So I’m fighting through a pretty decently sized case of buyer’s remorse and need some opinions. Let me start by saying that, especially this year, my focus will be primarily on road riding with just a few tris mixed in for fun. That being said, I just ordered my first set of “good” wheels after finding a great deal on a set of Ksyrium ES’s. I’d been looking into buying new wheels for a little to replace the stock wheels (Cosmic Elites) that came on my new bike from this past fall (Litespeed Siena). As I said before, my primary focus, at least for the time being, is simply riding…not necessarily tris.
So I’ve been counting down the days for the wheels to come and they finally showed up today. Only problem is that the second the wheels arrived I started considering sending them back or selling them. I’ve literally been spending all day debating in my head what to do. On the one hand, I can’t wait to try out the new wheels, and am especially excited for the weight savings and better feel during Ride the Rockies in a couple months. On the other hand, though, I’m wondering if these new wheels will just be more aesthetic than anything – and do I really need to spend more money on a bike?
So what are your thoughts? Will I notice a difference with the new wheels (better feel, bike more fun to ride/more responsive, increased speed), or should I save the money for something else?
Couple things to note:
The cost won’t be a huge hit to my budget, but who couldn’t use extra cash?
Other than the wheels arriving my day’s been relatively crappy, so this buyer’s remorse may be driven by my bad mood
If you think a wheel upgrade would be worth it, but these are not the wheels to get…I’m open to suggestions (note that they cost me $675, no tax, no shipping for the brand new wheelset. I will not pay more than this for wheels at this point…).
As I’ve already accepted spending the money, is there something besides wheels I could spend this money on which will improve my biking more than wheels?
Well I have a little different buyers remorse. I have a pair of Ksyrium ES wheels and absolutely have loved the wheels since the first time I put them on the bike. It sounds like you will be doing a lot of climbing and they are great wheels for that in my opinion. My remorse came because I got a pair of Cosmic Carbone SL Premiums recently and despite all of the studies etc that tell me the Carbones should be faster then the ES wheels because they are “more aero”, I really feel like I am faster with the ES wheels. I know all of the wind tunnel studies and all the experts tell me this is not the case, it just feels like the ES is faster for me. I don’t have any specific evidence to prove it. But rest assured I am not letting my ES wheels go anywhere even if I keep riding the Carbones in triathlons. That is a great wheel.
I hate being “that guy” who bumps his own post just to get more people to read it and respond, but I really feel like this board has an opinion on everything and can’t believe I can’t get more than one opinion (though it was a good one) on this. After sleeping on it I’m leaning more toward keeping the wheels now, just wanted to see what everyone out theres’ thoughts were too.
I guess the problem is that, while I trust my LBS, I still find it hard to get an unbiased opinion from somoene who directly benefits from selling me something. That being said, and being relateively new to the sport (just a few years for me), this is where I turn. Good enough sob story for you?
675 is a smoking deal for those wheels. I would keep them without a doubt. In my opinion, for what your focus is, the only way to get better wheels are carbon and will not cost 675 or even 2x675.
I think you will be happy when you ride them. Ride the Rockies will be a better experience when you drop a 1/2 lb of wheel weight.
I recently purchased a new road bike with the ES’s on them and so far they have been the best all around wheels I’ve ridden on. I had high end Campy on my previous bike and they had really bad wind shimmy, these are great in cross-winds and climb great.
You got a great deal and as the previous poster said, go ride em and enjoy!
I have had a set of SLs for about 5 years and they are the best wheels I have ever had. They are pretty quick and essentially bombproof. I don’t think they will ever need to be trued. You will love them and won’t know what you were thinking once you ride them. They look great too!
If you want to justify it a bit more take your elite’s and sell them, recoup a bit of cash. Easier to justify if its cheaper.