Hi, on my bicycle I'm currently using some sub-par Shimano WH-500 wheels. I'm interested in upgrading these, but I'm a college student and my money shows as such. So I was wondering if people could list me some good quality/lower priced wheels/wheelsets; I would greatly appreciate it.

I don't know if this is what you are looking for but sometimes boreing is good.

Mavic Open Pro rims on Ultegra hubs, even after all these years, are still the standard to which other wheelsets are compared. Most of the mail order suppliers offer them for around $250.00 for the set. That's pretty cheap. They're not the lightest or the most aero or the most anything, but it's a good solid workmanlike wheelset that you'll never have to apologize for owning.

cant beat the mavic open rims for all round training and comfort.

Cheap wheels try the tiagra set, fairly aero with 20 spokes for about 50 quid the pair

check out Xero wheels

+1. Best value for less than $400.

What is sub-par about your wheels?

Try some custom built: https://www.youngwheels.com/
I'm having some built by Joe right now. The wheels have a bling factor AND they are fast and affordable.

used bontrager race x lite aero for $250 + shipping ftw!

https://neuvationcycling.com

Just got my aero wheels from them yesterday and tried them out for 42 miles this morning. Great prices, great wheels, and great customer service from what everybody here has said.

i agree go with the m28s, thats what i bought for ~250 with shipping and all. they work sooo well, so much better than stock. only thing is that is very hard to put my tires on the rims, broke one tire leaver so far. with my stock i never needed tire levers to get my tire on, dunno i might try different tires like contentials or pro 2s, just don't want to spend that money right now. oh and the stock bearings work really well, the front tire just spins forever.,

Keep riding the wheels until they crap out. You already have them, riding them is the cheapest alternative. When you ruin these, or wear them out, then get a set of the openpro/ultegra's or even maybe the cxp33's, which are also pretty bomb proof.

keep looking on ebay. I managed to score a 5500-105/CXP33 wheel set for $140 + shipping.

ive got a set of cane creek volos id like to get rid of very low miles retail $600 u can have 4 250

Honestly, I really dislike these wheels. Continuously having to true them isn't fun, and they have quite an uncomfortable ride.

Also, what all compatibility issues arise when changing wheelsets? I'm probably going to buy some GP 4000 tires, and need to know what can go wrong.

Currently riding:
2007 59 CM Bianchi Via Nirone 7
Shimano 105 Ten-Speed everything
Omega FSA triple crank

I think that is all the stuff that could even possibly matter, but if you need some other piece of information, let me know.

Why aren't the WH-R500s good enough? I understand heavier people have problems with these wheels, but that would hold true with any low spoke count wheels. If you're looking to shed weight, then to what end? Is the bike used to race? If its not then buying nice wheels to shave weight is a waste, IMHO.

I'd say, if you're at normal weight for your height, then check the wheels over: make sure the cones aren't over-tightened, re-grease the bearings, and ensure the wheels are tension-balanced and true.

I use this bike to race and my rear wheel was bent when I was ran off the road by a semi. Is that a good enough reason to want to buy a new wheelset rather than just replace my rear wheel with another WH-500?

Velocity Deep V's are bomb proof and if they can stay true and hold my fat butt, they I pretty sure they will work for other folks.

If the front is fine, then why not replace the rear? You can custom-build a really nice rear wheel... maybe something with a DT240 hub and DT 1.2 rim?

When you say the rear was bent, bent how? Are we talking about it being out of true, flat-spotted, cracked... how bad?

If you just want a replacement set, some affordable ones are

-Fulcrum Racing 7s
-Shimano WH-5600/6600
-Mavic Aksium/Ksyrium Equipe
-(the ominous)Ultegra/Open Pro
...

What do you think of the Fulcrum Racing 7 wheelset? I found some nicely priced ones(sub $200) and was wondering if they are a pretty good value?

for that price? absolutely.

Thanks a lot. Sorry if my previous thing seemed ******-esque, but I'm not a fan of these Shimano wheels.