Upgrading my road wheelset: is it worth it/ when is time?
eabernst
Posts: 29 Member
I basically posted this same question on the tri forum and got less than useful responses (I think). I'm not really interested in racing wheels, just wondering about if it makes sense to upgrade to nicer road wheels. I'm not going to invest in a tri bike any time soon, or any "race specific" gear. Because I do a lot of riding that is not triathlon/tri training, I would like something versatile.
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Several years ago, after my first tri, I upgraded my mid 80s Trek roadie to a new-to-me 2007 Felt F55. I've ridden it in 3 tris since, several centuries, and gone on plenty of long training rides. Anyway, the Felt is great and I love it (and so much more amazing then my Trek)! But I'm wondering if I would love it more if I upgraded the wheelset (I've upgraded the saddle and the components are already pretty sweet).
The Felt came stock with Mavic Aksiums, which I've read aren't the greatest. That said, I've had no problems with them whatsoever-they've held their true, no broken spokes, etc. I'm a pretty small person, so I don't think I'm particularly taxing them. That also said, I do a fair amount of my training on the old Trek due to job and riding before/after work and not wanting to lock up my nice bike all day while I'm at work/crappy weather much of the year here in Chicago.
I'm planning on probably 3 tris (2 oly, 1 sprint) this coming summer, and a century in the fall. In 2015 I hope to get to a half ironman. This is in addition to long rides on the weekends and sometimes a zip along the lakefront before/after work (though usually the before/after work rides won't be on my roadie due to issues leaving it locked up while I'm working).
Anyway, as I try to strategically plan out my gear purchases, I thought I'd throw it out there: is it worth it to upgrade wheelsets? On a 6 year old bike? Will I notice a difference? Or maybe how much might I have to spend to notice a difference? Do you have any recommendations or places to start research? I frequently feel intimidated at my racing oriented LBS so before I even talk to them I want to know the basics first.
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Several years ago, after my first tri, I upgraded my mid 80s Trek roadie to a new-to-me 2007 Felt F55. I've ridden it in 3 tris since, several centuries, and gone on plenty of long training rides. Anyway, the Felt is great and I love it (and so much more amazing then my Trek)! But I'm wondering if I would love it more if I upgraded the wheelset (I've upgraded the saddle and the components are already pretty sweet).
The Felt came stock with Mavic Aksiums, which I've read aren't the greatest. That said, I've had no problems with them whatsoever-they've held their true, no broken spokes, etc. I'm a pretty small person, so I don't think I'm particularly taxing them. That also said, I do a fair amount of my training on the old Trek due to job and riding before/after work and not wanting to lock up my nice bike all day while I'm at work/crappy weather much of the year here in Chicago.
I'm planning on probably 3 tris (2 oly, 1 sprint) this coming summer, and a century in the fall. In 2015 I hope to get to a half ironman. This is in addition to long rides on the weekends and sometimes a zip along the lakefront before/after work (though usually the before/after work rides won't be on my roadie due to issues leaving it locked up while I'm working).
Anyway, as I try to strategically plan out my gear purchases, I thought I'd throw it out there: is it worth it to upgrade wheelsets? On a 6 year old bike? Will I notice a difference? Or maybe how much might I have to spend to notice a difference? Do you have any recommendations or places to start research? I frequently feel intimidated at my racing oriented LBS so before I even talk to them I want to know the basics first.
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Replies
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I'm not an expert (not a racer) but I looked into another wheelset like you. There is relatively little benefit in upgrading wheelsets compared to the rest of the bike or your gear. The only exception is an entirely dysfunctional wheelset or the rest of your bike/gear and form is heavily upgraded and optimized. While it is true that reducing drag yields the best gains over 13-14 mph you will find that cheaper, even free, upgrades will yield more benefit.
Believe it or not, your helmet creates significantly more drag than your wheels. Do you have an aero helmet? This will reduce drag by a factor of around 4 times as much as a top end aero set - at about 1/10 to 1/20 of the cost. Your helmet is a small parachute strapped to your skull. Your skull is attached to the biggest parachute of all, your torso (form). Tweak your position on your bike.
Are you wearing gloves? Going gloveless (free) will reduce drag more than a front wheel aero upgrade. You can buy the "aero" gloves ($$) out there as I wouldn't ride without gloves. Still, cheaper than a wheel. Another freebie upgrade is taping your numbers down. The list goes on.
Some people have tried to independently quantify the actual time advantage on aero wheels (which is how we learned that the rest of our gear makes more of a difference). Try this for instance www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1099
I hope this is more help!0 -
Time for a new bike!0
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What exactly do you want to know? You got several responses in the other thread... Is there something specific you want to hear?
Is there a benefit to better wheels? Yes. How significant is it? Almost impossible to say as there are soo many variables.
Are you part of a local cycling club? Perhaps someone would let you demo their set and you can see if there is any noticeable difference. Some shops will rent or demo wheels as well... have you checked with your local shops ?0 -
Another giant disadvantage to aero wheels are side winds. I doubt that you would find your lakeside rides as pleasant.
The biggest gain you would make with a new wheelset would be weight. The weight comes off where it makes the most difference---rims and tires. About the only place you would notice any gains would be in acceleration from stops and climbing hills. It's not a lot and it's an expensive bit of help.
Since you aren't having problems with your current wheelset you might look at your tires to see if you can save weight with a different set. It's cheaper and the performance gains would be the same as lighter wheels.0 -
Some shops will rent or demo wheels as well... have you checked with your local shops?
Around here it's the shops that cater a lot to tri-bike riders that rent race wheels.0 -
I was mostly hoping to get a better understanding of what upgrading my wheelset could do if that would be a meaningful upgrade. Changing my wheels would pretty much be the only upgrade I could _possibly_ do on this bike. I thought I made it clear that these wheels are going on a road bike and not a tri bike, and wouldn't only be used for racing. Would new wheels be zippier? handle better? Last longer (even though I've had no problems so far)? Or would I just not notice the difference and I'm better off saving my money for a new bike.
I had been thinking along the lines of purchasing Ksyriums (or something similar) to replace the aksiums. I wasn't even considering racing discs or anything like that. I also am not really willing to spend more than I did on the bike in the first place (about 1K). I feel that if I'm going to spend more then I should just go ahead and get a new bike.
Although the answers have been pretty surprising to me, it sounds like everyone pretty much thinks that wheel upgrade isn't worth it and I should save up for something else.0 -
Though it is probably time for new tires! I've been riding the Vittoria Rubino Slicks that came with the bike when I got it fall 2008. Have put on 1000s of miles on them (I've only had the luck to enjoy one flat that I can remember, too....) but that is an easy change!0
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Better wheels could be any combination of lighter, stiffer, more aero, and/or faster rolling (depending on hubs).
But it's almost impossible to say if or how noticeable those improvement might be.0
