Another thread got me thinking about these wheels. (They come stock on the '06 Cervelo Dual that I’m leaning toward.)
While I’d love to have a Hed3 and Disk I could throw on for racing, that just isn’t in the cards. Whatever I get on the bike will have to serve double-duty as a training & racing wheel. So, I’m curious if the Vistas will work out for me.
I am 205lb and ride pretty aggressively (love high speed descents and cornering). My usual training ground has a couple of railroad crossings that I don’t usually slow down for - just get out of the saddle and try to absorb the bumps. While I haven’t done one yet, I’d like to work up to 1/2-Ironman distance by the end of this year.
Is there something better (lighter, stronger, more durable) in the same price range that I should investigate swapping for, or will the Vistas serve me well enough?
I’m no wheel expert, but I don’t think there’s anything that would give you a significant advantage over the vistas in the same price range, unless you bought used. Even then, I would think you’d be hard pressed to find something that would make a noticable difference, assuming you’re staying in the price range of what the vistas cost new. Personally, I like the vistas, I raced on them last season. I train in a pair of spinergy stealth’s now, and I honesetly can’t tell a difference. I just think the spinergies look cooler.
I was thinking that at 205, you’ll probably be competing in the Clydesdale catagory. Vista’s only have 20 spokes in the front and 24 rear. The circuits that I have on my bike have 24/ 28. Both of these set are 2 cross in the rear. You might even be better off with a set of Mavics with 32 front/ 32 back 3 cross.
Look at the Excel Sports Cirrus and Nimbus at www.excelsports.com. They are heavier and a bit more expensive, but if you want only one set of wheels, this may be the way to go. Maybe your bike shop can swap your Vista’s with something similar.
I am 206 and have the vistas on my Kuota…seem to work fine and I tend to be a bit hard on equipment also…have had no problems and after a couple flats where I rode for a bit on the rim they are still true…seems like a good choice to me.
I’m 173 at the moment, but have been up over 180 on my Vistas.
I know it’s not 205, but I don’t have all the pavement-based skills, and basically forget to avoid obstacles all the time. It’s the MTB background, I think. Anyway, I’ve hit plenty of potholes, manhole covers, sticks, etc. and have gone up and down curbs on my Vistas.
Zero problems. Lighter in the price range? Probably. But not stronger and more durable. And certainly not cheap.
As the saying goes, Light, Durable, Cheap - pick 2. The Vistas are just fine. Not particularly aero, but you can get a wheel cover for that.
I’m going in to get a pre-fitting to see if the Dual frame is even going to fit me soon. I’ll see what they say about these wheels for me, and switching, if that’s what they recommend. Seems like most have had good luck with these wheels, though, so maybe they’ll be OK.
I don’t know whether these are significantly harder than other wheels. They’re not particularly easy.
Getting my conti tire on and off is horrific. I broke a lever last time i tried. I find that using the QR lever as an extra tire lever helps… probably not good for the rim, but it works when nothing else does. The stock Vittorias come on and off a bit easier, and I was crediting the tire rather than the wheel. But if I’m not the only one, maybe there’s something to your intuition.
Just checked… the spokes on my Vista wheelset are a higher gauge than those on my Circuits, so I think my assumption about the strength of the Vistas was probably BS, but I really don’t know too much about wheel building…