wheely-wheely need advice

[grrrlpwr]

i've been obsessively reading and re-reading every road bike wheel review post both here and on other bike forums..and i'm overwhelmed. so i'll put it out there for any of you grrls who want to advise me...i'd like to replace my stock Mavic Aksium Race wheels that came on my Giant TCR C2 bike. biggest consideration is i'd like the lightest best wheel for under $300.00? typical rides about 35 miles w/hills.---i'd love to begin climbing NOT in my granny gear. I'm planning on doing some strength building weight loss... etc... (i'm 135lb, 5'6", 53 years old) but am hoping new wheels might help motivate me to climb more quickly efficiently..

best bet for the buck seems to be the Neuvation m28's with ceramic hubs on sale now. but now i'm intrigued by the custom build idea...
any advice...specifics welcomed!!

[sundial]

The best advice I got on lowering weight is to upgrade rims, tires and cranks. Rolling weight has the greater effect on performance than stationary weight.

As for the Mavics.......are you sure you don't want to try the Kysiriums?

[aicabsolut]

A good custom build will probably be out of your price range. I don't think you are going to get a better wheel for under $300. Maybe you can get a lighter one, but it probably won't be as durable as the Mavic. It'd be better to just up your price point and get a *better*, lighter wheel. You can still get good bang for buck for a few hundred more.

[indysteel]

A good custom build will probably be out of your price range. I don't think you are going to get a better wheel for under $300. Maybe you can get a lighter one, but it probably won't be as durable as the Mavic. It'd be better to just up your price point and get a *better*, lighter wheel. You can still get good bang for buck for a few hundred more.

I agree. Short of finding a good deal on some used wheels, you'll likely have to up your budget to get anything that weighs much less than your current wheelset. If you can increase your budget by say $200 or $300, I would consider a fairly basic custom wheelset to get the most bang for your buck. If you've got any local shops that build wheels, you might ask them for suggestions.

[sundial]

Is it possible you could talk to your mechanics at the local bike shop and see if they or one of their friends has a gently used set of nice rims?