Wheel Upgrade - recommendations?

[zoom-zoom]

My road bike currently has Mavic Aksiums. They are generally fine for my needs, but I wouldn't mind an upgrade. My CX bike has really crappy Kore Gradients, so the logical thing to do would be to move the Aksiums over to my CX bike (I see a LOT of the Aksiums on CX bikes) and then upgrade the road wheels. I'm guessing something like the Mavic Ksyrium is where I'd want to look. This is something I'd put on my Christmas list or maybe birthday (in Feb.).

Thoughts?

[Rubylvr]

I highly recommend custom wheels if you have someone out in your
area who does that. If not, it may be worth talking to "my" fantastic
custom gal, to see if she can work long distance. I love my wheels.
Good luck.

[zoom-zoom]

I highly recommend custom wheels if you have someone out in your
area who does that. If not, it may be worth talking to "my" fantastic
custom gal, to see if she can work long distance. I love my wheels.
Good luck.

I've actually contemplated building my own...DH did that for the set on his road bike. I'd love to do velocity wheels in a funky color.

[indysteel]

PM Wahine for a reference to her SO, Tom. He is a highly regarded wheel builder. I would definitely go the handbuildt route. Better bang for your buck. Plus, you can get exactly what you need for your weight, riding style and conditions.

[OakLeaf]

Between my Mavic freehub failure and reading about other TE'rs having theirs fail, I'd go with something other than a Mavic hub whichever way you go.

[rivergal]

You might look into Neuvation. Mine aren't custom, but I really felt I got a lot of bang for my buck.

http://www.neuvationcycling.com/

[pll]

I upgraded mine to Zipp 101 (which I found on sale at a local bike shop), and I paired them with Conti GP 4000s... and I am in love with them. What a difference -- the Zipp have a wider rim and stainless steel spokes. They really made me faster and, in part, it is because the ride feels smoother. I am one of those people that, while I love the idea of custom, I would not know what to ask for.

[zoom-zoom]

Those Zipps look really nice, but are probably about double what I'd want to spend. I'm guessing I'd be looking at the $600-700 range. I really want to avoid anything with much of an aero profile, too--we get some serious wind in these parts and even my relatively low-profile Aksiums can really catch those cross-winds.

[pll]

I was afraid about the wind, too (I live in the Chicago area), but they feel better than the stock wheels and the Aksiums I had on my older bike. With Aksiums, I felt the wind on the spokes, it was sharp and sudden. The feeling with the Zipps is very different and easier to handle than the Aksiums. And (this might be a bad thing for you to know) the Zipps are used in cyclocross, too.... I got them for under $1k. A splurge, for sure, but when I get out of bed at 5AM for a morning ride during a weekday, I don't regret it a single bit. They are fun to ride and they look great (blingy, but not too much). *Love*.

[zoom-zoom]

Hmmm...they do sound really nice. Yeah, the wind certainly grabs the Aksiums. I don't like riding on days when the wind is gusty, like today. I'm not sure any wheel would make that better. I give mad props to my friends who ride and ride LONG on days like that. Friends of mine did a century, today. Yikes!

[pll]

I have to say seajay's comments in another thread (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=48273&page=3) about giving aero a chance persuaded me. I had been wanting new wheels and when I saw the 101s on sale, all it took was a nudge from a friend ("you won't regret it") and those wheels were mine before anyone took them. So, this experience has reinforced my impression that I really do not know what I want or need in terms of bike components ... I just need to ride many more thousands of miles and experience different components. So far, upgrading stuff has made a huge difference to me. Even the Aksiums were an upgrade on my old bike, when the stock wheels started to fail.

[murielalex]

I recently upgraded to low-profile aero wheels: 35mm front, 45mm back. I ride primarily along the ocean, and I deal with all kinds of wind, crosswinds included. I love these wheels. I've not noticed any significant problems with crosswinds, but I instantly noticed improvement, especially when riding in a group. I'd never been able to sustain 20+ speeds for more than a minute or two. I now can hang for about 10-15 miles, even with a headwind (only with the group, but can do 16-20 alone, depending on how hard it's blowing). The first day out with them, I felt like I was cheating, as if they were rolling on without me trying. I can't describe it any better. The wheels are far better than my ability. I feel almost foolish with them, since they should rightfully belong with a better rider, but I bought them for a bike (dream bike) I'm having built and will not see for about a year, so I figured I'd get this expense out of the way now. I wouldn't go deeper, but these are perfect for me, even if I am a bit of an old fool for having them. I'm a very happy old fool. :)

There are a lot of good wheels on sale right now if you don't want handbuilt. I've had a few friends pick some up at local shops the past month for 50% off (demos), and I've seen some deals on Clymb and Chainlove that come and go.

[indysteel]

As for not going handbuilt because you don't know what to ask for. I don't think you really need to have a clear idea of what you want. A good wheel builder will be able to guide you based on your budget, riding conditions, weight, riding style, and priorities. I'd at least talk to a builder if I was in the market for wheels and was on a budget.

[jyyanks]

I agree with indysteel. I'm having a set of custom wheels built and I had no clue what I was looking for. I contacted a person highly recommended by another forums and gave him my weight, riding style, budget and what I was looking for and he recommended a build. I wasn't sure at first if what he gave me was ok so I did a lot of research online, asked a bunch of cycling friends for opinions and made some tweaks. Now, I'm getting custom wheels built for less than what it would have cost for me to buy comparable off the shelf ones. Good Luck!

[pll]

I think the problem with custom builds and wheel descriptions is that they are very subjective. In one bike shop, where I bought my bike and was asking about wheelsets, I was told the Mavic Ksyriums SL and the Zipp 101 would be stiffer rides than what I had (DT Swiss R1700, stock with my bike). As it turns out, the Zipps feel plush to me.

Another issue that catches my attention in wheel discussions is that it seems the only case I know off (in an industrial economy) in which custom is cheaper than off the rack.

[indysteel]

I think the problem with custom builds and wheel descriptions is that they are very subjective. In one bike shop, where I bought my bike and was asking about wheelsets, I was told the Mavic Ksyriums SL and the Zipp 101 would be stiffer rides than what I had (DT Swiss R1700, stock with my bike). As it turns out, the Zipps feel plush to me.

That problem applies to factory built and handbuilt wheels, as your own example suggests. Regardless of what route you go, it pays to read a lot of reviews (yes, you can find reviews on handbuilt wheel builds and the individual components) and get more than just one person's subjective opinion. Remember, too, that wheels can feel different based on what tires you run and at what psi.

I can't speak to the economics of custom versus factory wheels. Perhaps Wahine can weigh in with her SO's perspective. Obviously, you can get very expensive custom wheels that cost as much as or more than a comparable factory set. But for those among us looking for a solid pair of all-purpose wheels, handbuilts can be a very economical choice. At the time I had my wheels built in 2007, a comparable set of wheels at the same weight would have run me more and likely would have been overbuilt for my weight.