I guess my basic question is whether or not I can find a single wheelset to meet all my needs or if I’m going to end up needing multiple sets. Here are the details (sorry in advance if this gets long) …
First and foremost, the wheels are for a road bike. I understand that as I start doing more tri events, I’ll likely want a dedicated tri bike, but that’s not in the cards (budget) right now and likely won’t be for a few years. I’d rather participate in these events now, even on a road bike as opposed to waiting to get a tri bike and potentially losing motivation along the way. My budget is somewhere in the $500 to $700 range, but could be stretched a bit for the right wheels. I’m part of a local club that gets 20% off MSRP for wheels at the LBS who can get just about anything imaginable. I’m also willing to consider used wheels that are in good shape. The wheels need to be clinchers (700c if it matters) and be available with a Shimano / SRAM cassette body.
I’m 6’0" and weigh 175 pounds (I’ve been at that weight for about six weeks … down from 225 at the start of the year). I ride between 100 and 150 miles a week which covers all kinds of terrain. I do some climbing, some rollers, and some fast flat rides. I do solo rides and group rides plus some charity events / centuries. And I’ll use this bike (and the wheels) for a few sprint and Olympic triathlons this year and beyond. Roads are typically in good condition and I don’t see many pot holes. I am generally very easy on my gear.
The current set of wheels on my bike is heavy and the hubs (especially the rear) have a lot of drag. Adjusting the bearings all the time isn’t ideal. I’m ready to invest in some wheels that I won’t have to tinker with all the time. Of course a little bling on the bike is never a bad thing either. 
I think that covers all the details … let me know if there’s anything else that would be helpful.
Now, here’s what I want. I’d like a wheelset that is durable, aero / semi-aero, not too heavy, and not too expensive. Does such a thing exist?
To put those requirements in a bit more context, I’ll say that I don’t want full carbon rims. They put wheels out of my price range, they are potentially too fragile for everyday riding, and from my experience a few years back on a set of Reynolds carbon clinchers, braking performance was lacking. That said, I am open to options with carbon rims / fairings and alloy braking surfaces. I saw the Soul S4.0 wheels and they look decent, especially for the price. They’re not quite as tall as something like the Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels, but they’re roughly the same weight and they use standard spokes. Of course the Cosmic Carbones are also an option since I can get a used set from 2008 or 2009 for around $675 locally. This is about as deep a rim as I’d want to go with.
Of course the flip side to some wheels, like the Mavics, is the proprietary spokes. My concern is that if I break a spoke and these are my only wheels, I’ll be without that wheel for a while as the local dealer would have to order the spoke from Mavic, wait for it to arrive, etc. Is that a legitimate concern or am I making a big deal out of nothing?
As far as I can tell, my options are:
- Soul S4.0 (not the lightest, but meets all the other criteria)
- Mavic Cosmic Carbone (one to two years old, uses proprietary spokes)
- Some other carbon wheel in the 38mm to 52mm range with an aluminum braking surface (what would this be - SRAM S40, Flashpoint, etc?)
- Something from the Mavic Ksyrium family (not deep or aero, but generally reliable and well liked, although we’re back to the proprietary spokes)
- Some other 22mm to 30mm alloy wheel (anything that could be considered a competitor to the Ksyriums, but without proprietary spokes)
- Something custom (e.g. Kinlin 27mm or 30mm rims with hubs and spokes of my chosing - nice, but not cheap or particularly aero)
First, am I missing any obvious choices that should be added to my list? And second, given these options, what would any of you choose? I’d love to get one wheelset for everything, but I just don’t know which option makes the most sense. In an ideal world, I’d get multiple wheel sets, but the budget doesn’t allow for that … not now anyway. I’ve had some ideas, but they tend to be driven by deals in the classifieds rather than what makes sense. So I want to figure out what I want, then look for it … not look aimlessly and then try to convince myself it’s the right decision because it’s being dangled in front of me. Rather than continue to scratch my head, I figured I’d turn things over to the collective ST brain trust to see what your thoughts were.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Brian
