Spacemunky

Hey everyone, I need some advice on what wheelset to buy upgrading from Fulcrum 7's on my 2010 Bianchi Infinito.

I'm 5'10" 160lbs....more of a sprinter/TT than a climber but I am learning

My preference is for something clincher and probably 38-60mm with some aesthetics that would go with my bike(but not required).

My goal is speed, weight reduction from my current 1900G wheels would be nice, but I am more interested in slicing the wind than putting my bike on a diet.

NOTE: Ignore the bar angle, I was testing drop distances when I took the pic

Elvo

Zipp 404s

neneboricua

Depends on your budget. Are you looking to race someday? Boyd, PSIMET, Williams, and Soul are all "BF approved" wheels. Reynolds and Mavics could work for you as well and are probably available from your local shop.

Spacemunky

I'm looking in the 1k-1.5K range and also used wheels if I can find a deal.

I have heard from multiple sources that my fulcrum 7's have garbage hubs compared to the quality of the rest of my bike and I ride on some Vuelta Corsa(sub 1500G) on my Via Nirone that I picked up used and its true, they spin faster.

The wheelsets I like so far are Sram S60, Easton EC90SL, Vuelta(I honestly love mine), Zip 404(if I find them used), and possible some china carbons with DT hubs

ivan_yulaev

Hmm, not to derail the thread, but how much difference is there in power lost between "good" and "bad" hubs? I think a rider puts down ~200W when riding briskly (not sprinting though). I can't imagine that the hub bearings dissipate more than a few W (1-2%) without getting warm. Am I off-base here?

Spacemunky

I am pretty sure its substantial, dont know the percent but I would imagine the difference between ceramic and non ceramic bearings could provide a substantial gain over a long distance, as well as sprints.

I put out about 750-800 watts in a sprint (tested on a spin bike with powermeter) and I've clocked 34.6mph(no power tap) on a flat with little to no wind so even a 2-3% gain at 800 watts would still be noticeable.

Not to mention fulcrum 7's are almost 1900g with non bladed spokes and 28mm depth I believe. Add in bladed spokes, 50mm depth and ceramic bearings and I think I should see at least 4-5% improvement in watts to the road at high speeds.

achoo

Have a look at these:

https://www.novemberbicycles.com/rfsc-58s/

Spacemunky

Bookmarking that for sure, damn those things are light!!! I wonder if they will do custom decals, those are pretty ugly

Painful Chafe

Beautiful bike. I hope you draw those shades to keep the bad guys away.

How about some of these. I think they would look great with the red and white in the decals. $1165 delivered.





You could also go with the tubular version which are about 130 grams lighter.

wrr1020

Has anyone ridden those November wheels, looks like a great deal.

sbxx1985 

Sweet.

98TJ

I saw a local guy with a set of wheels from Real Design. Had never heard of them. Might be worth checking out. No-name cartridge hubs but the price seems nice if they're built half decent. Would get you the aero you're looking for at a decent price.

https://www.real-wheels.com/

The guys that race for the local bike shop run wheels from Boyds (but it's odd that the shop doesn't sell them - they primarily stock the $1500 set of Reynolds carbons)

https://www.boydcycling.com/

Personally, I went with a set of HED Jet 6 Flamme Rouge. Should be here tomorrow.

Triguy

Heres my suggestion; ask any wheel company what development they did to come up with their rim shape. Anyone who can't answer that question, likely won't have a great impact on your speed by getting new wheels. November, Boyd, etc, all make durable and reliable wheels but likely you're leaving aerodynamics on the table by going with them. That is not to say they aren't good wheels, but if you're going to drop over $1000, why not get the BEST aerodynamics you can. Before you ask how big of a difference this can truly make; last year Velonews did a test of 80-90mm carbon wheels. At around 10 degrees of yaw(arguably the most common riding wind condition), the Hed Stinger 9 had something like 75-125 grams less drag than the other 80-90mm carbon wheels. 100 grams of drag is about 40 seconds per 40k difference.

If I were you I'd look to Hed Jet 6. Wind tunnel designed, won't have the aerodynamics harmed by 23mm tires and Hed is a great company.

fogrider

I like the ec90sl. lightweight will help with acceleration like you won't believe. aero is good and it will help with maintaining speed, but if you want to go fast, light weight is what you want.

catonec 

there are numerous threads on which wheelset to buy. to sum it up:

Psimet
soul
reynolds
williams
zipp
campy

buy any of those and you automatically have BF's approval.

znomit

It must be substantial, otherwise how could they justify the price of ceramics.

zexel

These are what you 'need' ...

98TJ

Any particular reason HED isn't on that list?

Varns269

For the most bang for you buck the best options are American Classic 58 Clincher, Sram S 60, Williams 58 clincher. And whatever you do, do not buy used wheels you most of the time they are beaten the heck up. Thats a rule of thumb for most use bike parts stay away.

canam73

Spin bike powermeters are usually not comparable to road biking.

Spacemunky

Thanks for all the responses!! So far I am really impressed with the HED's for their aero properties and for aesthetics I think its probably American Classic or Sram S60. Does anyone know if Sram S60's are comparable to Zipp404's since its the same manufacturer, as far as aero properties go (dimpling?)

@Canam73 - I know the spin bike doesnt translate the same but if you do the general calcualtions for watts vs speed its theoretically close to what I should be putting out compared to the speeds I've clocked so I included it in my post.

What do you guys think will make a bigger difference, shaving a pound off my wheels with a sub 1400g wheelset or going with something heavier with a better aero profile (ec90sl vs sram s60 for example)

chado445510

That is an awesome bike. Get some Red or DA on there and it would look cool too!

gregf83 

You're on the right track looking for an aero wheelset. But expecting any improvement (beyond .1%) from the hubs is just dreaming. Good hubs should be light and last longer but they won't help your sprint; aero wheels will.

jrobe

The biggest difference in speed of all would be to get a rear wheel with a Powertap and then learn how to train with it.

Varns269

Question spacemonkey what kind of roads do you ride on? Does most of your riding involve flats or hills? If most of your riding is flats aero outweighs weight by a ton. Now if you are going to be climbing most of your ride then weight becomes a factor.

Sram S60's are very aero. They are very Zipp like. Any of the major wheel companies (zipp, enve, HED, Sram, Reynolds, American Classic, Fulcrum, DT, Easton) spend tons of cash honing their aero designs. So much that most people will only buy from them because they know they are getting a good product.