Road Cycling - Wheel questions

Ok, now I'm looking at buying my first set of racing wheels for my Trek 2200. I've been researching different makers on the internet, and it looks like the Mavic and Champlango companies both make great wheels (but then again, I don't know exactly what I'm looking for). Right now I'm riding Bontrager that came with the Trek. The wheels that I'm looking most closely at are the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SSC. But I have a few questions because I'm very new to all of this, and so I'm inexperienced when it comes to bike products.

-Are all bike wheel and frame fits universal?
-What factors do I need to take into consideration when buying a wheel set?
-Is Ebay a good place to look, or should I strictly buy only new wheels?
-Is the number of pro teams using a particular wheel company a reflection of the wheel quality?

If you have any suggestions, advice, comments, or anything of that nature, please share them with me!

I would choose Mavic over the Campy....but, I do not think you will be happy with them, have a look at the following specs from Mavics site for weights of 700C Clinchers....I think you REALLY want the Ksyrium SSC SL. The Cosmics are slower to "spin up" - i.e., the dynamics of speedup, slowdown, etc. of a race.

Mavic Cosmic Carbone SSC - front 885 g, rear 1090 g.

Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL - front 690 g, rear 840 g

Originally posted by crucifixion12
Ok, now I'm looking at buying my first set of racing wheels for my Trek 2200. I've been researching different makers on the internet, and it looks like the Mavic and Champlango companies both make great wheels (but then again, I don't know exactly what I'm looking for). Right now I'm riding Bontrager that came with the Trek. The wheels that I'm looking most closely at are the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SSC. But I have a few questions because I'm very new to all of this, and so I'm inexperienced when it comes to bike products.

-Are all bike wheel and frame fits universal?
-What factors do I need to take into consideration when buying a wheel set?
-Is Ebay a good place to look, or should I strictly buy only new wheels?
-Is the number of pro teams using a particular wheel company a reflection of the wheel quality?

If you have any suggestions, advice, comments, or anything of that nature, please share them with me! Do you even race?Do you even know you need racing wheels?Buy the same wheel siize as on the bike now,assume 700c,unless yours has 650c. Hub should be compatible with your cassette(shimano or campy).You can get hosed on ebay especailly with used and not knowing what you are doing.Pros get their stuff bought for them.Alot of it is beyond what the non pro needs.You need to decide if you want durable wheels,Truely aero wheels or really light wheels. Check www.excelsports.com and the excel cirrus wheels. Hard to beat for $300.If you have more money to spend,boh the Mavics and Campy wheels are good.

Yes I am racing my first season this year, and yes I know I need racing wheels. My budget is around $1,000 for wheels

Do any of you guys have experience with Velomax Orion Comp's? All of the reviews that I have read are very good

Bottom line, it looks like you are not going to take any advise from people that have raced...

Do the following

1) Join a team
2) Use the equipment the team uses
3) You will get a BIG break on prices.

If you are willing to spend so much on a new set of wheels you might as well upgrade to a better bike, sell your Trek 2200 and use the profits toward your new bike. A Trek 5200 or 5500 would be a good choice since you are already acustomed to the fit of a Trek. The 5500 comes with Bontrager Race X Lites which are liter than those on your current 2200. Along with the wheels, the components and the frame will be much lighter too. Just my $.02.

kewlrunningz, that was actually my first idea to just get a new frame. I would like to upgrade to a 5500, so that could be my best option.

knifun, I never rejected a word of your advice, bro. I don't know where you got that impression. I appreciate your comments as well as everyone else who has taken the time to respond.

Don't take anything anybody says personally. Everbody means well...most everybody ;)

I've bought a couple of wheelsets from sellers on eBay in the past. The condition is never as good as the seller says, but in both cases, the price was quite low, so the deal was worth it. Still, if I were looking for a new, top-line wheelset, I'd avoid eBay....

i have a set of shimano dura ace wheels. i have noticed that dura ace wheels are not mentioned much on this forum. Are they not as good as what they make out to be. so far, i am pretty happy with them.
slick1

I've got the Dura-Ace wheelset also. Although not the lightest high-end wheelset, the low spoke count, bladed spokes, and aero rims make them quite fast. Plus I've never had a problem with them in 2 years over some very rough roads.