Originally Posted by ravenmore
I race my open pro's. As I mentioned above they're 1800 grams, but the overall bike is in the 18 pound range, which isn't too bad. In a race I need something sturdy underneath me. I haven't finished 2 races this year because of wheel failure - and they weren't my open pros.
This is what bike parts catalogs never tell you. The equipment that actually works is superior to "advanced designs", "the newest technology", "the lightest available", when they don't do the job.
Bike companies can't make big money selling a reliable pair of wheels for $300. So, they spend millions of dollars on marketing to convince us to pay $1,000 for the "wonder wheels of the month". Cyclists need to tune out the hype. Buy the stuff that actually works. Boring, old fashioned Open Pro/Ultegra wheels work like a Timex. And that's all you can ask for.