Road wheelset question (modern content warning)

[foz]

Re:

Have you considered a decent set of handbuilt wheels? At the cheapest end they can't compete on price, but once you start looking to spend 200 quid or more then they compare quite well. A well built traditional wheel with 36 spokes should hold up well, and it will be a lot easier and cheaper to fix anything that might break.

A lot depends on the road surface too - if its smooth and you rarely find (let alone hit) potholes then you could probably get away with something lighter

 

[mattr]

I'd still be looking at hubs to fit brand/budget (ultegra maybe?) laced 32 or 28 spokes to a rim to fit budget.
Most manufacturers have something for every budget.
hplus son, pacenti, velocity, mavic , stans.
unless you are the sort of rider who either sells at the end of the season, or destroys stuff in a season, you want something you can repair and rebuild. Many of the factory wheels you can't. Daft spoke patterns, silly rims, hubs that won't fit to any other spoke.
In the last year I've re rimmed some da/open pros and re hubbed my rear training wheel, 105 out, 105 in. Both wheels are 8-10 years old.

 

[mattr]

And fwiw, the last factory wheelset I bought was scrapped after 3 years as the only way to repair the slipping free hub was to buy the 100+ quid titanium/upgrade version from their top of the line wheels. The originally fitted steel free hub had been discontinued.

CRC were knocking the end of range wheels out for 75 a pair. They were only 200 new

 

[hamster]

I agree with mattr. Factory wheelsets are fine when new but the non-standard bits are a pain to source when older.

 

[John J]

Re:

Whilst accepting the point about availability of spares etc, there is also an argument that at the price point the OP has settled on with his Shimano RS 31's they could effectively be written off over say the notional 3 year period.

 

[fjpshaw]

Cheers for all the input guys. I think I have settled for the 2015 DT Swiss R23 Splines. Higher spoke count for strength, good rep for quality, and good user reviews were all big pluses for me, along with competitive weight for the price bracket (1735g) and option to run with tubeless both as nice-to-haves. On top of that, Wiggle have them on at £190/€259, but have agreed to price match Bike24.com who are selling them at €197 delivered to UK. £144 in real money, which I am more than happy with, and which makes the whole package pretty competitive as a budget wheelset IMO.

Advice re spares taken on board though, so may grab a few replacement spokes just now at around 50p a whip, just in case!

 

[BigFoz]

Campag Vento 3Gs. Been using these almost exclusively now for about 7 years. I weigh 108Kgs (was up to 120!) and they've never gone out of true or broken a spoke, even on Scotland's terrible roads. I think they;re also slightly cheaper than the Sciroccos. 3G spoking is awesome.

 

[fjpshaw]

Very interesting Foz and good to know. I do like the Campags, but got spooked by low spoke count, so thanks for your post. I am in in Argyll, so I know what you mean about roads, but they tend to be in reasonable shape where I am which is fortunate. Visiting friends in family down Ayrhire way can be a different story though! :shock:

 

[BigFoz]

Ayrshire is where I am. Yes, the roads can be "interesting". However i discovered one of my favourite little lanes that i stopped riding a couple years back to save my teeth, has been resurfaced and is now an absolute pleasure! So it's not all bad news.

 

[fjpshaw]

Ayrshire is where I am. Yes, the roads can be "interesting". However i discovered one of my favourite little lanes that i stopped riding a couple years back to save my teeth, has been resurfaced and is now an absolute pleasure! So it's not all bad news.

Guiltreehill by any chance?