Originally Posted by
digibud
I ride a Roubaix. Fulcrum 6 wheels 20/24. Weigh 195. The wheels are fine and I've been assured they are plenty tough. I rode them when I weighed 260. I'm considering new wheels but am not sure if I'd just be throwing my money away. I'm looking for wheels that will be more comfortable, nicer rolling, perhaps a bit quicker, maybe a bit easier climbing. I have little to compare but no real complaints. At 62 I'll never be a racer. Just looking for a little something different partly for just the sake of a change but don't want to throw money away if it's really not going to make any difference.
I'm looking at Pacenti SL23 hoops with either White Industries or DT Swiss Hubs. The rims could be used with tubeless tires and provide even lower inflation pressure which sounds pretty nice. They are a wide rim with reasonable aero qualities from what I read. I do ride quite a bit in the summer...typically 30-50mi per ride but some 70-100+ rides here and there on a lot of chipseal. Think I'd notice the difference or would it be so subtle as to be a waste of money? Thoughts?
I don't think the ride will improve but you will really notice lighter rims. I don't know what you weigh now but I used to be 260 now 200 and I find lightweight Aluminum wheels fatigue in a couple years and I seem to get only one year out of a rebuild with the same rim. I started using 1300 g carbon wheels about 5 years ago with no fatigue cracking. They have around 25,000 mi on them now and they haven't even gone out of true.