I am looking to get a new wheelset but I am on a pretty tight budget so I am looking for something rather inexpensive but I want something lightweight. I don’t care about having some fancy name brand, just something lighter then my 1600g wheelset i have now.
What’s your budget?
A couple of good “budget” options:
American Classic 350: I got a new set for $400 from my LBS, look around. 1350 to 1400 grams
Odds and Endos: SpeedCific with 30mm Niobium rims $389 1500 grams
Odds and Endos: SpeedCific with Velocity hubs $299 1530 grams
It honestly depends on what my new powerbook is going to cost but definately under $500 and preferably under $300. My wife loves that I do tris but there are too many expenses to go crazy on a wheelset.
You will not be faster getting a wheelset “lighter” than 1600g…unless you are planning on racing up mountains. You need to look for more “aero”…and you can find these sorts of wheels all day long on Ebay…old Hed Jets or Cx’s make great wheels and you’ll get them within your budget as well. These wheels will still be in the 1600-1700g range, but will be significantly faster than whatever your current non-aero set is.
If you can’t find truly aero wheels (experts say that means something 38mm or more, meaning Zipp 303 or deeper)…then the ones you have will serve you just as well as anything else you would spend $$ on.
Here is just one example of a wheel that will work extremely well:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=58098&item=7160062225&rd=1
There are many others.
Not totally light, but a good mid-range wheel:
Shimano R-540’s.
Take a look at some of the wheel sets available at Chuck’s Bikes:
I bought a set for some inexpensive training wheels and am very happy with the transaction and the wheels.
Jay
I am actually also trying to shave weight off of my bike. It was 21lb when I got it and now it’s down to 19lb. Yes aero would be good but with the climbing I do I want it lighter until I can afford a new, better bike.
I’m in the process of building a new set of wheels now. I purchased a set of 24 hole Ritchey WCS hubs off ebay for $50. Ordered the Niobium 30 Rims from Mike @ Odds and Endos. I’m building them with AE15 spokes front and NDS rear, and DB14 DS rear. Total weight will be right at 1600g. Total price under $210.
You could lighten things up quite a bit by going with lighter hubs - conceviably dropping ~150g with some of the ultra light hubsets. You could also swap out the Niobium 30 for a Aerohead or the IRD Cadence rim and drop another 100g or so, though you might want a higher spoke count if you’re not using a deeper dish rim.
FWIW - 1600g is pretty light for a relatively inexpensive clincher wheelset - especially if you’re at all concerned about durability. Getting much lower than that will require lighter hubs (expensive) or lighter rims (less durable, or more expensive if carbon)