New wheelset advice

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Marlaw

Regular
I am looking for a medium priced wheelset, seeking an upgrade from the Fulcrum 5's on my 2011 Specialized Roubaix and could do with some advice as to options

I currently ride around 150 miles a week and will be undertaking a few sportives through the Summer. I am looking for something around the £500 price range

Any advice folks?
 

musa

Über Member
Location
Surrey
Either hand built or Ksyriums I got Aksiums atm but there with a low spoke count about 20 each
 

Andrew_P

In between here and there
I have had a set of Shimano RS80 which I didn't get on with, not all thier fault to be fair. I picked up a set of Fulcrum Racing 3 for £327 (Evans Price Match to Ribble) and thus far really pleased with them, they feel a lot stifffer than the RS80
 

lejogger

Guru
Location
Wirral
If you've got £500 to burn then you could actually get the Fulcrum Racing 1 with enough for tyres left over... If it's possible for a set of wheels to look mean, then these definitely look mean!
 
The Ksyrium SL are a fantastic wheel. however, I've just sold mine as the spoke count is far too low for me, but you could pick some up in fantastic used condition for well under your budget, or if you stretched it a bit you could buy them new.

Be warned though, my LBS advised me they would have to go back to Mavic if I ever needed a new rim as he won't take them on, (not sure why), but he's a wheel builder, (and Mavic agent) with many years experience!

So if other places are the same be prepared for some downtime when you do need a rim, oh yes, and something like £180 ish! for the priveldge.

That said they are superb wheels and fantastically well built considering their light weight and low spoke count.
 

amaferanga

Veteran
Location
Bolton
Wheelsmith

Choice of IRD rims or Ambrosia Excellight and with your budget you could have them built on Royce hubs (or less expensive ones if you fancied CX Rays). Maybe won't look quite as bling as factory wheels, but will be as light and when the rims wear out they'll be relatively cheap to replace (about £40 each for IRD rims). Derek (who is Wheelsmith) has a great reputation - nice guy to deal with and a builder of superb wheels.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
I'd be tempted to have a go with Ksyrium Elite's - the more expensive wheels are a bit lighter and a bit stiffer but these cover most of the basics very well.
 

amaferanga

Veteran
Location
Bolton
While the Kysrium Elites are good wheels, a set of IRD Cadence Aero built on Novatec Superlight hubs with Sapim CX Rays will be 100g lighter for around the same price.
 

Psyclist

Über Member
Location
Northamptonshire
Pro Lite Braccianos are cheaper than all of the others, same weight as the Fulcrum 1's. £315, I know someone who swears by them too. It will leave you with cash to spend on something else.
 
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