Looking for new wheelset. Where do I start?
 

I am new into biking. I recently rode the ms150 and really enjoyed it. I would like to upgrade my bike somewhat.

I have a stock scott s4 its an XL (58 I believe). I have heard the #1 difference making upgrade is the wheelset, so thats what I would like to upgrade first.

I don't even know where to begin.

Questions:
Whats a good budget for a wheelset? I am not near a pro level and my bike was $800 so nothing to rich.
Where can I find reviews?
What type of wheelset should I get? Clinched? Tubular?


Essentially I am trying to make the largest impact on my bike possible, but I want to stop when I hit deminishing returns and move to another area of the bike which will enable another upgrade to performance with minmal cost.

Thanks,

thedom

Difference in what? Weight, Aerodynamics, bling factor, etc? What is your budget, and what do you hope to get out of the upgrade?

www.neuvationcycling.com.

I have the M 28 aero's and they are the best wheel for the dollars I have ever ridden (and I've tried a pretty decent variety).

The R 28 SL2's are currently on sale for an absurd price and they are very nice wheels.

I've had the Neuvations, and they kept falling apart. I recommend against them.

PS: I don't know what wheelset you've got currently, thedom, but probably you'll get more additional performance by buying a training book and following some of the instructions. Seriously. You can buy a tiny bit of speed for a high $ cost, or you can actually become a stronger rider at a low $ cost. And I am not suggesting that you need to ride much much more -- for most folks, it is simply a matter of using your riding time more effectively.

And even if they didn't, they are the cheesiest LOOKING wheels on God's earth. I ride Mavic Kysiruim SLC's on one bike and the ES's on another. They look cool, they're bulletrproof, they're light (for clincher hoops) and they're expensive. You sort of get what you pay for. Zipp wheels are even better (and even pricier).

When it comes to cycling, is there a more important component? I don't think so. By the way, if you amortize that $1800 worth of wheels over the miles I'll get out of them - 9k this year (to date) for example - let's just say I'm getting my money's worth.

Your move. It's your bike and your dough.

I am about to get one of my handbuild wheels rebuilt by Mike Garcia. He has a great reputation and his prices are very good bang for the buck: www.oddsandendos.com.

I'll never miss an opportunity to plug Cane Creek wheels.

I have the Strados model. Paid $249/pair at Nashbar...and am very happy.
The Volos Sterling is an upgrade to the Strados...and cost just a little more.

www.canecreek.com

Very stiff and durable wheels. Low maintenance. Stay true. My Strados wheels are around 1800 grams/pair. The Volos wheels are a bit lighter.

I also like the Mavic Ksyrium line of wheels. If you are on a budget then the Cane Creeks I mentioned will serve you very well...based on my experience.

For around 450 bucks you can get Bontrager Race Lites. I had them on a prior bike and liked them a lot. They are pretty light too.(low spoke count)

I doubt you could go wrong with any of these.

Free translation: break a spoke and your wheel rubs your frame. You get to walk home/cab home/beg for a ride/freeze-burn etc.

I save my low spoke counts for race day and run 28/32 other days.

I even broke a spoke on my back up wheels after flatting my race wheels and still nearly finished the race, because losing just the one spoke wan't a major problem. To the point they still categorized me 21st out of about 50 guys on a terrible hard hill crit.

I'm not a believer in boutique wheels. If you want to go faster build a bigger engine. Once you get faster then getting a better craft will really matter.

That's a myth. I have broken a number of spokes on my Velocity Uriels and I was always able to ride after opening the brake QR. Those are some stiff rims.

When my Neuvation M28 aero's (one of the wheels under discussion here) broke rear spokes (two in the first 2600 mi) the wheel would go so far out-of-true as to be unrideable, even with the break bail opened up. You can only imagine what happened when the rear hub flange broke (at 1400 mi) on the replacement rear wheel.

Now I ride 32h 3x wheels. They're lighter than the Neuvations, too. And nothing has broken yet (2100 mi and counting).

My Cane Creeks have more spokes than the Bontragers. No broken spokes yet.

I suppose it varies depending on the rim and the space in your frame. But I'm not prepared to take a chance.

Plus, since I save my fast wheels for race day anyway, it goes against my whole 'thing' to try to ride lightweight/low-spoke-count wheels for training.

Also it could have something to do with those wheels being paired spoke wheels, I dunno. I know somebody who had some Rolf Vector Comps (paired spoke) and he was always breaking spokes on those things 30 miles from home and having to call his wife to come get him.

I fully agree here. Go with the wheels if you just want to upgrade your bike. If you want to become a better cyclist...upgrading a wheelset will not do you any good.

I race..and when I race wheels have some importance since lighter and more aerodynamic is generally better. But until race day I ride around on 32 hole Mavic Open Pro (or equivalent) with Ultegra hubs. I am about 155lbs. and I just want something durable that I don't have to worry about and these fit the bill.

second that re: ultegra hubs / open pros. peanut butter and frikkin jelly - you can't go wrong.

I got some nice used Ksyrium Elites off ebay for $250. They had like 1000 miles on them. Make sure you've already got some winter cycling clothes, because it's no fun having nice wheels if it's too cold to ride them.