A friend (yes really) is looking to spend £300 on new wheels for his Cannondale SuperSix. He doesn’t compete but does like to do the odd sportive and puts the miles in.

I’m out of touch (if I’m honest I was never in touch) with road wheels.

What do folks recommend? Is £300 a bit miserly or will he get something decent for that?

I can only recommend what I’ve ridden. I’m currently using Shimano RS80s and would go and buy another set if I needed too. Been riding them for 2 season. They seem strong and have coped with pot holes and poor roads. They are light enough (1500g or there abouts) to get much better you are looking at spending a lot more.

Failing that get some deep section planet x things as they’ll look the part.

Shimano RS80 or 81 is worth a budget stretch if he/she can

Already done last week

Close enough at least 😀

Go to The Cycle Clinic and buy a set of these:

Mavic Open Pro rims 32H front and rear Novatec A171/F172 (or F272 campag) hubs Sapim Laser spokes front and non drive side rear, Sapim Race spokes drive side rear with brass nipples. Cost £264 + £15 shipping. Weight 1665g

I just built a set myself last week and I like them better than my Mavic Ksyrium Elites. Also repairable if I break a spoke or ding a rim; very difficult to do with factory wheels.

“I like them better….”

Why? Any objective differences or totally subjective/subconscious?

Why? Any objective differences or totally subjective/subconscious?

They feel like they roll better but that may just be due to the fact that the hub bearings are new. They also don’t seem to feel so stiff (with the same tyres) but again I realise that may just be a subjective thing. Some people may prefer stiffer.

The Novatec hubs are really nicely finished for £60 a pair. The bearings are easy to replace as well apparently, although I obviously haven’t had to do this yet.

At the end of the day a lot of my preference is also probably based on the fact that I built the Novatec/Open Pros myself and I know how they have gone together and how to fix them if need be. Anyone building their own wheels will know what that feels like.

I have two sets of Mavic Ksyrium Elites, one older set is no longer usable because a spoke pulled an eyelet out of the rim and they are no economically repairable. The newer set which came with my Scott CR1 have an upgraded eyelet design and have been fine.

If I had £300 to spend on a new set of wheels I would go for handbuilts now over factory even if I had to pay for a wheel builder to build them for me.