decentdrummer91

Hi,

New to this forum. Hope I'm posting in the right section. I recently purchased a kestrel talon triathlon bike. First ever carbon bike, I know its a more entry level carbon bike but I still deeply in love with it . I wanted people's opinions on upgrading to a better wheelset? The ones on them are aluminum Oval's, which is not anything horrible persay, but I want to just have something better. Which wheelset is the best? Aero, carbon, climbing, etc.

-Caleb

rmfnla

indyfabz

Why did you buy a new bike that does not have better wheels, since that is what you want?


Climbing wheels on a tri bike?


P.S. It's "per se."

fietsbob

aero? full disc rear wheels are what they put on the bikes when the course is not too cross-windy.

only about a grand.. each.

Phil_gretz

Maybe new wheels aren't needed at this point? My advice would be to ride your bike a lot. Once you've upgraded the engine sufficiently, you might be able to enter in local competitive events. Triathlons and the like...


Maybe after that, you can look at what are your performance limiters. But, I'll bet that training regimen will be high on the list. Also, aerodynamic form. Core strength. Those types of things...


With your current wheels, make sure that the hubs are adjusted properly. That might save you some losses in the hub bearings.

zze86

Define better...

decentdrummer91

No worries, seems like some of you are annoyed by my question, so I won't pursue it, will just do more research and look into my options. Cheers

Flip Flop Rider

I say go for it, even if you don't need them, you want them, and that is reason enough

Only thing is I know nothing about wheels

lots of seemingly annoyed people on these boards, maybe they need to ride more!

C_Heath

Ive some boyds carbon 58 aeros. Hit me up. Ill take $1G for them.

BKE

You skipped right past rule #5 didn't you?

OnyxTiger

Don't get put off by what can be interpreted as "snobby cyclist" answers.

Personally, I think the forum has become polarized. There are those who have put in their years both riding and researching, and have all the answers to all the questions, and are somewhat disgruntled by the similar questions from new faces that they hear all the time. You can only answer the same question so many times before the question - and answer - becomes... too familiar. Hence, one choose to entertain themselves by providing snarky answers which provide a hint of truth/advice, while brushing the one seeking advice off to find that answer elsewhere. Does it come across as brash or dismissive? Yeah, possibly.

But more than likely, these vets have come across these attitudes while they were in their throes of learning the sport as well; and yet, here they are. Experienced, tens of thousands of miles under their legs, seen it all, done it all, and knows more than most all their real life peers. Why, throwing out the snarky remarks in your direction is only a rite of passage. So take it with a grain of salt. If the sport is for you, then the comments are just an interesting dimension of the experience.

To your point though... get lost.


No, seriously. The best way to find what wheels to get is to define what your parameters are.

- Riding style: If you prefer an aggressive style (shorter/faster paced rides vs. longer/slower paced rides) then an aero wheel can help you combat cross winds. Light, climbing wheels are great if that's your focus.
- Typically lightweight comes at the expense of strength, and vice versa. Once you narrow down your shortlist of possible sets, find out the weight restrictions (if any) and consumer reviews addressing durability. Some models have different spoke counts depending on what year they were made (for instance, Fulcrum Racing 5s used to have a 20f/24r spoke count... now they're 18f/20r I believe).
- Carbon vs. Aluminum. Carbon allows a more versatile molding style, so you can get the deep dish wheels (30mm+ - full disc). But not all carbon wheels are for everyone. Some high end aluminum clincher wheels can be a better option both performance and price wise. Mavic, Fulcrum, Reynolds all offer great aluminum options, amongst others.
- Braking surface: unless you have a budget for super premium carbon wheels, aluminum brake surface wheels offer better heat dissipation. If you're riding hills a lot, this is an important thing to consider. Braking downhill can run carbon wheels up to 400+ degrees F. Tubes can explode, and carbon can melt. The steeper and longer the downhill, the closer you are to playing with danger. If you want both aero and braking advantage, carbon wheels with aluminum braking surface are a great option.
- Width: Wider is the new thing. Most wheel makers are producing wheels with a 25mm outer with, as well as a wider inner width. This allows the shape of the tire to be more aero in combination with the sidewall width. Get familiar with what tire clearance you have on your bike, and have a good idea what tires you want to be sitting on your wheels. Brake clearance can be an issue too; I have 23mm tires I had to seat on the front where I wanted 25mm. The fork could clear 25, but the brakes couldn't. Big bummer.
- Price: You can spend $150 or up to $4000. Super expensive doesn't mean that the wheel is THAT much better (or durable even). And depending on your riding style and preferences, the most expensive wheels on the market probably n't even the best ones for YOU.

This is why a lot of the answers here are telling you to ride more. Until you've ridden enough and know enough about what qualities you want in a wheel set, you can't define "better". And for that matter, most people aren't going to throw out their hard-earned sage advice until you know what that "better" is for you. Most serious cyclists here have multiple bikes and multiple wheel sets/components, etc. and can tell you all about what they have and what they like about it, as well as all the parts they want to have in the future and why. Giving advice on a "better" wheelset is completely user-dependent, and an area most aren't willing to give a broad enough answer to. Best answer is, it depends.

Homebrew01

It's an unanswerable question, that gets asked over & over. "Best" Bikes, cars, pizza..... will never be agreed upon.
But you can narrow down the range of answers by providing more information. Good post above ^^

Also, Wheel "A" might be "Better" than wheel "B" as described in the specs, but can anyone really tell the difference ? If so, is it "worth" the extra cost ??
Maybe saving 100 grams is "worth it", for the important hill climb time trial. For flatlanders, who cares about 100g ?

decentdrummer91

Of course everyone has different views or opinions on what could be better, and that's why I'm asking. And if people wanna be snobby that's their choice, no worries . Getting some good responses though. I mainly ride flat and at a pretty fast pace.

decentdrummer91

And I'm looking to spend around 300 for a used set.

Just to ad on, answering a question multiple times is not cause to be a snob. If it's the same person, yes. But if it's someone asking for the first time, then no.most School teachers don't teach the same material with a mean attitude to each class

decentdrummer91

Thanks for your kind words, flip flop rider.

bmthom.gis

For 300? Get some chinese carbon rims and new spokes of the correct length, keep the hubs if you can. You still might go over 300. Or heck, get decent some deep, aero rims and spokes that are alloy. H+ Son makes some good rims.

The reason for snarky answers is because you did not define the type of riding you want to do, and seem already dismissive of riding what you have. If it were me, I'd take that $300 and spend it on a nice kit and/or a better saddle than whatever came stock on that bike. Or spend it on a trainer or something that will help you improve your engine rather than the wheels themselves. Maybe a bike fitting.

decentdrummer91

I'll look into that, thanks. No I'm not dismissive and as you see I'm not the only person who thought they were rude. I already switched over my other stuff to the bike. Upgraded saddle, shimano 105 pedals, and I have a pretty decent trainer. I didn't ask for tips on how to be a better rider I asked specifically about wheels

Seattle Forrest

Then why do you want climbing wheels?

decentdrummer91

I've read that triathlon bikes are weak on climbing uphill compared to road bike, and there's a lot of paths I could potentially take. Just exploring all my options

Seattle Forrest

Among triathletes, "the best" wheels are widely considered to be: Zipp, Enve, Reynolds, Mavic, HED, ... Zipp is about 6x more common than the second most popular wheel maker, Enve. (Source)

Some of this is because of sponsorship, available discounts, etc.

A typical pair of Zipp or Enve wheels is going to cost $2,500 or so.

I wouldn't trust used carbon rims unless I knew their history and how they've been taken care of. I like my teeth. Anyway, there's a thread in the road forum right now where people are debating whether $1,250 for a used set of Zipp 303 wheels is a good deal or not.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you aren't going to get "the best" wheels for your budget. You probably won't get better wheels than you already have for $300, unless you buy the parts and build them yourself. But it depends how you define "better." You can still buy wheels and maybe you'll prefer them, but they'll be more of a sidegrade than an upgrade.

If you're a new cyclist there are probably a lot of other things you could spend the money on that will do more to improve your time on the bike.

Seattle Forrest

What's the gearing on your Kestral? Bikes that are meant to go fast on flat ground are aerodynamic and generally have stiff gearing. Going up hill you benefit from less weight, but also from easier gears. If you're using 105, a cassette is about $30, which is 1/10th your budget.

decentdrummer91

Okay that makes sense. I'm a bit farther off than i thought then. Thanks for the tips 😁

ptempel

Yes, since Tri or TT bikes focus on areodynamics and not weight. For hills, you want a light standard road bike. Different tool for a different job. If you plan to race Tri or TT, then try the racing forums here on BF (the 33 and others). $300 is not a lot for a good used wheelset. But you can shop around for ones with deeper rim profiles. Like the others mentioned, I would focus more on bike fit and training. I'm sure there are more variables to the fit when considering aerodynamics. Also read that some Tri/TT folks use a different saddle like the ISM Adamo since the position puts them more forward on it. So I'd also look at that and aero bar adjustments to be more comfortable in that position.

Edit: Found this article on the ISM Adamo saddles and the differences in the models https://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/S...Test_2890.html

Western Flyer 

Have a look at carbon/aluminum wheel sets. Keep your aluminum set for training with training tires and save you expensive race tires and wheels for race day. If you get all carbon rims you need to change out the brake pads every time you switch wheels. We put a 60mm Zipp A/C wheels on my wife’s tri bike. The rims were the same width as the OME aluminum wheels making the change out as fast and simple as it gets.

And a little bragging by her domestique/mechanic husband, she finish 4th in the world triathlon championships in her age group and was first in on the bike leg.

By the way that is a very nice/fast looking bike you have.

decentdrummer91

Thanks, I bought the bike for 360 and had to invest just a tiny bit of money in it, cost me $430 total. Bike only came out 2 years ago and $1,400 brand new 😁

To answer one of the first guys questions, the reason I didn't buy a more expensive bike with better wheels is because I got this so cheap