What a difference ... good wheels make

[Broughtonblue]

2-years ago after a few thousand miles on my Alexrims and feeling them flex like hell cornering dwnhill at over 40mph, I bought a pair of Fulcrum Racing 7's and they are brilliant.
A phenomenal difference and feel so secure fast cornering.
I still use my Alexrims for the spring/autumn commute and swap out for the umber or just out on a good ride.

I was looking at the R500's fr a second decent pair of wheels with the offer on Wiggle.
Tempted...

I see from your stats you have a giant scr, just like me. did the new wheels make a speed difference as well or just a more comfortable ride? am tempted to buy a new bike but if changing the wheels will make a difference I might go down that route

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I see from your stats you have a giant scr, just like me. did the new wheels make a speed difference as well or just a more comfortable ride? am tempted to buy a new bike but if changing the wheels will make a difference I might go down that route

Hard to say really as not long after, I upgraded my groupset from Sora triple 9 to 105 double 10 which was phenomenally better, and the wheels can really take whatever I throw at them.

 

[Tyke]

My Carrera Vanquish 2 years old came with R500`s and Continental Ultra Sport I have nothing to compare with but they seem OK and are still true after coping with some very bad roads for 2 years. Had a front puncture at speed and was very impressed with how they held up I expected to be off but it just got a bit bumpy with no damage to the wheel.

 

[Flossyrockstar]

Just out of curiosity, how many miles should you get out of a set of wheels?

 

[gambatte]

I did a modest upgrade on my Triban 3 that included new wheels. I have to admit that they did seem to make a difference. Hard to quantify though.

Same here. I got a Triban 5. General comment was “Nice bike, first/main thing to upgrade’s the wheels”
So I convinced myself. If I upgraded, I’d have a spare set of wheels for the commuter...
Failing that I’d have a spare rear for the turbo trainer...
So I’ve now got a Triban 5, with Planet-X AL30 wheels. As an added bonus they couldn’t have been better colour coordinated either :-)

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

Just out of curiosity, how many miles should you get out of a set of wheels?

Depends on a lot of other things, the speed, distances and terrain they are used for, how well they are maintained/cleaned, types of brake blocks, amount of grit/leaf litter you pick up, road salt etc.

Apart from damage caused by terrain or potholes/grates/kerbs etc, brake wear is a factor in thinning the walls of the rim.
In additon, failure to maintain/clean the hubs can lead to the bearing cup being damaged.

I personally would expect 3000 plus out of a decent priced wheel - but mine are used for the commute as well as rides.

 

[Pikey]

Put new wheels and tyres on the aluminium falcon at the start of the summer, campags and shod with gp 4000 s.

Felt like a newer, lighter, lusher bike. Never going back.

 

[Dragonwight]

Had a set of cheap Alex rims on my Allez for well over 10K on some of the worst roads in the UK and never snapped a spoke or got left stranded. I got some Shimano RS-21 from Ribble and within 3 months I had snapped a spoke in the middle of nowhere. Being 20 spoke they went so far out of true I couldn’t adjust them and ended up getting a lift home.

 

[raleighnut]

I changed the wheels on my flatbar hybrid/tourer to Mavic open sport on Tiagra hubs a few years back 32 front 36 rear 3 cross. Most comfy wheels for long distance I have ever had, wether these are off the shelf or were built up in the shop (Julies cycles,Leicester) I know not but in thousands of miles no broken spokes no buckles and I load up with full camping gear at least twice a year,mind you the tent helps being a Topeak Bikamper on the bars. Tyres used are Marathon 28s run at 85 psi front 100 rear.

 

[Flossyrockstar]

Depends on a lot of other things, the speed, distances and terrain they are used for, how well they are maintained/cleaned, types of brake blocks, amount of grit/leaf litter you pick up, road salt etc.

Apart from damage caused by terrain or potholes/grates/kerbs etc, brake wear is a factor in thinning the walls of the rim.
In additon, failure to maintain/clean the hubs can lead to the bearing cup being damaged.

I personally would expect 3000 plus out of a decent priced wheel - but mine are used for the commute as well as rides.

Blimey I've done well then, 12000 miles out of a set of rs20's. I'd better take a really good look at the rims!!

 

[Davidc]

Depends on a lot of other things, the speed, distances and terrain they are used for, how well they are maintained/cleaned, types of brake blocks, amount of grit/leaf litter you pick up, road salt etc.

Apart from damage caused by terrain or potholes/grates/kerbs etc, brake wear is a factor in thinning the walls of the rim.
In additon, failure to maintain/clean the hubs can lead to the bearing cup being damaged.

I personally would expect 3000 plus out of a decent priced wheel - but mine are used for the commute as well as rides.

Agree with most of this, but normal rims should do more than that. Make sure blocks and rims are kept clean, the stuff picked up from roads and paths is like grinding paste.

I currently replace worn out rims with Mavic XM317 or A319 (depending on size) and use new Swiss DT plain spokes. These are budget priced rims and I always get over 10,000 mi on the back and 15,000 mi on the front. Expensive lightweight rims don't last as long but I'd be horrrified if any rim lasted as little as 3,000 mi.

Hubs seem to go on for ever with cones adjusted each 2,000 miles of use and bearings replaced as needed.

Blimey I've done well then, 12000 miles out of a set of rs20's. I'd better take a really good look at the rims!!

Certainly check the rims (you should every few hundred miles for safety) but I'd expect quite a bit more from the front one.

 

[the_mikey]

Different permutations of wheel and tyre can make a massive difference, I currently love riding my giant defy with old 2010 fulcrum racing 7 wheels and continental grand prix (24c) tyres, but change those wheels to something heavier (pro-lite como) with 25c tyres and it changes the feel of the bike, much more comfortable, higher speeds are easily sustained when you get there, but it's harder work to get up to speed.. Go the other way with lighter wheels and tyres (campagnolo zonda with GP4000s) and yes it's really fast, easy to get up to speed, but much less comfortable, doesn't handle the tiniest bump in the road surface well.

 

[Milzy]

Should I get scirocco or Zonda rims? Will Zonda be worth the extra money & knock enough time off up hills??