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?

bykemike 

There is an interesting youtube out there by a guy who claims no wheelset is any more "comfortable" than any other. It was on BF's just recently, I'm sure someone will have a link.
Interesting..true?, who knows for sure.

bykemike 

Found it!

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...l-in-your-head

UnfilteredDregs

Wide 25mm, light and tubeless...I love them...you can catch a set @ $1,000.00: HED Ardennes+

BluesDawg

Those rims and either hubs should make for a nice set of wheels if built by a good builder. A nice upgrade from your current wheels. You'll definitely notice the lighter weight and an improvement in climbing feel, probably greater lateral stiffness. You might notice a smoother ride if you take advantage of being able to run lower tire pressure with the wider rims. Good wheels are a great upgrade, especially if your goals are tactile rather than looking for dramatic measurable performance gains.

qcpmsame 

Psimet Wheels, give him a look: https://www.psimet.com/

Bill

fastcarbon

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.

Zinger

Supple tires with a very high threads per inch casings are said to give a better ride. I'll give a disclaimer in not having tried "Grand Bois" or any other 200 plus TPI tires yet but I'm planning on making the investment this spring.

And I know nothing about the newer wheels but insofar as retro ride equipment goes the flatter rims such as the Mavic MA 40 or Wolber Gentleman GTA were said to flex a bit more than pointy aero rims and give a more comfortable ride. Once again, I've never verified that by investing in any aero rims of old.

Tubulars are said to ride well but I've never ridden those either. Built a set for a friend once but he pretzeled the rear wheel racing his first crit. Ride quality never quite came up in the post race conversation and I didn't think to ask, but should have.

MickeyMaguire

I am thinking about new wheels some time this season. I was looking at Mavics. There is a Trek store in Columbus, Ohio with a good wheel mechanic. If I buy there, he will make sure that they are tuned perfectly.

fietsbob

Cannot imagine a 120psi 23mm wide tire is going to be as comfortable as a 47 at 30 psi..

You want road racer performance, the Pro solution ... HTFU.. if the other guy suffers more , you win.


90 pounds of touring load and bike .. rides Caddy like .. but thats not the same goal ..

Rwc5830

Digibud, sounds like that fulcrum wheelset is very tough to handle that weight you used to be at. I also have a Roubaix with roval rims. I run 700x25s on mine. I've tried different tires and they do make a difference on ride. The softer tires ride better like michelin race and conti 4000S but they cut much easier and therefore do not last as long.

For me, what has worked best for ride and flat protection are folding gatorskins and tire liners. Rode 8,000+ miles last year and only one flat on the road. I also have a new Surly LHT touring bike with 700x37s. It's a steel bike but rides like butter on chip/seal, really....so nice. Sure it's slower and heavier but very nice ride.

I ride a lot of chip/seal and have about 14K miles on mty roubaix bike in 20 months. I'd try different tires and pressures before investing in a new wheelset since you have not had any issues with the fulcrum and speed is not a priority.

lhbernhardt

Go for it. You can never have too many wheels.

However, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. Yeah, maybe the first ride, but that's all in your head. I'd like to see a blind study, where somebody puts on a set of wheels, either your current wheels or the new wheels, and you're not allowed to look down to see which they are, and you try to guess just by riding. I think a lot of "experts" will get on a new bike and marvel at how "responsive" it is, how it "just leaps with every push of the pedals," when all it is is the new chain running on clean new cogs. If you ever want to really improve the performance of your current bike, just replace the chain & cassette. It will ride like new.

I think it makes more sense to have a set of heavy beater wheels that you don't mind trashing. Because you'll tend to ride these more aggressively, they will make you a better rider (you won't be holding back in fear of damaging the wheels, you won't mind riding in the rain or over bad roads, etc.). Also, because they're heavier, they will make you stronger and faster, especially when you put on the lighter wheels for the really important events.

Luis

Zinger

I've liked doing most of my street riding on touring rims for quite awhile now. Don't know if it makes me any stronger or not but I did have to play a little catchup when guys with lighter wheels jumped out on me sometimes. One thing you do get out of it is those relatively plusher 28c tires even if you max them out with the pressure like I always do (supposedly less rolling resistance maxed out).

JTGraphics

Use your wheels and put wider tires and lower pressure that you will notice changing wheels will not help but wider tires will.

Carbonfiberboy 

You'll love the Pacentis. I have a buddy who has them. CX-Ray spokes. He runs his 22mm front at 70 lbs., but he only weighs about 165. In any case, you'll be able to run lower pressures, the wheels will be more aero, you'll corner more confidently, and you'll be just a tiny bit more comfortable and faster, too.

I just built a tandem front with a 23mm X 28mm rim and CX-Ray spokes. I used a BHS C472w / XC279 Kinlin Road Rim from bikehubstore.com. You might consider one of their hubs, too. Only $57 for that rim, which built up very nicely. No logos. I'm running a 25mm PRO4 Endurance on it, which measures about 27.5mm. I run them at 110 lbs. on the tandem. Not optimally aero with that rim, but better than a 19mm rim. Our team weight is ~290.

People do run Pacentis on tandems, and many teams are running these Kinlin XC279 rims.

rm -rf

I dropped just about a pound with my new wheels, from 2000 grams to 1550. I did notice a quicker steering response when I was avoiding stuff on the road. They "feel" a little faster, I suppose. But the difference in weight is less than a full water bottle, which is 650 grams. I can't tell the difference on climbs when my bottle is empty.

My old rims had some cracked spoke holes, after 18,000 miles. I paid extra for strong hubs (White Industries) and strong rims (the usual narrow rims from a few years ago)

~~~~~
For ride comfort, air pressure makes much more of a difference than the wheels do.

I weigh about 170 pounds, and use 105-110 psi rear and 95-100 front with 23c tires. Lately, I've been riding 25c Continental GP4000 tires at 100-105 rear, and 85-90 psi front. It's a very plush ride that really soaks up rough roads. About the only downside is I think I can see a little slower steering response.

The new wider rims are one good reason to upgrade. They allow more air volume in the tire, so the pressure can be lowered. A 23c tire on the wide rims should be similar to a 25c on older narrow rims.