Best allround wheel solution?

[Roub]

First post, have done some searching but haven't uncovered much.

I'm looking for the best allrounder wheel, I don't want to save mygood wheels for events etc, just one wheelset to do the lot and be a premium wheelset I don't race crits or TT's etc but I do a fair amount of climbing and looking for a light wheelset and I guess a max of 40mm deep as aero is not a priority and I don't want them to be badly affected by crosswinds.

Reviews on just about everything uncover horror stories from some owners so its all a bit confusing what to go for. Narrowed it down to a few:

Mavic Ksyrium SLR
Zipp 202
DA 9000 C24
TWE custom carbons
Fulcrum Racing Zero Darks

Now I want the black stealth look and the C24's and Fulcrums come up short in this dept, but probably fit the bill everywhere else and I don't read any bad reviews anywhere on them, they just don't look the part.

SLR's I thought would be the go, but a lot of complaints about spoke avail and hub issues? Also strangley some reviews found them to be sluggish on climbs which is weird

Zipp 202's - well budget is a problem here, I want to be well under $2k, most reports on them are good, but one store said he'd never recommend as an everyday wheel? I ride some rougher roads so the smoothness of carbon is appealing and something the Racing Zeros are not known for

TWE - I didn't really want to go custom, but I know his work and seems reasonable, again they wont be the prettiest wheel out either

Thoughts?

[dontazame]

Depends. I ride in all weather on custom wheels. Rear rim lasts a year - which I replace myself.

[Roub]

Absolutely it depends - hence the scenarios I've painted above in respect to my conditions and riding types.

I guess looking for first hand experience for climbing wheels, with good durability as everyday wheels, but giving premium performance and reliability and ease of parts availability

[biker jk]

The Shimano WH-9000 C24s are probably the pick of the wheels you listed. Very light rim and excellent hubs. However, like all factory wheelsets the parts are very expensive if you ever need them. Try over $200 for a rim. So when you wear the rims out or damage them you have to buy a new wheelset. Since you mention climbing then what goes up must come down, and carbon rims don't brake anywhere near as well as alloy rims (and that's in the dry let alone the wet). Personally, I would invest in a custom wheel set using Shimano Dura Ace hubs and a wider rim (a few to choose from, HED, Pacenti), which should cost around $1,000.

[Xplora]

You either want the best wheel, or the prettiest wheel that works well. Can't have a performance requirement that is so rubbery.

Alloy isn't carbon.
Stealth isn't synonymous with quality (in fact, I'd argue that it implies Chinese crap for some perceptions)
Custom will be better.
Tubs are much lighter than clinchers.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Personally, if I had 2K to spend on wheels, I'd get a no profile pair for training, with an alloy brake track carbon 35 and 50/60 front, and same 50/60 rear. Windy days mean the 35. I rode in 30kmh winds with the 50/50 Bontrager combo and spent the day fearing the gusts.

Are you racing at all? If not, save your pennies. If you are racing, get a tubular 25mm pair. Done.

Feels like you are not committing to a kind of wheel, beyond "standard factory wheel".

[Pedaling]

I just bought American classics 420's, seem strong, light and are an aero alloy rim, so no issues with braking.
I have found better tyres are a bigger performance gain than wheels though.
Greg at TWE warrants his wheels, so that is also something to consider. I have also found him to be very honest, and he knows his stuff.
Good luck.

Darrin.

[Roub]

Thanks all - I know its a bit of a rubbery spec list, its not ideal to have aesthetics as part of your charter for wheels, but If I'm dropping $1k to$1500 on a set they better look the part (not $2k as suggested above - the Zipps are up there and why they are out of the equation)

DA C24's are the sensible choice purely for performance - no I'm not road racing, mainly a fitness (am 75kgs) thing to supplement MTB racing (hence I climb a fair bit), But I do a fair amount of road kms these days and looking for more performance from the wheels (currently on Fulcrum Quattros), also why aero is not a huge priority for me

Have a big road event in March and is 1500kms with 20ks of climbing, a good wheelset is high on my agenda.

Took a look at SLR's - they really are my favourite wheel - the price and google reports on weightweenies of various reliability concerns (TraComp spoke breakages and Exalith coating wear) are my only issues holding me back at this stage

[AndrewCowley]

Any recommendation for a good all-around wheelset? It's going on a 130mm rim brake bike. Tubeless is cool but I don't have the cash for a road and offroad set.

What do you mean by 130mm rim brake bike?

Anyhow, it seems you are on rim brakes. I'd look at Fulcrum Racing 3's. You can get them for $700-$800. They are a few steps above entry level without breaking the bank. They have been around for years too.

[trailgumby]

What do you mean by 130mm rim brake bike?

Anyhow, it seems you are on rim brakes. I'd look at Fulcrum Racing 3's. You can get them for $700-$800. They are a few steps above entry level without breaking the bank. They have been around for years too.

'
130mm is the rear axle standard for rim braked road bikes, which has morphed to 142mm for disc brakes with thru axles. MTB used to be 135mm with QR, which was also used on disc brakes road bikes with QR axles. From there MTB moved to 142mm and now 148mm.

Confused? Yeah, me too.

[MattyK]

Any recommendation for a good all-around wheelset? It's going on a 130mm rim brake bike. Tubeless is cool but I don't have the cash for a road and offroad set.

Still happy with my hand built BDOP #3 kit. Light, strong, cheap, wide, fairly aero. Would do again.

[mogwaiboi]

Farsports. I have a rim brake set and also disk brake, both 35mm with DT350. The rim braking tested better than Campy Bora as per below. They have been faultless, especially on the gravel bike where they have taken an absolute beating over rough terrain!

No GST as they marked the value as $110 USD, around $1200 delivered from memory.

https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 3&t=169591

[Thoglette]

Any recommendation for a good all-around wheelset? It's going on a 130mm rim brake bike. Tubeless is cool but I don't have the cash for a road and offroad set.

How fast do you ride? That is, are you doing TTs or pulling turns in a sporty group at +40kph? Or are you commuting & kerb jumping @30kph ? Or doing the odd bit of unsealed roads ?

And what width tyres are you planning to run?

At one end you want aero uber alles, at the other strength & wider rims. In either case getting a set hand made by someone who knows what they're doing is highly recommended.

[foo on patrol]

Farsports. I have a rim brake set and also disk brake, both 35mm with DT350. The rim braking tested better than Campy Bora as per below. They have been faultless, especially on the gravel bike where they have taken an absolute beating over rough terrain!

No GST as they marked the value as $110 USD, around $1200 delivered from memory.

https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 3&t=169591

Farsports have a good reputation, without the mind blowing price tag.

Foo

[Retrobyte]

Farsports have a good reputation, without the mind blowing price tag.

Foo

I've had my Farsports rim brake wheelset on my roadie for a year now and no complaints. Still spin true and the brake track is unmarked.

[foo on patrol]

Farsports have a good reputation, without the mind blowing price tag.

Foo

I've had my Farsports rim brake wheelset on my roadie for a year now and no complaints. Still spin true and the brake track is unmarked.

I have a set of tubulars as also. I'm no light weight and they are straight as a die also.

Foo

[Mububban]

First post, have done some searching but haven't uncovered much.

I'm looking for the best allrounder wheel, I don't want to save mygood wheels for events etc, just one wheelset to do the lot and be a premium wheelset I don't race crits or TT's etc but I do a fair amount of climbing and looking for a light wheelset and I guess a max of 40mm deep as aero is not a priority and I don't want them to be badly affected by crosswinds.

I bought some Prime RP-38s carbons maybe 4-5 years ago, they've been faultless. AUD$785 currently, listed as 1680g for the pair (disc) but they also come in rim brake ($845, 1520g).
Commuting, weekend group rides, long hilly sportives - no problem. Comes with spare spokes and adapters.

https://www.this link is broken.au/prime-rr-38-v ... c-wheelset

[warthog1]

I've got some Prime RR50 v3 rim brake goers that are excellent.
No probs at all in sidewinds. I don't notice any steering probs.
Done well over 10k km on em.

The original post in this thread was 2013.
I am guessing it is sorted now.

[Duck!]

I think the thread is old & dead enough now to suggest that the best all-round wheels are in fact round ones.....

[timbo]

I think the thread is old & dead enough now to suggest that the best all-round wheels are in fact round ones.....

I'm with you. Stick with what you have for rims, and perhaps concentrate on better tyres. You could also pedal a bit harder.

[P!N20]

I think the thread is old & dead enough now to suggest that the best all-round wheels are in fact round ones.....

Thankfully Biopace wheels never really took off.