Wheel upgrade
 

I have a Cervelo R3-SL with standard Easton wheels.

The bike is great and fast but I see people upgrading to Zipp 404 was wonder if it worth it?
I was also looking at Zipp 303 Tubular, they seem real nice.

My back-ground is that I am 50 something guy (195 pounds) that rides on group rides and by myself but not into racing. I do a few Century rides and was thinking that the lighter wheels would help but a I question the wisdom of Tubular for repair. My general feeling is that is should just stick with what I have but the Zipps look nice and faster is better?

The Zipp 404s look better than the Eastons. That should be the main reason for getting them IMO...

I don't really care that much about looks, in fact I rather not standout when I ride by my self in NYC.

If you don't race whats the point? The difference in aero wheels is only seconds over many miles. They do make a cool whooshing sound when you go fast. If thats worth $2000 to you then go for it.

I was not really sure how much they help, if it so minor it is really not worth the cost

Light weight wheels only matter with climbing. Aero wheels will give you some speed but that's an expensive way to gain a few seconds. Tubulars are nice but they mean carrying an extra tire around when training. The weight and inconvenience of that quickly offsets the weight of clinchers. 404's are more aero but can be slightly tricky is stiff winds. 303's are probably a more versatile wheel, especially if you ride lots of hills where they are a little lighter.

Zipps are great but if you're not racing you might want to consider carbon clinchers instead of tubulars. Much easier to deal with and a pretty negligible weight difference. Also, there are other manufacturers that make comparable wheelsets for much less than what Zipps will cost you. Psimet and Williams are very popular here.

Of course someone will be along shortly to tell you how you should work on the engine and that expensive wheels are a waste if you're not at least a Cat 3 or something along those lines.

You should consider a light weight aluminum clincher like kinlin xr300 30mm profile rims. With DT swiss hubs and sapim spokes you are looking at a cool looking semi aero ~ 1450gram wheelset for around 700$.........psimet makes these as well as others. Much cheaper, better breaking, cool looking and sturdy.

Williams' aluminum wheel is ~1440g and is only 500 dollars. I've been eyeing them recently, however I think you are a bit above the weight limit. Williams also makes lots of carbon wheels, if you are dead-set on those.

Best part about aero spokes. Mine start at 35 mph.

Was looking at these
2010 Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850 24mm Carbon Clincher Wheelset

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/catego...dura-ace-31460

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/ro...4597.41.1.html

Those are apparently really good!

This looks like a deal

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Sh...et/5360030874/

Anyone buy from them?
Will I have to pay duty?

Or you I get these http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Sh...et/5360033078/

Shimano Dura Ace 7850 50mm Carbon Clincher Wheel Set for $1325 plus duty, they are really different from what currently have but don't know about riding them everyday.

Shimano wheels are usually pretty solid and reliable, and their hubs roll well. With the deep rims you will get some aerodynamic improvement, which will probably not be noticeable except on fast descents. I would not recommend carbon rims with carbon brake tracks, as they require special pads and still don't brake as well as aluminium brake tracks, especially in the wet.

There were pro's before carbon wheel's. Just sayin' :innocent:

I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how this relates to the OPs question?
Maybe it's the h1n1 I have going on right now, a lot of things aren't making sense.

I just bought a set from chian reaction cycles for about $650.00 US shipped. I ordered 2 sets but they only shipped one due to a stock situation. It looks like they expect more in by 3/26. I received them via US mail about 5 days after they shipped them. The wheels where well packaged in their original Shimano box. Not the easiest company to deal with but I would order from them again due to their great pricing.

It's a parody of a post of his from another thread.

Ahhhhhh, thanks for clarifying.
Miss a day, miss a lot.
Miss 3 days (of BF) miss a whole lot more.

Sure does look like a great price, did you have to pay duty?

Buy the 404's and don't worry about the weight savings of the 303's.

Why the 404's any reasons?

I have a set of Zipp 303 tubulars, and 404 clinchers.

The speed advantage of the 404's over conventional wheels is probably something around .2mph at 25mph

The weight advantage of CF tubular wheels will make a tiny difference in climbing speed. It will however make a noticeable difference in how the bike feels accelerating. The tubulars will also give a better ride and better handling, at least in my subjective judgement.

To me the biggest reason you'd go with CF rims as a non racer is just how nice they make the bike feel.

Between the 303's and the 404's I'd go with the 404's because the aero advantage trumps the weight, unless you're talking pure climbing.

The conundrum becomes tubulars versus clinchers. The tubulars will make the bike feel great, for the above stated reasons, but for me, are too big a PITA to justify if you don't have a wheel truck following you. But going with clincher 404's you'll get an aero advantage, but you won't get the great feel that comes with going to lighter wheels, and tubular tires.

The weight difference between 303's and 404's is right at 100grams for tubulars, (and only 25 grams for clinchers) This is just not going to be significant.

Conversely the rim depth goes from 44mm to 58mm which is going to be aerodynamically significant.

Also in my experience the 404's are more robust.