Originally Posted by
DaveSSS
Deep profile carbon rims have a very poor cost to benefit ratio. They are pretty much a waste of money for recreational riders. I don't consider them due to occasional strong cross winds and most weigh more than the moderately priced Campy zondas that I use on two bikes. They weigh 1550 grams and with 16/21 spokes, the should have decent aerodynamics. They have Campy's best hubs, without wasting money on ceramic bearings.
I once thought of moving up to the Shamal or fulcrum zero. They're 100 grams lighter, but the have the same number of fat aluminum spokes, that don't seem like they would be as aerodynamic. They cost twice as much as zondas.
I've read reports of Chinese carbon wheels needing frequent truing. You won't have that problem with campy or fulcrum wheels.
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I completely agree on the value of carbon wheels. I am a died in the wool Campy devotee, but I stick to HED or H Plus Son alloy rims on White Industries hubs. They are strong and quiet. At my weight and on occasionally rough roads, I need more spokes than 16/21. A few years ago I bought some Rol wheels with 28 spokes, it didn't take too long for me to start breaking spokes until my LBS guru rebuilt them with stronger spokes. All spokes are not created equal.
I am currently waiting delivery on a set of HED Belgium Plus rims on White Industries T11 hubs laced 24/28 with Saphim CX Ray spokes. They are supposed to weigh 1,587 grams and I will use Vittoria Corsa Control 25 mm tubeless tires. They will be used on my new Cicli Barco XCr bike now being finished in Italy. I expect the entire bike to be barely under 19 lbs for a 59 cm seat tube size.