deciding on a wheelset

[PJ McQuade]

Hey all,

I'm looking to upgrade to a better road wheelset this winter. My budget is $1000 max. I plan to use them on race day only with road race terrain in mind; rollers,climbs,etc. Does any one have any suggestions? There's a lot out there and I'd like some feeback before deciding. Right now I'm leaning toward Rolf Prima's Vigor. What do y'all think?

PJ

[RPerson]

Ksyrium SL's... end of story.

Be careful that you're not paying extra for bling that gets you nowhere. Even SL's are a bit of price for marketing, but they are damn nice.

Another piece of advice is if you're not sure, go to Landry's and either talk to Mark in Natick or Allison (or Russ) in Westboro... they'll do you right and probably let you test a bunch too. Good luck.

[PJ McQuade]

Looks like I'm gonna have to demo the SLs.

Right now I ride Bontrager Race Lite. They'll be good for training.

[michaelcole]

There are lighter wheels than the Ksyrium but not by much unless you double the cost.

Of all those light wheels out there, how many of them besides the ksyrium do you see getting regular use in cyclocross?

The ksyrium is a bombproof wheel. I know there are a few people out there who have managed to pop a spoke or something but those stories are pretty rare. And there are a ton of people out there riding the ksyrium.

[Mark Longwell]

Agreed- Mavic Kysrium are the wheels of choice- I use them on my Colnago- basically bomb proof......

[michaelcole]

PJ (et al),

This deal is unbeatable unless you are a major weight weenie and need super light stuff.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/MAVCBST6

There's a newer version that's a couple hundreds grams lighter for the whole wheelset but these silver edition SL's from last year are still pretty sweet and less than half of your budgeted allowance right now. Even shipping is free through tonight.

[scott_sweeney]

Depending on how you ride, you can get Neuvation SL 3's for really, really cheap too. I used them for cross this year and they were fine. About the same weight as Ksryium SL's. I'm pretty light though (about 155 lbs) and don't tend to destroy wheels. My .02

[Bruce]

Hey PJ, how about your cross rce director searching out wheel deals for you? Unbelievable. What a find.

Buy the Ksyriums and pay for rounds at the next club party and you'll still have plenty left over to buy my Tacx Power trainer (see classifieds). Forget the wheels -- training with power will make you a lot faster

[PJ McQuade]

I know, Cole's a helluva guy! I appreciate all the help.

Sales pitch for the classified eh? If I didn't own the Rambo collection I'd be game, but I get all the power I need watching old school Stallone annihilate the enemy.

[Cort Cramer]

PJ (et al),

This deal is unbeatable unless you are a major weight weenie and need super light stuff.

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/MAVCBST6

There's a newer version that's a couple hundreds grams lighter for the whole wheelset but these silver edition SL's from last year are still pretty sweet and less than half of your budgeted allowance right now. Even shipping is free through tonight.

I picked them up at competitivecyclist for the same price...I would go with the tubulars, if they are going to be race-only, unless clinchers are the only option.

[reeegan]

I was looking on roadbikereview at the reviews of the Ksyrium ES (last years version of the SL). A lot of people complain about breaking spokes. Do I really need to worry about this? Based on this thread more people describe these wheels as bomb proof. It seems like the people who were complaining on roadbikereview were considerably heavier then I am and I would guess that people who have problems with the review are more likely to post to complain then someone who loves the wheel set.

-Andrew