74dodger

I'm strongly considering upgrading my cheapy Alex ALX200 wheels with a Mavic Ksyrium Elite S wheel set. I haven't had any trouble with my current wheels but would like to upgrade for better quality. I'm pretty much sold on this set but being a newbie I'd like to ask you guys/girls for help with 2 questions.

1. Will I definitely notice a ride improvement?
2. If so, what difference am I most likely to notice?

A bit of info on me: I'm a new rider that rides 100-130 miles per week at a cadences around 92-94. Small rider 5'6", 125 lbs on a full carbon entry level Fuji with Shimano 105 set-up. Did my first short organized ride this month. Signed up for a half century in February with a goal to do my first full century in June.

I don't have enough cash to afford trial and error, so thanks in advance for your input!

bianchi10

cadance of 92-92, man you a spinner! I dont know anything about either wheels. With the mavics, you are still talking about a 2000g+ wheel so I wouldn't imagine it to be much of a difference at all. If my quick research is correct, they are about the same weight, so if anything you may feel them to be a little stiffer or smoother.

Nagrom_

Whats your budget?

bianchi10

I think you would be better off with something like this:

Rims:
Kinlin XC279 23mm Deep- 490g/ 23mm wide/ 28mm depth/ $60per rim (might be able to get cheaper depending on retailer?)
Velocity A23- is 450g/ 23mm wide/ 19.5mm depth/ $80per rim (might be able to get cheaper depending on retailer?)


Hubs:
SL211 Superlight hubs from bikehubstore.com
Novatec F482SB (I believe Nagrom Used these, maybe he can correct me if I'm wrong)
White indurstries T11

Spokes:
CX-Ray
Laser

If I'm not mistaken these set ups should bring you in sub 1350g for around $500 and that will be a NOTICEABLE difference from what you have now.

74dodger

$500-600

Hiro11

Neuvation has a bunch of new options with tons of customization that start at $400:
https://www.neuvationcycling.com/prod...40-gr-1677.htm

Rock solid wheels and less than 1.5Kg claimed.

Nagrom_

At your weight, you can pretty much ride anything. If I were you, I'd get Soul S2s.

23mm wide, 22 deep, sealed bearings, skewers included, single spoke length, 1295g.
550 shipped.

Homebrew01

The Mavics are about 1 pound lighter. You might notice a little bit quicker handling... Or you might not.

Bah Humbug

November FSW23 is the Kinlin XC279s that bianchi10 mentioned, built with good spokes on nice hubs for $550. They're what I'd go to for that price range.

bianchi10

I didn't realize they were that light. Nice choice

Nagrom_

I'd be riding them if I was 50+ pounds lighter...

...but I'm not, so I ride these. Great wheels for big guys.

SirHustlerEsq

I'm debating Flo30s and the Soul 2.0. Can't decide.

Nagrom_

Very different ends of the spectrum.

SirHustlerEsq

Right, that's the problem. Not sure if I want the aero benefits or weight if I live in Dallas where I see ~2000' of elevation gain over ~75 miles.

74dodger

Thanks for the suggestions. Any more feedback on how likely I am to feel an improvement or what to expect with a wheelset upgrade? Thanks.

bianchi10

It depends on which wheel upgrade you go with. If you go with the mavics I don't think you will experience much benefit other than maybe slightly better stiffness and placebo effect.

If you go with one of the other options we gave you above, there will likely be more of a benefit because of the weight difference AND stiffness.

rufvelo

Based on these 2 statements I'd hold off on the wheel upgrade, since I doubt (as a newbie) you will notice a significant difference (unless you're having to true these wheels after every ride). Put a couple thousand more miles on those Alxs and then decide what upgrade to spend your money on. When you don't have cash to throw around, $500 is a lot to blow on new wheels.

bianchi10

Good point

rpenmanparker 

Nick, you're dead on with your choices for great wheels, but I don't think you can bring any of those combinations in at less than 1,350g. Say 900 for the rims, 289 for the hubs, 220 for the spokes and nipples and 17 g for rim tapes and you're at 1,427. I use Kinlin XR200s at about 375 g with the rest of the build exactly the same. That's 150 g lighter for the two rims. Subtracting that from 1,427 gives 1,277, within 10 g of what my wheels come out. So I think my estimate is pretty good. Just sayin' for the sake of accuracy. And since I build them myself, they total out under $400. Maybe even under $300 if I use Lasers.

bianchi10

Ok, I must have miss-calculated. thanks for heads up, so that I dont miss speak in the future.