Will lighter wheels make a difference?

[rjacko10]

Hi All,

In March this year I bought the very affordable Revolution Cross '13 (a cyclocross bike) by Edinburgh Cycles essentially for the 16 mile round trip commute and occasionally for some leisurely trial rides.

Now I'm considering entering a triathlon so I'm thinking of making the bike a little lighter by replacing the chunky stock wheels.

I can't find the weight of the stock wheels, but the bike comes in just under 13kg. For reference this years model is here: http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/products/revolution-cross-14

So if I were to spend about £150 on a pair of road wheels weighing <1kg each could I expect a substantial improvement in performance? Does anyone have any experience of changing wheels? Any examples of performance improvement?

I've never even been on a road bike before so I'm really in the dark here. Any advice/tips would be great.

Thanks!

 

[vickster]

I'd change the tyres first to lighter slicker ones

I find that lighter wheels perhaps have a psychological effect in that I'll pedal harder because I think my performance should be enhanced by more expensive wheels

The upright position of a CX bike may also have a slowing effect

 

[helston90]

Yeah stick some slicks on- 25s if you can, they will be a lot lighter (if you plump for high TPI racing ones rather than low TPI winter commuting ones) and a lot quicker rolling before worrying about the wheels.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

as above. if this is a taster Triathlon then maybe don't splurge too much, if you hate it then no big loss, you've some nicer tyres to commute on, but if you love it and want to do more, you've got some extra cash for a more suitable tri/road bike.

the main differences are road bikes are a tad less comfy all round: thinner, harder tyres, less substantial firmer saddle, lower profile & more tipped forward aero position on the bike, faster gear set up & the handling can be a little more twitchy and skittish. you may notice a little bit less confidence in the brakes vs canti's especially in the wet but nowadays not so much as days of yore.

 

[DCLane]

25mm tyres first, as above comments. That's providing it'll take them - the spec seems to state it'll take 28mm max. 28mm slick tyres will still roll much quicker.

Lighter wheels will need to take a 7-speed freewheel - which many might not. You're probably limited to the budget end of the market anyway, which means they'll still be heavy.

I'd suggest sort out some road tyres first, then see.

 

[Cycleops]

13 kg seems very porky for a bike to use in a triathlon. For not much more than a decent set of tyres you could probably get a vintage 531 framed bike which would shave about 3kg off that. You might need to spend a bit sorting it but would give you a more competitive machine.

 

[SteCenturion]

13 kg seems very porky for a bike to use in a triathlon. For not much more than a decent set of tyres you could probably get a vintage 531 framed bike which would shave about 3kg off that. You might need to spend a bit sorting it but would give you a more competitive machine.

A vintage Reynolds 531 CX bike ?

I've never heard of one.

Tyres, tyres, tyres.

If it were 10 or 11 speed & a mid to high end bike then that would be both tyres & wheels.

Light wheels always make a difference, as do tyres, rotational mass & all that.

 

[Cycleops]

A vintage Reynolds 531 CX bike ?

I've never heard of one.

Nor me but the OP was looking to compete in Triathlons if you refer to his post, so a 531 framed bike would be more competative instead of using his 14kg CX bike. He won't save 3kg by changing the wheels and tyres.

 

[Hacienda71]

Buy some clip on tt bars. Practice with them on a quiet bit of road. They will buy you more time than lighter wheels and shouldn't set you back more than £30. If you don't do another triathlon you can always sell them on.

 

[SteCenturion]

Nor me but the OP was looking to compete in Triathlons if you refer to his post, so a 531 framed bike would be more competative instead of using his 14kg CX bike. He won't save 3kg by changing the wheels and tyres.

He is, yes.

He might save 1kg overall with lighter wheels, tyres & tubes, but still have a heavy bike.

I would think he would be better off selling the bike & upgrading to a lighter weight CX for all his intended uses inc commutes/leisure rides.

A Boardman CX Team would be a good place to start.

 

[Cuchilo]

Its quite odd the performance you get from wheels . I was expecting massive results when I swapped the P-SL1's on my TCR to 38mm hand built carbons . I wasn't really impressed although they are faster off the mark it wasn't the massive change I was expecting . I then swapped the carbons over to P=SLR1's 50mm carbon and although adding weight ( 200g )
There is no massive change . They are not as fast off the mark but once you get going there is a slight gain . Nothing to shout about though .
The biggest change I found was swapping the P-SL1's onto my Defy 5 that had S-R2's The whole bike just became nicer and I really wasn't expecting it to make a difference .
From what I have experienced changing the stock wheels on my defy to a £2-300 set was a good gain . Swapping a £2-300 set for a set around the 1k mark was a waste of my money and ive done it twice
I'd do it again though because I'm a tart