Wheels, what to do?
 

So I am new to this, and I am bound to have a few more spills as I get more acquainted with cycling. The bike I bought is, based in most opinions, a pretty decent starter bike (and I got it for under $400) anyway its a RapidCycle Grand. The wheels on it are pretty crumby. The mechanic at my LBS said the nipples on the front wheel were too tight to adjust (granted he didn't try much). Anyway he said they were true enough. Well, after riding downhill at some higher speeds, I can feel every contour in the wheels. They are likely rebranded junk wheels. 700 x 40 with kenda 23 tires.

The tubes were popping when inflated to 90psi so I put some fabric liner in.

Anyway, I am new to this. I want to get all in because I can't do it another way. What should I do with these wheels? Run them till they can't keep going or should I upgrade (preferably to something reasonably priced)?

I'd like your opinions and advice. Also what's a good material, weight, spoke type/count for a commuter? Thanks in advance.

I think what you feel descending at higher speeds is the fork and headset as much as the wheels. I would just ride it as is and save money to upgrade to a better bike down the road if you get into it

If your wheels might be unsafe to ride I'd rather buy some new ones just to be sure, especially if that bike came with those deep heavy wheels they show on the website? If so, upgrading your wheels will be the best option not only for your safety, but performance as well. My personal favorite budget wheels are the Shimano Ultegra's which are reasonably light, can be run as a standard clincher or tubeless (comes with stems), decent hubs, very reliable, and can be found on sale somewhere for around $400. Otherwise, if you want to spend a bit less check out Nashbar for some Veulta's or even Performance for a set of their house brand Titan wheels which are a bit heavy (1755g) but have great reviews and have the best warranty in the business for around $160 for the set?

Look for a sale at Nashbar on the Vuelta Corsa Lites. I got mine for $194

Thanks for the responses. I do still have the stock deep wheels on it. They are pretty deep even a 48mm stem barely has clearance.

Out it of all these suggestions which ones would last longest with some heavy riding (well I suppose probably light compared to others on this forum) about 100 miles a week if I can get into the shape to pull it off. Anyway would it be wiser to spring the $400 now or go lower?

Additionally if it is the headset and forks how can I fix that? There doesn't seem to be any play in them when I check it. If I can manage a month or so I can upgrade but this bike has a decent groupset.

The fork seems to be aluminum which could be causing a lot of vibration that you feel. Wheels are not the worst investment since they can be easily moved to another bike if you upgrade the bike later. With that said, I would make sure you get 11 speed compatible wheels just to be safe

I am gonna pick up a 2008 specialized roubaix for a steal ($500) which should help. I can see the difference in a carbon bike and an aluminium bike.

When I started off riding I purchased that exact same bike used. When it came time to upgrade I sold it for $550 so that's a good deal for sure.

I honestly would have loved to keep the bike, but it was just the wrong size so make sure you get the correct size if not keep looking.

It's the right size. It's been through plenty of miles but it's in good shape. The cogs have some wear on them. It's 54cm and I'm 5'8" nearly 5'9". The guy I'm getting it from is similar build and has used it for a while, but he prefers chromoly. In fact, I pretty much get all my advice from him anyway.

He he said to get some new tires but the wheels were upgraded. It just seems logical to get a different bike for near what I would pay for decent wheels. Plus I can experience some variety in the material. So far I've ridden 30ish miles on an aluminium frame and fork. I think the older 105 set is similar to modern tiagra so they are pretty similar with the exception of some higher quality parts.