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For wife's road bike - Spesh Dolce Elite, mix of 105 and Sora.
It spends most of its life commuting on some fairly patchy London roads, so solid and dependable is a priority. But, it's also taken on some 30-50 mile road rides every now and then, and it would be great for everyone if she wasn't carting round a few hundred grammes more than necessary. She's a fairly careful rider, so won't be smashing them about too much. Probably on 28s, possibly 25s
Started out thinking Mavic Aksium S (£170ish) then Open Pro on 105 - 215ish, built by me or someone else if I can't be bothered, then Ultegra wheelset - 239
Obviously all very different propositions, wondering what people's thoughts would be with a similar set of priorities?
Cheers!
Open Pro's on your choice of hubs would be the obvious choice. Not quite as light as the others, but the weight is in the hubs to a large extent. Open Pro rims are actually amongst the lightest out there. Wheelset would be strong and fully servicable, and easy to get spares for.
Mavic hubs are a love/hate affair, can perform faultlessly for some or be a total PITA for others and are usually difficult and expensive to get spares for. Likewise the spokes. Also the Aksium has a relatively low spoke count which counts against for bumpy roads IMO.
Ultegra wheels, I've heard good things about, but low spoke count again counts against.
If it was me, I'd either go for some C24 R500's as an ultra cheap and cheerful setup (£65 from Planet X right now for a pair) as they're not ridiculously heavy (1900g per pair compared to 2100 for the C30's) or the handbuilt option. Have run Aksium's for a season, not that impressed with them to be honest.
ultegras are [i]significantly[/i] lighter than Aksiums and not in the same league.
If it was me, I'd either go for some C24 R500's as an ultra cheap and cheerful setup (£65 from Planet X right now for a pair) as they're not ridiculously heavy (1900g per pair compared to 2100 for the C30's)
if those weights are close to true then the R500s are a great deal, pretty sure my 2010 Aksiums are ~2000grms. Think my 6700 Ultegras are ~1630grm with skewers?
cheers guys, I'm more relaxed about low spoke counts than I was, she's got 20/24 on there at the moment, I think. They're 4 years old, and the bearings are ****ed, but they're true enough (once you let the wobble from the bearing play settle out!)
The road route I planned on Garmin connect sent me and my 24/28 Stans down pretty rough footpaths and bridleways at the weekend. That's what I bought them for anyway, so I wasn't too upset with the opportunity to test them. They seem to be fine, but 28c GP4S wouldn't have been my first choice!
crashtestmonkey, what do you make of your ultegras? Would you buy them again?
Had OpenPro on 105 on the winter bike for the past few months, nice wheels. Shimano hubs can be a faff if you are not minded to maintain them properly. Probably need more work than cartridge bearings, having said that I've done nothing to them all winter and they are fine.
I've done 8,000 miles on my SLX on Open pro, and not opened them up. I can't feel a rumble when spinning off the ground and holding the frame. Might give them some tlc for spring!
Love em and yes. Can't think of anything negative based on my experience rather than theoretical issues. Will be fitting them to other halfs bike when she does IM Wales in autumn, she has fulcrum R7s at the mo so should benefit from the weight loss over 112 hilly Welsh miles (nearly bought her a set for Xmas but got her a Garmin 800 instead).
Hubs still silky smooth and haven't needed touching (as are the similar age Aksiums on winter bike to be fair), her R7s needed new a rear bearing inside a year.
+1 for open pro on 105, the last three sets of mavic road wheels we've had have all had freehub issues whereas i've never needed to go inside the 105 and ultegra hubs we've got
Anybody else find Open Pro to wear quite quickly? Would help if they had wear indicators.
my open pros are on disc hubs, so not an issue for me!
Cheers ctm, that's got me inching towards the buy button...
Anybody else find Open Pro to wear quite quickly? Would help if they had wear indicators.
No, but then I rarely brake 🙂
Just checked...I'm guessing around 4500 miles may not be premature ? It's the first time I've wore a rim out (as advised by LBS) but then I've never done that much before.
I didn't think I was heavy on the brakes as my only respectable Strava times are on the downhills !
my open pros are on disc hubs, so not an issue for me!
Well they worked well in all other respects.
gritty sprinkles? with salt in?
Aksiums are tough, but I'd swap mine for Ultegra + £50 from my pocket right now.
Have flattened two Open Pros within a month on potholes. That notwithstanding, I've just had them rebuilt and will be happy riding them again. Nothing wrong with 105 hubs, either. And spoke count is a marginal marginal gain. 28 f/r is fine. That said, I've gone CXP33 and Dura Ace for the nice bike.
Pothole 1, Open Pro 0 It split right through 🙁 No pinch flat either, so it wasn't low tyre pressure. The replacement was not so impressively flat, but replaced anyway.
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I've got a set of Askiums on my posh road bike. They look fancy but are not light by any means. I'll be flogging them at some point!
They are actually about the same weight as my 32 spoke handbuilt wheels, open pro on hope classic hubs. These wheels have put up with touring, daily commuting and cyclocross. I really doubt the mavics would take as much abuse.
I'd say ultegra if you want light
Open pro if you want bombproof
Superstar are doing a very nice wheel set with a rebranded Reynolds rim 🙂
Get the Ultegra wheels
Fantastic value for money
Got a pair recently and love them.
Very stiff and light.
I weigh 85kg and the low spoke count does not scare me.
I gone and done boughtened the ultegras. Lucky wife.
Cheers all!