Road wheels have worn out on my Specialized Allez so need a replacement.

Cheap as chips (and I like chips!) as I don’t really race or ride for a club, just a fitness thing with the odd Sportive.

Tried 2nd hand on here but nothing suitable that people can post to me as I am in deepest Essex!

Looking around £80 and the only contender I have found is:
http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-r501-wheels-49086.html

Why not spend £195 and get a set that have been reviewed as a £500 wheelset?

Pavé 28 wheelset from Superstar Components – bought two pairs for my son and my cycling buddy and both are blown away by these wheels.

http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/pave-28-ultra-11speed-wheelset-2024.htm

I have those wheels on my Allez and I have no issue with them. I think I got them for about £60 a few months back so may be worth shopping around a bit. Cant remember where I got them from though

R501’s should be fine. Also look at RS11’s which are a bit nicer but have quite a low spoke count.

Fulcrum 7’s are also good for a bit more money.

I’ve got RS11s and they’re great. Still running true despite 6 months of rough sussex roads (grrrrrrrrr)

Fulcrum Racing 5s and some PX Ti skewers in red to match the perty red nipples. 600g+ saving over R501s with std skewers and not much more £ than the still quite heavy 7s

RS11s are £92 on Wiggle which is good with a discount code – but I am about 14.5st – maybe a little heavy for a 16 spoke front wheel – any advice/experience??!

Superstar ones aren’t £80…. or even 2 x my budget so rule them out 🙄

Fulcrum 7s and 5s look nice but I think if I can get RS11s and R501s cheaper it seems like extra expense I can’t justify.

I have a set of Hopes/Open Pro’s for sale and live in deepest darkest Essex if you’re interested. Matthewex AT Hotmail DOT co DOT uk.

I’ve used r501’s on my commuter, or the equivalent for years, and they’ve always been fine for an inexpensive wheelset.

happybiker – just seen your post from 3 weeks ago.

If they are the wheels you are offering I think, even collecting, they are likely to be out of my price range…. although would look good with my red and black frame haha!

have a look at PlanetX and Ribble for budget wheels,

Planet X – A57 wheels for £120

Ribble – 3 different types of Shimano R501’s from £72-£83 and RS11’s for £96

Ooh – they do a deeper rim R501….. not that I need it, just looks nice!

I know they look cool – but if you are buying budget wheels, go for the lowest profile rim you can (all other being equal) because a deeper aluminium rim rim just adds weight

Had R501s on my road bike since early 2009 and only changed them a couple of months ago due to the rim wearing out, so have had thousands of miles on a wide range of pot-holed roads around Bristol and several sportives without any problems. They are bomb proof and I found they rolled really well, especially downhill.

planet x have got a couple of pairs of FSA Team 30 on their ebay clearance site left for £80. No idea if they’re any good, but the official Planet X site’s selling them for £150

Ooh – they do a deeper rim R501….. not that I need it, just looks nice!

AVOID!!!

The 30mm rim is about 100g per rim heavier than the 24mm version, and adds no benefit whatsoever. Standard R500’s aren’t actually that heavy for what they are, but the 30mm version are.

R500’s are a solid wheelset. They’re easily serviceable, spare parts are readily available, they roll well, they’re strong and stiff etc. The only real negative is that they’re not the best sealed hubs around, so an extra squirt of grease in the bearings from new, and a planned maintenance routine is required to keep them in tip top condition. But then again at under £80 a set if you get a year out of them they’re still a bargain…

FWIW RS11’s have marginally better hubs and are a tiny bit lighter too, so may be worth it if they’re only
a few quid more, but don’t get too carried away if they’re mostly for commuting.

The FSA team wheels are 10/11 speed, and I’m still on 9 speed as bike is older so they aren’t good for me.

Advice received (multiple times) about the deep rims – will avoid.

Now on a price hunt for r501 or rs11, decision made thank you!!

The FSA team wheels are 10/11 speed, and I’m still on 9 speed as bike is older so they aren’t good for me.

Actually incorrect. You can run 7/8/9/10/11 spd on any llspd rear wheel, you just need the requisite spacers to space the cassette out the right amount. As 9spd and 10spd cassettes are the same width anyway (as are 8spd), you can run a 9spd cassette on those wheels fine if you wanted to.

The cheap Campag (Fulcrum) wheels are pretty good too, can be had for just over £100 a pair.

Ah…. Shows how much I know, just went by the ebay listing,

Could stretch to the RS11s, just concerned about a smaller amount of spokes and my weight!!

RS11s are £92 on Wiggle which is good with a discount code – but I am about 14.5st – maybe a little heavy for a 16 spoke front wheel – any advice/experience??!

im heavier and have had r-550 (pretty much the same wheels) for almost 10 years now, the stickers have peeled, the anodisings gone a little funny, the bearings are shot, but ive only ever snapped one (rear drive side) spoke and only trued them a couple of times.

That’s it the RS11s it is, need to find a wiggle discount code though if the still do them….

Campag Vento’s from Wiggle at around £112 are a steal otherwise the Ribble Shimano’s are good. If you can join your local Fb bike parts for sale page you will normally get the bog standards wheels from Dales . Giants and Treks for around £60 which tend to be heavy but robust.