Year-round racing/commuting wheel set?
 

Hello!

I'm in the market for a new wheel set, but I have absolutely no idea where to begin (which will probably make itself painfully clear in my rambling below). I’m in desperate need of help.

Weight: 115lb - 125lb

Style of riding: When I ride for fun, I aim for speed. My cruising speed on the flat is between 17mph and 25mph, depending on wind and other conditions. When I sprint for short distances, I like to get up to between 28mph and 31mph. I like to get out of my saddle to sprint up hills, and sometimes I can accidentally lift my rear wheel off the ground (I don't know if that info is relevant at all, and the only reason I'm even mentioning it is in case it gives a better idea of the type of strength and stiffness I'm looking for). I'm perfectly happy to coast up to 34mph - 40mph on descents—I would enjoy even faster, but there aren't long/steep enough hills around here for that; but I have no problems handling my bike at 53mph on a fairly straight descent. I also like to push myself to do faster, sharper turns when at higher speeds on the flat/down a mild descent. So fast, responsive, springy, stiff rims are important to me. BUT I also tend to commute on my bike, and the roads here are gritty and rough, and there are some train tracks and extremely bumpy bridges that I frequently cross on my commute. I've also been known to load up my rear rack with 15lbs+ of stuff.

Current set-up: I ride a 47" Kestral Evoke SL (2009). My rear wheel is a Neuvation M28 Aero2, and my front is some Titan. I use a SRAM-compatible 10 speed cassette and I run 23mm tires. After 6 years of riding that wheel, it's developed big cracks around most of the nipples, resulting in a ton of creaking, so I've stopped riding the bike until I can get a new set of wheels.

What I think I need: Something stronger than my current Neuvation wheel, and something that is as fast or faster. I’m pretty sure that I want a wider rim (at least 24mm externally and between 17mm and 20mm internally) that has a bit of an aero profile (30mm-35mm; not sure if over 35mm would result in my bike turning into a giant sail on windy days; although currently my Neuvation wheel is pretty bad in the wind as it is) with a U-shape rather than the standard V-shape. I’m not sure how a deeper rim will affect acceleration, since there is supposedly more weight towards the outer part of the wheel?… I like the feeling of springy/responsive wheels. For spokes, I've been sold on the Sapim CX Ray bladed spokes. I don't know about hubs, only that I want something smooth that engages very fast with as low rolling resistance possible for something that’s very durable. I prefer very quiet ones, but I’m not sure how that affects how fast it engages and allows the bike to accelerate (so clearly if it's faster/more durable, being loud trumps quiet). Other than that, I have no idea....

The idea of carbon appeals to me due to lighter weights and added strength, but the thought of getting wheels that cost more than my entire bike doesn’t really sit well with me. Plus I also ride year-round, and in the winter here it rains almost every day. I ride in traffic as well, so being able to stop quickly is very important in wet weather. $1500 is about as high as I am comfortable going.

Please help.

checkout PSIMET Custom Wheels - PSIMET Custom Wheels they make fantastic wheels well with in your price range, I have a set of A200's and I really love them, super fast wheels.

Flo 30
Zipp 30 Course
Boyd Altamont
Special order from November Bicycles with Easton R90SL and I9 hubs
Look those up and pick whichever you think is prettiest.

I just built a set like what you're looking for from BikeHubStore.com parts: Kinlin XC279 rims, CX-Ray spokes and whatever hubs Brandon recommended. I weigh 146 and went 20 radial front and 24 2-cross rear. The wheels built up beautifully. I run 23mm Conti 4000 IIs tires. Very nice. $340 for all the parts including skewers. Cool looking, too - black rims, silver spokes and hubs and no logos. They feel fast. You could take the parts to a local wheelbuilder.

For the budget you have I'd honestly consider getting 2 sets of wheels, with one as your wet weather or rough road set and another as your carbon/aero/fast set. Nothing is more annoying than not being able to ride on a beautiful day because your only wheelset is in the shop getting serviced.

Campy Zondas are amazing but on the upper end, you might want to check out the HED Ardennes

For the actual wheels, if you go this route I'd get something like a pair of HED Belgium rims laced with high quality spokes to a pair of decent hubs as your "strong" wheels (even though at your weight you aren't going to be abusing wheels too much), and then maybe something like a pair of HED Jet 6s for your deep aero wheels. You can get both sets for under your budget.

Boyds or williams are fantastic wheels.
I use a chinese carbon 50mm that i paid $400 2 years ago from an online company. I commute, race, ride centuries on these wheels. They are super strong and for over 15k miles just needed truein once. They have been through it all, rain, mud, curbs, gravel etc. Everytime i take bike to LBS some local guy wants to know what they are and ends up getting a set. Now i have 4 guys still loving their wheels. I also own Enve's 6.7, roval clx, boyd & vitese

Those rims are hit or miss, my rear 38mm started to delaminating after 100 miles, the brake track started to separate causing uneven breaking surface. The front rim however held up strong still after 2000k.