I need to upgrade the Shimano R550s on my roadbike that have started breaking spokes. I don’t want to spend a fortune and have just seen these Shimano RS30s for £150.

Are they a significant upgrade over the basic R550s? And is there anything else in that price bracket that is worth a look?

Cheers!

I don’t know what sort of price they’re going for, but if you can stretch to the Fulcrum Racing Sevens, I think they’re supposed to be a tougher wheel than the Shimanos. They came specced on my first racer and I was very impressed with them.

Ribble are doing Racing 5s for £151 – aren’t they a step up from 7s?

The Shimano Ultegra wheelset is only £200 from Merlin if you’re a VIP member (i.e. sign up to their mailing list).

I can’t offer an opinion on either as I’m also after a new wheelset in that price range and can’t stretch to the Fulcrum 3s 😕

Hmmm… That’s thrown a spanner in the works! They’re only 1652g compared to 1943g for RS30s and 1809g for Racing 5s…

Yep, Racing 5s are a atep up from the 7s, is that £151 for the set?

Am purposely ignoring all talk of £200 Ultegras, don’t ‘need’ new wheels, but the wheels I’ve got don’t do the bike justice.

American Classic Victory for £239 at JEJames. 1648g for the pair.

Planet x Model B £99 at the moment, light and very quick but not the stiffest, the ultegra above are great value but still double the price of the Model B.

Planet X Model B’s – mine are about 1650g and are a quality feeling wheel. Stayed nice and true despite some abuse on Sheffield’s roads!

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/WPPXMODELB/planet-x-model-b-wheelset

£129 for Shimano compatible ones at the moment…

🙂

slight hijack sorry but the road wheel geeks are clearly in attendance. I’m speccing up quite a tasty Ti road bike & a bit stuck on wheelset. Is there really much benefit in a pair of £600 – £700 wheels versus something around £200? Seems that weight isn’t necessarily that much different.

I think I’m going to have to go for the Shimanos… I’m 13.5 stone, so the Planet X might be a bit soft, and I’ve just been reading the reviews of the Ultegras and they do sound awesome, certainly a big step up from the “budget” wheelsets.

And at £206, they’re excellent value… Unless there’s anything else worth a look?

(the American Classics are another jump in price too far!!!!)

Shibboleth – It’s not all in the weight, obviously it’s a big factor but some very fast wheelsets are quite heavy. It’s very similar to having a carbon frame at any price. Design, profile etc might need to be looked at.

To the OP – RS30s are not an upgrade from RS550s, i think they might even be heavier. They’re a bit more aero but only 30mm deep so it’s not even much of a difference in that respect.

From the options above, i think the American Classic Victories or the Ultegras are the only ones that will make your bike feel noticeably nicer. Racing 5s or *shudder* 7s (worst wheel i ever rode) aren’t going to be much different.

ref. the model b’s ‘flexibility’ – I added an extra turn onto all the nipples on my rear (ooo err), and it noticeably stiffened up when doing the leaning on it test. absolute bargain for what they are.

You’ve also got to ask, how much pimp-factor do a wheel add to the bike. I think the Ultegras will add at least twice as much as the Planet Xs, so they still represent good VFM.

Re weight, I do a lot of climbing, so weight is quite an important factor in making the bike feel lively on climbs. Ultegra sound like a good balance of weight/strength/rim profile…

You’ve also got to ask, how much pimp-factor do a wheel add to the bike. I think the Ultegras will add at least twice as much as the Planet Xs, so they still represent good VFM.

As road wheels go there’s not a lot of pimp factor in either to be honest.

Without getting into deep sectioned Zipps etc, maybe. But I’m not going to spend £2grand on a pair of wheels!

My bike has Ultegra stuff on it, and I’m happy with the bling-factor! 🙂

If your budget is up to £200ish, I strongly recommend going for handbuilt wheels. I had Mavic Open Pro CDs laced with DT Revolution spokes, alloy nipples and Ambrosio Zenith hubs for £230 or so. Very light, very strong, and easy to repair.

Fair enough, mines mainly Dura Ace, and the planet Xs don’t look out of place, that said I replaced my wheels on a budget although I know far better riders than me that highly rate Model Bs compared to far more expensive wheels.

I built up some 1400gm ish wheels recently for <£250 using stans alphas and 24H sh hubs, not beasted them yet but they seem stiff enough.

Winner 😎

Even if you don’t go for light hubs it seems worthwhile to get these rims even on 105 hubs, I’m not sure there’s a cheaper way of saving 75gm per wheel of rotating weight for £85 (over £38?) for Open Pros.

I’m on my second set of model b’s having pulled the spokes through the rim on my first lot. I’m not heavy or particularly powerful, and am not the only one to have done this. I’d be careful about adding an extra turn to the nipples on them on this basis. Planet x were great with the warranty, and they are great value, but you get what you pay for to some extent (weak rims and cheesy freehub that makes cassette removal tricky). I’d probably go for those ultegras – but are they cup and cone? (wouldn’t bother me if so but YMMV)

I second ransos – handbuilt wheels are far better. Go for Mavic open pros with the best hubs you can afford for your budget – I think I’ve seen Tiagra on Mavic OPs for about £135 on an ebay shop.

I’ve had my handbuilt wheels for 8 years and had to do very little by way of truing, just look after the hubs. Factory wheels are popular cos they look flash, but Hand Built are tops. Wish Merlin did HB road wheels!

If I had the cash I’d get road Hope Hoops – flash and hand built!

Racing 5s or *shudder* 7s (worst wheel i ever rode)

Wow. I’ve only ridden budget wheels but thought the Racing Seven was great, nice and stiff and sturdy. Whats so bad about them? (not that I care, riding cheap shimano now until I can afford some Carbon Laminate Dura Ace 8) )

Ultegras are indeed nice wheels, mine give a nice all round ride.

It’s a shame you cant get all the Alex A Class stuff here as it’s silly cheap and very good. I’ve got some that I can’t recall ever buying? very ‘American Classics’ in design and weight. If you can find them here in the UK they’d be worth a look.

Wow. I’ve only ridden budget wheels but thought the Racing Seven was great, nice and stiff and sturdy. Whats so bad about them? (not that I care, riding cheap shimano now until I can afford some Carbon Laminate Dura Ace )

Most of the wheels i’ve ridden are cheap (the nicest ones i’ve had are Ultegras), but i’ve been through a lot – Shimano R500s, Aksiums, Mavic Cosmic, some random Cole Shuriken ones on a Focus, various handbuilts, and Fulcrum Racing Sevens really were the worst.

They were unnecessarily heavy (i.e. more than other comparably prices ones), dead feeling, the freehub was stupidly loud (which i gather most MTBers like, but it’s not my thing at all), the skewers were nasty and cheap and the bearings in the front hub lasted all of one winter.

They were the first gen ones, and i understand they’ve improved since, but i still wouldn’t go anywhere near them.

I think the reason handbuilt wheels are so rated as having no problems is that they generally have heavy-ish rims (in comparison to the lightweight stuff) and higher spoke count.

If you ride light wheels with low spoke count – hand-built or factory built (the high end factory ones are at least finished by hand AFAIK) it stands to reason that you will need to true them from time to time IMO.

They were unnecessarily heavy (i.e. more than other comparably prices ones), dead feeling, the freehub was stupidly loud (which i gather most MTBers like, but it’s not my thing at all), the skewers were nasty and cheap and the bearings in the front hub lasted all of one winter.

Actually… those things all ring a bell, I don’t even like the loud freehub on my MTB to be honest! I changed the skewers immediately and fitted new bearings quite quickly too, at least they were easily swapped.

I think I rated them because they were my first road wheels, and I was pleased at how tough they were.

OI! Ox – we sell American Classic Victory wheels too!

Sorry dude. Thought you only had Victory 30s in…

I’ll blame it on my utter shatteredness from yesterday’s two rides.

I think the reason handbuilt wheels are so rated as having no problems is that they generally have heavy-ish rims (in comparison to the lightweight stuff) and higher spoke count.

My setup (see above) is 1600g with 32 spokes per wheel. Not uber-light I agree, but lighter than most factory stuff at the same price point.

Well, this afternoon I nipped over to Merlin and picked up a set of the Ultegras. Spoke to the mechanic who said they had loads of Fulcrums back for warranty repairs, but the Shimanos were far more reliable. He rated the RS301s but pointed out that they were no lighter than my existing wheels, so I wouldn’t feel any improvement.

First impressions, they’re very subtly styled – rim graphics are quite understated but the hubs are nicely polished/anodised and look very classy.

They come with valves/seals ready to run tubeless and don’t require a rim strip, though I’ve set them up with Conti Ultra Gatorskins and tubes.

Just taken them for a 10 mile ride with a very tough climb up the back of Jeffrey Hill (just north of Preston) and a 2 mile rolling descent. They feel far more sprightly than the R550s that they replaced, they accelerate noticeably quicker and, being a bit deeper in profile, they feel very stable on the straights.

They felt rock solid on the climb too, with no discernible flex or creaking (I’m 13.5 stone). And they make a very satisfying hum at speed.

Overall, bloody happy with them, so thanks for the advice! Are they worth the money? Certainly. I don’t think there’s anything else comes close without spending a fair bit more, and I’m happy to spend the money knowing I’ve got a reliable wheelset that’s not going to fail 50 miles from home.

Fair enough ransos – could have got it to 1450gm with alphas though!

being a bit deeper in profile, they feel very stable on the straights.

WTF? Is this what magazines are spouting these days?

WTF? Is this what magazines are spouting these days?

I’ve no idea if that’s what magazines are spouting, but they feel noticeably more stable – most noticeable when I took the hands off the bars, the bike felt less wobbly. I was surprised as they’re only 5mm or so deeper.
Maybe it’s the fact that they’re a much stiffer wheel or much more aero spokes – I’m not sure – but there is definitely a marked difference.

Fair enough ransos – could have got it to 1450gm with alphas though!

Oh, I’m sure you’re right, and I know I could have gone lighter. But my winter bike has a ten-year old set of Open Pros in perfect condition, so I wanted to stick with them. Strength was important for me as I’m not too good at avoiding the potholes.

Aye fair enough. I guess my point is that it’s well established that rotating weight has a greater effect than static on how light a bike feels. My 24 spoke alpha’s feel fine under my 12 stone so far…

Shibbers I don’t see how 5mm of rim height can affect stability that’s all, particularly when the rim is lighter, you seemed to imply a direct link in a journo style.

I’m not a journo, or an aerospace engineer. I’m just telling you how different they feel. To be honest, it was a bit disconcerting at first as I found it much harder to ‘steer’ whilst texting 😉

My first thought was the rim profile, but like you say, a few mm is probably negligible. The only other difference is that the nipples are at the rim rather than the hub. But they’re a MUCH lighter rim, so I can’t see that making any difference.

So that leaves either the rigidity of the build, or the spokes which are far more aero than on the R550s…