New wheels??......choices,choices,looking for sensible advice

[HB_Dude]

I know this question has probably been asked a million times, but......

My factory spesh hubs are horrible, plain and simple!
So I've been looking at a few options to upgrade, I was looking at the £150-200 in an ideal world so looking at Mavic, Fulcrum ( why do some folks hate these? ) and Shimano.

Is it worth spending the money on say Mavic Akisums or Fulcrum Racing 5's, or is a more sensible purchase a cheaper Shimano RS21/31 and get some nice tyres to boot?
I'm after a reliable, maintainable wheel that doesn't weigh a tonne and rolls nicely...I know probably far too much to expect

What are you guys using / bought?

 

[StuAff]

No idea about the other options you've mentioned but F5s are excellent. Noisy/distinctive freehub is one reason for 'hatred'.

 

[Martin McNeely]

I've had two sets of mavic aksuims and have recently bought new wheels due to broken spokes and poor hubs.
I also looked at the fulcrum range with a budget of £200 but purchased the campagnolo scirocco 35. Not used them yet but campy also make fulcrum. £168 on halfords with BC Discount. Look good,are light enough but we'll see how they go. This was after a brand new set of pro lite garda decided to collapse only 40mile in. Best of luck.

 

[TissoT]

I have fulcrum R3 .... They are good rollers (GP4000) and bomb proof !

 

[uclown2002]

All things being equal new Mavics come with decent tyres fitted.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

I know this question has probably been asked a million times, but......

My factory spesh hubs are horrible, plain and simple!
So I've been looking at a few options to upgrade, I was looking at the £150-200 in an ideal world so looking at Mavic, Fulcrum ( why do some folks hate these? ) and Shimano.

Is it worth spending the money on say Mavic Akisums or Fulcrum Racing 5's, or is a more sensible purchase a cheaper Shimano RS21/31 and get some nice tyres to boot?
I'm after a reliable, maintainable wheel that doesn't weigh a tonne and rolls nicely...I know probably far too much to expect

What are you guys using / bought?

For reliable and maintenable you should consider handbuilts.

 

[HB_Dude]

For reliable and maintainable you should consider handbuilts.

Wouldn't that push the price up on a spec for spec basis? Surely good quality factory wheels would be as good as hand built,No??

Any recommendations?, however I think Hope Pro hubs are out of the question

 

[HB_Dude]

..... Or as its and upgrade should I try to spend more money? say Quattro / Cosmic level? Is there any great improvement here ( please bear in mind that I'm not Cav!! )

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Wouldn't that push the price up on a spec for spec basis? Surely good quality factory wheels would be as good as hand built,No??

Any recommendations?, however I think Hope Pro hubs are out of the question

At the price range you are looking at you won't get too much cheap maintainability nor durability with factory built wheels and that is not just the only issue.
Say you go for Mavic Acksium or Fulcrum 5. You damage the rim and im sure you will not want to have it rebuilt once you find out the cost of the rim. Spokes aren't cheap either. Hubs aren't cheap to maintain either. Compare that with a shimano hub for instance and it cost you a couple of quids in bearings and grease. The spokes would a pound each and rims would be affordable. Some commuters re-rim their wheels when the braking surface is too thin. I'm sure you wouldn't do that with the Aksiums or Fulcrum

If you live near Bournemouth I can build you a set for free. See my signature.

 

[the_mikey]

Fulcrum racing 5's are entirely reasonable factory wheels for the budget, I have been using a pair since 2011 and I have a pair of fulcrum racing 7's from 2010 still rolling beautifully after more that 8000km of use.

 

[HB_Dude]

If you live near Bournemouth I can build you a set for free. See my signature.

Alas I'm in Hereford,a bit far away from you really..... Great offer though,thanks.
But it has give me food for thought, Have I been swayed by lovely graphics and aero spokes.....I hadn't really considered such things as rim replacement , perhaps I should try to set aside more funds and maybe get some Hope hubs on Mavic rims?, but then its always a case of 'well a few more pounds get you'

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Alas I'm in Hereford,a bit far away from you really..... Great offer though,thanks.
But it has give me food for thought, Have I been swayed by lovely graphics and aero spokes.....I hadn't really considered such things as rim replacement , perhaps I should try to set aside more funds and maybe get some Hope hubs on Mavic rims?, but then its always a case of 'well a few more pounds get you'

If you don't mind the bit extra weight then Shimano hubs are excellent and they are under £50 the pair. Easy and cheap to maintain and they are good for lots and lots of miles. For sealed seals that wont brake the bank and are reliable then look at Novatec A171 and F272.

There quite a few rims that will fit your budget and do a very good job.

 

[jowwy]

If u can afford an extra 50 bucks then campag zondas are an awesome wheel for the money

 

[smokeysmoo]

Wouldn't that push the price up on a spec for spec basis? Surely good quality factory wheels would be as good as hand built,No??

You should be able to get Mavic Open Pro rims with possibly 105 hubs built for around the £200 mark.

I think Hope Pro hubs are out of the question

Don't lose any sleep over that, they make an horrendous noise that has absolutely no place on a road bike. I sold a pair of wheels with Pro3 hubs simply due to their noise!

 

[HB_Dude]

Don't lose any sleep over that, they make an horrendous noise that has absolutely no place on a road bike. I sold a pair of wheels with Pro3 hubs simply due to their noise!

Fair one

I have been looking on Dave Hindes site, some good options there, I guess a good case of 'if it ain't broke'!

But here's a ponderable question, other than looking pretty are there any real advantages of having 16(ish) bladed spokes and deep aero rims on funky machined hubs, when hand built seem to be A: just as if not lighter, B: Just as if not stronger and C: Much easier to own and maintain long term?

What is a reasonable life span of a wheel in terms of miles, surely if they didn't last and weren't reliable Mavic wouldn't sell loads of Cosmics/ Ksyriums Nor Fulcrum their Quattros / Racing 5's

I know advertising is king and all that, but why then aren't we all just using sweet hand built wheels? ( yes I know...the ultimate question )