sw686blue

I have Mavic Aksiums that came stok on my 2010 Giant TCR Advanced 3. I really can't complain. I weigh 255 lbs and they are as true today as they were when I first received the bike.

shokhead

My 05 Roubaix had Mavic Ksyrium Equipe but they gave me $200 for them and they put that towards Velomax Curcuits. Couldn't be happier.

squamish5

My bike came with RS10's
I had to wait....a year(literally) to get a spoke replaced, the shop couldn't get any. I put them on my wifes bike, and now she also has popped a spoke....:-(

DEK

My Felt Z85 came with Mavic CXP-22 rims and they're fine for my purposes. I'm just a recreational rider so no need for anything more expensive. Althought, that doesn't mean I haven't thought about upgrading.

The Smokester

My Cervelo R3 would come stock with Fulcrum Racing 7's. Never even took delivery of them. Got hand built weight weenie wheels before even riding the thing.

kleinboogie

I got the Mavic Equipes on my Synapse and yes, they were right for the bike. 24mm box rims, same as the RS10s, on a plush bike makes sense. As I progressed I moved on to a supersix and 404s. Just part of the game. GL

neneboricua

My 2009 Fuji Team Pro came with Mavic Aksiums. They were/are great wheels for training and totally bombproof. I've since upgraded to Soul C5.0's, but continue to ride the Aksiums are on another bike.

Whether the stock wheels on your bike are good or not I think depends on the level of bike you buy. If you buy an entry level (or close to it) aluminum bike, chances are it's going to come with RS10's or some other similar wheel that perhaps isn't so high in quality. But if your bike is a little bit higher level, chances are the wheels will be too, so you may not need to replace them unless your needs change (i.e. you start racing or something).

GirlAnachronism

My Blue came with HED Jet 4's.

MikeyBoyAz

Mine came with CPX22 and they sucked. upgraded to mavic ksyrium elites... good upgrade IMHO

volosong

My bike came with Vuelta XRP Team Super Lite wheels. I like them so much that I'm just about ready to spring for another set for my other bike.

John_V 

My Defy came with CXP-22 rims as well. No complaint as I also don't race and I ride for recreation and health. No intensions of changing them at any point in time as the weight of the rims (as has been pointed out) doesn't make much difference on an aluminum frame.

simonaway427

Shimano R500s. I swapped them with Soul 3.0SL at the LBS before I brought the bike home for the first time.

wkg

My Bianchi Via Nirone 7 came with some wheels with Novatech hubs and a Jalco rim, had a paired spoke design.

Twice I had a drive side spoke on my rear wheel blow up on me and the bike became unrideable and I had to get picked up. I quickly abandoned those wheels. Thank god I was riding on flats at under 20 mph.

LarryMelman

Can't help but notice the total lack of response to both of the above. Thus adding to my firm belief that most replace-what-ain't-broken upgrades are caused only by an itchy wallet. And that words like "flexy" and "bombproof" come straight from the advertisements, not from any real measurable experience.

Stickney

YES.

Stock Wheels:

1. Easton Circuits -- 24F/28R -- have held up very well under my girth
2. Vuelta XRP -- 28/32 -- been impressed so far as well
3. Real Design Super Sonics -- put them out of true in the first 10 miles

However, Tire/Tire pressure/Tire size are all involved in judging the overall wheel system.

BarracksSi

Mine came with Shimano R550s, and I didn't like how they flexed, making the spokes go "ping-ping-ping-ping" when I stood up.

Stickney

You know it when you feel it. haha

I agree, wheel flex is hard to narrow down, short of a controlled test with regulated tires/tire size/tire pressure/road conditions, etc.

That being said, I've had two sets of wheels that were noticably flexy. In both cases, the wheel was not made for a rider of my size. But, I could feel the flex immediately. It can be felt.

In my case it felt like a flat tire/riding thru mud.

joe_5700

Brian, I also have a Synapse but it's a carbon 5 with the same RS10's. I am about 55 pounds lighter, so I do not notice the flexing as much as you do. So, I am satisfied with my stock wheels for now.

fishymamba

I'm unhappy. My CAAD9 came with Shimano R500s. At first they seemed fine, but now I can really tell how flexy they are. And I only weight 125lbs. They go out of true pretty quickly too.

Seattle Forrest

I hope I don't come across as pedantic, but could you describe this in more detail? What happens when the wheels flex? What sorts of things do you do to make it happen, or is it all the time? How much do they flex - would a fellow rider be able to see it? What do you mean by "it felt like a flat tire / riding through mud?" Does the wheel feel like it's slipping, as if the tire lost its grip? The OP said his wheels are flexing too much, giving him grief cornering - is this where the flat tire feeling comes in?

Something is up with my rear wheel, it's worst when I corner, and I just changed my rear tire hoping that would fix the problem. It's been going on with the same wheel set, on two frames. The wheel spins true when I pick the bike up and watch. I'm hoping somebody can describe wheel flex in enough detail that I can either identify what's wrong with my bike, or cross this off the list.

BarracksSi

Of course, in the back of my mind, I've been wondering if my OEM wheelset would have been better if it had gotten rebuilt and/or retensioned by a competent wheelbuilder.

hhnngg1

Still rocking my stock Alex rims on one bike and Shimano R500s on the other. Upgrading makes no sense whatsoever to me, outside of looks. $2k for 0.1-0.4mph speed gain is pretty ridiculous, especially when I can get more of that gain by just riding more in the drops and then ducking my head in the fast sections.

calamarichris

I can definitely feel it on my Dura Ace C50's and C24's (16-spoke front; 24-spoke rear) whenever I make sudden bar inputs or corrections while cornering on fast descents. They seem to hesitate/delay and the overall feeling is sluggish in those situations. But that's only during aggressive downhilling or squidding around corners. They more than make up for that when climbing or hauling-the-freight in a straight line.
It was troubling at first, but I've learned after a few episodes that the Dura Ace wheels can take it, even with a 180-lb behemoth aboard.

When I put on my heavier 32-spoke, 2-cross Velocity wheels, those feel much snappier and I can make instant, aggressive direction changes. But they require noticeably more watts to push through the wind (even with CX-Ray spokes) than the Dura Ace wheels do.

UCIMBZ

This is flexing at its extreme. The other term for it "Saddling". That is why most experience brake shoe rub under flex. rear wheels do flex more than front at sometimes up to 60% due to their narrower hub flanges. Under a rider, wheel flex feels like a sudden up and down wobbling when out of saddle and applying force to the crank or making sharp turns at high speeds. Wherease a frame flex is more prolonged and fading in nature and could be experienced when going over bumps.

Velo Gator

My Fulcrum 7's were pretty good. They were loud and a bit heavy, but no real complaints on quality.