# Any recommendations on road bike wheelset for Hill Country?



## RonanRYS

I'm over 50 and live in San Antonio. I've done the Shiner GASP, MS 150, Hotter-N-Hell, etc. and am a recreational rider.

While I'm no speed demon I admit I harbor a desire to ride faster. My bike is an '09 S-Works Roubaix with Mavic Krysrium wheels and am interested in getting lighter, faster rolling wheels. 

Any recommendations?


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## blueapplepaste

I just got my wife a set of RS80s and she loves them. She swears getting up the hills has never been easier. We just did the shiner gasp and she cruised up all those hills no problem.


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## blueapplepaste

To add: got them from Merlin cycles in the UK shipped to the US. Best price I have found.


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## tlg

RonanRYS said:


> I harbor a desire to ride faster.
> 
> Any recommendations?


You can't buy speed. If you want to ride faster, then ride more and ride harder.

How much lighter wheels do you want, and how much faster do you think they'll make you?


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## tlg

blueapplepaste said:


> I just got my wife a set of RS80s and she loves them. She swears getting up the hills has never been easier. We just did the shiner gasp and she cruised up all those hills no problem.


 Your wife might have a touch of placeboitus.


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## Creakyknees

tlg said:


> You can't buy speed.


Incorrect.

Ksyriums are boat anchors. Anything carbon will feel dramatically lighter and likely be a cog faster at cruising speeds... example: if you typically roll along at 18 on level ground, you'll be at 19-20 with some nice 404's or similar. 

Also be sure to get high quality tires, 25's are shown to be a bit faster and more comfy than 23's. 

The ENVE brand is getting really good reviews from the racers around here who buy their own equipment.


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## mjduct

I disagree... At casual speeds you can buy comfort and you can buy confidence, but aero won't help much. Kyseriums are good wheels, carbon isn't for everyone. You would probably be well served by going into your local shop and getting a custom built aluminum wheels with some nice hubs that are laced with an appropriate amount of spokes/ tension.


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## MerlinAma

I'm older and have ridden 25 plus years. Also from Texas and have ridden in the Hill Country, done the BP MS150 etc. 
Also ride in NM and Colorado quite a bit.
I've had great luck with DT Swiss hubs and rims. The hubs are easily rebuilt as I learned when converting 10 speed to 11 speed. Overall you can get a relatively light bulletproof set of wheels.
I get mine from Excel Sports. I can select # of spokes and rims to match my weight. 
The other great thing is this is not a wheel "system" meaning any bike shop should be able to fix a broken spoke or replace a rim in the event you crash. 
No ordering special spokes etc and waiting who knows how long to get it fixed. Or being out of town and totally out of luck.


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## anotherguy

Creakyknees said:


> The ENVE brand is getting really good reviews from the racers around here who buy their own equipment.


I have a set of the cyclops G3 ENVE wheels, ride them pretty much every day on Dallas city streets and haven't had a problem as a 200# 6'1" rider who occasionally bunny hops potholes. They are light, fast, accelerate quickly and have been pretty bomb proof for me. Peaks coaching just had a great deal on them too. Like $1700 or something crazy.


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## Slartibartfast

My humble opinion: Zipp 303s or 404s with Vittoria Pave EVO CG 700 x 25 tubulars.


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## Durt

What do you all consider as "light" in terms of grams? I always thought Ksyriums were considered light strong wheels but Creak is calling them anchors. What is light? Where is the line between light and fragile?

I was seeing carbon wheels at 1754 grams for a whopping $2000. Then you see aluminum Neuvations at 1510 grams for $250. I bought the Neuavation R28SL and have been riding gravel roads for six months with no issues. (I weigh 170ish)

With the performance and weight of these wheels, I just can't see why anyone would drop so much cash on carbon. Are they THAT much better?


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## mjduct

Durt said:


> With the performance and weight of these wheels, I just can't see why anyone would drop so much cash on carbon. Are they THAT much better?


depends on who you are, what you do, and how you evaluate things...

Does it matter to you if your wheels are under pro riders? does it matter that they have the pinnacle of materials, research, and testing behind them to push the envelope of what is possible on a bike?

or does it just need to spin when you push on the pedals and stop when you squeeze the brake?

a new set of handmade in Germany all carbon lightweights can run you 5K+

Are they 20 times better than your thrown together with parts from the lowest bidder in China Neuvations? 

Probably not.

I, like you think it's silly for someones out of the box answer to be "go get some zipps" everytime a wheel question is asked. Especially when you pair it with a 25mm tire that totally throws off the aerodynamic advantage of those wide wheels by adding in the balloon shape back tire back into the equation (laminar airflow anyone?) I've ridden some 404 tubulars and they were the fastest, best handling, coolest sounding wheels I've ever ridden... Hands Down.

Do I own a pair? 

Nope!


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## Slartibartfast

The reason I recommended Zipps is because I do own a pair, and they're my favorite wheels. The reason I run 25s on them is because after a discussion with a tech at Zipp, we decided those would be the best tires for my weight and riding ability, and the type road surfaces I ride. His near-exact quote was, "Are you Fabian Cancellara? If not, run the tires most suited to your weight and the roads you ride on." (BTW, I think they're actually 24s.) 

In any case, the Zipps, like most carbon tubulars, offer a nice weight advantage in addition to aerodynamics. And the aero advantage is not totally screwed up by mounting tires wider than the 22s the rims were designed for. It's just a little screwed up. 

I have ridden Ksyriums, Mavic Helium tubulars, DuraAce aluminum clinchers, various American Classics, Rolf Vectors, Easton aluminum clinchers, and Velomax aluminum clinchers, in addition to the Zipps. I've ridden most of them a lot (though not raced them at all). I can honestly say the only ones I dislike are the Ksyriums. They are not just anchors, they are sails -- my least favorite wheel in a crosswind.

As for what is light, I consider 1500 grams per set to be light enough. I prefer the measured 1050 grams of my Zipp 303s though.


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## mjduct

interesting, they advertise those same tubulars that you claim are 1050 grams as 1255 grams:

Zipp - Speed Weaponry | Wheels | 303 Firecrest® Tubular

most manufacturers choose to err on the other side of the scale and never by ~20%

I despise most things mavic, but at the same time I am cautious to recommend Zipps, Lightweights, HED's, Campagnolo's or any other multi thousand dollar wheel to someone without riding with them and knowing that they could actually utilize some of the benefits they are paying for. When a competent wheelbuilder can sort all that out and probably build them something even better for their needs/skills for 1/3 the cost.


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## slitespd

In the words of the GREAT Eddy Merckx " Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades."


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## Slartibartfast

"interesting, they advertise those same tubulars that you claim are 1050 grams as 1255 grams"

"most manufacturers choose to err on the other side of the scale and never by ~20%"

Well, I think that's because at some point Zipp decided to further improve aerodynamics at the expense of weight. But I'm by no means sure, because once I bought my wheels I quit paying attention. Also, claimed weight might include skewers. My Zipps are 2007 models. A quick perusal of the Weight Weenies site will show that 1,050 grams is near the low end of actual measured weights for Zipp 303s. And actually I rounded up -- they really weigh 1,037 grams. BTW, my personal experience and that of everyone I know who rides Zipps is that the company NEVER exaggerates its weight claims.

And I agree that for most peoples' needs, including my own, a set of good custom wheels is a much better deal than a $2,000+ set of Zipps. I simply wanted the Zipps, and at the time I had a well-paying job and could afford them. In retirement, I'd probably go for the customs and never look back.


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## Cqcumber

Bicycle Wheel Warehouse Blackset Race, podium build with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. 1405g. Not for riders over 195lb. So take your weight into consideration.


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## Slartibartfast

Cqcumber said:


> Bicycle Wheel Warehouse Blackset Race, podium build with Sapim CX-Ray spokes. 1405g. Not for riders over 195lb. So take your weight into consideration.


Aluminum, I assume. Clinchers or tubulars? Man, that's light. Which rim and hubs?


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## Cqcumber

Blackset Race 13

here's link for all the specs and etc. I bought the Podium build when the 25% discount was still available. I ended up paying 440ish. It was such a steal.


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## cmg

Had a local shop build me a wheelset. Got rims, spokes and hubs. Chased a high spoke count light rim wheelset.


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## ms6073

RonanRYS said:


> My bike is an '09 S-Works Roubaix with Mavic Krysrium wheels and am interested in getting lighter, faster rolling wheels.


Used to be you had a choice - light, durable, cheap - pick two but that is not entirely true anymore. You can get very light (aka ~1048 grams) Enve 25 tubulars with DT Swiss 240 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes for something north of $2250, Zipp 303 tubulars at ~1225 grams for about the same dollars, or you could go with smething in between or even a set of custom wheels from one of the Chinese suppliers for ~1/3 the price of Easton, Enve, Reynolds, or Zipp (see the Ebay and Chinese Direct Carbon Wheel Thread 2.0 thread in the wheel forum.


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## bigV

ask this guy. he's in fredericksburg.

http://www.youngwheels.com/

bigV


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## Richard L

My Joe Young built-wheels have been trouble free for many years. They are touring wheels so light weight was not the number one requirement. Joe Young has moved to Granbury, Texas, somewhere near Dallas, Texas, I think. Don't know anything about this custom wheel builder in Fredericksburg, Texas,

RT WheelCraft | Premium Hand Built Custom Bicycle Wheels


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## David Loving

My favorite wheels are ROLs http://www.rolwheels.com


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