Which Wheels as next upgrade?

[Jameshow]

I think you may have these bikes confused with something else, neither is a gravel bike, both are very much road bikes, fast road bikes. Granted the C3 can take 32mm tyres but that hardly makes it a gravel bike. The Caledonia takes 36mm, again that doesn't make it a gravel bike.

The Caledonia was described as a gravel bike in several reviews at the time all be it a road orientated gravel ready bike.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

3kph is a big difference.

I would estimate 2 to 2.5 km/h of that is the tyre and much reduced rolling resistance. I have summer and winter tyres and you really do see those kind of differences when you swap over.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

I must admit I am still intrigued by some of the high-end CFRP wheelsets coming out of China though; I imagine moving from boggo alloy rims to some composite hoops that weight getting on for half as much must feel pretty special

I haven't tried a set, but there are a few brands now which people like Hambini and Peak Torque on Youtube (both pretty experienced engineers) rate very highly. 9velo come out very well when reviewed and with the dollar exchange rate plus a 10% code can be picked up for around £650-700 delivered. I very nearly bought a set about 12 months ago but the exchange rate was a bit higher back then, and I got an unbelievable deal on a set of carbon campag shamals, so I purchased those instead.

 

[mickle]

When you consider the hundreds of thousands that people happily spend on high performance motor bikes and super cars, which will never be driven to their full potential, i think spending a wedge on upgrading your bike *just because you want to* is enough justification in itself. You don't need a perceived performance benefit beyond wanting to ride a farking nice bike.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

When you consider the hundreds of thousands that people happily spend on high performance motor bikes and super cars, which will never be driven to their full potential, i think spending a wedge on upgrading your bike *just because you want to* is enough justification in itself. You don't need a perceived performance benefit beyond wanting to ride a farking nice bike.

I agree, it is up to people how they spend their money, if you want nice things then I don't really see the issue. My main pet peeve (which doesn't really happen here but we used to get loads of on the old BR forum) was people constantly asking will X bike or Y wheels make me faster, or thinking that dropping £8k on a bike would turn them into a semi-pro cyclist by some act of magic!