# Looking to upgrade the wheelset on my '10 Felt Z85



## phade2

Does anyone know what the weight is for the stock wheelset? (Felt Hubs / Alexrims R500 Wheels) I couldn't find any info on the Felt site or on the web.


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## mcsqueak

I have the same bike and rims, and was curious about this as well.

I recently took *just the front wheel* to my office and weighted it on our high-accuracy counting scale. I didn't bring the rear wheel because I don't have a stand or other way to keep the bike up without the rear wheel, and I didn't want to sit it upside down all day, as that probably isn't so good for the brakes/shifters.

I got 1,221.2 grams (2.69 lbs), that is with the rim, tape, Specialized turbo tube, and Conti GP4000 700x25 tire.

So obviously the rear wheel is going to be a bit more than that, with the extra spokes and the cassette.


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## phade2

Thanks for the info mcsqueak. 

I'm guessing it's around 2000-2100grams for both front and rear. I'm looking to upgrade to the Rol Volant or Easton E70 or the new E50 Aero wheelset. That should shave off around a pound.

How do you like your tires compared to the stock zaffiro 23s?


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## mcsqueak

Not a problem, wish I had the measurement for the rear wheel handy for you. I'm also looking at getting a new set of wheels this summer, perhaps the Rol Race SL. Back of the napkin math shows I'd save probably ~1 lb of rotational weight over the current rims, which would be nice.

I have to admit I haven't ridden the tires yet - just bought them the other week and mounted them. Hopefully I'll be able to take them for a spin this weekend. I'll update here if I do and let you know.

I actually didn't have any problems with the stock Vittoria's and thought about buying them again because they are pretty inexpensive, but I wanted to try the Conti's and see what all the hype was about. According to the weights listed on biketiresdirect.com, the Conti 25's are a bit lighter than the Zaffiro 23's. I also bought black tires (all they have in the 25 size), and the bike looks pretty sick with them, the black paint, and red/white accents.


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## mcsqueak

Quick update, I broke in the GP4's this weekend on a quick 22 mile ride.

Honestly, they seem like really nice tires, but I have a hard time feeling the difference between them and the Zaffiro's. 

Perhaps if I had two sets of wheels I could switch back and forth and see if there was any discernible difference. They are fine and felt like the rolled very smoothly. Hopefully they'll last longer than the Zaffiro's, which were starting to get cuts in the rubber after about 2,000 miles.

Bottom line: splurge if you have the money, but if things are tight I wouldn't feel bad buying another set of Zaffiro tires in the 25 size.

This exact thing is why I have hesitated to plop down $300-$600 on a new set of wheels, I'm afraid I won't feel the difference!


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## phade2

Nice! I splurge on a new seat last week. I definately could feel the difference with the stock and selle italia slr, felt less road noise too. 

I'm hoping with a new wheelset I'll feel a little bit difference in the climbs, should feel something since it's dropping off a pound or so.


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## mcsqueak

Yeah my next upgrade is going to be a new saddle, since those are relatively inexpensive compared to many other components. Looking at Selle Italia and of course Fizik.


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## scottzj

Well I have gone thru 3 sets of rears and two fronts of Zaffiro stock Felt tires. However I have put around 3k plus miles on the bike.


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## phade2

scottzj how do you like the easton ea50 aeros? did you notice any improvement over the stock wheels?


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## Camilo

mcsqueak said:


> I have the same bike and rims, and was curious about this as well.
> 
> I recently took *just the front wheel* to my office and weighted it on our high-accuracy counting scale. I didn't bring the rear wheel because I don't have a stand or other way to keep the bike up without the rear wheel, and I didn't want to sit it upside down all day, as that probably isn't so good for the brakes/shifters.
> 
> I got 1,221.2 grams (2.69 lbs), that is with the rim, tape, Specialized turbo tube, and Conti GP4000 700x25 tire.
> 
> So obviously the rear wheel is going to be a bit more than that, with the extra spokes and the cassette.


First, just prop the rear end of your bike on some books, an appropriate size stack under each chainstay, to keep the derailleur up off the ground. You can get away with a single stack supporting both stays if they're large (say like phone book(s) or dictionaries). Easy as pie, and very stable.

Second, bike wheel weights are taken without anything on the wheel: no cassette, no tubes, no tires, no rimtape, no nothing except the rim, spokes and hub. If you're going to compare wheel weights, that's what you have to do. Otherwise, the info is worthless.


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## scottzj

Yeah major improvement in the way the entire bike feels! I was very impressed for such a cheaper set of wheels what it could do for the bike. In fact I choose these over the Fulcrum race 3s I have. Not to mention I love the look too hehe.


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## mcsqueak

Camilo said:


> First, just prop the rear end of your bike on some books, an appropriate size stack under each chainstay, to keep the derailleur up off the ground. You can get away with a single stack supporting both stays if they're large (say like phone book(s) or dictionaries). Easy as pie, and very stable.


Damn, don't know why I never thought about that. Good idea.



Camilo said:


> Second, bike wheel weights are taken without anything on the wheel: no cassette, no tubes, no tires, no rimtape, no nothing except the rim, spokes and hub. If you're going to compare wheel weights, that's what you have to do. Otherwise, the info is worthless.


Very true, though I didn't think about about that before I mounted my new tires, and I'm not going to tear them apart for some measurements. 

I wouldn't necessarily say the info is worthless, for my needs I can subtract the weight of the skewers, tires, and tube, and rim tape and get a pretty good approximation. So far I've never seen the info on the Alexrim site, and it seems to vary quite a bit from one place to another when I've ran across it online.

For example, one forum lists it as:

Rear 32 spoke with shimano freehub and rim tape, w/o skewers = 1140g
Front 32 spoke with rim tape, w/o skewers = 915g

Then I saw a review with this:

Front Wheel Weight: 1420 g
Rear Wheel Weight: 1750 g

Clearly the second one has the tires and such on it, but it doesn't say exactly what is on it, plus their front wheel weight is almost 200 g heavier than what I measured, even with tires and all that attached.

At the end of the day, if Alexrims or Felt had this info on their website hacks like me wouldn't be measuring stuff at their office and subtracting the weight of their tires and everything else in order to figure it out.


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## phade2

scottzj....I've upgraded to the ea50 aeros this week. Question...did you have problems mounting the tires? The front I was able to mount by hand with a lot of effort, but the rear...man! even with tire levers it took me a while to mount it. My thumbs and forarms are shot! =/


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## scottzj

Dude!!!! Mounting tires on the Aero wheels STINK!!! I broke 2 plastic tire irons, just about pealed a finger nail off and made my trainer/LBS manager just about loose feeling in his fingers! HAHA I tell you what, I have never, ever seen such difficulty in mounting tires. I just mounted new black conti tires and boy it was tough!


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## phade2

LOL at first I thought I was doing something wrong so I remounted them on my stock wheels....piece of cake. At lease you know your tires aren't going to fly off the wheel in a blow out lol. I just ordered the Kool Stop bead jack and will order the VAR bead jack from overseas. I don't want to have a flat on a ride with these wheels with just levers in my bag. The bead jack would have saved our hands from a lot of pain lol.


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## scottzj

Where did you find this and how much, as maybe I need to snag one too haha.


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## phade2

I bought it at JensonUSA.com for $11.99. I remounted my tire with it...and it literally took 2 seconds to get that last section of bead over the rim...and I could do it just by pulling the tool with one finger lol. The tool is the size of a mini pump and fits in my mini-pump mouting bracket.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/TL401I11-Kool-Stop+Tire+Bead+Jack+With+Handle.aspx


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## JogBike

Concur with raves about Kool Stop tire jack. Bought mine couple years ago from my LBS. It's a snap getting bead over rim with it. Get one.


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## phade2

Here my Z85 with the eastons mounted.


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## scottzj

Nice they look outstanding on that bike. But I must say, you must be a short one haha. That sucker looks pretty tiny to m, as mine is 
Here is an updated pic of mine with seat higher and more forward and handle bars dropped to give me a more aggressive ride.


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## zach.scofield

phade2 said:


> Here my Z85 with the eastons mounted.


Thats a seriously nice finish on the floor!!!!! oh, wheels look good too!


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## phade2

zach.scofield said:


> Thats a seriously nice finish on the floor!!!!! oh, wheels look good too!


LOL Thanks!


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## phade2

scottzj said:


> Nice they look outstanding on that bike. But I must say, you must be a short one haha. That sucker looks pretty tiny to m, as mine is
> Here is an updated pic of mine with seat higher and more forward and handle bars dropped to give me a more aggressive ride.


LOL Thanks! I'm Med sized lol...5'8" and a 54 sized frame. The Z frames are more upright and have longer headtubes than the F series...but yeah it does look small lol
I even took off two spacers...I might swap out the 20mm headset cone to something smaller when I upgrade the stem.


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## Phatz85

Are the easton wheels and upgrade or comparable to the mavic cxp22 that come on the 2011 z85


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## Mhoang

CXP22 are pretty low grade. Wheels are a couple grades lower than the stock bike they come with, so they're usually the first thing people switch out. For instance a Z4 comes with Mavic Ksyrium Equipes. A $3k bike with 400 dollar wheelsets. Good wheels but the bike's other components are a much higher grade. Easton's are about that same price range. You can find CXP22 for under 200 retail which is pretty cheap for a wheelset. Long story short, Easton EA50 are an upgrade from the CXP22.


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## scottzj

The EA eastons are more aero than the CXP22 models. As far as the weight, I am not really sure what the CXP weigh but the eastons arent super light, since they are no carbon. With that said, I would stay away from the carbon EC easton wheelsets as my 90's snapped spokes weeks after getting them and seems to be a known issue. The EA 50 in my pic are holding up really well.....put over 2k miles on them and replace one spoke due to wreck and replaced the bearings too. Probably both due to an accident but not 100% sure.


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## JogBike

Mhoang said:


> CXP22 are pretty low grade. Wheels are a couple grades lower than the stock bike they come with, so they're usually the first thing people switch out. For instance a Z4 comes with Mavic Ksyrium Equipes. A $3k bike with 400 dollar wheelsets. Good wheels but the bike's other components are a much higher grade. Easton's are about that same price range. You can find CXP22 for under 200 retail which is pretty cheap for a wheelset. Long story short, Easton EA50 are an upgrade from the CXP22.


Concur with Mhoang about the low quality of the OEM CXP22, especially with the stock 2011 Felt hubs. That's what came on my 2011 Z5. A $2000 bike with a $160-$200 wheelset. The wheels never did roll well compared to other similar level bikes I've had that had comparable level wheels. When I turn the front bearings by hand it feels like turning the dial on a combintion lock -- sort of "notchy".

A CXP22 wheelset weighs 2000+ grams. This past week I upgraded to a new wheelset that is lighter (almost 1 pound or 450 grams) and higher quality ($730 MSRP) and there is a vast difference.


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## sherlock

JogBike said:


> That's what came on my 2011 Z5. A $2000 bike with a $160-$200 wheelset.


That's every $2k bike—the bike wouldn't be $2k if it came with better wheels 

As I pointed out in the other thread, they're actually not bad compared to the other wheels going on a lot of $2k bikes.


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