I would love to be able to afford a set of wheels only for races,but would rather invest in a set that I could use all the time. If I wanted to drop some coin on wheels (clinchers,probably)whats are the suggestions. Just buildMav open Pro’swith good hubs? Some help here. 40mm depth? Thanks Kenney
cosmic carbones are an everyday wheelset and pretty aero. I like mine and always use them
Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra hubs would be fine. Velocity Deep V wheels would work as well. They are absolutely bullet proof. You can find Easton Circuits on sale for pretty cheap these days as well. Any of these would make a great choice.
Mike
P. S. Check out www.chucksbikes.com. He has some good deals on wheels over there.
I’m going to give you an approx. $500. solution to your problem.
You need good all round wheels. I researched the market very carefully and concluded there is nothing more bang for the buck, quality for the dollar than Neuvation M28 Aeros. They’re bombproof and offer what other wheels costing twice or more have. Read the website: http://www.neuvationcycling.com/
Now for your racing wheels. For the rear all you need is a custom cut disc cover that for $65. will perform as well as any other disc in a wind tunnel. These are available from wheelbuilder.com and will be cut to fit your rear M28.
For the front, go on ebay and pick up a used Hed Jet, Hed Cx, Zipp 400 or Campagnolo Shamal. Should be able to get one of these for around $150. You could even use the front Neuvation M28 Aero if you’re in a financial pinch since it’s got a semi-aero 27mm dish and only 16 spokes.
If you want an all around semi-aero yet semi-everyday wheel maybe see if you can find some Rolf Vigors on Ebay, or American Classic 420s. Or I like cerveloguy’s option of picking up a set of cheap training wheels and seeing what you can do with two to three hundred on ebay or the classifieds here.
American classic 420s or Reynolds Alta Race clinchers
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Thanks for the info. However I think some of the other posters have the wrong idea. If I am going to spend 500 to 1000 on a set of wheels, I want to use them all the time,not sitting in a closet. Do you think buying the ones you suggested are better or equal to the brand names? Can someone really use Zipps or Heds everyday.Are the hubs any better ? Thanks
Hed Alps. My Alps front stays on my tri-bike almost permanently. The only reason the rear isn’t the same is that I ride a PT hub most of the time and I haven’t had a rear Alps built yet.
I’ve been training in the same pair of mavic cosmic elite for over 6 years. After a few years hiatus, I see they’re back on Mavic’s lineup - $450.
Campy Eurus G3
Aero: ‘Medium’ profile with bladed spokes. not super aero, but OK. Deep enough that you notice cross winds and that they spin nicely around 40kph
Hubs: Record (anything else is a compromise)
Weight: About 1500 grams, accelerate and climb pretty well.
Other: Clincher, G3 spoking (extra spokes on drive side on rear), durable (at 80kg+ I have done about 20,000km on mine, including crashes). Can integrate with Shimano using freewheel body. Similar to Ksyriums, except good. Probably inside your budget in USD. Realistic spoke count. alu braking surface.
Everyone thinks their own wheels are the best, my advice is different because… umm… oh well… maybe I’m not not different
There are a couple of pretty good reason to have a second set of race-only wheels if you can manage it.
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They will be true and in good condition.
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You will have a new tire mounted, so you will be less likely to have a flat from an overworn tire.
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I don’t know how easy it is to install the wheel covers, but taking them on an off the same set of wheels might be a pain. I would not want to ride a wheel cover/disc where I am because it is very windy here.
Also, there is no such thing as semi-aero. It either offers benefits, or it doesn’t. The consensus is that 40mm or so is the minimum depth that offers any aero benefit over a box section rim. 30mm rims are just heavier than a regular box-section rim but perform the same. Although, they are pretty strong.
Chad
“Can someone really use Zipps or Heds everyday”
From what I’ve seen, Heds are more reliable than Zipps as all round everyday training wheels, although others may have different experiences.
I used Hed Jets as race/training wheels but eventually a rear hub exploded after a few years of regular use. I know a guy who uses Hed Alps as his training wheels and has no problems but he saves his Zipps as race wheels.
In contrast I know three guys who have destroyed Zipp 303 or 404’s using them for other purposes than just race day. 404’s seem to crack rims and 303’s blow spokes in their experiences. Zipp’s are terrific race wheels, possibly the best, but not that many owners also use them for also for training.
I’ll stick to my original advice. Get a bombproof set of training wheels, a disc cover and a used aero front off ebay.
If you want more info on wheels go on roadbikereview.com and read the reviews. You’ll get a good cross sections of opinions on that site.
I like cerveloguy’s idea. Say…200 bucks for Ultegra/Open Pro. Aero front wheel (HED Alps, HED 3…) 250-300 on E-bay. 50 bucks for a CH Aero cover. For right around 500 bucks you would have both training and racing solutions.
Mike
I’ve been thinking about the same thing… if i had to pull the trigger today, it’d probably be a set of bontragers. From what I’ve read, they have a pretty good combo of being aero and bombproof. But this is very much a back burner project for me, I haven’t done all that much research on it yet, and haven’t ridden on them. It does seem like there are places where you can have them put on your bike to try them out.
-charles
Without a doubt for training wheels…Velocity Spartacus Pros. They use the bulletproof deep V (30mm) rim profile and get the 20/24 spoke pattern. I have over 8000 miles on my front wheel and haven’t trued it once. It’s still perfectly true and round and the bearings are still very smooth. At $280 for a set they are absolutely unbeatable.
www.superspokes.com has them cheap.
i have been using hope hubs on my opens for years and they have been just great. i have a hed 3 front, and four other sets of mavics, kysrium, open and carbone’s…i wouldnt buy myself an aero wheel until i broke 2.30 for a .5 mary bike split on regular wheels, i dont think aero wheels make a big difference and you should do fine on the opens etc. i got my hed 3 for the looks.
cerveloguy, this seems like a very practical remedy for this frugal triathlete. Some follow-up questions regarding your solution … Since the disc would be a temporary thing, how fast and how much damage from putting the disc on / removing the disc for each race? In other words, am I damaging the wheel or disc by installing / removing for races? Lastly, from an asthetic standpoint, how “ghetto” does this solution look?
Unless you’re using a hammer, there should be no damage when you change wheels.
It takes about 15 minutes to put the covers on if you clean the cassette, 10 minutes to take off. There is no damage. Certainly not as elegant looking as a “real” disc but as far as I’m concerned it does the job. (wheel is velomax (now easton) circuit. Got the H3 used from ST for $300. For ~$400, it would be hard to get more performance.
“how “ghetto” does this solution look?”
There’s a picture of a custom trimmed cover on a Zipp 404 on the website. It looks quite professional, much better job than when I trimmed my own for my Hed Jet.
They’re actually quite easy to take off/put on, but you’ll need a cassette remover tool. No reason why it would hurt your wheel.