Which £250 road wheels
- Thread starter Lozatron
- Start date
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amaferanga
Veteran
- Location
- Bolton
Soul 3.0 Xpert are probably the lightest you'll find at ~1500g for under £250. Are these for racing or general riding?
OP
OP
Lozatron
Well-Known Member
General riding, weekend jaunts and the occasional sportive - so (I guess..) strength as important as weight...
Tim Bennet.
Entirely Average Member
- Location
- S of Kendal
The benchmark at this price point is a pair of handbuilt wheels from someone like Paul Hewitt or other master wheel builders.
They'll be Ultegra / DA hubs, Mavic Open Pro rims and 32 DB spokes etc. They probably represent the best quality / longest lasting / lightest / easily maintainable wheels you can get for that sort of money. The factory built wheels are only 'better' in some respects at this price (eg, style?) and you have to spend twice that amount for them to be materially better in more respects (but then not all).
They'll be Ultegra / DA hubs, Mavic Open Pro rims and 32 DB spokes etc. They probably represent the best quality / longest lasting / lightest / easily maintainable wheels you can get for that sort of money. The factory built wheels are only 'better' in some respects at this price (eg, style?) and you have to spend twice that amount for them to be materially better in more respects (but then not all).
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Whilst browsing the net I came across these Mavic Ksyrium Equipe they are £265 for the Silver pair.
accountantpete
OAP
OP
OP
Lozatron
Well-Known Member
Thanks all for the input - prompted a lot of thinking and googling...
So without wishing to walk unknowingly into a religious war (bloody helmet wearing RLJers don't you hate them...) - what would be the difference between the Ksyriums and a similarly priced pair of hand-made wheels from the likes of Harry Rowland, Hewitts or Arup?
My gut feel is that the Ksyriums would be lighter and potentially have better performance on paper, but lack the (wholly subjective) pride in ownership of an artisan product and possibly attention to detail in getting the spokes all equally tensioned and the rim perfectly straight... Is this fair?
So without wishing to walk unknowingly into a religious war (bloody helmet wearing RLJers don't you hate them...) - what would be the difference between the Ksyriums and a similarly priced pair of hand-made wheels from the likes of Harry Rowland, Hewitts or Arup?
My gut feel is that the Ksyriums would be lighter and potentially have better performance on paper, but lack the (wholly subjective) pride in ownership of an artisan product and possibly attention to detail in getting the spokes all equally tensioned and the rim perfectly straight... Is this fair?
Globalti
Legendary Member
The Ksyrium SLs I have are rigid as hell and lethally efficient, they make a big difference to climbing, which just seems so effortless. However they are pretty high-tech in the way they are constructed and although they come with a really easy-looking spoke key, I would be terrified to mess with the spokes.
On the other hand if you bought hand-built you get the satisfaction of supporting a craftsman and the lifelong guarantee and after-sales service that brings. Plus you get the enjoyment of discussing the build and absorbing some of the aura of experience from the maker.
On the other hand if you bought hand-built you get the satisfaction of supporting a craftsman and the lifelong guarantee and after-sales service that brings. Plus you get the enjoyment of discussing the build and absorbing some of the aura of experience from the maker.
AlanW
Guru
- Location
- Not to sure?
Other than the handbuilt option that has already been mentioned, you would be hard pressed to beat these
They are within your budget (after you have deducted the 7% Ribble discount) and they are indeed bombproof wheels. In saying that, any of the Shimano wheel sets are good value, even the cheaper RS10's at less than £100 a pair!!
The spoking arrangement on the rear also make them more robust that the cheaper Mavic wheels to.
They are within your budget (after you have deducted the 7% Ribble discount) and they are indeed bombproof wheels. In saying that, any of the Shimano wheel sets are good value, even the cheaper RS10's at less than £100 a pair!!
The spoking arrangement on the rear also make them more robust that the cheaper Mavic wheels to.
