Wheel help needed

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Jonjay

Über Member
Location
Surrey & Suffolk
So, after considering and wanting to get in to road cycling for a long while, after hardly riding a bike for about 20 years, I bought myself a Triban RC120 (non disc version) just before Christmas. What I didn’t realise was that once the bug hits it’s a bottomless pit of internet shopping 😂.

I’m thinking about upgrading the wheels (as well as getting a 105 front brake calliper as the front brake is poor, but that’s another story). It seems generally accepted that the stock wheels and tires aren’t great.

I’ve seen a few tempting second hand sets, a pair of Mavic Ksirium Elites being particularly tempting. However, most wheels I see say they are Shimano 10/11 speed compatible. The Triban though is only an 8 speed cassette. So the question is, will 10/11 speed hubs still work with a measly little 8 speed (I don’t intend changing the group set.........yet 😂)

Cheers.
 

Beespoke

23yrs of tying hubs & rims together
Location
Macclesfield
You'll need a cassette spacer, which sits at the back of the cassette... readily available too...

What you need to be careful regarding secondhand rim brake wheels, is the amount of wear to the braking surface, especially on proprietary wheels, has it can be a costly repair if at all possible due to the age of the wheels.

🐝
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
What’s wrong with the wheels?
Try fitting better tyres first, assuming you actually have an issue.
If unhappy with the brakes, I’d change those first, but do both front and back and add better pads
eg under £30 used in good condition
This ^^. Decent tyres will make a big difference.
You might get an improvement in braking just by fitting better brake blocks (e.g., Koolstop or similar).
 

sleuthey

Legendary Member
I can tell you from my own experience that used bike tyres are selling very well on eBay at the moment. Therefore if you get some new tyres you can sell the old ones to part fund them.
 

chris-suffolk

Senior Member
How much are you looking to spend? Looking at the spec's, your bike is about £430 (well the one I saw on Decathalon is). The Mavics you mention were over £550 new, which would seem (to me at least) to be OTT for the frame / group-set.

Whilst new wheels are often a good upgrade, the frame needs to be good enough for you to really notice any difference. As a rule of thumb I'd say spending around 1/4 - 1/3 of the cost of the bike on new wheels would be about the limit (stand to be corrected there).

As others have said, better tyres would be worth trying first (and you can always transfer them to new wheels if you subsequently go that route). Same with brake blocks. Koolstop or Swisstop are normally highly rated.

If you do want some new wheels (with a history I can vouch for), I've a pair of Chrina Rydes in the garage, that I ran on my bike for a while. They where hand built my Mike Madgett in Diss. They've done about 1000 miles, in the dry, and currently have a 9 speed cassette on. I've only kept them because I thought I might build up a winter bike, but hasn't happened. PM me if interested - I'm in Suffolk.
 
OP
OP
Jonjay

Jonjay

Über Member
Location
Surrey & Suffolk
Thanks for the replies, much appreciated and good to know that if I do change the wheels they will fit. I’m not sure I have an issue as such, they just seem an obvious upgrade, both in weight and, apparently, ride quality.

Tyres are already top of my next purchase list. Ive got a pair of Hutchinson Fusion 5 performance in a shopping basket.

I have already changed pads front and back. The back brake actually seems ok, but the front is very, erm, spongy and slow to grab and stop me, even though I’m sure it’s adjusted properly. It works but doesn’t inspire confidence. Probably would make sense to change both if I do change the brakes though.
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
just before Christmas
So it's less than 2 months old?
I would get some miles in and get some value out of the spend. In this weather any sort of upgrade is a waste of money.

By all means get a better pair of wheels for the summer months, but keep the current ones for next winter and bad weather.

You might find the brakes get better when the weather gets drier. Whatever brakes you have, you have to ride to their capability and in this weather you need to brake early and get to know their stopping distance. Different calipers may not give that much better stopping capability.
 

AuroraSaab

Veteran
Unless the used Elites are super cheap, I'd change the tyres first and see how you get on as that and the brakes would make a more noticeable difference.

The biggest weight difference is how fat the rider is, to be honest. I'm 3st overweight so there's no point me buying a carbon seat post at the moment.
 

chris-suffolk

Senior Member
Weight saved with lighter wheels is less than a half-full water bottle.

Whilst that is true, it's also rotational mass, which has to keep accelerating / decelerating. I'd argue that has much more effect that being just a water bottle.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I did find the stock decathlon brakes a bit crap even tektro or non series shimano would be better , i would ride the wheels through winter then look around as a pair of entry level shimano wheels for £100 would be better than the ones i have seen on their entry level bikes, i run rs 11s which are considered entry level but are great wheels for the cash, they are no longer availible but these are similar
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-rs100-road-clincher-wheelset/rp-prod184427
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
If you are solo riding, as we all are at the moment, you won't appreciate any upgrades. You might knock an hours ride down to 58 minutes, but really not noticeable. If you are group riding and your mates all have better kit AND you keep getting dropped, spending might make sense, but so would a little training.

Re visit the situation in 6 months time and after a few miles.
 
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