Road Wheels & Road Wheel Recommendations?

Are you running Campagnolo or Shimano?

Assuming you have a Shimano or SRAM groupset then it's a no-brainer. Buy the Shimano R501 and put the £32.01 left towards tyres.

£22 more for aksium? http://www.acycles.co.uk/mavic-aksium-race-wheelset-clincher-black-3152.html

They come with tyres and tubes

Are you running Campagnolo or Shimano?

Shimano

Assuming you have a Shimano or SRAM groupset then it's a no-brainer. Buy the Shimano R501 and put the £32.01 left towards tyres.

Nice one, does look good at that price point, but still wasn't sure, but thanks

@ Amey - would consider it but cant, I'm skint broke :(

Good find. What tyres come with them? The link doesn't seem to show.

BTW the R501's from Merlin are £84.49 posted, so it's more like £50.

I'd be getting something with 32 spokes for the winter. Rose Bikes do Open Pros on Tiagra hubs for 130 quid

Why 32 spokes?

They come with these tyres

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/wheels-factory-built-wheels-factory-road-tri-mavic-aksium-s-white-clincher-wheels-tyre-system-pair/maviwhts110

I've been happily using Ambrosio Extralite's for about 3 years now, except I've now worn through (braking surface wear) my third pair in that period i.e. one rim per year.

Two of the three times, the rim exploded during sprint intervals on the rollers. I'm guessing the failure is a combination of rim wear, the tyre pressure and the heat generated while I'm on the rollers.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Good day all :) Im in a bit of quandary on choosing a winter wheelset

Shimano WH-R501, very hard to beat at the price. Whatever 23mm touring rim is cheap (Mavic A119, Rodi something badged as Extreme at Rosebikes, or Ryde/Rigida Grizzly) on Shimano Tiagra hubs if you want something which will give better ride and handling plus cheap rebuilds when the rims wear out, at the expense of more weight and drag. You don't need 32 spokes, that's just what cheap rims and hubs come with.

Riddle me this. I currently have 32h open pro rims on campagnolo centaur hubs like these; http://www.totalcycling.com/images/large/21003_134355.jpg
I've started entering closed circuit races, lasting around 1 hour. Will a wheel upgrade be the best use of my money? I have a budget of around £400, does anyone have any recommendations on a decent wheelset for racing?

I've been happily using Ambrosio Extralite's for about 3 years now, except I've now worn through (braking surface wear) my third pair in that period i.e. one rim per year.

Two of the three times, the rim exploded during sprint intervals on the rollers. I'm guessing the failure is a combination of rim wear, the tyre pressure and the heat generated while I'm on the rollers.

thanks ste, noted.

Shimano WH-R501, very hard to beat at the price. Whatever 23mm touring rim is cheap (Mavic A119, Rodi something badged as Extreme at Rosebikes, or Ryde/Rigida Grizzly) on Shimano Tiagra hubs if you want something which will give better ride and handling plus cheap rebuilds when the rims wear out, at the expense of more weight and drag. You don't need 32 spokes, that's just what cheap rims and hubs come with.

sweet, I'm gonna put the shimano's at the top of the pile! thanks for clearing up the spoke question too mdcc :)

By the way, pretty sure ribble is the cheapest place around to pick up R500s
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/wheels-factory-built-wheels-factory-road-tri-shimano-r501-standard-spoke-clincher-wheels-pair/shimwhfr202
Correct me if there is anywhere cheaper

good find, but alas no paypal option, otherwise id be all over dat!

Ribble do PayPal unless you are reset and collect .. http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/publish.asp?what=payment&page=1

oops, yea thats what i meant!

thanks fellas, ended up getting the R501s. well pleased!

Riddle me this. I currently have 32h open pro rims on campagnolo centaur hubs like these; http://www.totalcycling.com/images/large/21003_134355.jpg
I've started entering closed circuit races, lasting around 1 hour. Will a wheel upgrade be the best use of my money? I have a budget of around £400, does anyone have any recommendations on a decent wheelset for racing?

Yes wheels would be the best use of your money. What kind of circuits? I would imagine that for crit racing (I only race track and tt's) that a low weight film would be useful and a hub with more engagements - easier to get back up to speed after breaking in corners etc. 'aero' wheels are often a bit heavier and don't spin up to speed that fast - though they do stay fast for less effort once you're there.

How heavy are you? Why not build up some lower spoked tubulars with some lighter hubs, decent spokes and whatever alu rim you fancy? Will give you less rolling resistance, better handling, less weight on the rim (and lighter wheels overall) and a wheelset that can be rebuilt easily if you crash.

Not a very sexy answer.... You could always buy some carbon off eBay or something

Depends what level of racing. If you've just started in Cat 4 then 400 would be best spent on training of some sort. If you're at the sharp end then you want stiff wheels not super light and aero will make more of a difference in a sprint or break. Better lid and skinsuit is probably better again but everyone wants silly wheels these days.

Buy a powertap? Or get a coach

Also the number of crashes in crits over here I wouldn't bother with bing unless you're sponsored.

Unless you're rich obviously but then you wouldn't be asking about 400 you'd be asking for the best.

So the answer hasn't changed since I said exactly that at the top of his page back in November :-)

Nope