gvonne

I have the stock Alexrims DA16 wheels on my Specialized Allez a1 max and they seem pretty lite to me. Espeacialy compaired to the 1985 Panasonic Villiager I was riding. Its just that its a cheap bike ($570) and every one always say that the first and best thing to up grade is to go to lighter wheels. It didnt help much when i went to Alex's web site and was shocked to find that they had my wheels listed under CROSS & TREKKING!! The weight of new wheels goes up just as fast as the price does , so is it really worth it? I am 5'10" and weigh 161 and pretty in shape bicycling wise, so I dont think thats too much of a problem. thanks!

KevinF

Is there something about your current wheels that you don't like? To really notice any improvement that your wheels give you, you'd have to be in full-race situations -- we're talking a few seconds per mile saved. You're not going to suddenly get 2mph faster when out riding with your friends because of new wheels.

If you're just looking at overall reduced weight, then as you've noticed, you have to spend a small fortune to drop a signifigant amount of weight. It's obviously your money and only you know what you can afford, but I personally don't see the point in dropping $600 on light-weight wheels to upgrade a $600 bike.

recursive

yes. wheels make a big difference. I upgraded from cheapo wheels to Velocity Uriel, and the difference is immediately noticeable, especially on quick accelerations.

Grasschopper

If your wheels are working for you then there is no real reason to change.

That said I will be back in 10-15 posts to give my suggestion.

ggg300

if your hubs are dry...then see about getting em repacked...
if you doing a lot of hills...a lot of big and long hills...then the upgrade may be worth it....
if you really want a good set ask Ghopper what to do....but expect to spend at least $350.00 for the set.

merlinextraligh

as noted, it's not going to be very cost effective to upgrade your wheels, at least in relation to the bike's price. However, lighter wheels do make a big difference. Particularly in how the bike feels. If you were to spring for something like Kyserium Elites the bike would feel a lot faster and more responsive. The question is whether that's worth $500 bucks to you. If it were me, I'd ride the bike and wheels you have and enjoy. As time goes on in a few years, if you can afford it, and want a little better performance, buy a more expensive bike with better wheels, and use your current bike as a backup/ bad weather bike.

DigitalRJH

I'd have to say I agree with KevinF and merlinextrligh.

DocRay

^^ me too. good wheels are very important, as rotating mass really effects the efficiency of a bike, but putting expensive wheels on your bike is money maybe better put towards a higher-end bike.

gvonne

There is nothing about the current wheels that i dont like. Well that is after getting the front wheel trued up. I did my first ride with the bike (16 miles) got home and noticed that there were at least 10 spokes so loose that you could just rattle them with your hand! I took it back the shop to have them tightend and the shop manager was PISSED!!! He said the bike should have never came out of the store like that. Any way I live in eastern Virginia so I have never heard of this thing you call "hills" I'll stay with these until I hit the Lotto and can get that new BMC!! Thanks guys.