Fly2High

The Axis Classic weights are as follows (with skewers installed):

Front: 1062 gr
Rear: 1212 gr

Total: 2274 gr



Vuelta Corsa SLR

Front: 712 gr
Rear: 816 gr

Total: 1528 gr

Weight Difference: 746 gr = 28.3 oz ~ 1.65 lbs

Alias530

Strange... my google search said your outgoing wheels were lighter than that. Color me corrected nice weight savings

RPK79

Both sets of Vueltas that I have purchased arrived true. I spent a few minutes on the trueing stand with the corsa pros after the first couple thousand miles, but they didn't necessarily need it. They aren't machine built like some of the less expensive brands. I imagine quality could fluctuate with inexperienced employees or a lax QC inspector, but in my sampling of two I've been happy with the build quality.

cicatrize

This is pretty consistent with what I've read. I haven't seen anyone say anything bad about these Vueltas arriving out of true, which is expected since they're all done by hand.

Dan333SP

It's also worth noting that in my only experience of Vuelta's customer service (I emailed about how to remove the freehub when I was replacing it to go from campy to Shimano 2 years ago), they responded within a few hours and gave me a very detailed explanation of how to disassemble/reassemble everything, and offered to call me if I needed more help.

rpenmanparker 

True is easy to do even with just a machine process. The real test is the consistency of tension among all the spokes. You can have a perfectly true yet lousy wheel if the spoke tensions are all over the place. That is what I would test for upon receiving the wheels.

RPK79

Tension meter is on my list of tools to buy. I'm running out of acceptable (by my wife's standards) space for bike stuff though. We'll be looking to buy a house next year. I'll hopefully have a larger workspace then. Maybe I'll even be able to hide multiple bikes without her noticing.

cicatrize

My wife is so far pretty supportive of my cycling stuff, but she'll never understand N+1. Any time I mention getting a 4th bike, it tries her patience. lol

rpenmanparker 

I haven't had good luck with it, but you might try the spoke tension app for smart phones. It might be good enough for checking tension on an incoming set of wheels even if it wouldn't work too well for building them.

RPK79

I tried it, but it kept crashing my phone right after I would enter my CC info.

rpenmanparker 

On my IPhone it works okay, but the numbers are squirrely. And it is hard to deal with crossed spokes that touch at the cross. Radial spokes are much easier. I think for incoming QA purposes, it might be okay. You just might have to calibrate it against a known wheel to get realistic values.

cicatrize

I think after a bunch of research, I've decided I'm going to get the Corsa Lites and not the SLRs. With my weight, I fear issues with the SLRs, whereas everyone says the Lites are very strong and there's no flex in them, I've heard some problems with SLRs with heavier riders (over 180 lbs). It's 100g more, but I'd rather add 100g and not bust a spoke or get the wheel out of true.

I'm bummed I figured this out today though, as Nashbar doesn't have the 20% off anymore. Guess I'll have to wait for another sale or 25% off coupon.

rpenmanparker 

Another sale should come along in 5 or 10 minutes.

Dan333SP

These are the same wheels, $20 cheaper from an ebay seller than what Nashbar is listing at the moment-

2015 Vuelta Corsa Lite 700c Clincher Road Wheelset New Shimano SRAM 8 9 10 11SP | eBay

Or you can wait for another inevitable Nashbar sale. Personally I like the more understated graphics on these wheels now. Mine are a little flamboyant with VUELTA CORSA in huge white/red lettering.

rpenmanparker 

The Nashbar editions of the Vuelta wheels are sometimes a little different from what other folks sell. At least that is what I have been told here on BF.

RPK79

A hair dryer and some non-acetone polish remover will take care of the decals.

rmfnla

His numbers include skewers; published ones usually do not...

Fly2High

To me, cannot install wheels without a bolt and some nuts or a skewer so they should be included.


OP, I was going to do the same but there are so many cyclists in my 200lb range or more that have had success with the SLR and that Nashbar is really good about returrns that I figured I had to give them a try. Also, I thought more spokes were better than less not because I knew that to be the case but some sights suggested a correlation between weight and spoke count. Also, someone said the Corsa Lites were noisier than the SLR so that pushed me to the SLR.

So far, so good.

Personally, I think either would be a good wheel for our purposes.




I hate to put this question out there but if your bike was an entry level road bike(< $1000) and you damaged a wheel or both, would you spend more than $500 on wheels?

I can understand having a bike that is $1600 or $2K and looking at $500 wheels but I do not think a less expensive bike where I am sure the manufacturer has taken many shortcuts to arrive at that price point is going to benefit from more expensive wheels. then again, maybe they will. For where the SLR lack, and to me there isn't in many areas, a more expensive wheel MIGHT have made up in. Of course there are cheaper wheels than these as well.

As for the cartridge bearing and a few other comments, these wheels are so cheap, I could buy 2 or almost 3 for the price of some of the other wheels that were recommended that were over $500. Besides, should I hit a pot hole and damage a wheel, a $234( what I paid) is a lesser nut to crack than over $500. He11, my bike only cost $800 new!!! I would more likely just go buy a whole new bike instead of buying wheels.

colnago62

I have Dura Ace hubs on my rain wheels. The seals are so tight that after about 6,000 miles of rain riding, when I had the hub serviced, the grease was still clean. Dura Ace hubs also have a 3 year warranty. I have used Dura Ace hubs since 1985. They have always been great hubs.

I don't have any experience riding Vuelta wheels. I do ride with a person who had them. He had spoke breakage issues. he was not heavy, about 158
lbs. I would do some research about build quality. If your not cranking 6,000+ miles a year in all kinds of weather, they probably a good wheelset.

colnago62

The original question sounded like you were asking if Vueltas are similar in quality to what you already have. I blew up the pawls on my Dura Ace wheel. The repair didn't cost a dime because of the 3 year warranty. I have some Chris Kings with a 5 year warranty. If you were to buy some Mavic wheels, they have crash insurance available. Wheels are one of the few upgrades that can be transferred to your new bike. Guys who were riding Mavic wheels made out like bandits when the switch to 11 speed occurred.

PepeM

Everything turns into controversy in this forum once certain members appear.

wphamilton

I've got maybe 6,000 on my Vuelta wheels, about a year old, in every kind of weather. I haven't felt the need to have the hubs serviced yet - I'll probably do it myself when the time comes but I have no complaints about their durability.

The only thing that I avoid with them is riding through flood water that is hub-deep. That's probably a bad idea with any hubs though

colnago62

That's why I said do some research. My friend has much less on his and they are RIP. His experience might be an anomaly, or yours.

rpenmanparker 

There are many possible explanations including poor initial spoke tension balance. But I think it is important to mention that inexperienced home mechanics can do a lot of damage to a very good set of wheels in the name of "truing". It only takes about 5 minutes and a spoke wrench to totally wreck a perfectly good wheel in the course of improper truing. The final product can be perfectly true and yet the wheel can be so cocked up that broken spokes over the short run will be guaranteed. There is no reason for me to postulate that this is what was going on with your riding buddy, yet it is among the possibilities.

cicatrize

Well, as expected, Nashbar has another sale, 21% off now. I ended up ordering the Corsa Lites, which were about $205. Any recommendations on tires? Should I just continue to use my 23mm stock Bontragers until they die? They're still pretty new.