Hello,

I am looking for a budget $250 all-around wheel set. This is for training, and club rides that will work for a 9 Spd setup. As I said ,my budget is around $250. I ride of mostly smooth to slightly rough flat roads. All recommendations welcome.

Thanks

I'm going say save your money unless you need new wheels.
Others may have other ideas.

I currently have a pair of stock ALX wheels that are on their last leg, the are in need of BB and I am looking to replace them with something rebuild-able. I do not want to spend a ton on wheels as I am looking to buy a new bike later this year.

Fulcrums

Fulcrum Racing 7's?

Maybe 5s on sale at that price.

What is BB? Bottom Bracket?

Cartridge Bearing Replacement? It should be easy enough to do.

I'd start deciding what you need.
20mm vs 23mm vs something else?
28 spokes, 32 spokes, 36 spokes, something else? (your weight???)
Gravel, rough roads? Desired tire size?
9/10 speed, or do you have 11 spd in the future?


It would be an interesting project to build your own wheels, but even if you cut corners... it is hard to make a complete wheel set for less than $250.
I.E. You may get cheaper wheels buying pre-built than making them yourself. But when you do it yourself, you're more likely to add in a few upgrades here and there that you might miss on the factory wheels.

Why not a set of Shimano R501's for half of that budget?

Shimano R501 C30 Wheelset | Chain Reaction Cycles

My set of 30mm section R500's from a few years ago did a few thousand road training miles and are now doing duty on my cross bike (I broke a spoke once so far). They're heavy, but they're also tough.

Vuelta Corsa Lite is the OBVIOUS choice at your price point. Solid, durable, semi-aero alum wheels at a very light 1550grams for a ridiculously cheap price. I commute on mine every day and it's still true as the day I bought them 2 years ago.

Mavic Askiums, less than $250, very strong, even for clydes:
Universal Cycles -- Mavic Aksium One Wheels 2015

Mavic Open Pros on Ultegra Hubs 28/32 spokes

agree with first response, $250 isn't much of a budget, $500 is really a better upgrade price point where the wheels will actually be better than most stock wheels. I've had bikes with Shimano R500, Bonty Select, Mavic Aksium and all were garbage, the best pair of low end stock wheels I've come across were ALEX R1.0s.

If you can skip a dinner out, and up the ante to $325, I like the Mavic Open Pro with Ultegra for every day use and training wheels.
Mavic Open Pro/Shimano Ultegra Road Wheel Set - 700c, 32H, 9/10-Speed, QR, Silver

if you need to stay on budget, here's a 105 version from Velomine

Mavic Open Pro Rims Shimano 32h 105 Hubs Silver Wheelset [66806] - $209.00 Velomine.com : Worldwide Bicycle Shop, fixed gear track bike wheelsets campagnolo super record vintage bike

Aksiums are bullet proof and a good solid training wheel.

Fits OP's needs perfectly. A little heavy, yes, garbage, not in any way. Open Pros are too light for most riders, even with 32 spokes they die a quick death.

Agree with Aksium...also consider Performance branded "Titan" wheelset, you can pick them up on sale for $170 for a pair. This makes extra sense if there is a Performance shop near you, and google says there are two in Houston.

Wheels are one upgrade that is super easy to transfer to a new bike. Spend $350-500 and they are likely to be better than whatever comes on your new bike. So the new stock wheelset (when you buy a new bike) then goes on the old bike or serves as a back-up. The investment can easily outlive your current bike (note: you might consider buying 11sp to future-proof a bit).

The Fulcrum and Aksium suggestions are spot on (if you want to stay under $300). Ribble carries the new Fulcrum LG's (23mm wide rather than 20.5mm), and you could afford the Racing 5's.

But you've mentioned 'rebuildable' once or twice. If that's a major focus - you might consider the B-dop buildkit (or similar from bikehubstore) and labor from a local shop.

Save another 100 and get the Pacenti SL23

https://www.amazon.com/Pacenti-Cycle-...dp/B00N14DR34/

5's for $252 DONE

Fulcrum Racing 5 LG Clincher Wheelset - Black/White Sports & Leisure | ProBikeKit.com

Craigslist is your best bet for value, you can get a great set of wheels that are a few years old for 50-75% off as lots of bike guys like to upgrade often.

I bought my current training wheels on Craigslist from a guy who was trying to shed bike weight. $100 for 32 spoke Weinmann rims on Tiagra hubs. Heavy but super reliable and true. They only had a few miles on them.

I am in the same boat as OP. I plan on picking up a set of Vuelta Corsa Lites after the funds recover from a vacation.

But I ride on anchor wheels that came stock on a 350dollar road bike, so it will be a huge upgrade.

Unless you got an amazing deal on that bike used, you might be better off putting the price of your Corsas towards a new bike.

Re; The OP, I agree with dtrain. If buying a new bike soon anyway, I'd say it's worthwhile paying for really good wheels now, because there's a good chance they'll be better than whatever comes stock on the new ride.

I don't know the bike is not too bad. its Got shimano STI shifters and has served well over the last 700 miles. Reason for wheel upgrade is that I want to got to 105 groupset and after that i will start looking into a new frame. I do enjoy the process of building up the bike slowly. Even if it might come out a bit more expensive in the end.

Bike in question:

+1. Cannot beat the price for what you get. Wheels are also pretty nice looking and low weight. Nashbar has them for $260 and the SLR (even lighter) for $275