BTwin Triban 560 CF - what constitutes a wheelset 'upgrade'?

[nickAKA]

Afternoon folks,

Maiden post so apologies in advance for what may be considered a daft question...
I've had the aforementioned Triban 560 for a month or two now after spending the last 5 years riding a Specialized hybrid, towing / carrying my daughter around, before deciding it was time to strike out on my own and put some decent miles in to shed some of that middle-aged spread.

I took some advice from a mate who does a lot of riding and went with the carbon frame; he suggested it would make more sense to do upgrades on the other bits as & when I needed to (or when my obsession with shiny new things led to the inevitable compulsive purchases).

I've not consulted him on this question yet as I can imagine the withering look I'll get for going with the BTwin...

So what would be a reasonable upgrade on the stock wheels?

I can't find a proper spec for the 'Aero' wheels as supplied; I don't really have anything to compare them with, they look a bit 'meh' but do the job, I haven't broken them (yet) but the careful christian in me thinks get something a bit better, put a slightly more climbing-friendly cassette on the rear and get some decent winter tyres.

Looking at the specs on wheelsets in the usual (online) places I'm becoming increasingly baffled as to what would be a reasonable improvement. Fulcrum, Mavic & Campagnolo all do wheelsets around the £200 mark (which I thought would be a good starting point), but will they be superior in any way, or do I need to up the budget to save some weight and improve the performance to a noticeable level?

It's pretty hilly where I live and I'm slowly getting used to the climbs (I'm nearly over my fear of tackling the 8% gradient that leads home) but there are a few other climbs I'd like to bash to earn my 'go anywhere chufty badge'.

Advice sought & gratefully received.

 

[Racing roadkill]

I've got a Triban 560. The wheels it comes with aren't terrible.

That's it on Box Hill in the PRLS 100 this year.

And on the Velo Birmingham.

Both completed on the stock wheelset.
If I was upgrading them ( not strictly necessary IME) I'd probably go for some mid range 'off the shelf' numbers like the Mavic Cosmic Elite. I know they work well on this bike, because I swapped the ones on my Ultra 720 over, as an experiment . To be fair, it made little difference. Certainly not as much as you might expect.

 

[Spiderweb]

I would keep the stock wheels until they actually need replacing through normal wear and tear.

 

[nickAKA]

Thanks chaps, sort of what I suspected - a small fortune would need to be spent to gain any sort of tangible improvement and would probably be a false economy as a relative newbie.
Racing Roadkill - have you stuck with the stock Tiagra cassette? I think I'll probably manage as it is, but tempted to try a 12-30 and see if it helps on the steep bits...

 

[nickyboy]

You've got good advice there @nickAKA

The stock wheels are fine. You will find that the main determinant in being able to go further/faster at the moment will not be kit, it will be you. So work hard at improving fitness and reducing weight. You will be amazed at how your endurance and speed will improve.

What cassette does the bike come with? I ride in the Pennines all the time. Until you get fitter and lighter, a 12-30 cassette may help, depending on what you have now. You can always swap it back later if you find you don't really need the 30 tooth sprocket for example. But if your gearing is already similar I'd suck it up, save your money, and work on fitness. I'm no lightweight but I use a 27 tooth sprocket as my easiest gear and I can get up every hill in the Pennines with that

 

[Cycleops]

As already said you’re best sticking with the standard wheels for now.

I think you mech will even cope with 32t so give it a go, should make a noticeable difference. You’ll also need to lengthen the chain or get a new one.

 

[nickAKA]

As already said you’re best sticking with the standard wheels for now.

I think you mech will even cope with 32t so give it a go, should make a noticeable difference. You’ll also need to lengthen the chain or get a new one.

Thanks fellers - the stock cassette is 11-28t with a compact chainset, I was "reliably informed" by the bloke in the local bike shop that I'd struggle to get a 32t to shift well (I went in to see if he had a rear wheel I could fit a cassette to & try it out as the tiagra cassettes are available for £20 on chain reaction so I figured probably worth a punt). He suggested a 30t would be as large as I could hope for (which are available in the ultegra range for an extra £15), but I haven't got a clue so I'll take advice wherever offered!
nickyboy - you're absolutely correct... after a couple of months I can feel the climbs getting easier but it's that tantalising lure of the seemingly impossible that's frustrating me... I'm down to 79Kg now so another 3Kg puts me in the 'normal weight' bracket which was my ultimate goal and should hopefully make some difference. I'll follow your advice on this & keep plugging away as I am for now... the bank balance will be happier for it at least...

Apropos of nothing: it's nice to ask a question on the internet and be offered sound advice suggesting I don't spend any money, thanks very much for that!

 

[nickyboy]

Thanks fellers - the stock cassette is 11-28t with a compact chainset, I was "reliably informed" by the bloke in the local bike shop that I'd struggle to get a 32t to shift well (I went in to see if he had a rear wheel I could fit a cassette to & try it out as the tiagra cassettes are available for £20 on chain reaction so I figured probably worth a punt). He suggested a 30t would be as large as I could hope for (which are available in the ultegra range for an extra £15), but I haven't got a clue so I'll take advice wherever offered!
nickyboy - you're absolutely correct... after a couple of months I can feel the climbs getting easier but it's that tantalising lure of the seemingly impossible that's frustrating me... I'm down to 79Kg now so another 3Kg puts me in the 'normal weight' bracket which was my ultimate goal and should hopefully make some difference. I'll follow your advice on this & keep plugging away as I am for now... the bank balance will be happier for it at least...

Apropos of nothing: it's nice to ask a question on the internet and be offered sound advice suggesting I don't spend any money, thanks very much for that!

To give you a bit of context, 79kg is lighter than me and I have a lowest gear of 34 (front) and 27 (back) which is a touch harder than what you have now. Admittedly I've been riding in the Pennines for about 4 years now but I can get up every climb

So by all means fit a 30t if you want but a new cassette costs money and I suspect you'll be fine with what you have, a bit of grit and determination and a few more miles under the belt

Congratulations on your weight loss and fitness gain btw

 

[nickAKA]

To give you a bit of context, 79kg is lighter than me and I have a lowest gear of 34 (front) and 27 (back) which is a touch harder than what you have now. Admittedly I've been riding in the Pennines for about 4 years now but I can get up every climb

So by all means fit a 30t if you want but a new cassette costs money and I suspect you'll be fine with what you have, a bit of grit and determination and a few more miles under the belt

Congratulations on your weight loss and fitness gain btw

Cheers - if you're a Glossopian we probably ride similar terrain. I seem to spend more time than is healthy planning routes with gentle <3% climbs but looking forward to just getting out and not worrying about the up hills so much... in particular there's a route I'd love to tackle through Denshaw - Delph - Diggle but a bit of training is going to be required plus some added mental fortitude.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Thanks chaps, sort of what I suspected - a small fortune would need to be spent to gain any sort of tangible improvement and would probably be a false economy as a relative newbie.
Racing Roadkill - have you stuck with the stock Tiagra cassette? I think I'll probably manage as it is, but tempted to try a 12-30 and see if it helps on the steep bits...

I've stuck with the stock Tiagra cassette, but moved to a 53-39 105 chainset, and got 170mm cranks. I prefer that set up, personally speaking.