racing tire and a training tire can be significant as well, with mileage and puncture protection being trade-offs. While the Conti GP 5k is considered a training tire, it's well accepted that it is a comfortable and fast tire.

tFUnK

Agree with Koyote and alcjphil above.

tomato coupe

Fundamental law of consumerism -- the more you spend, the more likely it is you will notice a difference.

shelbyfv

GhostRider62

Take what I write with a big grain of salt, I've only done PBP 3 times and only raced my bike cross the USA once. You don't need new wheels.

But, a wide internal width carbon tubeless rim with good sealant will not flat as often, the much stronger carbon rim will stay in true probably forever, it will be a little more aerodynamic, and the wider internal width combined with a relatively wider tire width will roll better and faster than a fatter tire on a narrow rim. Worth it? Who knows. Personally, I spend on cycling stuff because I am old and have nothing better to spend it on. If I can save two watts, I am interested at a certain price per watt. Wheels and tires are more than a couple of watts. You have to decide your price. If you are committing to the time and cost to quality for PBP and travel there, $1500-1700 on a set of Firecrest 303 is relatively trivial

https://www.sram.com/globalassets/pu...explained2.pdf

terrymorse 

But @beng1 has a point. A small increase in speed produces a bigger time savings if you are out on the course longer.

TiHabanero

OP hasn't really defined what he is looking to gain with a new wheelset. If it is simply consumerism driving this "need", then who cares what the gains are as that is not the primary reason for making the purchase, is it?