Aluminium wheel set for circa £300

[nathb]

Hello,

Just wondering if I have found the "best" 4 wheel sets for circa £300. Are there any I should immediately remove from this list or any I should add?



Also been hearing good things about these carbon wheels: http://www.wheelsfar.com/on-sale/38mm-x ... elset.html

FYI I weigh 70.5kg so I'm hoping none of the above wheel sets will be pushed on that front.

Thanks in advance!

[Valbrona]

I have heard very good things about the Zondas. The Campag wheels with aluminium spokes can be a bit too stiff and unforgiving for some, and I believe the Zondas are the 'last' ones in the range with steel spokes.

But you don't have to spend that much for a good wheeleset. I use a pair of 2015 Campag Khamsin Asymetric G3's at a little over £100. Comes with the same freehub as found on the best Campag wheels which can set you back £50/£60 in itself.

NB All Campag wheels are available with both Shimano/SRAM or Campagnolo freehub bodies.

[Tonyf33]

Best for what? One of the sets is a 650C wheelset in any case.
The Zonda's are cheaper on Merlin (plus if you use topcashback you get approx another 3% cashback)
But as per my first Q, what is it you want them for, weight wise I wouldn't stress, I weigh half as much again as you and ride an assortment of lower spoke count wheelsets no problem at all so you shouldn't feel as if you are restricted in that sense.

You should have a look around on some of the german websites and indeed ebay.de .. I found these within a few minutes http://www.ebay.de/itm/MAVIC-CXP-TUNE-R ... 487b43eb84
Tune lite hubs on CXP rims, Ultremo tyres and a Dura Ace cassette for a pinch over £300 delivered with ultra low miles on them..when you consider the mig/mag hubs are £400 on their own..

Or you could buy my NOS Mavic Open pros (special blue edition) on Dura Ace hubs for £300+ post
If you want cheap & cheerful then go for the farsports carbon wheels, but IMO they're pants. IF you're going down the carbon route find yourself some gigantex (or sonic as they are rebranded as in some countries). Gigantex are from Taiwan and have being around for years, are the dogs danglies at the mid range of things, Wheelsmith's use them all the time for their builds..I also can endorse them personally as I ride a 24/20 hole pair of 38mm tubulars on some lightweight carbon hubs..again bearing in mind I'm 105kg they are solid as a rock.

[interestedcp]

If I was ever to buy factory racing wheels, it would be from Campagnolo or Fulcrum (a Campagnolo owned company). Campagnolo actually understand wheel design, and their asymmetric G3 spoke system is clever. Very good reputation for assembly quality too.

Deep carbon rims for clinchers doesn't make any sense for me; you have all the trouble with braking and side wind, but don't get the lightness of a tubular since carbon rims are very bad with high pressure clinchers and need much reinforcement. Assuming they aren't lying about the weight (lets disregard the many spelling errors and the fact that the photographs have warning about not depicting the actual products they sell), then they are only 50 grams lighter per wheel compared to the much more solid and versatile Zonda wheels that are likely to have much superior hubs too.

[RogerThat]

I initially got a pair of American Classic on a second hand bike and was very impressed by the weight (1475gr) the smooth ride quality and their longevity. The Victory is their latest wheelset, initially retailed at £400 but can be had online for £260-280. The hubs are DT Swiss, and roll forever lightweight at 1550gr ex skewers and a bit more robust than either of the above mentioned wheels.

http://www.discovercycling.com/accessor ... tAodp2QALQ

[Mick F]

I use a pair of 2015 Campag Khamsin Asymetric G3's at a little over £100. Comes with the same freehub as found on the best Campag wheels which can set you back £50/£60 in itself.

Nope. Not quite.
The rear hub on Khamsins are the cheap end of Campag hubs. Yep, maybe £50odd each, but certainly not the rear hub on the best Campag wheels.

Khamsin hubs only have cartridge bearings. You have to go to Zonda before you get good hubs.

[sean65]

For that money I'd get Harry Roland to build you some with Mavic Open Pro rims and zenith hubs.

Something about the way he laces his wheels completely transformed my ride comfort.

Only £250 for the set. You can always spec a different hub.

[nathb]

Best for what? One of the sets is a 650C wheelset in any case.
The Zonda's are cheaper on Merlin (plus if you use topcashback you get approx another 3% cashback)
But as per my first Q, what is it you want them for, weight wise I wouldn't stress, I weigh half as much again as you and ride an assortment of lower spoke count wheelsets no problem at all so you shouldn't feel as if you are restricted in that sense.

You should have a look around on some of the german websites and indeed ebay.de .. I found these within a few minutes http://www.ebay.de/itm/MAVIC-CXP-TUNE-R ... 487b43eb84
Tune lite hubs on CXP rims, Ultremo tyres and a Dura Ace cassette for a pinch over £300 delivered with ultra low miles on them..when you consider the mig/mag hubs are £400 on their own..

Or you could buy my NOS Mavic Open pros (special blue edition) on Dura Ace hubs for £300+ post
If you want cheap & cheerful then go for the farsports carbon wheels, but IMO they're pants. IF you're going down the carbon route find yourself some gigantex (or sonic as they are rebranded as in some countries). Gigantex are from Taiwan and have being around for years, are the dogs danglies at the mid range of things, Wheelsmith's use them all the time for their builds..I also can endorse them personally as I ride a 24/20 hole pair of 38mm tubulars on some lightweight carbon hubs..again bearing in mind I'm 105kg they are solid as a rock.

I'm just after some light weight robust wheels to bring down the weight of my current set (which weigh 2.1kg) to something around 1.4-1.6kg, that will be suited to a carbon framed bike when I upgrade my bike next year.

Oh, sorry the wiggle picture is just because it had all the wheels in a easy to read comparison.

Aesthetically I'm loving the Campag G3 spoke layout!

I've found, browsing german sites:
Zondas for £236
sciroccos for £120
Ultegras with tubes and folding contintental tyres for £250

I initially got a pair of American Classic on a second hand bike and was very impressed by the weight (1475gr) the smooth ride quality and their longevity. The Victory is their latest wheelset, initially retailed at £400 but can be had online for £260-280. The hubs are DT Swiss, and roll forever lightweight at 1550gr ex skewers and a bit more robust than either of the above mentioned wheels.

http://www.discovercycling.com/accessor ... tAodp2QALQ

Those look good, I'll add them to the list - thanks!

[AndyA]

Another vote for Campagnolo/Fulcrum. Fulcrum exists because some people don't want to put Campagnolo wheels on their otherwise Shimano bike - clever move by Campagnolo. I really like the Zonda wheels, best for the money in my opinion. Also consider the Mavic Ksyrium Equipe at £350ish

[Brucey]

it is easy to get obsessed by weight, and cyclists suffer a 'group think' to this effect. Unfortunately a few grammes less doesn't make you go much faster. If you want to go faster (riding solo) then you need aero improvements, and the largest aero problem is most likely YOU not the bike.

Valid reasons for wanting lightweight wheels and tyres include that they ride nicely for example.

BTW if you dissect the weight of many factory wheels, it often turns out that they are actually built with rather heavy rims that are connected with fewer spokes than normal to rather lightweight hubs. If reducing MOI is your objective, you would be better off with lighter rims, even if it means more spokes etc.

Of the many wheels I've owned and used I still like Open Pros on decent hubs using DB spokes and alloy nipples, for fair weather use. They ride about four times more nicely than (say) a set of fulcrums that I own. The fulcrums are a clever design in some respects but they just don't ride as well.

If you really want to save weight you should buy tubs; I trained and raced on them for years but they are a lot of work to keep up.

cheers

[RogerThat]

According to Wheelsmith (the UK's most prodigious builder) the Aero effect of deep section wheels is minimal until a speed of 18mph + is achieved when forces outstrip friction ect. I rarely exceed that, and even then only for brief periods so carbon deep section no use to me

[elPedro666]

What Brucey said - good quality, handbuilt wheels are just unbeatable. Plus it'll make you feel special to know that they were put together by a master craftsman especially for you! [emoji6]

I've Open Pro on Chorus for my *special* bike, second hand but pretty mint off ebay for £160 if memory serves...

[pwa]

£300 is a lot of money, and I would want custom wheels from the likes of Paul Hewitt (has provided Wiggins with wheels). You get to talk about the hubs you want, the number of spokes on each wheel, the type of spokes and the rims. Your own preferences will be respected, but options will be suggested. I once had Hewitt advise me to stick with Ultegra hubs instead of Dura Ace which he said were not worth the extra cost!

[nathb]

£300 is a lot of money, and I would want custom wheels from the likes of Paul Hewitt (has provided Wiggins with wheels). You get to talk about the hubs you want, the number of spokes on each wheel, the type of spokes and the rims. Your own preferences will be respected, but options will be suggested. I once had Hewitt advise me to stick with Ultegra hubs instead of Dura Ace which he said were not worth the extra cost!

The LBS's near my folks are (in distance):
Paul Hewitt
Merlin
Ribble
Beacon

So I've been into the above quite a lot, also drank a lot in Wiggin's local watering hole.

To be absolutely honest I thought handbuilt wheels were a lot more expensive, I've always been going into the above shops as a MTB'er never venturing to the road sections, hence not considering them.

On the flip side I'm also really liking the G3 spoke design on the Campagnolo's..even though I'm running Shimano stuff I'm not that fussed about branding...

[Des49]

To me a major disadvantage of a lot of these ready built wheels especially with the fancy spokes and lacing patterns is the lack of spares and non-user friendly nature for spoke replacement or repair.

A good hand built wheel with double butted stainless steel spokes, traditional cross spoke patterns and cup and cone bearing hubs will last for many many years, be easily trueable and maintained by the user. Even rim replacement from eventual braking surface wear or pot hole damage is easy to do.

All this far out weighs the minimal weight or aero gains from these fancier wheels. If you are racing then things take on a different perspective.