urbanknight

Ultegra hubs are purchased for their durability, not weight. I think that's 600g right there. Rims are 425g each, spokes are about 7g each for double butted, and nipples are about a gram each for brass.

RShea

Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra hubs- those exact combination is available in a wheelset at Pricepoint.com right now for $264 (on sale) plus shipping. I am looking at the same exact issue of needing to replace a rear wheel right now.

2ndGen

Definitely a set of solid wheels. I love Ultegra.
I chose to go with Ultegra over Dura Ace
for my cassette and crankset.

I'm set on a pair of BWWs or Neuvations.
Considered plenty strong for my weight (up to 205).

I've dealt with riders in my range who
are very happy with their 1450g BWW's.

Right now, they are $349./shipped.

HWS

+1

Replaced my Alex 260's with these after 11,000 miles. I am more than pleased.

krazyflip

I am leaning towards the open pros since they have good durability. But part of me wants to go with the Soul 3.0. but if I were to increase my budget to $400 would quality change a lot or is $400 for a wheel set about the same as a $300 wheel set

2ndGen

Someone here linked a set of DT Swiss wheels which are a great wheelset with Ultegra hubs: $374.70

https://www.bicyclewheelwarehouse.com...Id=113&added=1

wrr1020

I have the blackset race ten's from bicycle wheel warehouse. Over $300 but there a good solid wheelset for the price and weigh in at around 1400-1500 grams for the pair. I shaved almost two pounds off the bike by replacing the Bontrager SSR wheels on my Trek.

2ndGen

Yep...Bonty SSRs are 2150g.
If I'm going to ride wheels in that range,
I'd just keep my OEM wheels and ride them until they collapsed.
My SSRs took a beating for almost 2 years before my front wheel needed to be trued.

My current OEM 2000+g Mavic CXP22 wheels (on my CAAD) are going to be winter beater wheels.
Lighter tubes, CXish 25 tires (if they fit) and that's it once my new wheelset arrrives.

The BWWs or the Nuvis will have Continental Grand Prix 4000S tires,
Michelin/Vitorria/Conti light tubes and definitely lighter skewers.

Tunnelrat81

The OP distinctly specified that he didn't care about weight...so why all the advice for the 1400-1600 gram wheelsets? So this non-racer will have a race-worthy set of nice wheels for a few years or so but once they've lived their life, they're done. Whereas a 32 spoke standard wheel laced to Ultegra won't win any bling or gram scale contests but they'll be a super reliable wheel for him now (when that's what he really needs) AS WELL AS a reliable backup wheelset when he eventually decides to upgrade to something more racey.

The Open Pro rims are historically a good balance of light weight and reliable if laced with 32 spokes, but there are other options as well. If you get a hold of Psimet, you could ask him for a 32 spoke wheel on a similar rim built to a lighter weight hubset if you truly want something lighter. As mentioned above the weight in Ultegra/OP set is all in the hubs. You can get lighter weight 32 spoke hubs, and if built right (as Psimet or another skilled wheelbuilder can do) you'll have a very reliable set.

-Jeremy

judkins1970

+2 love mine have 2 sets

2ndGen

Because lighter (while being just as strong) is better for someone who rides in mountains.

I think even OP/Ultegras have an expiration date Jeremy!

I wouldn't call BWW's race worthy, but from what I've gathered, they are reliable
and well built wheels with the added bonus of being lightweight.

True.

The Neuvations and the BWW's "also" have a reputation for lasting thousands of miles.
They just happen to be far lighter and about $100. cheaper with great support.


For a pair of strong wheels (weight be damned), a set of OEM take-off
Mavic CXP22's for about $100. should fit the bill of the OP.

If he's going to spend $300., why not drop a pound and a half off of
his ride while still getting a strong wheelset that'll last for years as well?

Tunnelrat81

I agree that if a wheel is lighter AND just as strong, and happens to be cheaper then sure, it's a no brainer. But I think you're going to have a hard time arguing that a 20/16 neuvation set of wheels will truly be as strong as a 32 spoke wheel. I remember Waterrockets mentioning that he couldn't wait for his old 32 spoke deep v wheelset to fail, after something like 5 years of training AND racing duty. My local experience with neuvations is that they are very clearly NOT that reliable. Go ahead and look them up on www.roadbikereview.com and see how many "they broke, but John replaced them quickly and painlessly...Great customer service..." They may be reasonably strong, but there's a reason why many cyclists and a notable number of experienced wheel builders still appreciate the "old standard" 32 and 36 spoke wheels...and it's not because they enjoy the extra weight.

I appreciate the cute way you condescended to me while implying that it was my belief that Ultegra/OP wheels don't ever expire. The reality is that if properly built with an adequate spoke count and appropriately chosen rim, every wheel will retire, but only when the braking surface wears through or crash damage unavoidably ends it's life. So why is it that there are countless experiences with "spokes pulling through" or "hub flange failed" reports from some of these budget, low spoke count wheelsets. These are not "I crashed my bike and my rim failed" stories. They are "I was riding along and my wheel when out of true, so I checked and found cracks." I understand that any rims will crack if poorly built, but often times with the neuvation wheels (which I have experience with), the cracks occur on multiple spokes from normal riding after a year or two = spoke tension is too high for the rim. Why is the spoke tension so high? Answer: To offer the same stiffness that you'd get from lower tension and more spokes. A good friend of mine "upgraded" to them from his stock wheels, loved them for about a year, before discovering that they were cracking. Another friend couldn't get more than a few months out of his set before the rear was returned for replacement. I don't consider a wheel design successful simply because it's quickly replaced by the manufacturer when it fails.

There are plenty of people who have been happy with these brands and truly feel like they were a perfect balance of strength and reliability. Personally I listen closely to consumer reviews, and value them over marketing hype. And don't like the idea of having to except a higher % chance of wheel failure on a $300 investment. This is a non issue for those who get bored and need to upgrade stuff every few years, or those with money to spend. However, what a new cyclist needs most of all is a bike that allows them to ride as much as possible, and keep them on the road long enough for the seed of cycling love to take root.

The term you use, "thousands of miles" while sounding impressive while you type it, represents a range of miles, the lower end of which would be entirely unacceptable as a wheelset life span.

We differ in our opinions, and I didn't mean my comment above to be a direct attack on any of your suggestions, it was just a differing perspective from the "buy the lightest and hope it's strong enough" theme that some here follow. I'm just offering my thoughts too, simple as that. The OP will hopefully make his own decision, based not just on your opinion or mine, but on increased knowledge and perspective involving both. Yay Bikeforums.

-Jeremy

BarracksSi

Ooh, get those...

LanceFanBoy

The S4.0 wheels are stiffer. I think both are great wheels though.