How much difference does a new wheelset make?

[limewave]

I was really hoping to get a new bike this year, but I don't think that's going to happen. DH said he would like to see me get a new wheelset for my for my road bike. I'm just wondering, how much of a difference it makes? My bike is a Giant TCR2 2005 aluminum frame with stock components--no upgrades.

[SheFly]

I've been told that if you make ONE upgrade to your ride, it should be wheels. This is where you can gain the most significant weight savings. My DH often replaces our stock wheels for something lighter, and it really DOES make a difference. The ride is usually faster, and depending on the wheels, can also be smoother.

SheFly

[Veronica]

Tires make a huge difference as well and are comparatively cheap to upgrade.

Thom found a website where some guy ran tests on a bunch of different tires. Happily, the ones on my race bike are some of the faster ones.

Veronica

[Seajay]

As said above. Tires and Wheels make a huge difference. Consensus among those who actually look at data seems to run along the lines of wheel aerodynamics making the biggest difference. Even at the expense of slightly higher overall weight. That said...a lightweight aero wheel with the appropriate tire inflated to the correct PSI would be ideal.
I've heard that the biggest performance advantage for the least money comes in tires/tire pressure.
Remember that anything you can do to clean up aerodynamics will allow you to be faster with the same output. Clothing, helmets, ride position (to a point), bottle cages, cable housing

[Velocivixen]

I went to Pedal Nation this weekend in Portland and spent time talking to Jude Kirstein, owner of Sugar Wheel Works, and she said that wheels can make a world of difference. My question to her was "would different wheels make a difference for someone like me who is a newby or would only elite competitors notice the difference?". She had a lot to share on the topic. She had some wheels she made out of some sort of Italian wood - just gorgeous. Not that this answers your question, but new wheels could be a good thing.

[oz rider]

Do you know what your current wheels weigh? If the wheels are standard you might be able to find the total weight of the wheelset (then add tyres); otherwise you can get tyre weights and rim/hub weights from manufacturer and retailer websites, which will give you something concrete to use in assessing potential upgrades - either factory or custom. The weight in rims and tyres is rotating weight so it's more significant than elsewhere. Unless you are putting an enormous amount of power through them, or there's some particular issue like weight, most factory wheels will be sufficiently stiff for the average rider and cheaper than custom. But I do love my custom wheels.

[Aggie_Ama]

I will let you know soon since my bike with stock wheels will hopefully beat my custom ones. When I ordered my replacement for my crashed bike the one thing I splurged for was a new wheelset. Everything else is similar to what I had except 29er wheels. It is shaving about 800 grams (1.75 lbs) on my bike. Then you factor in the rolling weight and you realize even more benefit. Plus the wrenches explained a stiffer wheel set won't flex meaning more of your power is used efficiently, I think of it as the wheel works with me not against me. I built a light set that are laced in a way to make them super stiff. After that a good set of hubs (I am going with Industry 9 but there are numerous good ones that aren't quite as expensive) will engage faster. Some people said they feel like they stop pedaling but the hub is still pushing.

Like Shefly, I have always been told it is the best upgrade you can do. You can usually find some nice deals on good road wheels if you shop around. Good luck!

[itself]

When I had my Litespeed Blueridge, I had a custom set of Canecreek wheels with titanium hubs put on her. Absolutely the best upgrade ever. I noticed a huge difference.

[jobob]

I always wonder, when people go out and test-ride different bikes, if the differences they perceive have more to do with the wheelsets that happen to be on those particular bikes rather than, say, the frame materials.

Not that it would be practical to bring your own wheelset to test ride a bike ...

[Jiffer]

The right wheels could lighten your bike considerably. There are wheels design to help you climb better (which is why DH chose mine for me) and wheels designed to help you go better on the flat (which is why DH chose his), etc. The right wheel can make a big difference, depending on what you are going from and to. You need to figure out your goals and see if you can find a wheel that helps with that and is within your budget. It's a good way to upgrade your bike without replacing it.

You can always upgrade other parts as well a little at a time, including your frame. This is a great way to get a sweet bike without a big one time expense. DH got my Cannondale SuperSix frame super cheap on ebay, cause it has a small blemish, which I can't even find ... not that I'm really looking! I told him not to tell me. It took him and his friend a long time to find it too. My bike was an evolution, which started with my husband's first bike. He started with a lower end used Cannondale and slowly bought parts to upgrade it. He found deals and saved a lot of money and was able to spread out the expense over time. Eventually he had a really nice bike with DuraAce components and an upgraded frame. It was a completely different bike from the one he started with. When I was ready to transition from the tandem we rode to my own bike, he was also dying to get an even better bike. So, he bought an already built new bike, bought me a frame and put all his parts from his previous bike on it. Nice parts, like DuraAce components, so I got to start out with a pretty nice bike from the get go. Eventually, some of those parts were changed out to better suit me (handlebars for my smaller hands and crank set for better climbing) and then he surprised me one day. I had been dying to get the new Cannondale SuperSix frame, which he beat me to cause he crashed and bent his frame. I was SO frustrated. However, little did I know that he had, over a period of several months secretly bought me a SupeSix frame, SRAM Red components and something else I can't remember. He told me he was taking our bikes to his friend's house to take them apart, clean them really good and put them back together. I was in bed when he came back. He turned on the light in the bedroom and I squinted in the light to see him holding up my newly evolved SuperSix bike all put together! He had redeemed himself.

His riding buddy very patiently bought parts for his dream MTB on ebay just recently. He bid over and over again on parts he wanted, but wouldn't budge on his low price. He lost tons of bids, but won some here and there and, with patience, he got all the parts for his dream bike and is now riding it. He saved a ton of money.

So there's some food for thought. You might want to start with wheels and move on to other components a little at a time to get your dream bike.

[zoom-zoom]

Jiffer, I love this story. I am totally smitten with my own SuperSix, but the wheels are the lowest-end thing on it (Mavic Aksium) and I could see eventually wanting to upgrade the components from a mix of Rival and Force to all Force, as well. Hubby recently built a wheel for a fixed hub that he put on his CX bike (cobbled from an old road bike of his dad's). I'm thinking someday I might have fun building my own wheels, too...this thread has been really inspirational.

[Becky]

I'm thinking someday I might have fun building my own wheels, too...this thread has been really inspirational.

Do it....it's really not that hard, I've managed to save some money building my own, and it's a lot of fun!

[Aggie_Ama]

In Austin (granted a hot bed of cycling), we have several custom wheel builders and the cost they have thrown out isn't extravagant. Buidling up wheels really taught me a lot of about bike parts, I didn't have one of the local guys do it but I still had a lot of input before ordering. I understand how hubs work better, benefits of different ways they are laced and how much difference stiffness can be. It was really fun and I feel smarter!

[Veronica]

Well, now I'm going to have two sets of wheels to compare. Thom did some more research and decided that I really needed ther Shimano dura ace 7900 c50 clinchers as my race wheels.

We're looking for a good place to do a controlled test to compare all this stuff - different wheels, different tires... I think I've found a good, relatively long, straight hill.

He was hoping to surprise me with this second set, but it set off the credit card alert and I got an email about it. Oh well, he's still earned lots of points - which are non-redeemable and have no value.

Veronica

[pll]

Waiting for your review... I guess you also have an extra cassette, to be able to swap wheels easily?