Fifty Plus (50+) - New Wheelset

The new Tarmac expert arrived at the bike shop today. It comes with a Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheelset. I have been trying to find a Mavic Ksyrium SL wheel set to replace the equipes but no deals. I am riding the equipes on my Steel bike, good ruggid wheels but the point of the Expert is to go light. I've been looking at the Easton Orion II and the AC 420 as alternatives to the Mavic SLs. Of course my first pick would be the Fulcrum Race 0 but that is way out off the budget. Any thoughts? Inner Fred is felling very satisfied...

I had Mike Garcia build a set of Velocity Aeroheads last year. They are excellent.

http://oddsandendos.safeshopper.com/index.htm?894

I can't comment on the wheels you mentioned because I'm not familiar with them.

What does buying expensive pre-built wheels have to do with "inner Fred"? Sounds outwardly OCP to me.
;)

What does buying expensive pre-built wheels have to do with "inner Fred"? Sounds outwardly OCP to me.
;)

:eek::eek:

Fred and OCP!!!!

Just like Bikes- you can never have enough wheels. The Boreas came with Ultegra wheels and they are pretty Good wheels. Now when I wear out this set- I doubt that I would have the money to replace them so Keep them for special occasions and Posing. Use the Set of training wheels I bought for the Giant last year and they may be a bit heavier- but they are Indestructable and are far easier to repair. And I only notice them on the bike when I notice that the red colour of the tyres does not match the frame.

So if you do not like the Equippe wheels- Go and buy the top of the range Costalot wheels that look good- but on normal riding or over the winter- wear out the "Stock" wheels.

I was lucky with the Ultegras as They were Stripped and rebuilt by my wheel builder for his own use- before he discovered that they were only 10 spped- would not take his 9 speed cassette. If you are going to get new wheels- Go for hand Built. Although I am too far away- The reputation of Mike Garcia even reaches these shores so Take Louis' advice and get the Handbuilt Wheels They are worth it.

What does buying expensive pre-built wheels have to do with "inner Fred"? Sounds outwardly OCP to me.
;)OCP? Don'recognize that one - please parse

I had Mike Garcia build me a set of Velocity Aeroheads last year. they are excellent.

http://oddsandendos.safeshopper.com/index.htm?894

+1 on on Mike Garcia's wheels.

I also had Mike build me a set of Aerohead/Aerohead OC wheels this past June. 2,500 miles on them so far without a problem. They're lighter and considerably less expensive than the Mavics too.

They're also my regular commuting wheels, which speaks to their strength given the potholes, construction zones, and occasional curb-jumping they're subjected to. Heck, on my vacation, I even had them off-road and fire-roading.

There's also the benefit of having something custom-designed and handbuilt. There is no wheelset exactly like mine in the entire world. Any idiot with room on their credit card can buy Mavics, and that's generally what I think when I see them on a bike--some guy with too much money and not enough sense.

FWIW.