I would like to upgrade the wheels on my 8 year old tarmac, it currently has shimano jobs which came with the bike but the bearings are knackered and the rims worn out. Id like to spend about 300 to 350 and want a light stiff responsive wheel but have no idea about road wheels…….

I recently picked up some Shimano RS81 C24 wheels from Wiggle just over £300, this is the “ultegra” level non-groupset series wheel with the similar carbon fibre / aluminium laminate rim used on the Dura Ace models.

I’ve been very impressed with these wheels, just over 1500gm so light, but feel very fast rolling and much stiffer (rear is 2 cross both sides) than my previous Fulcrum Racing 3 which always felt a bit flexible on climbs. brakes feels very good with Swiss stop blue pads even in wet weather

they also have a steel freehub body which will resist cassette gouging much better than aluminium alloy bodies common to wheels of that weight; my previous wheels including DT swiss and Hope had bad gouging causing creaking

Shimano hubs aren’t compatible with Campagnolo cassettes and vice versa. Most modern wheels come with a spacer to fit most speeds of cassette (11/10/9/8 speed etc)

I got these rims on their own Hubs. Not as many spokes but still fine for my 85kgs. These should be tougher still, but no idea about the hubs.

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/clearance-dtswiss350-32h-pacenti-sl23-wheelset.htm

I find that Merlin is always a good place to look for a bargain

Actually to be fair those Shimano R81s look really good…

Campag make the best wheels……

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/Campagnolo-Zonda-Black-Clincher-Wheels-Pair/CAMPWHFR505?utm_campaign=Googlebase&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=Googlebase&geoip=UK&gclid=CK-yn9OsjsoCFROeGwodroMNDg&gclsrc=aw.ds

RS81s for £319 from Wiggle. Very nice.

Take a look at hunt wheels. Reasonably light aluminium clincher that you can run tubeless if you wish..

Yeh, Hunt are worth a look. Can’t fault my set. Well sealed and are pretty light and stiff. The freehub sometimes “bangs” though.

Thanks, have been looking at the RS81s already. Will have a look at the other suggestions

Be careful. The Shimano wheels are good right up until you need to replace a spoke. They are expensive and need special tools to fix. Also the cone and cup bearings can be problematic to get exactly adjusted.

I think the new Shimano wheels have much easier adjustment, just check they have the ‘digital click’ system, only requires two 5mm allen keys and your fingers, no need to adjust for QR tension etc.

To me it’s the best system out there.

Can’t comment on the spokes though, have yet to snap one on mine.

ANother vote for hunt here. Seem good for the money – even better as I got mine free in a competition (but I’d buy them next time).

Also look at Rosebikes own brand. I have some on a bike I bought from them – very good wheels. and about the right price.

I’ve got the alloy Ultegra wheels that I got through Wiggle and had to have two new spokes from new in the front wheel that local bike shop fitted but Wiggle paid.

And the digital click makes the cone adjustment simple.

Still wished I went for the standard Hope hoops in 32 spokes though.

Another vote here for the Zondas. Light and tough, £220 at Ribble is a steal.

wheelsmith

or any other decent wheelbuilder, you should get something decent that will last on your budget

Be careful. The Shimano wheels are good right up until you need to replace a spoke. They are expensive and need special tools to fix. Also the cone and cup bearings can be problematic to get exactly adjusted.

I’ve been using cheap shimano wheels, cost around £65 for the pair, on my winter/wet weather commuter on and off for years. Never had a broken spoke and never needed to adjust the hub. The rims wear out before any tweaking needs done on the hubs, but that’s just general wear.

For that money shimano is hard to beat.

Zondas here too, great set of wheels.

I’ve got a set of Hunt wheels and have been really impressed. 1570g for a pair of disc wheels that feel bomb proof. Only issue is availability.

Im a bit of mavic fan boy but your budget is a bit of an oasis for that brand. How about the Cosine wiggle brand, look to tick all the boxes?
If not then Zondas, C24 or C35.

Rim surfaces on cardon/alu shimano wheels are really thin. Beware.

I’d get stans rims with a super light from hub and shimano rear (I did in fact).

On and ignore this, its meaningless:

feel very fast rolling

We are about to Ebay a set of Fulcrum wheels (minus cassette) that came off a brand-new 2015 Tarmac we bought for Xmas. The same wheels in this review:

http://road.cc/content/review/144752-specialized-tarmac-comp-road-bike

They are completely unused and unridden, tyres and all.

Make me an offer.

Just looking at the Fulcrum 3s but heard they were stiffer than the rs81s

I’ve got handbuilt archetypes on miche primato hubs which are fantastic and cost around £300. That said, they replaced Zondas which I had worn out after a gritty winter of riding. For £220 I wouldn’t hesitate to buy Zondas again. That is a ridiculously good wheelset for that price. They’re stiff, light and incredibly smooth wheels that would be well worth it at twice that price.

Currently £378 with discount applied at checkout – so slightly over budget, but they come with a decent pair of 25mm tyres…
https://www.merlincycles.com/mavic-ksyrium-elite-wts-2016-pair-84174

People will tell you the spokes are a ballache, but I’ve not a had a single problem with mine in three or four years. Stiff, tough and responsive. There may be lighter wheels, but I’ll take the stiffness of these instead.

Another vote for Zondas here.

Got some earlier this year to replace stock Giant wheels on a Defy 1. Massive improvement for a not too significant outlay.

They’re way under budget but I’m currently rolling on Fulcrum Racing Quattros, they’re very stiff and also comfortable, slightly aero and look nice too.

Pretty bomb proof too, done nigh on 3000 miles and they’re just showing some signs of wear,

Zonda at Ribble and extra cash on some nice new tyres