New Wheels? Which ones?

wheels

This is merely an academic reply, due to these wheelsets costing in excess of £2000 and £1500 respectively! I think perhaps we are talking about products that look vaguely similar. Fulcrum are not Campagnolo.
The Fulcrum Racing Light does not have a carbon hub like the Hyperon and it has the oddest spoke pattern that I've seen for a while. Something like TWENTY ONE rear spokes!
I have had a look at a pair of Racing Speeds and wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. You can easily compress the rims with your fingers and they have a very fragile feel to the whole build.
Same goes for the Campagnolo wheels. The Bora Ultra is possibly an exception for pro -use but I have a feeling they are just a good size billboard for Campagnolo logos. They are also disposable, as can be seen on the Pro Tour. Carbon rims do not last long with daily use.
Fulcrum wheels are unique. They will no doubt appear all over the place but they are a high-risk buy for anybody except sponsored teams that can write off a bad loss without flinching. And the cheaper ones can be beaten on price and longevity (although maybe not on modern 'coolness') by custom builds.
On the subject of high-end varieties - those 'Lightweight' wheels are interesting. They seem pretty strong in use by anybody I've spoken too but they also suffer from their uniqueness - they need sent to Germany if they do go wrong!!
PS: Don't touch 'LEW' - they are a joke product. They go out of true AND all boingy with very high pressure tubs.

Hi

I agree the wheels mentioned are disposable but in some (certainly not all) conditions they are faster than a 32hole.
I guess my point is that you have to spend a lot of maney to beat a good handbuilt.

Fulcrum wheels are similar to campag all the way down the range; compare wheels like the vento and racing 3 etc. They all use the same QRs and come from the same town in italy...

wheels

These factory built things also look really crap after a harsh winter.
The Paris-Roubaix is a good indicator of whats going to last the distance. The pounding wheels get here is akin to a good seasons worth of road use for the 'sportive' rider.
So, what are they using?
Deep section carbon rims are dreaded by P-R pros. They snap forks, steering columns and frames, nevermind compressed vertebra. Trek were flouting their new Bontrager carbons (BIG decals) last year and they were also trying rear elastomer cushioned frames to counteract the pain! What price advertising eh?
We often see them getting the old Mavic SSC and various Ambrosio and Pianni rims out, laced to whatever hubs their mechanic recommends (Ambrosio hubs are quite popular), they are usually 32 or 36 hole 3x at the rear.
Both Rassmussen :shock: and Boonen were using DuraAce hubs last year at certain times during the TdF probably when their confidence ran out with the factory builts.
I would agree that these Fulcrums and Campagnolo LOOK similar. At the lower end, they will also be of similar poor quality.

End Note: Mavics Aksium are OK for a cheap, infrequently used pair, but they also look dreadful if you ride them through the winter. The black ones anyway. The paint or plastic coating comes off the hubs and the spokes RUST!
Try it for yourself but I did warn you.

Re: wheels

lelobysfoot":2d35b1ah said:

End Note: Mavics Aksium are OK for a cheap, infrequently used pair, but they also look dreadful if you ride them through the winter. The black ones anyway. The paint or plastic coating comes off the hubs and the spokes RUST!
Try it for yourself but I did warn you.

Click to expand...

I've got some (silver) Aksiums, now into their second winter on a bike with mudguards and they seem to be holding up well, hubs look clean and spokes rust free. Cost me well under £100 posted.

Just one example I appreciate but worth noting.

interesting discussion. a friend of mine chose the Aksium as well and seems to be happy (though he would never admit he made the wrong choice).

i found a very interesting book on wheelbuilding and as i'm a beginner i will go down the handbuild route to learn as much about the bike as possible.

can't believe i even looked at a set of mavic cosmic carbone on ebay this week. guess i just fancied the pro look of 'em.

mavics

Those Cosmic Carbones are a bit of a different matter really. They are excellent wheels and very strong and resilient. They are a popular second hand choice - as weights go down people like to upgrade - so some good deals around.
Again though!!!....caveat emptor! They are not going to last 1000's of kms without work done and they are expensive to maintain. If they have been used for TT work and the rims are good with the braking surface sound, they should be worth it in the long run. Unfortunately be ready to write off the entire outlay when they get to the end of their useable life as a new rim will cost you nearly as much as you payed for the second-hand pair! I have pair of 2000 hubs lying around and a fat load of use they are to anybody. The freehub bearings are shot also.
I still reckon, with a limited budget - go custom built. They may suit your bike better too.

In the last 2 1/2 years I've gone through two Dura Ace 10 speed hubs. Both done about 1500 miles. Rain gets in to the hub and and freehub really easily. A new freehub is £75! Get a Hope Pro3 hub (which I believe are now 10 speed compat). * years of grime and filth for a Mono Ti on my Pace and still smoother and silkier than a Dura Ace out of the box.


Yes i am an unhappy customer. Shimano hubs are pants

Mavic rims on the other hand are rather good. Open Pro black for me.

Easton Vista SL's 1697g £229 are soon to be replaced so you may be able to get a good deal on a pair with your local dealer!

Eastons: not very 'Retro' and I have found the cartridge bearings very difficult to source. Not a common size at all! These bearings have always got too much play in them and you can feel it at the brakes. There is NOTHING you can do about this. They are almost as bad as the horrific 'American Classic' hubs. Which are infact cheap Chinese rubbish.

DuraAce hubs have excellent seals in them - I don't know whats going wrong. In my experience, they need a lot of bedding in and bearing adjustments for optimum use. I would normally regrease them from the off - Shimano grease is crap. The only probs I've had are with the aluminium body. It gets chewed by TT specialists changing cassettes all the time and eventually needs replaced due to movement of the cassette on the splines. Also, you need a new box of tools to do major work on them. The new Titanium body and bearing setup of the 2008 rear hub should prove interesting.

I'm not sure if they are as good as DT actually and I would go for DT or Hope first. Hope hubs will last you a lifetime. Thats a sweeping statement.

Got to dissagree on the bearings, yes they are uncommon sizes but Extra usually have full service kits in stock.