miggy_smalls

So after lurking and searching and some posting for opinions on wheelsets for a clyde, I'm still in no better state of mind than I was before. Maybe worse. I posted a thread about a few choices and the consensus seemed that they'd do fine. But now as I got some suggestions from folks here and my LBS I'm still stuck. I think I've narrowed it down.

Fulcrum Racing 7 Wheels 2014 - Pair | Merlin Cycles (based on price, weight and lots of good reviews)

Giant PSL-1(based on my LBS suggestion)

Now granted my LBS is a giant dealer and I've spent a lot of time in the shop so he's gotten to know me pretty well. One factor I'm torn is that by comparison they are both pretty similar in weight. Although the giants have a 4 more spokes on the rear than the Fulcrums. I'm 215lbs right now trying to get to 195-200. I probably carry about 10lb of extra stuff on my bike(rack, pannier bag, water bottles, etc.) I like to think I'm conscious of how I ride. I try to absorb most of the shock to my legs and arm. And I know that lots of guys bigger than me ride the fulcrums but the 2014 models have dropped a few spokes so thats made me nervous too.

I just don't know which way to go. Save money and get the fulcrums or pay more and go LBS. I figure I'd be getting a lot more in terms of warranty and maintenance with the LBS, but I really cant find much about those wheels to know how good they are. Anyone else want to chime in with a lil help. I've been racking my brain about this for a few weeks now.

ill.clyde

The rear wheels of both have the same number of spokes (according to each link you provided). The front Giant wheel has two fewer spokes than the Fulcrums.

I think I mentioned it in your original thread, I'm 265 and ride older model Fulcrums. They've been fantastic for more than 2,000 miles now and I've been at least 30 pounds heavier at times. Typically I'm one to say support your LBS ... but if the difference in price is enough, I'd consider ordering them.

Just my two cents.

headloss 

I don't understand why you want low spoke count wheels that tend to be what get slapped on to stock race bikes... if this is the type of wheel you want, I'd look for someone who upgraded and is looking to let go of a pair. I see Fulcrum's on ebay and CL all the time. They are identical to the Fulcrum 7 but are usually listed as Fulcrum 1700 or 1800 or something like that. Sometimes they are labeled as Fulcrum 6.5 or something along those lines.

I don't know, proprietary wheels leave a bad taste in my mouth. I don't understand the appeal.

jsigone

I think the F7s would be a sideways moves from the OEM giants that came on the Defy. Check this place out if you like higher spoke counts
Velocity Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

If you want a considerable upgrade over OEMs, you really need to double your current budget

miggy_smalls

Yeah for some reason Merlin hasnt updated that. According to the other research I've done and I've learned that the 2014 Fulcrums dropped 4 spokes. So they are 18F 20R. And yes, you are one of the members thats pushing me for that side but thats why i was apprehensive since your version may have more spokes than these.

I guess my focus is to get some newer snappier lighter wheels in a price point I'm comfortable with. Something where I will notice a difference from my stock giant wheels. This was based on suggestions from other members. Part of me is leary on buying used wheels.

Are you saying that buying the Giant wheelset would be a no go for you?

miggy_smalls

I actually was looking at the Velocity 23 with shimano 6800 as per another suggestion. I know I need a bigger budget but right now I just bought a new groupset so ultimately if its a lateral move, so I can go to 11 speed, then I can be ok with it, but I figured if there was a wheelset where I'd notice an upgrade in my budget, then I'm definitley all ears.

jsigone

A23's are worth the hype and on 11spd hubs furture proofs the upgrade. just get allot of spokes. the rim profile is thin so doesn't offer much stiffness w/ low counts say 20/24 or lower might be noodles. I test rode a set of A23s on CK hubs for about a month last yr. Great ride, almost tubular like feedback. If I were to get a23s, I'd get 28/32 or 32/32 setup I ended up going with stans alpha400s though.

headloss 

For me, personally, yes. I've really struggled with the idea of buying complete wheels. In the end, I'm just more comfortable mixing and matching rims and hubs of my own choosing. I just don't like the complete-wheel market... at least the Giant wheel set has relatively normal spoke counts so it's not like you can't mix/match down the road if the rim gets taco-ed. The Fulcrums sort of tie you down and force you to buy an identical replacement rim once it wears down or fails.

I'm not sure what wheels you currently have, but I really doubt that either choice in the OP is much of an upgrade. I don't personally think that the Fulcrum line gets snappier/lighter until the Fulcrum 3... certainly not the 7 which is a marginal improvement at best over most other factory wheels.

Durable, light, and low priced... you are chasing unicorns, imho.

If you just need an 11 speed compatible wheel, either is a good choice in the interim. But both are the types of wheels that people are usually trying to get rid of, not what you upgrade to.

miggy_smalls

Thats a good point. I didnt even really think about the mixing and matching in case of issues down the road. Anther good thing to consider. Thanks.

LGHT

I'm 230 and I ride the 2012 Fulcrum Racing 7's and haven't had any problems yet although I've only been riding a few months.

bigfred 

What sort of wheels are you on now, that either of those two represent an "upgrade" and would be noticably lighter?

sstorkel

If you want something where you're going to feel an immediate difference, save a few thousand bucks and buy yourself a set of Zipp 404s. For the $250 you want to spend, you will not end up with "snappier lighter wheels". You might end up with fewer spokes, which snap more easily, but I would think that's about it...

miggy_smalls

They are the stock Giant SR-2. I dont know much about them beside being 32 Spoke and roughly 2300g without the skewers(based on some info I found randomly on another forum) Most of the "upgrade" impressions are based on others opinions I suppose.

To be completely honest, I'm still pretty much a newb when it comes to road cycling and understanding how the all the difference in components and such relate to each other. I dont even know if I'd even notice the difference in a "snappier, lighter" wheel. I just hear that phrase being tossed around when people are talking about looking for new wheels. I guess I'm just more so overwhelmed by all the info and when I went to my LBS his go to always seems to resort to Giant products(I totally understand)

sstorkel

The first thing to know is that you're not going to get great wheels for $200-250. In fact, anything you can buy for that price will be mediocre at best.

It sounds to me like what you really need is an 11-speed compatible rear wheel that will work with your new 11-speed component group. So why are you looking at wheelsets? Given your extremely limited budget, I'd put all of the money into a rear wheel. You won't get a great wheel for that price, but it will likely be 3-4X better than a cheap wheelset. You might consider something like this:

Mavic Open Pro + Shimano Ultegra FH-6800 Hub on sale today for $199 (normally $299)

The other alternative would be to buy a new 11-speed rear hub (a Shimano FH-5800 or FH-6800) and pay your local shop to lace it into your existing wheel... if you trust them to build wheels. Figure $70 for an FH-5800 hub, 32 spokes at $1/ea, and $30 labor to put everything together. You're out the door for around $130 with a rear wheel that matches your existing front.

bigfred 

So, do you already have the 11 spd group, but, no 11spd rear wheel to use with it?

bbeasley

"Gah! Why is wheel buying so hard!!!!"

For me, it's the most confusing component to make a decision on. I just went through this and couldn't come up with much of a real reason to pick one over another. I ended up buying Flo 30s because of their sticker selection . I did however get the higher spoke count despite being in the weight range for the lower number wheel.

My 20/24 count wheels are dying after ~11,000 miles. I've got inexpensive, but quality, 32/32s on my fixed gear. I can't tell any difference between the two wheel sets other than I slightly prefer the looks of the lower count wheels.

miggy_smalls

Funny you should mention that. Originally my first choice was to just get a new freehub and swap it out. But then the ideas of grandeur came on and I wanted to put my old groupset on my wifes bike but her current setup is a 7 speed freewheel. Not to mention her current wheels are 36spoke and mine are 32 so I couldnt even swap just the hubs if i did get a new hub. So thats how I basically reached this point.

Yeah I got the new 105 5800 from ribble last month because the deal was great and I planned on it being my winter project.

I guess ultimately what I'd like is to get some wheels that are either the same quality or if there is something slightly better in the price range of sub $300. Maybe I'm just over thinking the whole thing. I tend to do that often.

superdex

Yes. Get The Fulcrums. Or These: Mavic Aksium S WTS 2014 Wheelset - Excel Sports

sstorkel

Don't buy crappy machine-made sub-$300 wheels. Save your money and buy good wheels hand-built by a master wheelsmith. Or, better yet, buy the tools and build the wheels yourself; it really isn't that difficult. Hint: the guy at your LBS who builds 5 or 6 wheelsets a year probably isn't a master wheelsmith.

miggy_smalls

Those look pretty nice. And comes with tires. Hmmmmmm

I've thought about that too. It would be a fun thing to learn. And since I'm going to tackle the whole groupset change myself why not add another part of the bike to learn.

I suppose I still have some time. I'm going to ride my current groupset as much as I can until the winter hits us. Then see where I'm at after I pack it in. I'm sure I can stretch my budget some more.

What's a reasonable price range to be in to where I will notice a difference in my wheels but still be good and functioning for fitness and commuting? I also don't want to spend more on my wheels then I did my bike

brawlo

I'd still highly recommend Velomine's Ultegra 6800/Velocity A23 wheelset Velocity A23 Silver Shimano Ultegra 6800 Hubs 32h Wheelset [64203] - $249.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

The Ultegra hubs are one of the best value around and will last you a long time. I'm retiring my 6700 Ultegra hub/Open pro rim set after breaking a spoke last weekend. The hubs, after at least 10000km are still rolling smooth. I'm just not happy with the OP rims that I recently laced to them to replace a cracked A23 rim, and the cheapest option is to true them back up and sell them with my bike when I eventually get rid of it. The A23 rims are great too, my rear just wasn't up to being a long term rim under my hefty 120kg sprinter bum.

Just get the wheelset and have a good wheelbuilder double check the spoke tensions and they should be a great long lasting wheelset. Alternatively, it would be pretty hard to beat those Fulcrums for value too, I'm just a sucker for the wider rims these days. I'd stay away from the Giant rims personally. I see a lot for sale over ebay etc, and lots of stories across forums and social media of even lighter riders not happy with them in general.

bigfred 

Sounds like you don't need an "upgrade" from your current wheelset so much as you need the best "bang for your buck" 11spd rear or wheelset.

I'm not a fan of the Fulcrom 2:1 lacing pattern. I haven't had any personal experience with them. But, am simply prejudiced agains them on principle. I understand that it develops more non drive side tension on each spoke, but, at the cost of structural integrity.

I am a fanboy for shimano cup and cone hubs. I would find it easy to get excited about building up a wheel with 6800 hubs as the base.

But, you're really not that heavy and there are plenty of wheel systems that should meet your needs at weights lower than you would achieve with 32 hole 6800 hubs and with more bling to them.

I wouldn't choose the Giant house brand wheels.

What I would do is continue to save pennies. At the point that you're ready to swap out the shifters, look at the wheel systems available on winter sale and either choose one of those, a hand built set of reasonable rims on 6800 hubs or spend a little on a spoke wrench and tension meter and build up your own as part of this winter project.

Personally, I'd be opting for the last of those options. 6800 hubs, simple double butted spokes for a first wheel build experience, brass nipples and pretty much your choice of alloy rims.

headloss 

I don't know what amazes me more (generally speaking)...
1) that the final product costs less than it would take me to order the individual parts -or-
2) that we have to pay double to drop about 400grams in weight.

miggy_smalls

Ok so I definitely gonna say no to the Giant wheels(I wasnt feeling that much either but I figured I'd see what others thought). I do keep going back to the Velocity's which I see they have the black 6800's in stock. Maybe I'll have to pick them up AND build some and then sleep on the couch for a while

Thank you everyone for the help. For now I think I just need to ride what I got and take advantage of the weather before its too late.

jsigone

pretty much!! Most of the weight difference will come from the hubs and spokes (cheap straight gauge weighs allot more). Most of the alum rims on the market are 400-470grams each, so that weight is sorta static. Box rims and taller aero alum rims obviously weigh a bit more.

The upside of the better hubs, is that they are popular and have many replaceable bearing, cassette bodies and axles for when you do wear them out 7000 miles later vs cheaper hubs which might be so hard to find a bearing or body for, I call them one and done hubs.