Road Wheels & Road Wheel Recommendations?

ksyrium...doesn’t strike me as ideal

That's all you needed to say. Ksyriums have always been a terrible idea, but that has nothing to do with whether Aksiums are a good buy.

Oh is that where it starts getting weird then

I do all that for myself but for a customer is quicker and more cost effective to replace the whole thing than paying for the rebuilding, the rim, the freehub and the bearings.

Depends if you can rebuild the hubs and wheels yourself. If you have to pay someone else to do it then financially it's probably not worth it. That said, I'm weening myself and Cycliste off proprietary wheelsets. Having to bin two pairs of Fulcrum Zeros, one set of Dura-Ace C24s and one set of Dura-Ace C35s because replacement rims weren't available did seem rather wasteful.

Been looking to get some new rims, I've always just gone 32 spoke on alu rims, but if they were 50m deep should I consider less or stick with this standard?

How heavy are you? What's the intended purpose?

But deeper rims require fewer spokes, generally.

if they were 50m deep should I consider less

If they were 50m deep, the diameter would be as tall as the famous Salisbury cathedral

Ooh personal questions, 85kgs, long distance/smashfest. Needs to take some abuse. This is why I usually just do more spokes. Curious if rim depth means I should consider less.

Haha. Obviously had a beer...

What rim brake pads are people running on their carbon wheels? I'm looking at Swissstop Black Prince Pro - any first hand experience?

Yep. All rims vary slightly as to how different pads work with them but IME Black Prince are the best overall. Powerful* and not grabby.

*In the dry. In the wet they are better than the competition but still rubbish compared to their BXP pads on alloy rims

Great stuff. Thanks

Just had some Campagnolo Scirroco's turn up. Just like Zonda's, they're incredibly true, very well put together and very cheap for what they are. No cup and cone bearings and they're heavier than Zonda's but then I am heavy so who cares. I'm yet to ride them, but if they ride anything like the Zonda's did (at a cheaper pricepoint, with a deeper rim), I'll be very happy.

Can't believe how much Campagnolo and Fulcrum wheels are still slept on. I know people buy them, but I feel like more people should. They're such ridiculously good value for money. Cannot even fathom buying a pair of Mavic Kysrium and above over Campag/Fulcrum stuff.

Agree with @leggy_blonde.

Black Prince in the summer, alloy wheels with BXP in the winter.

Black Prince once my LightBicycle ones wear out

Campagnolo red carbon pads - better than black prince.

Campagnolo red carbon pads - better than black prince.

Why?

Yes with deep rims you need less spokes. I’m bigger than you and run 18/24 spokes on 55mm Light Bicycle rims. Width as well as depth and rim profile is a factor; they are 25mm wide and a U profile.

It's a brand thing, isn't it. If you have a Shimano groupset then you don't think about buying Campagnolo wheels, even though there's a Shimano freehub available and decals could be removed. The G3 spoke pattern is also not that popular. Which is silly, since it looks great.

Yeah, but Fulcrum. A pair of Quattro/4's is the same as a pair of Scirocco's, just with a different spoke pattern. And I still reckon more people are buying Mavic/Shimano/DT Swiss wheels over Fulcrum's.

The G3 pattern is okay with me now that I've had a couple of sets. Really grown on me. They just ride so well. Makes my White Industries / A23's seem like flexy boat anchors. Regret selling my Zonda's, but I'm okay with the acquisition of something deeper that aren't really that heavy, in comparison to other wheels I've ridden but more importantly, me.

Thanks for this, I've gone for 28 front and rear, was advised that the standard 32 spoke combo and added depth would be over kill and too stiff.
Likely that 28 is equally over kill but finding anything less in a son hub at the moment seems hard.

When I started road riding (about 2010) it was Campag/Fulcrum that were the highly regarded, reliable ‘fast’ factory wheels. I remember Zondas being recommended. I’ve never owned any but like the look.

There were still lots of (exploding, squeaking) Mavics and well regarded Shimano wheels too of course. Since, there’s been a trend towards hand build wheels with moneygun.gif hubs :)

they're incredibly true, very well put together and very cheap for what they are

Thing is, this exact description applies just as much to Shimano and Mavic factory wheels at similar price points. There are minor pros and cons to each, but they're all basically fine and there's no compelling reason to pick one over another.

I still think Bora WTOs are the best wheels on the market. Even if I had the money, I wouldn't spend the extra for Enve's or similar. But there is a feeling it's just a bit of a faux-pas to put a Shimano gruppo on them...

Worth saying I've been mighty impressed with my Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37s. Superb in cross winds and they feel (totally unscientific) much faster than the deeper Hunts they replaced. Light enough too and (in the silly price world of expensive bike parts) not stupidly expensive.

I've always used Reynolds or Lifeline ones. I'm sure Swisstop would be better, but maybe not 5x better as their price suggests