New road bike wheels

[g7jhp]

I have a 2012 Specialized Roubaix 10 speed which came with Fulcrum 7's.

Moved to Fulcrum Racing Zeros but the rear bearings are toast with a 6 month wait due to COViD-19.

I do a mixture of flats and hills mainly around the Chilterns.

So now looking at getting a new set of wheels.

Thinking Zipp 302's.

Any thoughts?

[Coolbananas]

g7jhp said:

I have a 2012 Specialized Roubaix 10 speed which came with Fulcrum 7's.

Moved to Fulcrum Racing Zeros but the rear bearings are toast with a 6 month wait due to COViD-19.

I do a mixture of flats and hills mainly around the Chilterns.

So now looking at getting a new set of wheels.

Thinking Zipp 302's.

Any thoughts?

Good wheels, I am a fan of Zipp, have the 303 Firecrests on my climbing bike. Have you seen the GCN review on YT for the new Zipp 303 S? I gather they are replacing the 302's and better in every way, including cost!

[Justin S]

Bearings are pretty generic for bikes and easy to replace and get hold off even now. But any excuse to buy wheels or bike bits is always good .

[g7jhp]

Justin S said:

Bearings are pretty generic for bikes and easy to replace and get hold off even now. But any excuse to buy wheels or bike bits is always good .

From my experience this isn't the case.
Fulcrum are Italian and I have had the bearings have been replaced once and took months to arrive.

From speaking with my friendly mechanic (who has nothing to gain as I buy and he fits) many of the wheels have the same problem.

His suggestion were wheels with DT Swiss or Hope hubs as in his experience they lasted and were easier to get when you need to replace.

Any other suggestions welcome?

[andySC]

andySC said:

I have 302’s on my SuperSix. I’m happy with them so far. I got them in December for a very good price (£740). Looked at Hunt but as I’ve had a few pairs of Zipps in the past decided to stick rather than twist. Mine have black decals & are quite understated, the hubs are very sturdy looking, in fact the rear looks like it could be hiding a motor ! Braking is good, I use Swisstop Black Prince pads, you don’t get pads included as I have done with my 202’s. They don’t have the dimples, have a higher spoke count & have “j” bend spokes so differ from 303’s etc, There’s no flex when out of the saddle & pressing on. .

Edited by andySC on Thursday 7th May 15:10

[frisbee]

Coolbananas said:

Good wheels, I am a fan of Zipp, have the 303 Firecrests on my climbing bike. Have you seen the GCN review on YT for the new Zipp 303 S? I gather they are replacing the 302's and better in every way, including cost!

303s are disk only. They do look very nice though!

[mcrdave]

I can't recommend Hunt wheels enough. I have 2 sets now, the 4 season and Aero light. Both sets are aluminium and very light but you can go for the carbons if you have the budget. For the price I can't see anything better. My sets have been through 2 UK winters and are still as smooth as new.

https://www.huntbikewheels.com/

g7jhp said:

Justin S said:

Bearings are pretty generic for bikes and easy to replace and get hold off even now. But any excuse to buy wheels or bike bits is always good .

From my experience this isn't the case.
Fulcrum are Italian and I have had the bearings have been replaced once and took months to arrive.

From speaking with my friendly mechanic (who has nothing to gain as I buy and he fits) many of the wheels have the same problem.

His suggestion were wheels with DT Swiss or Hope hubs as in his experience they lasted and were easier to get when you need to replace.

Any other suggestions welcome?

[Brads67]

Wheelsmith handmade.

Use Dura Ace hubs.

[Sway]

DT Swiss iirc do have readily available bearings - but also require a press to extract/fit them! May be wrong on newer hubs, so happy to stand corrected.

Shimano are always available, huge supply. Are they still cup and cone?

Wheelsmith/DCR/similar would get my dosh before Hunt - I can't see anything special about Hunts other than they've been very good at taking generic less well known in Europe components and sticking a label and a tonne of marketing on them. If I were going that route, I'd go to a true small independent.

New Zipps look incredible - but disc only.

I've just gone for Hope 20fives on my new bike (upgraded over the stock Hunts). In bright orange.

So clearly I have no taste, but I'm pretty happy with the decision.

[anonymous-user]

I’ve got a set of fulcrum racing zero’s too. Ceramic hubs and the spokes are about £13 (yes Thirteen quid) each for replacements. Not worth the cost to repair them.

Wheelsmith - top drawer.

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 8th May 09:19

[z4RRSchris]

This is a monthly thread now:

1. look up the bearing number and get them off ebay for a few quid each.

2. if you want new wheels go into the bottom options in ascending price. all posters will try and say their option is better.

2a. Chinese carbon (lightbike, CSC, etc)
2b. Chinese carbon with a sticker on for double the price (Hunt, Zeus, Spire, Prime etc)
2c. Chinese carbon but built in the UK for same price as 2b, but people think its better because some guy in a shed built it. (wheelsmith, nobel, etc handbuilt)
2d. Chinese carbon but from Zipp, Enve etc.

[Yacht Broker]

I've been going through all of this in scientific detail over the past week for a new road bike that is arriving shortly. I set myself a £1k budget and set out to find the best I could get (although for me it will be disc brake versions). As has already been said on here, the new Zipp 303s will be an obvious choice (if you have discs as they are disc only), but good luck getting hold of them. The budget Zipp fanboys will be pre-ordering them left right and centre and I don't think they will come into stock until beginning of June (I checked with Mantel earlier this week).

I have now pretty much settled on a set from Caden in Australia. They have a Spanish rep who holds stock, so no worries about delivery or further taxes. The wheels get universal praise from those in the know, and they are very VERY light. Take a look at https://carbonbikewheels.com.au/eu

I am going for a set 49mm disc clinchers in the lighter weight deCADENce upgraded form.1,460g true weight.

The other option if you want very light weight and less expensive are the Cero wheels from Cycle Division. These work out at £699 and are sub 1,500g claimed weight for disc versions. I suspect however that they are a slightly older rim profile, although still marketed as u-profile.

[Jimbo.]

Sway said:

DT Swiss iirc do have readily available bearings - but also require a press to extract/fit them! May be wrong on newer hubs, so happy to stand corrected.

Shimano are always available, huge supply. Are they still cup and cone?

Wheelsmith/DCR/similar would get my dosh before Hunt - I can't see anything special about Hunts other than they've been very good at taking generic less well known in Europe components and sticking a label and a tonne of marketing on them. If I were going that route, I'd go to a true small independent.

New Zipps look incredible - but disc only.

I've just gone for Hope 20fives on my new bike (upgraded over the stock Hunts). In bright orange.

So clearly I have no taste, but I'm pretty happy with the decision.

Shimano are still cup and cone, however the “digital click” adjustment system that the 6800 and onwards/upwards hubs have is great: no faffing about with bearing preload, cone spanners, locknuts etc. Can be serviced using two 5mm Allen keys in 30 minutes.

[Jimbo.]

Re wheels, I’m currently being bitten firmly on the arse by factory wheels and expensive/hard-to-find spares. Worn rims mean my Ultegra wheels will be scrap by the end of summer, which in turn means throwing away some perfectly good hubs and spokes. Expensive lesson!

I will be (and may I suggest) seeking out some hand built/bespoke wheels using off-the-shelf parts: bearings, rims, spokes etc. They can be made every bit as light, bling, aero etc as factory wheels with none of the maintenance headaches. The likes of Harry Rowland, TheCycleClinic, Wheelsmith, or even you LBS will all see you good.

[Sway]

Jimbo. said:

Re wheels, I’m currently being bitten firmly on the arse by factory wheels and expensive/hard-to-find spares. Worn rims mean my Ultegra wheels will be scrap by the end of summer, which in turn means throwing away some perfectly good hubs and spokes. Expensive lesson!

I will be (and may I suggest) seeking out some hand built/bespoke wheels using off-the-shelf parts: bearings, rims, spokes etc. They can be made every bit as light, bling, aero etc as factory wheels with none of the maintenance headaches. The likes of Harry Rowland, TheCycleClinic, Wheelsmith, or even you LBS will all see you good.

You could always have the ultegra hubs rebuilt onto new rims. You'd want new spokes anyway.

Not difficult to find decent 16/20 hole rims, and iirc they're just straight pull hubs?

[TCX]

Fulcrum/Campag same can Campag dealer not help?

[g7jhp]

Yacht Broker said:

I've been going through all of this in scientific detail over the past week for a new road bike that is arriving shortly. I set myself a £1k budget and set out to find the best I could get (although for me it will be disc brake versions). As has already been said on here, the new Zipp 303s will be an obvious choice (if you have discs as they are disc only), but good luck getting hold of them. The budget Zipp fanboys will be pre-ordering them left right and centre and I don't think they will come into stock until beginning of June (I checked with Mantel earlier this week).

I have now pretty much settled on a set from Caden in Australia. They have a Spanish rep who holds stock, so no worries about delivery or further taxes. The wheels get universal praise from those in the know, and they are very VERY light. Take a look at https://carbonbikewheels.com.au/eu

I am going for a set 49mm disc clinchers in the lighter weight deCADENce upgraded form.1,460g true weight.

The other option if you want very light weight and less expensive are the Cero wheels from Cycle Division. These work out at £699 and are sub 1,500g claimed weight for disc versions. I suspect however that they are a slightly older rim profile, although still marketed as u-profile.

Thanks All very helpful.

I had seen the Cero wheels which do look great for rim versions.

[g7jhp]

To close the thread off I ended up buying a DT Swiss PR 1600 Dicut 21 Clincher Wheelset from MerlinCycles as they were £399 and at 1489g seemed a great value v weight.

Not as sexy or aero as carbon but will be a good year round rim.

A disc braked bike may well follow which will get the aero and carbon wheels.

Edited by g7jhp on Wednesday 13th May 11:58

[Justin S]

g7jhp said:

To close the thread off I ended up buying a DT Swiss PR 1600 Dicut 21 Clincher Wheelset from MerlinCycles as they were £399 and at 1489g seemed a great value v weight.

Not as sexy or aero as carbon but will be a good year round rim.

A disc braked bike may well follow which will get the aero and carbon wheels.

Edited by g7jhp on Wednesday 13th May 11:58

I have the same , which arrived last week and have about 100 or so miles on them now. Mine weren't particulary round or true , so had to sort that out before riding. They ride really well and I am happy with them. Seem stiffer than the C24 Shimanos I had before. Good choice of wheels !

[Double gauche]

ive gone hand built
seems like you can choose almost any budget and have so much more control over the product ti make sure its appropriate for your needs