Poor man's race wheels
 

I currently have a pair of Ksyrium SSC SL's. I am considering selling them and buying a set of Soul S4.0's. Races will be crits and RRs, mostly flat. Thoughts? Is it worth it at all from an aero perspective? I'll lose some money in the deal, so if there isn't a distinct advantage to the Souls I won't do it.

My honest opinion is that for the average racer, the wheels aren't going to help that much. You'd be better off spending money on a coach, a proper fit, and a power meter (though not in that order).

If you already have all three, then by all means get the wheels.

^^^ 1+

OP, what category racer are you? If Cat 4 or 5, just race what you have and focus on getting your body better trained. If Cat 3 or up and in a position to contest the sprint each race, get yourself the wheels.

Pick out a good pair of 32 spoke box rim wheels and have at it.

There you go.

Sturdier than box sections, and a bit more aero to boot. Plus they're better for CX.

1. DT RR 1.2
2. Velocity Deep V
3. Kinlin 30mm
4. Weinmann DP-18

etc etc etc

My poor mans race wheels are a pair of Easton Vista SL's. 30mm depth. 20 spokes in the front, 24 in the rear. 1697 weight though, fairly heavy for racing standards.

Until I can afford my next build, my race wheels are Forte Titans :eek: Doesn't matter, they're not what's holding me back.

What's wrong with SSC SL's?

They're not Zipps.

the Reynolds Solitudes are nice, I've had 2 sets and love them.

Yeah, and here I was thinking that the Ksryium SL was the poor man's race wheel. So, are the Soul 4.0's significantly lighter or more aero than the SL's?

I believe they are about the same weight (about 1600g), but much more aero.

Nothing. Until you wreck and take out a spoke or bend a rim

They're actually about 1700 grams.

They more than make up for it in the aero department, especially when compared to ksyriums.

Sean of Soul, can built a set of 30mm wheels with bladed spokes for about 1400 grams at the same price as the 4.0s. If I'm not broke, I might get a set of these in the spring after selling off my neuvations. Anyone want em? haha.

His lightest wheels are 1300 grams and I think the additional depth (~8mm) might make up the 100g weight difference for 'climbing'/light wheels.

The poor-man's race wheels are the bikesdirect groupbuy carbon wheels.

Keep the SLs until you get to Cat 4 (or 3).
If you want to upgrade; build a set of wheels with DT Swiss bits: 240s hubs, RR 1.2s and Aerolites -- 20 front radial, 24 rear, two-cross.

because the category you race in dictates what wheelset you can own.

I rode 58mm carbon tubulars as a 5, and I ride the same wheels as a 3. OH EM GEE.

I think he was advising that he should save his money until the competition dictates that he should be using certain wheels.

The Ksyriums are more than enough for racing. People here would laugh if they saw my aluminum race wheels. The decals on the front Fulcrum are mostly ripped off by rocks, and the rear PTap/DT has 3 dents in the rim.

Ride what you like, but if I had a $1000 lying around, I'd use it to buy a powertap rather than a set of carbon hoops (and this is, in fact, what I did just recently to get ready for next season). If you have enough for both, then by all means.

That's rich to me.

Inspiring botto's famous "it's a tool not a jewel" quip regarding equipment.

Way to be.

until 3 years ago, my race wheels were Ultegra/OPs with a radially laced front wheel.

then i got some KSLs, and felt super fancy.

i wonder what next season will be like, now that i have some deep rim CF wheels. :innocent:

If it's anything like my junior racing career, you will get slower. My fastest season was on a set of Dura Ace hubs laced to 32h Sun Mistral rims. Then I got a front Shamal (when they were aluminum) and got slower. Then I built up a pair of Deep V rims to White Industry hubs with 28 double butted spokes, and I kept going off the back. Have I learned my lesson? Nope!

My best races were on D/A 32 hole hubs laced with 14/15 db butted spokes on Mavic open pro rims. The key was the using lightweight race only Conti GP Supersonic tires with lightweight tubes. I also had good results on Spinergy Rev-X wheels too. Go figure.

My "poor man's" race wheels were Aksiums, and I was okay with those. If anything, it showed me that I needed more physical training and the components didn't matter as much as my fitness did.