Road Cycling - Wheels

Im thinking of upgrading my wheels.What im after is a far mor comfortable ride.At the moment im running on Alex DA 16 RIMS.
Im thinking of getting Mavic open pro on 105 hubs.Will these rims be much more comfortable than my Alex rims:beer:

What is you're current bike setup? To get a more comfortable ride, I would go more along the lines of a carbon fork if you don't have one.. and carbon bars.. Even a CF seatpost (some debate on hwo much a difference they make). Wheels can make a difference but I not sure how much a difference you will actualy notice.

The biggest difference you will notice from your wheels is in weight and stiffness or speed/acceleration. If you are thinking of improving comfort you may want to analyze your fit... or you can go to a platic fork as mentioned above. FWIW all my framesets are rigid steel and are plenty comfortable.

What exactly is the comfort issue? Wheels can make a difference but, you might want to try different tire preassure. That will make a bigger differnce than the type of wheel and... its free!

Lots of jarring ,no room for wider tires,no room for sus post.But the alex rims are semi deep section with 36 hole hubs.Bike postion is comfortable,its just the bad jarring.Tie pressures are 100psi.
The wheels however have seen me through a few winters,so they are ready
for a change.

If you want a more comfortable ride, try tubulars.....

Why are they better?

You can run lower pressure for the same rolling resistance.

However that said youcan achieve better comfort by getting a decent set of wheels built.
Your Alex rims are deep section and are probably laced with very high tension.
By having a set of wheels built with a more compliant rim like the Open Pro, droppingthe tension a little and using longer, thinner spokdes like the DT Revoultion you can achieve a noticable difference in ride quality. The DT Revs being thinner are more elastic so stretch and contract much better than thicker gauge spokes. They also don't last as long but a rebuild every couple of years will be Ok IMO.
I suggest you go for small diameter flange hubs to keep the spoke length long. 105's should be ok but perhaps you should consider Ultegra. They're more durable (better sealing a bearing race finish) and worth the extra cost.
3 cross spoke pattern is also a good idea.

All you have to do now is find a wheelbuilder who can build your wheels according to your needs. I'm not in the USA so I would'nt know who is good but I'm sure the more knowledgable fellows on the forum can assist you with names.

Cheers

I use rims that are similar to the Mavic but made by Torelli called the Master Series and cost today about $39 each VS $69 for the Mavics and are just as good and the same weight as the Mavics. I laced the front with 36 DT Revolution dble butted spokes and the rear with 36 DT Competition dbl butted spokes. These rims now are 5 years old have about 20,000 miles on them and they are doing great and rarely do I have to true them and when I do it's always a minor adjustment-and I bang rough city streets and broken up country roads on them, jumped curbs, cattle guards etc. and never been rebuilt. BUT I weigh between 160 and 163, if you weigh a few more than than that I would recommend standard dbl butted spokes for the front-just to be safe.

Have had good luck with Colorado Cyclist for building wheels at a good price. Have used two sets of Open Pro CD on Campy hubs over the past five years and been very satisfied with both the price and quality. You can select double butted DT spokes and brass nipples for a small up-charge (like 30 cents per spoke, or so). Can get black with red nipples, or other colors, if you want. But the the Open Pro CD or Ceramic is an excellent choice, in my experience, and you will be pleased with the result. I weigh 200 and they proved very durable. Using Ultegra rather than 105 is a good suggestion. Price difference is not that much for the higher quality hub. You can find prices and options on their website. Enjoy!!

I just dont think thats the right way to go for a better ride.Bigger tires,lower psi or a different bike.

Good point, hey, Orbit, what ya got for a bike?

GT ROAD BIKE.

Hey Orbie, can you elaborate a little more please, current spec, tubing type etc fork type. need to get a feel for what you're riding.

GT's are pretty comfy though, they dissipate the road vibrations very well in the frame
Gut feel still says you should change the wheels for a more compliant, custom built pair.

My Open Pro's on Daytona hubs are more comfortable than my Ksyriums, specifically because I asked the builder to build them this way. Great for training

Hi,
the first thing I would do is put on the biggest, highest volume, tire that will fit. Sometimes that's the Rivendell Roly Poly. Wheels are definitely an option; but at some point it makes more sense to tuck the money away for a new bike. You can smooth the ride a little; but the difference prob won't be huge.