Originally Posted by
donheff
I need to buy a new wheel set for a Specialized Tricross Comp. I have never bought wheels before so I am at a bit of a loss as to what will fit. The existing wheels are Roval Classique Paves - the front has a 20 hole hub and the rear has a 24 hole hub. The rims are described as Roval Pave alloy, double wall but I don't have any details about the rim height and width. My tires are 700c x 32mm.
In any event I was looking at Performance Bike's sale and sawsome Mavics on sale that seem good but will they fit the tires? The
Kysirium Elites sound nice (on sale for $399). The specs show the rim heights as 22 front 25 rear and widths as 19 front, 20 rear. Does this mean they are too narrow for 32mm cyclocross tires? They also have a
Kysirium Equipe wheelset on sale for $250 but that identifies the rim height as 24 but width as 13mm - that sounds even more dramatically narrow. These also have less spokes than my current wheels - 18 front, 20 rear.
Any suggestions on how I should evaluate wheel sets? Do I need wider rims? More spokes to strengthen the wheels or are newer wheels just as strong with fewer?
The Mavics you are looking at are strong or at least they are stronger than most stock 32 spoke wheel sets. Maybe not as strong as some hand built 32s but straight pull spokes seem less prone to break at the hub for me than J spokes. Maybe that is just me. The Elites are a bit lighter than the Equips and the Equips are about as heavy as Stapfam's Aksiums but much lighter than a stock wheel. The biggest difference you will ever see in performance by simply upgrading equipment is wheels. 200 grams off of a wheel will feel like you have suddenly found more power the first hill you hit. Nothing else you do will be as noticeable to you.
My Dura Ace wheels are low spoke count and pretty light and by most reviewers, and my own observation, considered almost bullet proof.
I believe Nashbar or Performance had Ultegra wheels for $399.99 not long ago and they are pretty strong as well.
None the less you can go to a site like this,
http://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com/ and find wheels as well.
Only my opinion however.
