Wheels - Shimano WH501 or Fulcrum Racing Sport?

[pfm401]

Any views on good road bike wheels for doing about 4000 miles a year in all weathers? I ride a Trek 1.5 road bike (10 speed)

So far I've had:
- Bontrager wheels (stock) - Ok but had to have rear hub replaced twice in the life of the wheels (about £35 each time). Lasted 4.5k before rims wore out
- Fulcrum Racing 7 LG - Feel good but bearings had to be replaced after 2k (£70!!). Rims shot again after about 4k.

I like the look of Shimano WH501 as pretty cheap and not sure the sealed bearings of thd Fulcrums are so great given replacement length and cost.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

[vickster]

How heavy are you? Maybe spend more on some good handbuilts

 

[si_c]

I'd get something built up around 32 spoke shimano hubs. They'll last more or less forever if you take care of them.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Any views on good road bike wheels for doing about 4000 miles a year in all weathers? I ride a Trek 1.5 road bike (10 speed)

So far I've had:
- Bontrager wheels (stock) - Ok but had to have rear hub replaced twice in the life of the wheels (about £35 each time). Lasted 4.5k before rims wore out
- Fulcrum Racing 7 LG - Feel good but bearings had to be replaced after 2k (£70!!). Rims shot again after about 4k.

I like the look of Shimano WH501 as pretty cheap and not sure the sealed bearings of thd Fulcrums are so great given replacement length and cost.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

The Shimano wheels also have sealed bearings.

 

[gbb]

I have Fulcrum 5s and WH-R500s and neither have suffered unduly with rim or hub
wear but you (i) don't use the brakes much when weekend riding. My Shimano were more exclusively commuting wheels, all weather, wet or wintry, didn't matter. They are still good after maybe 10 years use, only had to service the hubs twice despite riding in occasionally atrocious conditions.
If I wanted good hard wearing, workmanlike wheels, Assuming the 501s are basically the same as 500s....501s every time.

 

[Tim Hall]

What brake pads are you using OP?

 

[gbb]

The sealed bearings issue is a bit of a red herring IMO. As YS says, both have sealed bearings but the real issue with the Fulcrums, having read others reports re the bearings is poor quality, not the seals.
I've stripped my 5s several times for different reasons, mostly cleaning etc and there has been no failure of the seals, the bearings are still visually very clean inside. Coincidentally I put better bearings in my 5s as soon as I brought them for my own reasons so can't comment on the factory fitted ones.
The shimano seals are quite different seals but nevertheless theyre quite effective...the hubs usually will have more and heavier grease in and they're relatively easy to service , clean and adjust.

 

[Archeress]

If you know someone with a wheel jig, have a go building your own. I recently hand built my own rear wheel after putting a new hub in. I laced it following the guide on the Sheldon Brown website and then went over to a club mate to learn how to tension it on his jig. I swear that the bike feels more rigid at the back end after the rebuild.

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[Archeress]

Also getting a hub replaced on a rear wheel for £35 is actually pretty good value, given that a wheel rebuild is required and will take a minimum of an hour, you'll need to include in that the cost of the hub and presumably new spokes.

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[Will Spin]

In my experience aluminium rims wear out quickly if you ride in all weathers, especially if you live somewhere hilly with plenty of muddy lanes. I'm currently using Shimano Ultegra wheels which seem to be holding up fairly well, I've probably done about 4K miles one one set. I've been trying to do most of my braking on the front wheel to reduce the wear on the back wheel.

 

[pfm401]

Thanks. I use Lifeline pads from Wiggle but am a bit of a wuss on hills so brake heavily! It's pretty hilly round here.

Cheers, Paul.

 

[pfm401]

Oh and sorry it was just the rear freehub that was replaced not a wheel rebuild

 

[pfm401]

I thought Shimano were cup and cone rather than sealed bearings?

 

[DRM]

I have been looking at replacement wheels for a while & ordered these from Planet X
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WPSHWH501/shimano-wh-501clincher-wheelset
They were £59 last week but seem to have gone up to £69, even so they are strong & not overly heavy, and even at £69 they are a no brainer, I weighed the set at 1900 grams (without skewers and cassete), about 20 to 40 grams more than wheels 3x the price,indeed some were over 2000 grams!, I have a set on the winter bike, which have been pretty bullet proof considering the state of the roads, I know there are some really nice wheels out there, but as I say for the money you can't go wrong.
They come with skewers & rim tape.

 

[gbb]

I thought Shimano were cup and cone rather than sealed bearings?

Both are sealed. Quite different methods but sealed nevertheless and yes, the 501s are cup and cone.
Ironically, the Fulcrums are possibly sealed better, they have the cartridge bearings seals plus the outer plastic or rubber seal on the outside (certainly with Fulcrum 5s), while the Shimano has just a single seal each side.