Thinking of a wheel upgrade soon....

terrydel

I've my Giant Defy 1 just over 2 years now.
It has the stock pr2 wheels, 105 groupset.

Don't want to spend on a new bike after only 2 years and cant be bothered upgrading the groupset, so the best improvement I will get is the wheels.

I don't know much about it however, so wondering what wheels I should be looking at? And what would be a good price to pay?

Im of the understanding that approx. €300 is what I'd need to be spending. Whats the best site or sites to be looking for good deals on wheels?

Might add that my brother upgraded a bike a few years back with prolite wheels. They were the cheapest and lightest amongst equivalent models from other manufacturers. Are they still worth considering?

G1032

Campagnolo Zonda

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/campagnolo-zonda-wheelset-black-shimano-82975

wirelessdude01

Another what wheel should I get with a budget of 300e thread

Same answer as always ZONDAS.

terrydel

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Another what wheel should I get with a budget of 300e thread

Same answer as always ZONDAS.

Haha!
Kinda curious on the prolites tho.
What weight saving would I get on the current Giant own brand pr2's?

rtmie

G1032 wrote:

Campagnolo Zonda

Zondas 40 euro cheaper than that on 4thebike.de 299 euro.
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Cee-Jay-Cee

Zondas with shimabo freehub weigh 1590g (1555g with Campag freehub)

you'll be hard pushed to equal the Zondas in terms of value for money, lightness and reliability.

Wishbone Ash

G1032 wrote: »

Campagnolo Zonda

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/campagnolo-zonda-wheelset-black-shimano-82975

€330 on SwimCycleRun:

http://www.swimcyclerun.com/wheelsroad/campagnolo-zonda-clincher-wheelset-with-shimano-hub.html


(Edit: just see they're out of stock at the moment)

irishrover99

I just bought 2 sets of wheels from 4thebike.de
Great service and even though i made a mistake when ordering, they have help me out,great english spoken over the phone and very helpful.

G1032

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

€330 on SwimCycleRun:

http://www.swimcyclerun.com/wheelsroad/campagnolo-zonda-clincher-wheelset-with-shimano-hub.html


(Edit: just see they're out of stock at the moment)

Got them myself earlier this year on SCR for €324.

omri

you can also look at campagnolo scirocco wheelset

not yet

Got a set of zondas in March, hard to beat them at the price..

terrydel

Any opinions on pro lites?
I believe they are the lightest around.

DaithiMC

Seeing as the thread topic has focused on Zondas, I completed the Paris-Roubaix challenge on them last month - and still straight and as smooth as a die. I bought them from Bike-discount.de. I have no opinion on Prolites sorry.

veetwin

Another vote for Zondas here. I put them on my Defy 1 recently and the difference is remarkable. Hard to see how you could get better wheels for the money.

They feel so much nicer on the climbs, descents and flats and make a lovely noise also. I think I paid about €325 on scr and I also got them to fit a new cassette at the same time.

crosstownk

terrydel wrote: »

I've my Giant Defy 1 just over 2 years now.
It has the stock pr2 wheels

I upgraded from the stock wheels that came with my Giant Defy 4. I think they were Giant S-R2. They're in the attic and I can't be arsed going up to check.

What I do remember is the Giant wheels snapped a fair few spokes in the rear wheel. Both front and rear wheels needed truing every now and then.

I upgraded the wheels last December. I've ridden some rough roads (2,000km), hit some potholes and climbed a fair few hills. The new wheels are reliable - still true as new and feel lively and fast (to me).

ZONDAS.

bcmf

omri wrote: »

you can also look at campagnolo scirocco wheelset

Another vote for Scirocco.Great wheel!

Wishbone Ash

DaithiMC wrote: »

Seeing as the thread topic has focused on Zondas, I completed the Paris-Roubaix challenge on them last month - and still straight and as smooth as a die...

I rode the entire Assietta Ridge Road on a pair last year. Horrendous surfaces beyond anything I'd even encountered before. I was sure I was going to make shite of them but they didn't flinch. They're still running true and I haven't popped a spoke yet.

jon1981

Question!

When you buy wheels online, do they come trued and dished? Or do you need to drop into the lbs to get this done?

Wishbone Ash

jon1981 wrote: »

Question!

When you buy wheels online, do they come trued and dished? Or do you need to drop into the lbs to get this done?

Straight onto the bike in my experience.

Cee-Jay-Cee

They should be straight/true right out of the box. I know some wheels can be a little off when they arrive but they shouldn't be.

triggermortis

jon1981 wrote: »

Question!

When you buy wheels online, do they come trued and dished? Or do you need to drop into the lbs to get this done?

I've only bought cheapish wheels so far (twice - 1 road and 1 MTB set) and they've both been good straight out of the boxes - 1 Mavic, 1 Shimano

Eircom_Sucks

campag khamsin

terrydel

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

campag khamsin

Love your username, never a truer word spoken!

Eircom_Sucks

terrydel wrote: »

Love your username, never a truer word spoken!

ha ha cheers

doozerie

terrydel wrote: »

Any opinions on pro lites?
I believe they are the lightest around.

I have a pair of Prolite entry level wheels, can't remember the model but they have been in the attic since their first winter of use because the bearings feel shot.I keep meaning to replace the bearings but I think it may be an involved process based on some quick online checks (it may need some specific tools), so I keep putting it on the long finger.

Probably a case of you get what you pay for but since I bought them I've also changed my views on their basic approach too. They make a big deal of tensioning their spokes *a lot*, nowadays I see more disadvantages of that than advantages, for me anyway. I bought mine as winter wheels but break one spoke on them mid-ride and they may well go so far out of true that I'll be walking home. So, not for me. Also, their marketing guff puts me off. Your mileage may vary of course.

terrydel

doozerie wrote: »

I have a pair of Prolite entry level wheels, can't remember the model but they have been in the attic since their first winter of use because the bearings feel shot.I keep meaning to replace the bearings but I think it may be an involved process based on some quick online checks (it may need some specific tools), so I keep putting it on the long finger.

Probably a case of you get what you pay for but since I bought them I've also changed my views on their basic approach too. They make a big deal of tensioning their spokes *a lot*, nowadays I see more disadvantages of that than advantages, for me anyway. I bought mine as winter wheels but break one spoke on them mid-ride and they may well go so far out of true that I'll be walking home. So, not for me. Also, their marketing guff puts me off. Your mileage may vary of course.

Thanks for the opinions.
The Zondas seem pretty much universally recommended, and its only a Giant Defy 1 they are going on, so no point over thinking it. I reckon I will go with those.
All marketing guff puts me off mate!

terrydel

Zondas ordered just now from 4debike, 315 inc postage, cheapest I could find.
Swimcyclerun are Irish right? I'd have gone with them had they got them in stock, even tho theyre 15 quid dearer, like keeping the money in Ireland.
But out of stock so unfortunately had to go with 4debike.
Will probably get someone who knows what theyre doing to fit them, Im clueless.Anyone recommend someone good in Dublin area? What kinda price would I be looking at?
€25 maybe?

doozerie

terrydel wrote: »

All marketing guff puts me off mate!

The Pro-Lite marketing guff is in a category of its own. Or it used to be anyway. It encouraged you to believe that over-tensioned spokes was an idea unique to them, and that only they should ever be allowed to adjust a single spoke on one of their wheels. It read like it was written by a pompous prat, if I'd read that before buying my set of wheels I'd have thought twice.

As regards fitting your new wheels to your bike, I'm not sure what you include in that. Fitting a cassette to the rear wheel will require an appropriate tool (to tighten the lockring), which you might not have, otherwise it's just a case of fitting tyres and tubes and fitting the wheels into the frame. Tightening the skewers is very straight-forward, although given the number of bikes I see in my work bike park with skewers that are not tightened properly, not everyone would agree with it being simple.

G1032

doozerie wrote: »

Tightening the skewers is very straight-forward, although given the number of bikes I see in my work bike park with skewers that are not tightened properly, not everyone would agree with it being simple.

This is a weird one. Care to elaborate?

rtmie

terrydel wrote:

Zondas ordered just now from 4debike, 315 inc postage, cheapest I could find. Swimcyclerun are Irish right? I'd have gone with them had they got them in stock, even tho theyre 15 quid dearer, like keeping the money in Ireland. But out of stock so unfortunately had to go with 4debike. Will probably get someone who knows what theyre doing to fit them, Im clueless.Anyone recommend someone good in Dublin area? What kinda price would I be looking at? €25 maybe?

Cassette tool and chain whip tool required to remove cassette should be available from lbs for 12 ~ 15 EU each, or can be borrowed, worth having long term. 15 minute job to remove cassette from old rear wheel and put on new. Lots of vids on you tube. After that just swap over tyres/tubes.

doozerie

G1032 wrote: »

This is a weird one. Care to elaborate?

The most common issue that I see is that people just don’t understand how the quick release lever works, instead of folding the lever/handle in to lock the wheel in place they leave it in the open position and tighten the skewer in place with the threads only. Even a gorilla would struggle to exert the same clamping pressure like that as a skewer is designed to exert in correct use, and I don’t fancy their chances of being able to undo it easily either should they have to remove the wheel later. I’m guessing it’s for this reason that many skewer levers these days come with “open” and “close” marked on them, although some people clearly fail to register those markings.

I’ve also seen skewers only half closed (dangerous), closed but with the lever angled in such a way that it may be prone to snagging on things (potentially dangerous, especially if off-roading), and skewers fitted from the wrong side (good idea for front disc-braked wheels, very bad idea for rear wheels, in all other cases, and most importantly of all of course, a very real assault on the eyes/sensibilities!).

Not to mention badly installed wheels which don’t sit centrally in the dropouts, whether the skewers are closed properly or not. I’m tempted to go around and remedy the worst examples when I see them sitting in the bike racks but I’m not sure the world is ready for a wheel fairy, and "skewer fairy" has a questionable ring to it too!

terrydel

doozerie wrote: »

The most common issue that I see is that people just don’t understand how the quick release lever works, instead of folding the lever/handle in to lock the wheel in place they leave it in the open position and tighten the skewer in place with the threads only. Even a gorilla would struggle to exert the same clamping pressure like that as a skewer is designed to exert in correct use, and I don’t fancy their chances of being able to undo it easily either should they have to remove the wheel later. I’m guessing it’s for this reason that many skewer levers these days come with “open” and “close” marked on them, although some people clearly fail to register those markings.

I’ve also seen skewers only half closed (dangerous), closed but with the lever angled in such a way that it may be prone to snagging on things (potentially dangerous, especially if off-roading), and skewers fitted from the wrong side (good idea for front disc-braked wheels, very bad idea for rear wheels, in all other cases, and most importantly of all of course, a very real assault on the eyes/sensibilities!).

Not to mention badly installed wheels which don’t sit centrally in the dropouts, whether the skewers are closed properly or not. I’m tempted to go around and remedy the worst examples when I see them sitting in the bike racks but I’m not sure the world is ready for a wheel fairy, and "skewer fairy" has a questionable ring to it too!

Haha, brave of you to out yourself as a 'fairy'!!

SuperSean

Thinking of treating myself to a pair of Zondas to

Just a quick question though as I've never bought wheels online, do they come with rim tape already on ?
Or would you have to get that separate.
Cheers!

omri

SuperSean wrote: »

Thinking of treating myself to a pair of Zondas to

Just a quick question though as I've never bought wheels online, do they come with rim tape already on ?
Or would you have to get that separate.
Cheers!

Zondas have no tape, they're sealed rims so you don't see any spoke holes inside of the rim.

terrydel

omri wrote: »

Zondas have no tape, they're sealed rims so you don't see any spoke holes inside of the rim.

What he said!

furiousox

My finger is poised on the trigger.
Any reason I shouldn't?

http://www.4thebike.de/wheels/roadbike/aluminium/8756/mavic-ksyrium-elite-s-wts-wheels

Cee-Jay-Cee

furiousox wrote: »

My finger is poised on the trigger.
Any reason I shouldn't?

http://www.4thebike.de/wheels/roadbike/aluminium/8756/mavic-ksyrium-elite-s-wts-wheels

Yes, Zondas being over €100 cheaper is the only reason I would need not to buy.

dermabrasion

I had a set of Pro-lites. Cant remember the model. They were 50ml carbon. Anyhow, I rode the Charleville2day on them, and they came out of true on a stretch of bad surface while going full gas. I heard the ping of the spoke going. returned them to the LBS and prolite sent me a new set. Same problem. I gave them back and the LBS gave me FF4R. These have been really solid over 2 seasons and a couple of spills.