# Want To Upgrade My Current Stock Wheels



## ROAD&DIRT (Mar 27, 2009)

Ok am a complete noob when it comes to upgrading parts... I've been riding for about year now and I want to start with upgrading my stock Alex Race wheels for a lighter set.

by the way; I'm not looking to doing any racing either... I ride for recreation/health and few Metric centuries as well as a few full centuries a year. 

I have some names listed below to start doing my research but wanted to know if there are any other brands are out their I should be considering as well as what i should be looking for that makes these all different from each other?

I don't want carbon wheels either, not too comfortable with the whole carbon thing yet, sorry don't mean too upset anybody...


1) Mavic
2) ROL Wheels
3) Neuvation
4) Venus
5) Shimano Dura Ace
6) Williams

Thanks for any and or all your help and input :thumbsup:


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## Daren (Jul 25, 2008)

Of those, Neuvation and Williams have very personable customer service and will talk to you and make suggestions based on your riding style and goals


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## Tommy Walker (Aug 14, 2009)

The Shimano Dura Ace are carbon wheels; they have an aluminum braking surface. Take a look at the Shimano RS80's, they are similar to the Dura Ace, a little heavier, but are also carbon with an aluminum braking surface.

Lot's of good wheels out there, also look at the Hed Bastogne's or Ardenne's. A lot depends on your build, wat you are looking for and how much you want to pay.


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## js1221 (Aug 15, 2008)

Check out Bicycle Wheel Warehouse, they were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction when I wanted to replace my Alex wheelset.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

Why do you want lighter wheels? How much do your current wheels weigh? How much do you weigh? Are you willing to accept a wheel that flexes in order to get the lightness you desire? 

I have Neuvation M28 Aeros on both my road bikes. They're not especially light, but they are tough. I've told the stories before, but they're worth repeating-

I had a rim crack (probably due to the worst pothole I'd ever hit) and ended up with a de-tensioned drive side rear spoke- and the wheel hardly went out of true. I rode it two or three times thinking it just needed truing tweak. 

I had my derailleur sucked into the spokes, sheared off, and jammed between the frame and wheel. It dented the the frame, mangled a spoke, bent the hub, yet with three minutes of truing (no spoke change) the wheel was straight enough to ride. 

Contrast this to my Alex wheels- 32 spokes, 3 broken (one at a time), always so far out of true that I had to call for a ride. 

Remember, I'm talking about the M28 Aero, which is Neuvation's 'heavy duty' wheel. I doubt their light wheels would fair so well- not trashing them, just saying that heavier duty parts hold up a bit better in extreme situations.


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## wsgtri (Sep 14, 2009)

I've owned 2 sets of the Neuvation R28sl wheels ,one on my tt bike and the other on my road bike.Light weight (about1550) strong and are still true after 2 years,I put about 3k per year on my road bike. Neuvation is a really good value. I've been hearing good things about Soul wheels and I'm looking at trying a set of the S3.0sl's.


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## ROAD&DIRT (Mar 27, 2009)

California L33 said:


> Why do you want lighter wheels? How much do your current wheels weigh? How much do you weigh? Are you willing to accept a wheel that flexes in order to get the lightness you desire?
> 
> Contrast this to my Alex wheels- 32 spokes, 3 broken (one at a time), always so far out of true that I had to call for a ride.


I find my self being passed on down hill descents while coasting... and occasionally while coasting in the flats although I can hold my own in a group while pedaling. I been told by other riders it could be due to my wheels and inexpensive/lower quality bearings?

I weigh about 130lbs and I don't currently know the weight of wheels. I can't find anything posted on the internet or the manufactures web site, further more I can even find my wheel model on the thier site either. I'm assuming they where made specifically for SCOTT and the SPEEDSTER models.

So I was thinking if I'm going to replace my current wheels (Alex Race 24 Aero Profile with a 32 hole count Front / 32 Rear). I might as well look into lighter models with a better quality componets. As far as the felxing goes, I really haven't that about that, as I mentioned in to OP i'm a noob when comes to upgrading parts


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## cmg (Oct 27, 2004)

as another poster stated Bicycle wheel warehouse would be a good starting point. don't be lured by low spoke count wheels, they tend to have heavier rims. Low rim weight with more spokes will have more affect than bearings.


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## Andy69 (Jun 14, 2008)

Easton EA70


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

ROAD&DIRT said:


> I find my self being passed on down hill descents while coasting... and occasionally while coasting in the flats although I can hold my own in a group while pedaling. I been told by other riders it could be due to my wheels and inexpensive/lower quality bearings?


Tires can be a big factor here too.

I'd focus more on quality more than weight here. I roll MUCH better with my two new sets (on DA one Ultegra) and good tires than the cheapo stock wheels I had before. Yet neither of my new sets are lighter (or if they are not by much)


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## randyharris (Aug 27, 2009)

ROAD&DIRT said:


> I find my self being passed on down hill descents while coasting... and occasionally while coasting in the flats although I can hold my own in a group while pedaling. I been told by other riders it could be due to my wheels and inexpensive/lower quality bearings?
> 
> I weigh about 130lbs and I don't currently know the weight of wheels. I can't find anything posted on the internet or the manufactures web site, further more I can even find my wheel model on the thier site either. I'm assuming they where made specifically for SCOTT and the SPEEDSTER models.
> 
> So I was thinking if I'm going to replace my current wheels (Alex Race 24 Aero Profile with a 32 hole count Front / 32 Rear). I might as well look into lighter models with a better quality componets. As far as the felxing goes, I really haven't that about that, as I mentioned in to OP i'm a noob when comes to upgrading parts


At 130 you're pretty svelte - how heavy are the other guys you ride with? The bigger you are the faster you tend to go downhill in my experience - your slower descents could be a matter of rider weights.


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## ROAD&DIRT (Mar 27, 2009)

randyharris said:


> At 130 you're pretty svelte - how heavy are the other guys you ride with? The bigger you are the faster you tend to go downhill in my experience - your slower descents could be a matter of rider weights.


Yes, the other guys I ride with seem to be a few inches taller and I'm going to say about 20 to 20+ lbs heavier than I...


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## ROAD&DIRT (Mar 27, 2009)

Hank Stamper said:


> Tires can be a big factor here too.


I hadn't even put the tires in to the equation. I ride with the stock tire that came with bike as well (Hutchinson Equinox Wire / 700 x 23C Slicks) and I believe they are pretty low end tires


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

ROAD&DIRT said:


> Yes, the other guys I ride with seem to be a few inches taller and I'm going to say about 20 to 20+ lbs heavier than I...


Wheels to make you coast faster is a tall order. Better aerodynamics might help- deep rim, low count aero spokes- but I doubt it will help much. What are your descent speeds? The faster you go the more aerodynamics help. You could work on a better tuck, too, and try to grab a wheel on the way down. You may have to be happy that you've got 20 lbs. less to haul up the hills


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## ROAD&DIRT (Mar 27, 2009)

California L33 said:


> Better aerodynamics might help- deep rim, low count aero spokes- but I doubt it will help much. What are your descent speeds? The faster you go the more aerodynamics help. You could work on a better tuck, too, and try to grab a wheel on the way down. You may have to be happy that you've got 20 lbs. less to haul up the hills


Obviously depending on the down grade percentage and the length of the hill, but I can reach speeds between mid to upper 30's. My fastest descent was 42 miles per hour sitting in a crouched position on the edge of my saddle, chin just above my stem and arms tucked along side my chest/ribs and I was still past by a few riders.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

California L33 said:


> Wheels to make you coast faster is a tall order. Better aerodynamics might help- deep rim, low count aero spokes- but I doubt it will help much.


I don't know. You might be underestimating how crappy some of these 'came with the bike' wheels can be. I went from RS10's that came with my bike to wheels with DA hubs and the coasting difference was massive. Basically, in the past when people were coasting in front of me I'd still need to pedal a bit to stay with them. Now more often than not I need to use the breaks so I don't coast into them. Seriously, the difference coasting was huge going from crap stock wheels to something decent.
That being said I have no idea just how bad/good this guys stock wheels are so perhaps he doesn't have the low starting point it did.


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## Thom_Rides (May 22, 2009)

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


California L33 said:


> Why do you want lighter wheels? How much do your current wheels weigh? How much do you weigh? Are you willing to accept a wheel that flexes in order to get the lightness you desire?
> 
> I have Neuvation M28 Aeros on both my road bikes. They're not especially light, but they are tough. I've told the stories before, but they're worth repeating-
> 
> ...


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## Thom_Rides (May 22, 2009)

I started getting interested in getting lighter wheels & my son suggested I needed to start asking what I really wanted & why. I started rideing again 2-3 years ago & my son (been ridieing 10 years Cat 3 race) has been a great resource for me. I weigh 165 lbs & my first priority is lightness & 2nd is comfort (i'm 63yrs old) and ride for fun & fitness. So far my short list consists of Rolf Prima Elan(1295g) and Easton EA90 SLX(1395g) & HED Ardennes (1360g) with the Ardennes currently in 1st place given expected comfort . But still need to keep my eyes and options open to other choices.


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## MontyCrisco (Sep 21, 2008)

js1221 said:


> Check out Bicycle Wheel Warehouse, they were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction when I wanted to replace my Alex wheelset.


x2. For about $200, the Ultegra plus Open Pro combo is a steal. They are excellent for training and just fine for racing if you decided to get into that (at least, they're fast enough for slowpokes like me).


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

California L33 said:


> I had a rim crack (probably due to the worst pothole I'd ever hit) and ended up with a de-tensioned drive side rear spoke- and the wheel hardly went out of true. I rode it two or three times thinking it just needed truing tweak.
> 
> I had my derailleur sucked into the spokes, sheared off, and jammed between the frame and wheel. It dented the the frame, mangled a spoke, bent the hub, yet with three minutes of truing (no spoke change) the wheel was straight enough to ride.
> 
> ...


I don't understand how a story about two wheels failing miserably is worth mentioning. 
Wheels and hubs should never fail. That is a description of a dangerous accident waiting to happen.


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## ROAD&DIRT (Mar 27, 2009)

California L33 said:


> How much do your current wheels weigh?.


I checked with the manufacture, here was there responce....

"We provide SCOTT the rim-RACE24 only not complete wheel , sorry we only can provide you the rim's weight. The weight of RACE24 is 480g".


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