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Light Bicycle Wheels

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Light Bicycle Wheels

Old 08-19-21, 06:54 AM
  #1351  
Branko D
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You have spare wheels now, which can be handy for keeping, eg. a wider set of more durable tires for training or light gravel purposes, or if you break a rim / spoke / whatever but still need to go riding. Or, for instance, I just built myself a gravel bike out of repurposed parts and a new frame - mismatched wheels but it looks good.

Most manufacturers will save on wheels on everything which isn't top spec stuff. Buying something midrange and then eventually adding a pair of LB wheels is a lot more affordable route to get what is all in all a really good bike.
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Old 08-19-21, 07:04 AM
  #1352  
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Originally Posted by Branko D
You have spare wheels now, which can be handy for keeping, eg. a wider set of more durable tires for training or light gravel purposes, or if you break a rim / spoke / whatever but still need to go riding. Or, for instance, I just built myself a gravel bike out of repurposed parts and a new frame - mismatched wheels but it looks good.

Most manufacturers will save on wheels on everything which isn't top spec stuff. Buying something midrange and then eventually adding a pair of LB wheels is a lot more affordable route to get what is all in all a really good bike.
I see the logic, thanks. So you're saying that it's not recommended to upgrade wheels on an entry level bike right? At which minimum bike price would you consider it's worth upgrading wheels?

I'm a beginner and for now I follow one simple rule: the more I ride the more I will get fit. So I have a low budget road bike (Trek Domane AL2) + low budget gravel bike (Triban RC520) + low budget mtb (Vitus Sentier 29). It allows me to ride whatever the weather/surface. They all have crappy wheels of course so I'm wondering what would be the next step. Upgrading the bike or the wheels. Don't get me wrong my bikes are great (I would even say awesome) in their price bracket, I ask out of curiosity.

Last edited by Pulse_; 08-19-21 at 07:09 AM.
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Old 08-19-21, 07:06 AM
  #1353  
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Originally Posted by Pulse_
What are the benefits of upgrading wheels alone rather than re-sell the bike and upgrade for a bike with better wheels? I mean, is there a financial benefit to upgrade the wheelset rather than the bike? What do you do with the original wheels? I'm a noob, sorry for the basic questions.
The benefit of upgraded wheels, on a road bike, usually means lighter weight, and often some sort of aerodynamic rim profile.

These two things added together will change how a bike rides and handles in a positive way. Often the financial advantage to upgrading only the wheelset is that (a) selling a used bike usually nets very little money in relationship to the original cost of the bike, and (b) to get to an "upgraded" wheelset on a bike, often you'd be looking at the top one or two models in a model range, where buying in the midrange and then buying a wheelset may only be 60-70% of the price of the top end model, and the quality difference in components from the mid to the top is not nearly as stark as the wheels.

Keep the originals, shod them with a different set of tires for different riding. Cobblestones, for instance, or riding the farm roads that turn muddy when it is raining here.
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Old 08-19-21, 07:16 AM
  #1354  
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Originally Posted by Pulse_
...so I'm wondering what would be the next step. Upgrading the bike or the wheels.
That's an interesting question. Consider this, the single heaviest sub-assembly of most bicycles is the wheelset. I recently bought a gravel bike, a mid range offering with carbon frame, 1x Di2 shifting, and a very heavy (2.340g total) wheelset. For 1400€, I bought a new wheelset that in total weighs 1.560g. The bike is hugely more enjoyable to ride. To get a similar wheelset specified on a bike in that model range, I'd have had to buy an S-Works level bike at more than 10000€

Often times for a even several hundred Euros, one can get a lighter wheelset that wouldn't seem like an absurd purchase for an entry level bike, and if one is willing to get up in the 1000-1200 range you can get massively lighter wheelsets. Upgrading a whole bike would invariably cost much more, and the wheelset unless you're willing to buy an 8000-10000€ bicycle would likely not be as large of an improvement as a mid-range aftermarket wheelset.
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Old 08-19-21, 07:19 AM
  #1355  
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Originally Posted by Badger6
The benefit of upgraded wheels, on a road bike, usually means lighter weight, and often some sort of aerodynamic rim profile.

These two things added together will change how a bike rides and handles in a positive way. Often the financial advantage to upgrading only the wheelset is that (a) selling a used bike usually nets very little money in relationship to the original cost of the bike, and (b) to get to an "upgraded" wheelset on a bike, often you'd be looking at the top one or two models in a model range, where buying in the midrange and then buying a wheelset may only be 60-70% of the price of the top end model, and the quality difference in components from the mid to the top is not nearly as stark as the wheels.

Keep the originals, shod them with a different set of tires for different riding. Cobblestones, for instance, or riding the farm roads that turn muddy when it is raining here.
Ok, I see. So you might keep your wheelsets longer than the bike and re-sell the bike with its original wheels, right? Is it generally safe to buy quality wheels, but used? Is the obsolescence of wheels fast through the years?
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Old 08-19-21, 07:41 AM
  #1356  
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Originally Posted by Pulse_
Ok, I see. So you might keep your wheelsets longer than the bike and re-sell the bike with its original wheels, right? Is it generally safe to buy quality wheels, but used? Is the obsolescence of wheels fast through the years?
I have done that in the instances where I sold the bike. Wheels don't necessarily get obsolete. But, technology will improve over time. Generally, the improvements seem to be incremental except when they aren't, such as when the great leap forward from rim brakes being the standard on road bikes was suddenly supplanted by disc brakes in the last 2 years. To your question of used wheels: yes, with some conditions. It's important to ensure the rim is not cracked, especially at the nipple holes, or damaged at the bead seat, and that the hub flanges are not damaged. In general, bicycle wheels can be rebuilt indefinitely as log as none of those limiting conditions is present.
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Old 08-19-21, 07:56 AM
  #1357  
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Originally Posted by Badger6
That's an interesting question. Consider this, the single heaviest sub-assembly of most bicycles is the wheelset. I recently bought a gravel bike, a mid range offering with carbon frame, 1x Di2 shifting, and a very heavy (2.340g total) wheelset. For 1400€, I bought a new wheelset that in total weighs 1.560g. The bike is hugely more enjoyable to ride. To get a similar wheelset specified on a bike in that model range, I'd have had to buy an S-Works level bike at more than 10000€

Often times for a even several hundred Euros, one can get a lighter wheelset that wouldn't seem like an absurd purchase for an entry level bike, and if one is willing to get up in the 1000-1200 range you can get massively lighter wheelsets. Upgrading a whole bike would invariably cost much more, and the wheelset unless you're willing to buy an 8000-10000€ bicycle would likely not be as large of an improvement as a mid-range aftermarket wheelset.
Ok I get it . Now I want to purchase used wheels haha. The Domane AL2 is pretty light actually for an entry level bike (9.5kg). Is it possible to have the same wheel with a 8 speed and 11 speed cassette? 8 speed cassette wheels for rim brakes should be cheaper now, with the 11 speed/ discs becoming the new standard.
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Old 08-19-21, 08:10 AM
  #1358  
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Originally Posted by Pulse_
Is it possible to have the same wheel with a 8 speed and 11 speed cassette? 8 speed cassette wheels for rim brakes should be cheaper now, with the 11 speed/ discs becoming the new standard.
No, the freehubs that the cassettes are mounted to are different. Also, the rim construction for rim brakes is different than for disc brakes (no braking track is necessary on these). In fact, I'd say if you were to buy wheels for your current bikes, I'd only recommend it for the Triban. Though it is a low cost Decathlon bike, most quality wheelsets can have their end caps swapped, so a wheelset you put on the Triban with a QR dropout could very easily be converted to Thru-Axle later by changing the end caps on the hubs.

Unfortunately, the Trek while excellent as an entry level bike is sporting a drivetrain (8 speed) and braking system (rim) that will only become increasingly rare in the future. I'd ride the Trek until you are ready for a new bike, then look for the next with at least an 11-speed drivetrain and disc brakes, then consider wheels for that bike.
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Old 08-19-21, 04:28 PM
  #1359  
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Originally Posted by Badger6
No, the freehubs that the cassettes are mounted to are different. Also, the rim construction for rim brakes is different than for disc brakes (no braking track is necessary on these). In fact, I'd say if you were to buy wheels for your current bikes, I'd only recommend it for the Triban. Though it is a low cost Decathlon bike, most quality wheelsets can have their end caps swapped, so a wheelset you put on the Triban with a QR dropout could very easily be converted to Thru-Axle later by changing the end caps on the hubs.

Unfortunately, the Trek while excellent as an entry level bike is sporting a drivetrain (8 speed) and braking system (rim) that will only become increasingly rare in the future. I'd ride the Trek until you are ready for a new bike, then look for the next with at least an 11-speed drivetrain and disc brakes, then consider wheels for that bike.
Yep, I follow your reasoning. At first I wanted to buy the Triban RC520 only which is recommended as a 1st road bike because it's equipped with shimano 105 and discs for a cheap price. Sadly it was impossible to find in stock at the time so I pulled the trigger for the Trek. A few weeks later the RC520 was in stock (of course!) and I jumped on it. So now I have both. I knew I could resell both bikes fast so I told to myself "why bother, I can always keep only one bike afterwards or convert the RC520 in a gravel bike". I didn't even ride the RC520 for now but I love the Trek very very much. I don't know if it's the discovery of road cycling or this particular bike but I just love it. It costs 700€ and I maintain it like if it was a jewel. It's sensational to me and I'm not even exaggerating.
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Old 12-02-21, 01:34 PM
  #1360  
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LB ran a Black Friday deal where you could pay a $50 deposit and get the BF discount thru next Feb. That would be better for me because I can get the entire purchase comped next year by my company. It also means I have a month or so to decide on a build.

I'm leaning toward a flyweight WR50 front wheel because while I'm light at 64kg, I vastly prefer at least a 28mm front tire, and I could take it on some gravel with one of my bikes that has up to ~38mm of clearance. And because I'm light and enjoy climbing, thinking it makes sense to go a bit weight weenie with Carbon-Ti hubs, especially since LB told me that DT Swiss parts have a huge lead time and I wanted parts to convert between thru-axle and QR so I could use the wheels on two different bikes.

What I can't decide on are whether to go hookless (already converted to tubeless, not going back to tubes nor running pressures above 60 PSI), and whether to get a deeper rear, like the WR55 or even AR65. While I can get buffeted by crosswinds even on my shallow rims today, I'll also not purposely use these new wheels on super windy days until I gain confidence in them, so lightweight but providing pure flat speed in solo riding under not-too-wild conditions is what I'm after. Don't know if going 5mm deeper in the rear is even worth doing though, and the ARs are a non-Pro line so getting the finish to look the same might be a hassle.
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Old 12-02-21, 03:05 PM
  #1361  
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Okay .... sorry if I am missing all the points but I am multi-tasking but have a need to see myself type stuff online

I have several sets of Vuelta wheels, which get bad reviews from a lot of people but not apparently from people who use them. I have also bought a set of cheapish ($500) Chinese CF wheels .... In all cases, I can say that light wheels are a huge upgrade over bad, heavy wheels. If your bike's wheels are in the 1400-1800-gram range, you might not notice if you just knocked off a couple hundred grams .... and you pretty much have to get lighter, more supple tires along with the wheels, which might mean more flats ....

And yes, when you sell your older bikes, sell them with the original wheels. No one will pay you nearly what any of it is "worth" (in terms of what you paid) so keep the good parts.

I weigh a lot and use way fewer spokes than people suggest I should, but even so I find my wheels last quite well .... so I can recommend cheaper, lighter, better wheels. You can spend thousands of dollars on wheels, or you can spend hundreds on wheels the cognoscenti will ridicule, but if they can hold up me (eighth of a ton) I pretty much I have to think you can get by with a great set of wheels for under $500 and keep them for years.
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Old 12-02-21, 03:17 PM
  #1362  
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Originally Posted by surak
LB ran a Black Friday deal where you could pay a $50 deposit and get the BF discount thru next Feb. That would be better for me because I can get the entire purchase comped next year by my company. It also means I have a month or so to decide on a build.

I'm leaning toward a flyweight WR50 front wheel because while I'm light at 64kg, I vastly prefer at least a 28mm front tire, and I could take it on some gravel with one of my bikes that has up to ~38mm of clearance. And because I'm light and enjoy climbing, thinking it makes sense to go a bit weight weenie with Carbon-Ti hubs, especially since LB told me that DT Swiss parts have a huge lead time and I wanted parts to convert between thru-axle and QR so I could use the wheels on two different bikes.

What I can't decide on are whether to go hookless (already converted to tubeless, not going back to tubes nor running pressures above 60 PSI), and whether to get a deeper rear, like the WR55 or even AR65. While I can get buffeted by crosswinds even on my shallow rims today, I'll also not purposely use these new wheels on super windy days until I gain confidence in them, so lightweight but providing pure flat speed in solo riding under not-too-wild conditions is what I'm after. Don't know if going 5mm deeper in the rear is even worth doing though, and the ARs are a non-Pro line so getting the finish to look the same might be a hassle.
Oh man, I wish I would have seen that. I already have some hubs of my own, but was planning on getting some rims from them to build up a wheelset if my insurance settlement from getting hit by a car (and getting my bike wrecked as a result) ever comes through. Locking in the price for several months to wait until the settlement comes (hoping it would come in by then) would have been nice.
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Old 12-07-21, 09:41 AM
  #1363  
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Originally Posted by surak
LB ran a Black Friday deal where you could pay a $50 deposit and get the BF discount thru next Feb. That would be better for me because I can get the entire purchase comped next year by my company. It also means I have a month or so to decide on a build.

I'm leaning toward a flyweight WR50 front wheel because while I'm light at 64kg, I vastly prefer at least a 28mm front tire, and I could take it on some gravel with one of my bikes that has up to ~38mm of clearance. And because I'm light and enjoy climbing, thinking it makes sense to go a bit weight weenie with Carbon-Ti hubs, especially since LB told me that DT Swiss parts have a huge lead time and I wanted parts to convert between thru-axle and QR so I could use the wheels on two different bikes.

What I can't decide on are whether to go hookless (already converted to tubeless, not going back to tubes nor running pressures above 60 PSI), and whether to get a deeper rear, like the WR55 or even AR65. While I can get buffeted by crosswinds even on my shallow rims today, I'll also not purposely use these new wheels on super windy days until I gain confidence in them, so lightweight but providing pure flat speed in solo riding under not-too-wild conditions is what I'm after. Don't know if going 5mm deeper in the rear is even worth doing though, and the ARs are a non-Pro line so getting the finish to look the same might be a hassle.
What deal was this?
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Old 12-07-21, 05:31 PM
  #1364  
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Originally Posted by LAJ
What deal was this?
First time LB ran such a promo; pay $50 plus their PayPal convenience fee charge to get a promo code good for $50 plus whatever discounts they ran over BF/CM in the next couple months, which were 15% off their Pro line and 10% off non-Pro from their Global or EU warehouses.

I'm leaning back towards getting hooked rims just because it'll be a pain getting good hookless compatible tires, but still undecided about whether to get a deeper rear wheel. I suppose I should ask LB whether they can make an AR65 in the same finish as a WR50.
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Old 12-07-21, 06:40 PM
  #1365  
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Originally Posted by surak
First time LB ran such a promo; pay $50 plus their PayPal convenience fee charge to get a promo code good for $50 plus whatever discounts they ran over BF/CM in the next couple months, which were 15% off their Pro line and 10% off non-Pro from their Global or EU warehouses.

I'm leaning back towards getting hooked rims just because it'll be a pain getting good hookless compatible tires, but still undecided about whether to get a deeper rear wheel. I suppose I should ask LB whether they can make an AR65 in the same finish as a WR50.
I have a mismatched AR/WR set and they're identical 👌
55mm front and 65mm rear
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Old 12-07-21, 10:09 PM
  #1366  
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Originally Posted by SapInMyBlood
I have a mismatched AR/WR set and they're identical 👌
55mm front and 65mm rear
What finish do you pick to get them to look the same?
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Old 12-07-21, 10:37 PM
  #1367  
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Originally Posted by surak
What finish do you pick to get them to look the same?
Message them directly. They're super responsive and super helpful 👌
​​​​
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Old 01-11-22, 04:05 PM
  #1368  
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Anyone else place an order during the black friday sale? If so, have you received your order yet?

I ordered my AR45 set on 11/27, still hasn't been built yet. I've been checking on the status everyday to see progress. One has gotten to "QC" twice, only to start back over at "material prepare." I wonder how accurate that really is?
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Old 01-13-22, 02:58 PM
  #1369  
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Originally Posted by woodardhsd
Anyone else place an order during the black friday sale? If so, have you received your order yet?

I ordered my AR45 set on 11/27, still hasn't been built yet. I've been checking on the status everyday to see progress. One has gotten to "QC" twice, only to start back over at "material prepare." I wonder how accurate that really is?
Email and ask them
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Old 01-13-22, 07:10 PM
  #1370  
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Originally Posted by SapInMyBlood
Email and ask them
Yup. When I ordered my wheelset from them they were very responsive over email. In my experience their customer service was great and there was never any mystery about what was going on.
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Old 01-13-22, 08:11 PM
  #1371  
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Same with me. They answered very quickly to email.
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Old 01-13-22, 10:41 PM
  #1372  
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I've had the same experience.My last set of wheels, ordered from them late last spring, got caught up in the supply chain snafus and took much too long. BUT, when I emailed them about it, they were responsive and honest. Patience was required, and they did the best they could under challenging circumstances.
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Old 01-13-22, 11:48 PM
  #1373  
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Light Bicycle carbon rims are the real deal.

I thought I would add my 2 cents in this thread as I have recently bought a pair of LB carbon rims for a new gravel bike build. Customer service was exceptional from both asking questions to the ordering process. Emails were responded to promptly and ordering made-to-order rims on their website was very straight forward. It took about a month for the rims to arrive which was expected. What I didn't expect was a fairly comprehensive user manual with building tips including recommended spoke tensions.

I've laced and tensioned the first wheel and these rims build up really nicely -- these rims build up to a very solid wheel. I can report back once I've put some miles on the new build.


Carbon rims from Light Bicycle.
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Old 01-14-22, 07:57 AM
  #1374  
Hiro11
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I'm considering both the Falcon Pro WR50 and AR50s for a road bike. I want to run 28s on them. I think the WR50s will be a bit more aerodynamic while offering a wider footprint, has anyone tried to run tubeless 28s on the WR50?
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Old 05-03-22, 12:52 AM
  #1375  
zhoushenglin
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Cool, it led me pull the trigger on their X-flow/Wavy, aerodynamic (I saw the CFD chart) AR465.
lightbicycle.com/newsletter/Introducing-Falcon-Pro-AR375---AR465.html

Last edited by zhoushenglin; 05-03-22 at 01:00 AM.
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