Road Cycling - Confused by rim choices/opinions

I'm looking for some guidance. I ride an '04 Specialized Allez Elite with the stock 'A-Class ALX 330' wheels. The rims are light, have bladed spokes, and an aero profile. The Alex rims and A-class web sites have no listing of this rim, and so I have been able to get no real tech info on them. Just about every review of these rims has been negative.

Here's the rub. So far, I have had no problems with these wheels, but happen to have some extra cash on hand, and was thinking of upgrading to a set of Mavic or Velomax wheels. Right now, I only get out on the weekends, and am slowly upping my mileage and speed. I'm doing a few charity rides this spring, and don't want the wheels to crap out on me during this time. If I do get the wheels, I want to get something that I can grow into and not have to upgrade again down the road.

Here are my questions: 1. Should I go ahead and get the new wheels, or wait until I really need them? 2. Has anyone else had a similar experience? 3. Can anyone recommend a good set of rims that are good for a newbie like myself?

Sorry for the long post, but I trust the advice of the more experienced riders here, and look forward to your insight.

can you post a pic of your wheel pls..

anyway, how much are you prepared to spend? Are you looking for a rim or a whole wheel?

Mavic Open Pro or Cosmos are very solid every day riding wheels. I put about 12,000 miles on an Open Pro set and had one spoke tuned on the rear in all that mileage. Comfortable, durable....

I'd switch...mainly because if you do something to these, you'll be out of commission for a few days and, of course, wheels only develop problems at the height of the season when the bike shop is awash in repair work. Keep the old ones for winter/bad weather/trainer riding.

Also know that you'll have to get a new casette for the rear if you want to keep the old wheels.

Naw, save your money.
Use your wheels until they are beat. If there is nothing wrong with them, don't worry about it.

Save your bucks and you will have a decent chunk of cash and a better idea of which wheels you might want. Plus, new designs are coming out all the time so next year you might say, "OK, these stock wheels are toast. I'll get the Brand-X because I like X-style of riding and these are the wheels for it- glad I listen to that genius on Bikeforums!"

;)

can you post a pic of your wheel pls..

anyway, how much are you prepared to spend? Are you looking for a rim or a whole wheel?
Here is a link to the specialized site. http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=6007&JServSessionIdroot=rc5nbn2apo.j27002
Their spec sheet calls the rims something other than what is printed on the rim itself. Hmmm

I have heard many people here mention the Mavic Open Pro as a great rim. I was thinking of getting those rims on Dura Ace or Chris King hubs (other threads/posts have discussed this). Most on-line retailers sell the OP's pretty cheap, and I'll probably have the LBS do the work.

i'm with roadwarrior.

if you're serious about riding regularly, it's well worth it to have a spare set of wheels.

there's nothing worse than breaking a spoke/rim/axle/hub/whatever on a thursday afternoon and then losing a weekend of sweet summer riding cause your LBS can't take care of the repair until tuesday or something.

i can't recommend a wheel without more info on where/how you ride, your weight, bike, etc, but really, it's hard to go wrong with any of the choices given here.

open pros with DA, ksyrium elites, bontrager racelites, etc.

i'm with roadwarrior.


i can't recommend a wheel without more info on where/how you ride, your weight, bike, etc, but really, it's hard to go wrong with any of the choices given here.

open pros with DA, ksyrium elites, bontrager racelites, etc.

I ride primarily smooth roads, along the coast in CA. A couple of the routes I ride are hilly, with really fun descents. I weigh about 175-180, and spend most of my time in the saddle (don't quite have the sticks to attack on hills...yet).

I'm looking for some guidance. I ride an '04 Specialized Allez Elite with the stock 'A-Class ALX 330' wheels. The rims are light, have bladed spokes, and an aero profile. The Alex rims and A-class web sites have no listing of this rim, and so I have been able to get no real tech info on them. Just about every review of these rims has been negative.

Here are my questions: 1. Should I go ahead and get the new wheels, or wait until I really need them? 2. Has anyone else had a similar experience? 3. Can anyone recommend a good set of rims that are good for a newbie like myself?

Sorry for the long post, but I trust the advice of the more experienced riders here, and look forward to your insight.

I think the ALX-330s are very similar to the ALX-320s but only made for Specialized. They're decent wheels, pretty stiff, and weighing about 1650gr.

If you have lots of extra money, the American Classic 420s are very nice and weigh in around 1420gr. http://www.amclassic.com/420_Wheels.html

Good question. I have the '03 Allez Elite with the same wheels. Put 2000 miles on them last year on crappy country roads. Busted a rear spoke twice and had the back wheel go out of true another time. I'm considering Open Pros/Ultegra hubs (Colorado Cyclist or Excel are a lot cheaper than all my local shops), Mavic Equipes, and Bontrager Racelites. No racing in my future, I plan to ride several centuries this season and double my mileage.

Not sure yet which I'm getting, but I'm waiting until either I have another problem or work really picks up (I'm a contractor).

Good luck.

there is nothing great about the wheels on your bike...I say ride them at least a year. A second set of wheels is a great idea and the open pros are the gold standard. The da hubs are really smooth. I have a set of da hubs that from 1987 that I still ride. Chris King hubs are nice too, but you should see a set before you buy them online. They make a real loud sound when coasting...I couldn't live with them. Ask your LBS if they can match the price of mail order, they may not be able to match it outright, but they may be able to come close, and the good thing about going through your LBS is the local service.

Personally, i would get some 32spoke wheels hand built with Mavic Open pros and DA or CK hubs like mentioned and use these for training and then use the others for racing...when the bearings start to go (first thing to go usually) sell them cheap and get some NICE race wheels. If you get the race wheels trued/retensioned you shouldnt have a problem of the spokes breaking as this is usually bound to happen on stock machine built wheels. With the open pros, you can race on these as well as train (very versatile) so if your race wheels bung out, you can still race OK. Also with these wheels, if you buy a spoke wrench you can buy spokes from a LBS and replace broken ones yourself, thus avoiding any wait at the LBS for them to service the wheel. All LBSs should stock normal spokes...... though some don't..

Time for bed instead of mindless dribble perhaps?

Brendon