I’ve been doing quite a lot of road riding this year for one reason or another, and I’m wondering if an upgrade of my cheap 2kg+ stock wheels and tyres would be money well spent.

What do you guys reckon getting, say a set of 1450g set of wheels would make?

For the sake of argument, say I have a hypothetical steep hill I can consistently do in 2 mins 30. What would it be with the new wheels with the same effort? My mate is saying it won’t make any difference.

Thoughts?

Maybe a few seconds if you’re lucky, but better wheels definitely feel nicer, and 500g is a fair chunk of weight to save from the bike, even if in the grand scheme of things its not much at all.

I’ve just upgraded from a set of Easton EA50SL’s (1700gish) to a set of tubeless fulcrum racing 1s (1500gish) Not much of a weight saving but the Fulcrums are comfier (due to the tubeless) they roll better (again, tubeless) and are stiffer than the old ones. They wont give me any great speed advantage but I enjoy the feel of the bike more, so its worth the cash imo.

Light wheels will make you 23.6% faster and you will own the Strava KOM in 2 minutes dead.

Back in the real world virtually no difference.

I saved over 600g on wheels and tyres going from Aksiums with OEM steel bead tyres to RS80s and kevlar tyres.

Promptly beat all my personal bests easily and average speeds on the same route jumped up.

Can’t say if it was the weight or the motivation. I ride for fitness, not racing, so probably not money ‘well spent’. However, if you have the cash and enjoy a nice bike, go for it!

If you get decent wheels, and decent tyres and tubes you will notice the difference!

What are the wheels? That weight seems quite light to me. Wheels and tyres can make quite a difference to the feel of the bike, but sometimes lightweight can be slower overall.

What’s the gradient of the hill?

If you get decent wheels, and decent tyres and tubes you will notice the difference!

+1

Thoroughly recommend Ksryium Elites. Transformed my road bike.

What whatno said.

I upgraded from Fulcrum 7’s (1850g) to a 1350g custom wheelset this year and the difference in speed per se is minimal (if at all).

They’re definitely stiffer, and a little bit snappier accelerating, but by far the most noticeable difference is in the bike’s handling – much more nimble and quicker to turn in. Also, they have spangly red ano hubs 🙂

The thing that *does* make a difference is decent racing tyres… going from GP 4 seasons to Ultremos in my case.

I guess the gyroscopic effect on handling is pretty big hence the quicker turn in. When up to speed the wheel is not accelerating so no difference until you need to change speed. Up hills effect is pure weight and 500g on the wheels is the same as 500g on the frame.

My bike felt better after upgrading the wheels as they didn’t flex every time I stomped on the pedals.

Upgrading the tyres to something with lower rolling resistance made me faster…. I think

but sometimes lightweight can be slower overall

^ this. Don’t overdo it and spend every ride fixing punctures!

Stiffer wheels seem to equal noticeably more speed carried through corners, better handling and quicker acceleration – IMO.

You’re thinking of the wrong stats.

It won’t make you much quicker up hills, but it will make your bike accelerate much more quickly. Makes more of a difference on an XC MTB racer where you have to accelerate and decelerate a lot on twisty singletrack, I reckon.

If you buy them let us know what it does to your 2m 30s

It will make a difference.I changed the wheels on my wifes Cannondale from the own brand stuff to basic Shimano 500’s.Together with a change of tyres the difference is really noticeable.
It may not feel faster but on gradients you may notice that you use a different gear and feel less tired on longer rides.

I went from 2kg mavic askiums to a set of rs80’s for £300 from planet x. They ‘feel’ much quicker climbing especially when riding hard out of the saddle but no difference on the flat. They are more comfortable, stiffer, make a nice carbon wheel sound. The rear askium was stuffed, don’t know I would bother if I had a perfectly good working wheel set as I don’t race.

I went from kysrium SL clinchers to Zipp 303 tubulars and the difference is noticeable – more aero, lighter, stiffer, less effected by wind (despite the rim depth – flat alloy spokes are the devils work), just better all round really. Oh yeah, the look pimp too. Money well spent.

Has anyone spotted any good deals, I too need some new road wheels, budget only £200 ish.

Don’t underestimate the benefit of lighter wheels making your bike nicer to ride…

I just shed a kilo from my fixed wheel road bike with some new Open Pro wheels from Harry Rowland. Even with the luggage for a commute, it feels much better. Don’t skimp on tyres, fit the best you can afford. I also use the Continental light racing inner tubes at 50g each (not cheap though 🙁 )

The thing that *does* make a difference is decent racing tyres… going from GP 4 seasons to Ultremos in my case.

The thing that really makes the difference is you anything else is marginal at best and mainly delusional.Faster=ride more ,train better eat better-simple.
My advice would buy the wheels and anything else you want.

Want to go faster? Train.

Want a bike that’s nice to ride? Spend.

Yes, as long as they are still stiff and haven’t discarded integrity for the sake of saving a few grams.
I train on Aksiums which are about 1900g, and race on Giant/DT Swiss wheels which are sub 1400g. I use lighter tubes for racing and my race tyres are 200g lighter a pair.
And I can feel it.

Want to make it easier to train? Get a bike that’s nicer to ride 😉

I’ve just upgraded from a set of Easton EA50SL’s (1700gish) to a set of tubeless fulcrum racing 1s

My exact upgrade with Hutchinson tubeless tyres, it is like riding continually riding with a tail wind 😀

I could feel the difference between light inner tubes and heavy innertubes.

But in terms of making me faster, not at all. New light wheels wont make a huge difference up the hills, its the stiffness you want. So make sure they are stiff.

Thanks for your inputs guys, I’ve just clicked “Buy”. I’ll let you know if it makes the blindest bit of difference 🙂

I’ve got the new wheels (Prolite Bracciano), and I’ve just been out for a 15 minute blast (flat route round the block), and top speed went faster that it has ever been.. A touch over 30mph which is quite a lot faster than I could muster with the old set. I couldn’t believe it looking down at the speedo. So far so good! (same (heavy) tyres as before, incidentally).

The bearings are smooth as butter.

Wow, you’ve confounded pretty much all evidence on the matter!

Ooooo, you don’t want butter, you want olive oil, less corrosive and more slippy, then you will really fly 😉

They are way fast 🙂