Expensive wheels - would I notice a difference?

[02GF74]

The same test but on a smooth tarmac road:
Neutron Outbound - 2:48 (21.43mph)
Neutron Inbound - 2:28 (24.32mph)
RS30 Outbound - 2:50 (21.18mph)
RS30 Inbound - 2:29 (24.16mph)

interesting .... which ride did you do first so we can discout tiredness, plus wind conditions?

.... but it does look like the neutrons are coming out on top. pity it is not possible to do a blind test as subconsciously you could be making your self go faster.

I wonder if this kind of test can be done on a turbo trainer?

 

[MacB]

interesting .... which ride did you do first so we can discout tiredness, plus wind conditions?

.... but it does look like the neutrons are coming out on top. pity it is not possible to do a blind test as subconsciously you could be making your self go faster.

I wonder if this kind of test can be done on a turbo trainer?

I wouldn't bother, while faster the overall time difference on this test run was 3 seconds. 1.5 seconds per mile imrpovement could be a winner for selling to serious racers, but it wouldn't sell to the rest.

 

[accountantpete]

I wouldn't bother, while faster the overall time difference on this test run was 3 seconds. 1.5 seconds per mile imrpovement could be a winner for selling to serious racers, but it wouldn't sell to the rest.

MacB - you owe it to yourself to try a pair of these wheels.

I can assure you that, performance wise, you won't be disappointed!

 

[MacB]

MacB - you owe it to yourself to try a pair of these wheels.

I can assure you that, performance wise, you won't be disappointed!

On the evidence so far I've changed everything over to wider rims and the smallest tyre I've got is a 700x32.....not sure they'd go to well on a racing wheelset

I err towards the comfort, rather than speed, end of the spectrum, if I want to go faster I can pedal harder. I also want 36 spokes and wheels that can be repaired at most LBS.

 

[GrasB]

interesting .... which ride did you do first so we can discout tiredness, plus wind conditions?

.... but it does look like the neutrons are coming out on top. pity it is not possible to do a blind test as subconsciously you could be making your self go faster.

I wonder if this kind of test can be done on a turbo trainer?

The ride order was
1) Neutron rough surface
2) RS30 rough surface
3) RS30 smooth surface
4) Neutron smooth surface
I had to change the tyres & cassette over between the Neutron & the RS30 runs. As for effort remember I was keeping to 160bbm, all I had up on the trip was heart rate & distance I also kept the gear to 54/16 to keep the cadence variation down. Weather conditions were fairly consistent but the smooth road is rather sheltered & at around 90 degrees to the wind, the times go with the 0.4%-0.5% gradient on the smooth. On the rough the wind speed was around 9.5mph, I'd guess it'd be half that at ground level, at my local weather station & that was a tail wind up hill (outbound). Anyway here are the rides with my HR for the 2 miles

Wheels - smooth time (heart rate)/rough time (heart rate)
Neutron - 5:16 (160)/5:49 (169)
RS30 - 5:19 (160)/6:10 (161)

 

[Globalti]

Here's something: my neighbour, a big roadie, gave me a pair of used Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX tyres to try. These are supposed to be a race tyre but all the reviews say they are puncture-prone, cut easily and wear out fast. Last night I took off my regular Specialized Pro All-condition tyres intending to try the Vittorias. I weighed them and found the Vittorias about 15gms heavier than the Speshes, which have so far given me 1100 miles on mucky winter rural UK roads with only one puncture and that was actually in South Africa where I strongly suspected that small boys had thrown tacks on the road in a bit of enterprise to collect inner tubes further along the race course. (I saw one lad with at least a dozen tubes looped over his shoulder - quite a lucrative scam when there were 35,000 riders in the race!)

So I put the Specialized tyres back on the bike as they seem to be an excellent tyre for my kind of riding. I will borrow some lighter/better wheels though some time.

 

[brockers]

They are a race tyre! There's no supposed about it. Who said CXs were particularly light or good at stopping punctures? They have particularly flexible polycotton sidewalls with a very high thread count meaning that less energy gets absorbed into tyre deformation (and dissipated as heat) as the tyre rolls along, and more goes into propelling the bike forward, and consistently measure as (one of) the best tyres available regarding rolling resistance*. Once again, There are far more variables to consider than weight alone, ride quality and comfort being two, which I think the CXs (and other open tubular tyres) have in spades - everything else being equal. That said, I'm sure those Spesh Roubaixs are pretty good too.



*Another thing to try might be latex tubes, if you can stand the faff of having to pump up your tyres before each ride. Personally I can't be bothered anymore, but would use them if racing.

 

[John the Monkey]

I err towards the comfort, rather than speed, end of the spectrum, if I want to go faster I can pedal harder. I also want 36 spokes and wheels that can be repaired at most LBS.

Speaking of that last point, I met a chap on the train whose wheels had popped a spoke on his club run - he was near enough to Royles (in Wilmslow) to get there, but they have to order the (manufacturer's proprietary) spokes for his wheels specially - so he had a train ride & a slightly gingerly ride home to make, after which he'd have to hunt for a place with spokes in stock & until then his expensive wheels are hung up.

There's a lot to be said for a wheel that will take ordinary, db stainless steel spokes, imo.

 

[dodgy]

First thing I do when I buy a new wheel is order spare spokes (drive side and non drive side rear, and a couple for the front). I'm not ever in the position of waiting for spares if the worst does happen.

 

[GrasB]

I don't buy spares for the wheel but I do have a spare sets of wheels which fit all my bikes to some degree or other. They may not be ideal but it gets round every situation of wheel failure I can imagine.

 

[Globalti]

Luckily I've got three roadie mad neighbours who can lend me any number of wheels.

 

[AlanW]

No need to borrow anyone's now is there Ben........

Cant wait for the update to this thread.

 

[snailracer]

... I'm curious to know if I really would notice any difference if I upgraded to a more expensive wheelset...

Yes. Compare to a £100 wheelset, a £400 wheelset will make you go exactly £300 faster .