ArgoMan

Hi all. I'm soliciting your advice regarding an appropriate wheel set. I'm building a bike for my son, age 15. He's showing some real talent on his current bike and I think he deserves an upgrade, without breaking the bank. I purchased a really nice Fuji frame set (aluminum frame with carbon fork) and want to pair it to a nice set of wheels, but nothing high-end. I'm looking for aluminum wheels that area a bit more on the "racy" side, as opposed to pure endurance wheels. I want to avoid carbon. We ride is basically a flat desert area, no hills or descents to speak of. The roads are pretty well maintained. Out biggest concern are punctures from thorns and sharp organic debris (lots of it!) I have been searching ebay and other sites for a quality used set, as I'm not trying to break the bank. I see some Fulcrum Racing wheels 24/20 for $110-$150 range, various Mavics in the $100 to $200 range, entry Shimanos. My son won't be logging hundreds of mile a week, mind you. He does about 5 miles daily, several time a week, but hard riding. What are your thoughts? Thank you!

thin_concrete

Can you do any wheel maintenance yourself? If so, Craigslist, FBMP, and the like might be good resources.

bruce19

Mavic Aksiums are bullet proof. A really good beginner wheel imo.

Russ Roth

https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/v...0c-218060.html
https://cambriabike.com/collections/...d-wheelset-oem

At the end of the day racier looking still isn't anything special below a certain price point. And really that price point is a good way up there though it doesn't have to include carbon. In the range you're looking at I'd mostly stick with shimano or mavic as they have a history of decent reliability, though the vision wheels I posted seem kinda nice too. I assumed rim brake since you don't specify. In that vein, you also might want to cruise the used options on ebay. Rim brake wheels are going cheap and I'd far sooner pay 400 for a used king/white ind/i9 wheelset with open pro/velocity a23/or similar than 200 for an entry level wheelset. If punctures are a real problem I'd consider tossing tubeless sealant in the tubes, I do this on my kids' cross bikes since thorns can be a real problem. The last time I swapped her tire around there was sealant between the tire and tube showing she'd gotten a puncture but no one ever noticed and I couldn't tell you how long ago so the idea has merit IMHO.

Since the kid likes to ride, get involved and add miles. My 8yo and I went out for an 8 mile night ride around the local state park and he has no problem riding 15 miles as a regular ride. My 13yo regularly does 30 milers and even 40 milers though its hard to do 40mi around us without getting bored of the ride. Sign the pair of you up for a couple local races and have some fun. Careful though, if he gets addicted it can get expensive.

Jrasero

DT Swiss R470. I would guess you will find a lot of these secondhand or as takeoffs from a lot of bikes. My guess $250 on Facebook marketplace

Bald Paul

Rim or disc brake? QR or through axle? Number of speeds on cassette, and what type?

Silver02M5

This sounds a bit odd, but I have had great luck combing local ads to find a complete bike that has a great aftermarket wheelset. You buy the bike, swap wheels with your son's, then put it back on the marketplace. You will be shocked by how many people will sell a $400 bike that has a wheelset that cost $1200 new. Best of luck.

msu2001la

I think these would all probably work fine. I bought a cheap set of Shimano Ultegra wheels several years ago for like $300 and they were bombproof, and relatively light. I'd have no hesitation buying another set of pre-built Shimano wheels.

That said, if I were you I'd spend a little time playing around on prowheelbuilder to get an idea of what's available, how much things cost, and maybe contact a local shop to see if they can build something similar.

Jughed

My son is on a set of Roval Fussee 25's. Fairly light, smooth riding... you can find them from time to time in that price range.