Road Cycling - Light Wheelsets????

So the new Giant TCR Composite 1 magically appeared on my doorstep and I'm already trying to shave weight off.

Currently I'm running a Mavic Cosmos wheelset but think I can save more rotating weight. I weigh 130 and figure I can manage the type of wheelset that a bigger rider couldn't. Anybody have any opinions on these?

Bontrager RaceXLite $750 1520g
Velomax Ascent Comp $600 1472g
Mavic Kysyrium $800 1530g
Campagnalo (Nucleon or Neutron can't remember which) $780 1580g

Hand Built???
No sew-ups, clincher only.

I'm seriously considering the Velomax for price and weight reasons but get mixed reviews on quality. The bigger brands seem to be charging for the name. I.E. the Mavics, though tempting, seem awfully spendy, too flashy and prone to cross-wind issues.

OK, I'll stop now. Any thoughts?

P.S. Would upgrading the cogset from Ultegra to Durace help in the rotating weight category or is it not enough to worry about?

I say go for the Mavic Ksyrium SSC, you can get them for $575 at totalcycling. I love mine been great wheels, on my other bike I have a set of speeddream aerolight wheels from speed dream $519 and 1415 grams.. a bit ligher then the mavic Ksyrium and no proprietary spokes like the Ksyrium, I weigh 155 pounds never had any problems. The speedreams use aero spokes but not as wide as the Ksyrium so not as much problems with side winds.

Those are my suggestions either the Ksyrium SSC or the Speedreams.. check out roadbikereview to for other's reviews both are on their.

Out of all the wheels you listed, the Campy Nucleons are the lightest and fastest. I think they have the least rotating weight and they are very high quality and nice, nice bearings.
Ksyriums SSC SL's are great wheels but not very aero. They are plenty stiff for someone 130# and they aren't fragile.

Don't even bother with Buttrager or Velosmacks.

Want light wheels? Get the American Classic 350's with the micro hubs. They weight1372 grams for about 500(maybe a litte more)
www.amclassic.om

Byron

Look at the new Mavic and Campy wheels.

Buy them from a US dealer. It may be more but you will get a warranty and service.

Why not have a set custom made? Lighter, stronger, cheaper... how can you go wrong? I recently bought a set of road wheels from Brazen Cycle Works (http://www.eteamz.com/sites/brazen/) ,
and I am happy with them. Look around the net, there are plenty of other builders to choose from.

My .02CDN¢,
mike

Hand built might be the way to go but I'm a bit wary. How do I know I'm getting a good build?

Originally posted by spexy
Hand built might be the way to go but I'm a bit wary. How do I know I'm getting a good build?

Because, the only people who do custom builds, are good at building wheels. Believe me, if you ain't good at it, you ain't going to make money.

Fair enough.;)

And the wheels deffinately make a huge noticable difference in the feel of accelleration. I couldn't believe how much lighter my whole bike felt just by upgrading my wheels! Worth every penny.

In addition to Fubar5's comments, you can get a feel for a builder's reputation by poking around the web as well as googling the newsgroups. In addition to that, email the various builders with questions regarding their experience, tools, building philosophy, etc. The timeliness, as well as the contents of their responses can be very telling as to what type of person you are dealing with.

Good luck,
Mike

By the way, I doubt that changing cassettes will present as appreciable of a difference. But, if you're getting race wheels, go for it. Might as well make 'em as light as possible.

Originally posted by spexy
Hand built might be the way to go but I'm a bit wary. How do I know I'm getting a good build?
Well, if you get your wheels trued, and they stay pretty d@mn true, through thick and thin, for a year, you've found your wheelsmith. Otherwise, ask around. In any case, find this man. Learn his name. Make him your friend. If you live in a town with two or three shops, odds are good that one of them has such a mechanic. He can build up a set just as good as anything ordered from East BF off the net.

I believe Sheldon Brown builds wheels.... and we all can trust him :)

Hey! Why not try some Velomax Ascents for 430 USD.

Linky (http://www.cyclinggoods.com/new_02velomaxwheels.htm) :D

Bobsled, Thanks for the link, that's a great price! If I buy prebuilt its between Velomax and American Classic for sure. I'm still unimpressed with the bigger brands weight/price ratio and am willing to take the chance on lesser known brands.

However, I'm also going to talk to my bike shop's wheel builder. He has the Giant TCR Composite 0 and built his own wheels. Shaved a pound off. It's like 15lbs or so now. Crazy.

Thanks All!

Spexy

P.S. ImprezaDrvr. Decided not to upgrade cogset as it will only save me 50g. I'm sick, but not that sick.

Wise man with that cassette.

I'd suggest that you really challenge yourself and learn to build a wheelset. Have a shop look it over. It's a blast to do, and truing is a lot easier after you've built (and rebuilt as many times as necessary) a set of wheels.

That suggestion aside, I agree with the custom wheelset crowd here. Pick everything, get the best at the hubs, spokes and rims, and you'll be set. Remember, save weight at the rims and get the best hubs you can. At least, that's my advice.

Spexy,

You're welcome.

ONly reason I would not go with the American Classic's is the hubs, quite a few reports of the bearings going out on them.

As for the velomax, supergo has the orion's for $399.

Kev, yeah I heard that too but supposedly the hub is now better sealed with the proper grease.

Who knows though.

I actualy heard it is the bearings, I know Dave Thomas of speeddream actualy replaced the bearings in the American Classic hubs before he would sell the wheels built on them.

FWIW I've been on a set of Velomax Ascents for almost a year and have had lotsa good miles and no problems.

A

Originally posted by Singlespeedster
FWIW I've been on a set of Velomax Ascents for almost a year and have had lotsa good miles and no problems.

A

Seems to be a common response. I actually bought a set of Orions recently but haven't ridden them yet so I can't say what they're like.:(

Nimble makes a great lightweight wheel called the Spider.

Go to http://www.nimble.net

Wow, those are super light, especially the "Fly", I wonder what reliability is like. Though I'm a light rider I do wonder about rim integrity on heavy downhill breaking.

I'm gonna look for some review of those. Thanks.

try daves speeddream wheels 1-800-275-5031 as he can build you a very light and strong wheel. I have his lightest and i weight 150. they are lighter than ksyiriams and more aero.:beer:

Or just check out the spec's on his web site at www.speeddream.com and the reviews at roadbikereview and mtbr. I've been very happy with mine. THey are hand built wheels, he uses aero spokes and gives you extra just in case. And wil answer all questions if you call him up, great guy to talk to.

I would go with the Campag Wheels, but if you really want to spend some money and get some superlight wheels take a look at Thorius. Thier wheels look really nice, but i think some of them use tubulars which offer less rolling resistance and they are lighter i think. Thier website is http://www.thoriusbike.com .
stew

Hi all,
Why don't you try the SPINNERGY X-AERO LITE wheel set?

It weights only 1498g
(both the front and rear wheel without quick release skewers, tires, tubes or rimstrips.)

Here's a comparison chart (from the Spinergy site) between XERO Light and Ksyrium SSC SL.

http://www.spinergy.com/Compare/comparison.htm


I can say that they are a smooooth ride :o)
//ArcSpin