I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

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Dan_Melb85
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I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dan_Melb85 » Tue Nov 21, 2017 8:19 am

Hey all,

I need help fast! I bought a Cervelo S3, and the Mavic Cosmic Elites that come with it haven't been recieveing the most acclaim in reviews. So I want to upgrade them. I want carbon aero wheels and I'm tossing between two:

Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon
Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40c (Can get a set for an excellent price at the moment)


I know everything there is to know about both wheels, as I've obsessively read all there is about both wheelsets. I LOVE the look of the Mavic, and ususally they're nearly a grand dearer than the Fulcrums but they have recieved lukewarm reviews no matter where you look. No one hates them, but evryone makes a point about how they don't love them (usually citing the price per weight figure 1545g)

The Fulcrums review well, with the general consensus being that they're a great all rounder and excellent value. At the moment I can get the Cosmics for less than a couple of hundy more....

Im tearing my hair out here!! This is such a hard decision. What would you do?
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- 2016 Cervélo S3 Ultegra Di2

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RonK
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby RonK » Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:26 am

So the assessment is that the Fulcrum are a better wheel and cost less. The decision is obvious.

Seems you are more interested in the look than the performance. But you will be able to admire your reflection in shop windows as you pass. Just like Bike Snob :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Dave_C
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dave_C » Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:00 am

I run some Swissside Hardrons (625) on my 2015 S3. Look good / sound good / and great on decents
Dave

eeksll
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby eeksll » Tue Nov 21, 2017 10:01 am

where are you sourcing the mavic's? I thought thats one of those geo-blocked brands as in large overseas retailers don't send them here.

what that means is, what you think is a good deal for the mavic is probably just a big reduction on their overpriced geo-blocked RRP !

screw mavic, get the fulcrums.

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Dan_Melb85
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dan_Melb85 » Tue Nov 21, 2017 12:36 pm

eeksll wrote:where are you sourcing the mavic's? I thought thats one of those geo-blocked brands as in large overseas retailers don't send them here.

what that means is, what you think is a good deal for the mavic is probably just a big reduction on their overpriced geo-blocked RRP !

screw mavic, get the fulcrums.
There’s a special on them at the moment on Pushys. I believe it’s Aussie stock too.
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rodneycc
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby rodneycc » Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:26 pm

Those Zipps from Flex in the Marketplace section were a decent buy if they are still avail from a month or so ago....

http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 25&t=96014
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eeksll
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby eeksll » Tue Nov 21, 2017 9:40 pm

looking on pushys the mavic seem to be the narrower rim type (ETRTO size: 622x13C) assuming thats the one your looking at.

if your into the wider bigger tyre theory, get the wide quattro rims 8)

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queequeg
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby queequeg » Wed Nov 22, 2017 12:09 am

Forget both options and have a look at Caden Carbon Wheels. Fantastic wheels at a fraction of the cost of Zipps, but still with all the performance (and looks).
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

fat and old
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby fat and old » Wed Nov 22, 2017 6:29 am

Nothing wrong with wanting the wheels to look good. I'll bet that most of the naysayers have alloy's on their car :wink: :lol: Only downside I found was having wildy expensive fancy wheels made me worry about where/how I was riding. So off they came.

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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Wed Nov 22, 2017 1:46 pm

Dan_Melb85 wrote:Hey all,

I need help fast! I bought a Cervelo S3, and the Mavic Cosmic Elites that come with it haven't been recieveing the most acclaim in reviews. So I want to upgrade them. I want carbon aero wheels and I'm tossing between two:

Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon
Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40c (Can get a set for an excellent price at the moment)


I know everything there is to know about both wheels, as I've obsessively read all there is about both wheelsets. I LOVE the look of the Mavic, and ususally they're nearly a grand dearer than the Fulcrums but they have recieved lukewarm reviews no matter where you look. No one hates them, but evryone makes a point about how they don't love them (usually citing the price per weight figure 1545g)

The Fulcrums review well, with the general consensus being that they're a great all rounder and excellent value. At the moment I can get the Cosmics for less than a couple of hundy more....

Im tearing my hair out here!! This is such a hard decision. What would you do?
There's an alternative. You could go and see the guys at BikePro in Burwood (near corner Burwood Rd and Warrigal) as they do a range of custom wheels. I have a set of their Aero38s on a restomod Peugeot which are amazing, especially for the money. They do alloy/carbon/clincher/tubeless etc.

http://bikepro.com.au/bikepro-custom-carbon-clincher
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Dan_Melb85
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dan_Melb85 » Fri Nov 24, 2017 5:45 pm

Guys, thanks for your enlightening replies. Due to the advice bestowed upon me here, I am actually off the idea of both Mavic and Fulcrum now, and am tossing up between the Zipp wheels (cheers RodneyCC) and the Caden wheels mentioned by Queeg, which I must say have impressed me to no end.

The idea of such a fantastic carbon wheel hand made right here in Australia by one guy (who I spoke to today - nice guy), with such a fantastic wheelset weight per dollar ratio is hard to pass up. Very much looking like I may head in this direction. For a Cervelo S3 I was thinking perhaps a 49mm front and 59mm rear wheel (feel free to discuss or tell suggest otherwise). Circa 1430g as opposed to the 1770g of the Alu Mavic Cosmics on the bike now - BIG difference!

Also most importantly, they look good! :lol:
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foo on patrol
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby foo on patrol » Sat Nov 25, 2017 8:51 pm

Do you race? :?

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Dan_Melb85
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dan_Melb85 » Sun Nov 26, 2017 7:49 pm

foo on patrol wrote:Do you race? :?

Foo
Nah, but you'd give me a 10 for enthusiasm.
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby trailgumby » Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:08 pm

Something to be aware of with deep section rims is crosswind handling. Gusty swirling crosswinds can be quite alarming to ride in with deep section wheels.

The top end speed is awesome in still air. Fighting bike to stay upright in gusty turbulence not so much.

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g-boaf
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby g-boaf » Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:56 pm

Dan_Melb85 wrote:Hey all,

I need help fast! I bought a Cervelo S3, and the Mavic Cosmic Elites that come with it haven't been recieveing the most acclaim in reviews. So I want to upgrade them. I want carbon aero wheels and I'm tossing between two:

Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon
Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40c (Can get a set for an excellent price at the moment)


I know everything there is to know about both wheels, as I've obsessively read all there is about both wheelsets. I LOVE the look of the Mavic, and ususally they're nearly a grand dearer than the Fulcrums but they have recieved lukewarm reviews no matter where you look. No one hates them, but evryone makes a point about how they don't love them (usually citing the price per weight figure 1545g)

The Fulcrums review well, with the general consensus being that they're a great all rounder and excellent value. At the moment I can get the Cosmics for less than a couple of hundy more....

Im tearing my hair out here!! This is such a hard decision. What would you do?
Just get some decent alloy wheels that are lighter than that 1545g. Never mind aero, just work on getting faster, getting more flexible (better position on the bike) and ride away from people.

The aero wheels will make it harder to handle the bike in gusty turbulent conditions. You can still manage it, but it'll make your ride more interesting.

I have a few different bikes. Two of them with alloy wheels, one with some 1130g carbon clinchers (24mm) and a TT bike on 50mm/65mm carbon wheel combo. I can and have swapped the deep carbon wheels onto the road bike and they do help at high speed, yes, but there are tradeoffs.

Haven't done that swap recently, might have to do so.

If you are doing lots of riding day after day and cannot afford to have problems with the wheels, then go conservative and get a really solid tough set of wheels.

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Dan_Melb85
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dan_Melb85 » Fri Dec 01, 2017 11:42 am

g-boaf wrote:
Dan_Melb85 wrote:Hey all,

I need help fast! I bought a Cervelo S3, and the Mavic Cosmic Elites that come with it haven't been recieveing the most acclaim in reviews. So I want to upgrade them. I want carbon aero wheels and I'm tossing between two:

Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon
Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40c (Can get a set for an excellent price at the moment)


I know everything there is to know about both wheels, as I've obsessively read all there is about both wheelsets. I LOVE the look of the Mavic, and ususally they're nearly a grand dearer than the Fulcrums but they have recieved lukewarm reviews no matter where you look. No one hates them, but evryone makes a point about how they don't love them (usually citing the price per weight figure 1545g)

The Fulcrums review well, with the general consensus being that they're a great all rounder and excellent value. At the moment I can get the Cosmics for less than a couple of hundy more....

Im tearing my hair out here!! This is such a hard decision. What would you do?
Just get some decent alloy wheels that are lighter than that 1545g. Never mind aero, just work on getting faster, getting more flexible (better position on the bike) and ride away from people.

The aero wheels will make it harder to handle the bike in gusty turbulent conditions. You can still manage it, but it'll make your ride more interesting.

I have a few different bikes. Two of them with alloy wheels, one with some 1130g carbon clinchers (24mm) and a TT bike on 50mm/65mm carbon wheel combo. I can and have swapped the deep carbon wheels onto the road bike and they do help at high speed, yes, but there are tradeoffs.

Haven't done that swap recently, might have to do so.

If you are doing lots of riding day after day and cannot afford to have problems with the wheels, then go conservative and get a really solid tough set of wheels.
Cheers G-boaf (hey I’m an aviation fan also!)

Also thanks all for the recommendations, I’m sure down the track when it comes time to switch wheels for different purposes etc this will all come in handy. Specifically if the bike becomes more than a weekend warrior (I’m a builder and tow trailers everywhere so commuting sadly is out always for me)

After the recommendation here, I have ordered a set of Caden Carbon wheels. I couldn’t go past the combination of low weight, bespoke style, and the fact that they are designed developed, and built right here in au by such a passionate bloke at such a fair price and to me, that deserves to be supported.
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby foo on patrol » Fri Dec 01, 2017 10:52 pm

I just picked up a set of 30mm Mercury Carbon Singles today. Got them for $600 reduced from $2300. Bargain. :mrgreen:

I asked for an unbiased answer on........how they compare against Dura-ace and Zipp hubs. He said that they have riders that have Zipp wheels and prefer to use the Mercury wheels but the they are in the same ball park for smoothness. :wink:

https://www.craftworxcycling.com/

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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby queequeg » Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:41 am

Dan_Melb85 wrote:
Cheers G-boaf (hey I’m an aviation fan also!)

Also thanks all for the recommendations, I’m sure down the track when it comes time to switch wheels for different purposes etc this will all come in handy. Specifically if the bike becomes more than a weekend warrior (I’m a builder and tow trailers everywhere so commuting sadly is out always for me)

After the recommendation here, I have ordered a set of Caden Carbon wheels. I couldn’t go past the combination of low weight, bespoke style, and the fact that they are designed developed, and built right here in au by such a passionate bloke at such a fair price and to me, that deserves to be supported.
You won’t be disappointed with them. I had the 60mm 2016 wheels on my Cervelo S5, which I sold earlier this year. They were amazing wheels. I sold them to one of the guys in my local club, as I am off the bike injured at the moment.
I’ve been eyeing off the 38mm wheels to replace them to use on my Cervelo R5...just waiting till I am back on the bike!

It’s pretty good that Ben lets you transfer the warranty to a new owner. Not too many brands do that!
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

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foo on patrol
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby foo on patrol » Sat Dec 02, 2017 2:39 pm

Got me a set of Mercury 30mm CF singles yesterday from Craftworx for $600, reduced from RRP of $2390, bargain. 8) :D

https://www.craftworxcycling.com/

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

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Dan_Melb85
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Dan_Melb85 » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:34 pm

Cheers for the assistance all.

Received them this week. Learned how to swap cassettes and mount them myself, so here they be.

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foo on patrol
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby foo on patrol » Fri Dec 08, 2017 7:30 pm

They have a good wrap on the grapevine, enjoy them. 8)

Foo
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CKinnard
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby CKinnard » Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:39 pm

Just had a look at Caden's website.
They say the wheels are Australian "built".
Being older, I am going to presume that means the rims are constructed to spec in China, and the wheels assembled/built in Oz.

M2CW re deep sections....
cheaper means hub quality is compromised, and rims are sourced from China.

In saying that,
- Zipp hubs are rubbish.
- Caden wheel weight seems very light.

I'll be interested to see how long they last - both brake track and hub.

The wheel industry is incredibly competitive. I used to think Sapim spokes were the best quality, but they've been guilty of cutting quality to compete on price.

As I get older, I realize how competition combined with dubious ethics, is not good for your health.
And as for selecting bike gear based on looks, I'd suggest working on your personality and real world achievements more so.
One's face speaks louder than bike bling, especially after 40.

eeksll
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby eeksll » Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:38 pm

very shiny Dan_Melb85 8)

Rex
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby Rex » Fri Mar 02, 2018 12:13 pm

So how are the Caden wheels going?

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ColinOldnCranky
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Re: I am agonising about a damned wheel upgrade!! Help please??

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:22 pm

Dan_Melb85 wrote:Hey all,

I need help fast! I bought a Cervelo S3, and the Mavic Cosmic Elites that come with it haven't been recieveing the most acclaim in reviews. So I want to upgrade them. I want carbon aero wheels and I'm tossing between two:
Reviews are a good place to go if it is impractical to assess the product yourself AND you are in the market to get one. If you have your product already and it is performing with no issues then there is no need to be in the market and so need to refer to reviews.

So I'm wondering why you are wanting to replace them? Because someone else reviewed them less favourably than your rims? It's only causing you to "agonise" while, as far as your OP implies, you have no issue with what you have.

Before agonising any further ask yourself "Without those reviews would you be happy with your existing rims?" :)

I recall when I was a hard hifi afficionada that Gale speakers wre all the rage. Every reviewer waxed lyrical of them, to the heavens and beyond regardless of what they matched them with and of the listening environment (a major factor on dceing hi-fi equipment).

And so it continued and well heeled hi-fi nuts lined up to buy them. UNTIL a reviewer went against the mob and declared that, under HIS listening conditions and test setup, the emporor may not have any clothes. THEN the reviewers became less laudatory and users became a little more selective.

I can set up a gofundme retirement page for myself if you want to spend your heard earned dollars. :lol:

(Pls don't think me being deliberately antagonistic as I don't know one rim form another and I don't have a need to replace gear. And maybe there is a well deserved bad rap for your existing rims that you have not stated. But on what you did state I can't see the logic of replacing the existing rims or of losing sleep over doing so.)
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