One wheelset? That would have to be ol' school Mavic Cosmics. 38mm deep, 16 spokes, rock-solid aluminum rim. Not particlarly light, but aero, durable, and versatile. Clincher or tubular - doesn't matter to me. I've got lots of both. The best part is you can often get a set off ebay for $200 or less.

Shamals or Ventos would also work.

What would be a better wheel set if one wanted to spend the money to race/train on them? The Zipp 404 or the HED Alps in clincher. Which would hold up better?



Thanks,

---

"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky

t-t-n.

I think there are a few more 'hazards' out there for a nice frame/components then a bit of water and road salt. If you are riding a bike everyday for training it is going to get chipped and dinged and bent especially if it is carbon or light weight aluminum.

I think you have made your point that you don't think Zipp 404's should be used as everyday wheels. The question was, IF you could only have ONE set of wheels....which ones, and tubular or clincher?

mn leaf. you have me there, pardner, on the issue of modern superlight stuff not being "forever" pieces of equipment. i will maintain that the wheel is where the rubber meets the road and so is more prone, but we have beaten that horse. incidently, i ride steel bikes ................. :)

but, on the topic of sew-ups for everyday use on one set of wheels. ahem - seriously? :) here is a story: long ago i had sew-ups as my daily wheels, as any wood soled cycling shoe and wool short wearing self respecting cycling nerd would do. then, in a span of one week i chanced to have 3 flats. the first wasn't too bad, i threw on the spare and rode home and then spent the time to properly glue the thing. the second was worse, as not only did i have to dink around with regluing upon ariving home but i was also now using a really old crappy tire that i had as my second spare. the third was worse still, as i actually had no spare and had to call a friend to come get me - plus i was now saddled with the task of either hasitly re-sewing and patching three tires ( a job that takes forever and is never really done right anyway) or going down to the shop 100 miles away round trip to spend several hunnie on new tires IF they even had them and if they did probably were not that decent, etc etc. 3 flats equalling several hunnie in cash, and untold hours of dicking around. instead, i took a pair of side cutters and cut those sew-up rims clean off the campy SR hubs, travelled to the shop, got some RIMS and spokes and built them back up as clinchers. LO !! now, if i get 3 flats it costs me 9 minutes and nine dollars and i am as good as new. no contest - could this be why for the everyday market quality clinchers have essentially killed sew=ups?? :) i think ya, it is. as for the "ride" of a sweet silk tubular.....fine, they sound cool. but - not that cool. and, how funny is it that in a day and age where guys will swear up and down that you can't tell the difference between steel and alu they wil say that you CAN between a sew up and a nice clincher ??? crazy. anyway, one set of wheels=clinchers - truly a no brainer. unless , that is, if you live in a condo and are single with no kids and lots of money and truly have more time and cash than you know what to do with. maybe some day that will be me again - till then my everyday wheels will be clinchers. :)

I wouldn't choose either of those for an everyday wheelset. But if you're holding a gun to my head, I would choose Zipp clincher rims built on Shimano, Campagnolo, or Mavic hubs. Boutique hubs always seem to have durability problems, especially in the rear. If this is going to be your everyday wheelset you are even more likely to encounter hub problems. If you can't build the wheels yourself, you can buy Zipp rims on Shimano hubs from Endurosport (Canada) or your local bike shop.

I've got an old Hed CX that I like, but the only new Hed wheel I would ever trust is a Hed3.

I put a set of Shimano WH-R540's on my bike.I train and race on them.I think they look pretty good but not as cool as Zipp or HED but I still like them. I'm starting to see more of them at races.But I never see anything said about them on this forum.Was they a bad choice? They only cost me $300.

Dave
PS here is what I have.

that's a choice you don't need to make. Get clincher training wheels at Nashbar for less than $100 (about the cost of one good tubular tire), and buy 404's for racing. The 404's will last you the rest of your racing life. I'd incline to use clinchers even on the 404's in this case. My insensitive butt feels no difference between Conti Sprinter tubulars and Michelin Pro Race clinchers..

For example, Mavic CXP22 / Shimano 2200 Road Wheelset at Nashbar,
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=131&subcategory=1197&brand=&sku=9580&storetype=&estoreid=

---

"It is a good feeling for old men who have begun to fear failure, any sort of failure, to set a schedule for exercise and stick to it. If an aging man can run a distance of three miles, for instance, he knows that whatever his other failures may be, he is not completely wasted away." Romain Gary, SI interview

I just ordered a set of Zipp 404's in clincher's, thanks for the help....

---

"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky

Just one set of wheels?? McLaren F1. Don't know if I'd want to put a bike rack on it though.

I have 404 clinchers and am very happy with them though I have switched from clincher tires to Tufo Tubular-clincher tires.