new wheels advice please

[stu9000]

Afternoon all.

My beloved triban 3 suddenly seemed bl##dy heavy when my mate brought his new Merlin round to show off. To be fair his cost £250 more. And mine is loaded with bottle cages, phone mount, cross brakes lights, and rear mud guard. But she is still heavy.

Reading around, new wheels seem a common upgrade.
These seem light and in the right price bracket.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPPXAL30/planet-x-al30-wheelset
If I spent much more I'd probably be better off buying a new bike.
Hmm, bit tempting that. But I can't really afford it this year.

Howwver I don't want to plough in loads of money if it won't make the bike feel lighter. Any tribaners done this?

What about the "type" option . I guess it is shimano/SRAM but should I choose 10sp or 10/11sp?

Thank you , as always

S

 

[400bhp]

First question: Why do you believe you need lighter wheels?

I have a set of AL30's from Planet X and at the moment I am not going to comment on them. One is working and the other isn't.

My OH has a Triban 5 and has just put a set of Mavic Ksyriums on it.

 

[Cyclist33]

10/11 speed. The 10-speed-only option might be too short for the triban.

 

[Ellillowladex]

Afternoon all.

My beloved triban 3 suddenly seemed bl##dy heavy when my mate brought his new Merlin round to show off. To be fair his cost £250 more. And mine is loaded with bottle cages, phone mount, cross brakes lights, and rear mud guard. But she is still heavy.

Reading around, new wheels seem a common upgrade.
These seem light and in the right price bracket.
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPPXAL30/planet-x-al30-wheelset
If I spent much more I'd probably be better off buying a new bike.
Hmm, bit tempting that. But I can't really afford it this year.

Howwver I don't want to plough in loads of money if it won't make the bike feel lighter. Any tribaners done this?

What about the "type" option . I guess it is shimano/SRAM but should I choose 10sp or 10/11sp?

Thank you , as always

S

If you play with the options on the AL30 wheel set, I think you'll find (annoyingly - like most things from PX) they are sold out.As I found out last week when considering a few purchases.

 

[HLaB]

I got 2014 fulcrum 7s which are only slightly heavier and a bit cheaper on ribble instead when I looking at the AL30s simply because I had more confidence in the quality of the hub. I think you can also get Fulcrum 5s for the same price as the Al30s.

 

[vickster]

I got Fulcrum 5s for £150 but think they'll be more now if you want SRAM/Shimano hubs

 

[stu9000]

Less weight means I'll get up the hills a bit fresher, doesn't it? Sure, I'm no Olympian and perhaps the gains are marginal, but I've run the bike as stock for over a year so I fancy putting a little £ in to freshen her up.

@ellilowladax . you are correct. They are out of stock. :-(

These mavic aksiums come in at a marginally heavier 1734g for a slightly pricier £175

These fulcrum racing quattro s. Look great but at £250 are a bit beyond my budget.

I'll keep looking.

Will my current cassette fit okay?

Thanks

S

 

[vickster]

Fulcrum 5

http://www.pedal-pedal.co.uk/fulcrum-racing-5-black-clincher-set-shimano-700c.html?gelid=CL690Zi2mb0CFYjLtAod5ykAEQ

 

[Dragonwight]

Lots of choices out there all i would say is make sure you choose something suitable for the job, lighter wheels normally mean fewer spokes which could mean being left by the side of the road if one breaks unless of course your prepared to carry the kit to fix it. If you hate the puncture fairy you will really hate the spoke fairy.

 

[Rob3rt]

If you have actually been riding your bike for the past year, you will want a new cassette too!

 

[400bhp]

Less weight means I'll get up the hills a bit fresher, doesn't it? Sure, I'm no Olympian and perhaps the gains are marginal, but I've run the bike as stock for over a year so I fancy putting a little £ in to freshen her up.

@ellilowladax . you are correct. They are out of stock. :-(

These mavic aksiums come in at a marginally heavier 1734g for a slightly pricier £175

These fulcrum racing quattro s. Look great but at £250 are a bit beyond my budget.

I'll keep looking.

Will my current cassette fit okay?

Thanks

S

Fresher is an interesting way to describe it but it's pretty good word to use. From my limited experience lighter wheels seem to mean you are less tired on a ride (say, over a couple of hours long). It'll make you quicker up hills but in the grand scheme of things just quicker versus yourself.

I'd go for the aksiums. The Ksyriums I have are really strong and confidence inspiring and the breaking surface is much much better than the Planet X's. I would imagine that experience is passed down to a set of Aksiums. FYI Decathlon do Aksiums cheaper.

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Have a look at Kinetic 1s .

 

[smokeysmoo]

If I spent much more I'd probably be better off buying a new bike.

FYI - virtually all off the shelf bikes are supplied with a budget* wheelset.

*this is relative to the purchase cost of course, but never the less, don't think that spending £2k gets you a blinging pimped out wheelset, if very often doesn't and still leaves you hankering after an upgrade to do justice to your new steed.

 

[stu9000]

Some interesting advice.

Kinetic 1s cost £229 inc delivery, look great, weigh 1894g approx for the pair. But are they too lightly built?

Planet x al30 cost £150 weigh 1722g, look great but out of stock, due in now though.

Mavic asciums cost £180 inc del. 1735g. Good reviews, probably the kind of solid gear I need but not as flash as some of the aero rims. Do I even want flash?

Fulcrum 5. £180 for 2014 with red spoke ends or £150 for 2013. 1645g. Nice look. Good reviews.

I'm still getting my head around this tech but i like the look,nthe price and the weight of the fulcrums.

@Rob3rt . I have been riding in all weathers using standard triban cassette. It isn't showing too much wear at the back. I must have done 2500m + on it. I guess I need to Google it to find out what to look for.

I am not sure but it looked like some rims had only the 10 speed option rather than the 10/11. It was mentioned that 10 might be too short. Does this mean my cassette has too many cogs. Ha, still showing my newbie status!

 

[Kestevan]

Merlin currently have fulcrum T wheels in for £114 just put a set on Mrs kes New bike.
They're basically a fulcrum 5 hub with a 7 rim.
Cracking wheels for the cash.