I have no desire to rub anyone's nose in anything, its not my style and anyone who knows me would inform you of this and I apologize if I offended you for some reason. I was simply trying to express that from the perspective of someone who has what others describe as a decent group set. I do not think different specification group sets are by large inferior and that going from one to another makes a massive difference, all group sets these days seem to perform pretty well and are reliable. From my own experiences I think wheels make a bigger difference that's all.
If you live around London I would be willing to let you have a go on my wheels and group sets if desired, then you can decide for yourself regarding what area you personally find the biggest improvements. Its you that matters after all nobody else
Equally If your interested Zipp state all their carbon clinchers are suitable for riders up to 250lbs which is 17.8 stone I can't however prove anything other than what Zipp states.
I was not offended by the comments I just could not see your point.
If Zipp state that weight then I stand corrected. I always thought that that kind of wheels would be pretty much waisted with a heavy rider.
I think you might have misread my post.
Imho, firstly most stock wheels that come with bikes of limited budget are even more ill-suited to heavy riders than light riders because strong wheels are costly to build, and expensive wheels don't seem to be as valued by buyers in relation to higher groupset level. If Maddux rims were great I would expect them to be readily available and selling like hot cakes.
Secondly for such bikes what I said was generally one should "pay extra for some proven, quality Mavic/Fulcrum/Campag/Shimano or handbuilt". For heavy riders and for road wheels handbuilt may well be best, but since the strongest off-the-shelf hubs are mtb hubs exceptionally heavy riders should probably consider having an mtb spaced, disc spec frame, and therefore what follows should probably apply. For mtbs strong and light factory wheels are readily available from the above plus a couple of other wheel manufacturers (except Campag which don't sell mtb equipment except via Fulcrum which they own), and unlike a pair of handbuilt by your friendly LBS they would have been built with special components and have been proven in extreme circumstances.
Perhaps I did not make myself clear enough on what I was trying to say. I keep reading people advising that the smart way to spend the cash when buying a new bike is on light wheels. I think the advise should be more specific.....I feel that riders come in all sort of shapes, sizes, weights and with all kinds of reasons to ride a bike. What I'm trying to say is that is absolutely fine for some riders to invest in light wheels, however, as you say, for heavy riders the option would be hand built wheels which doesn't necessarily mean light wheels.
The advantage of handbuilt over factory wheels is that they are usually easier to maintain (components are more readily available).
Perfect seller comment for a buying population often obsessed with groupset level, wouldn't you say?
Hope it helps!
Exactly my thoughts BUT further considerations made me see his point
would you spend lots of cash on a super light weight frame only to use heavy components? Probably not, unless the person is saving up the pennies for lighter components.
Why people seem to prefer higher groupset than better wheels? No idea. All I know is that some people have some funny ideas about equipment. Some people seem obsess with the number of gears they have and are prepared to spend lots to get 11 gears. Don't see a problem with that for somebody that will really notice the difference but for the average guy an 11th gear is just a reason to make a statement. I'm sure I don't need more than 8, even 7 would do for me I guess.
I recently built a bike on a nice enough frame. I asked myself what do I need and what is the best value for money. No 1 priority was the frame the rest was not so important to me. I ended up with a 105 groupset but only 8 gears that is all I need. I can change cassette and chain every 3000 miles for < £20.
Best SPD pedals I could find, Best saddle for me, etc. I will upgrade the brakes at some point for some Sram brakes I hear are excellent and better wheels .
