Times are hard and I need to keep my road bike/commuter running just that little bit longer however, the wheel and shot.

What’s an OK/solid wheel set for a road bike?

25-30 mile commuting duties twice/three times a week and the odd 70 miles weekend bimble.

Some decent priced R501’s at present. My road kit knowledge is very limited to have not a clue.

What would you suggest?

those 501’s are decent.

they’re about 1900g for the pair. And the rims are about 500g each, which seems about right for a strong rim with plenty of life in the braking surface – ideal for commuting.

the bearing seals are ‘ok’, and the nipples are brass, so no worries about corrosion from road salt.

Thanks ahwiles, just what I needed to hear.

I’ve had both Shimano RS10 and now RS30 wheels on my road bike (I’m not a seasoned roadie). RS10s were fairly basic and the spokes went after a year and a half. RS30s are way better and have been great for a couple of years.

Replaced by RS11 and RS31 respectively. RS31 available for £129 from CRC.
RS31

EDIT: RS31 not sub £100, sorry

I’ve got some R501’s which I’ve done 1300 miles on, round crappy country lanes full of potholes. Never missed a beat, round and true and still look like new.

Merlin are doing them for £68 a pair! 😯

Alternative is Mavic Aksium One but twice as much for same weight / equivalent wheelset.

Or Planet X A57 wheelset for £100 which has 3-cross lacing I think for a very robust wheelset

Look for some second hand fulcrum 7’s or so on ebay, usually soem unused ones up from someone upgrading wheels on a new bike… Got a pair for £60 ^^

I have a set of Mavic Askiums up for sale if you’re interested. They have done approximately 400 miles and are in very good condition – after £60 for them and based in Leeds if that helps.

Avoid RS-31, they’re seriously heavy and aimed at the really entry level TT bikes as they’re ‘areo’ (they’re probably not, they’re just deeper and that means more weight).

RS-11, RS-21, R-501, R-551 are all really good value and very similar quality.

Ribble sent an email out the other day with some really good deals. Can’t remember the exact models but worth a search.

For reasonable life expectancy on commuting duties, R501’s are a good choice. Dunno about the Fulcrums cited above, but I’d steer well clear of budget Mavics – aluminium nipples are not good long-term, especially if you ever ride on gritted roads

Here you go ribble

3 cracking deals there.

I have a pair of Fulcrum 7’s, they are ace for the money

Been running R500s as commuter and trainer wheels for about 5 years. Thousands of kms and no problems. Haven’t even needed trueing. Bought some new wheels to replace them recently, but more to mess around with tubeless than anything to do with the wheels.

Also, you get CRC discount of 10% if you have BC membership.