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Everyday + Racing Wheels?

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
So it looks like I'm going to need some new wheels relatively soon. This is my first year racing and I will be doing collegiate and USAC races, hoping to do decently and move on up the cats.

Anyways, I am stuck on what to do for wheels. I had thought about getting 2 sets of wheels (one for training, and one for racing), but if I can spend a little more on training wheels and get something race-worthy for the time being without spending a ton on carbon wheels I will probably crash on and break, that might be better. Plus the cost of carbon tubular wheels, 2 cassettes, etc. really adds up and might not make a difference for me at all since I am completely new to racing.

The new DA aluminum clinchers look like a pretty nice wheel package that should be aero-ish and worthy of training. Mavic Ksyriums aren't my favorite, and they are apparently not very aero at all (plus their freehub design kinda sucks). I guess the other option would be to lace up some Alchemy hubs or something like that onto a good aluminum rim, but I don't really know what's decent and what's not.

tl;dr any advice for aspiring racer on where to put $$ for wheels?
 

MtnbikeMike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2004
2,637
1
The 909
I wouldn't recommend using high-end wheels when you're moving through the ranks. Get something durable, like the DA clinchers, or Open Pro/DT RR 1.1 laced to the hubs of your choice.
 

maddog17

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2008
2,815
105
Methuen, Mass. U.S.A.
I wouldn't recommend using high-end wheels when you're moving through the ranks. Get something durable, like the DA clinchers, or Open Pro/DT RR 1.1 laced to the hubs of your choice.
+1

my wheelset that i used for training/racing were Mavic Open Pro 4 CD's with Ultegra hubs. 32 hole, 3 lace pattern. those wheels lasted me 15 yrs without any truing at all
 
I wouldn't recommend using high-end wheels when you're moving through the ranks. Get something durable, like the DA clinchers, or Open Pro/DT RR 1.1 laced to the hubs of your choice.
The DA C24 clinchers are rad and ride REALLY well for a clincher. That said, they're quite expensive. I'm slightly leery of the Scandium version, I've seen a couple dented rims. Might be a little on the soft side. Shimano's warranty is quite generous, but having your wheels out for a week kind of sucks.

I train on tubulars, for the most part. The ride is too good to pass up, and they're not much more difficult to deal with than a clincher, especially with a decent tire setup (mounting up some Vittoria Corsa Pave CG 24s tomorrow). If I could afford to, I'd keep my C24 tubs as training wheels, but I'm too poor to have two sets of carbon tubs. Most of the carbon tubulars available these days seem to be pretty durable, especially the offerings from Reynolds, Easton, and Shimano. Unless you regularly mow down curbs, I wouldn't worry about any offerings from those companies as everyday wheels.
 
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sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
It certainly depends on the roads you ride.

If you are a wheel beater, you will have to true the superlights regularly.

I think you can actually go the other way, which is to buy a cheap lightweight wheelset. You won't have great durability, but if you are doing a lot of crits, you won't pile up the miles.

And it is nice to have a wheel change if you need it.
 

-dustin

boring
Jun 10, 2002
7,155
1
austin
101s.

If you want cheap, Velocity A23s with hub of choice. This would be cheap enough to get 2 sets, which would be ideal, since they're wider than other rims (brake adjustment issue).
 

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,157
359
Roanoke, VA
What Dustin said.
One set on DA hubs with a fancy wheelbuild, one set on Ultegra hubs 32 hole 3x.
A pair of fast low mileage tires for racing, a pair of grippy tires for wet races and a pair of durable 25c tires for training.

There is a reason that everyone did this for 30 years and everyone who is Pre-Lance still does.
You could also go with Open Pro's and Reflexes for a Clincher/Tubular setup.

You need two decent wheelsets for racing.
Period.

I still ride my training wheels from '97. Sun cr17a TCC(ceramic, essential) rims 32*3x on Ultegra hubs.
Wheels don't win races.
 
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Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Thanks for the advice guys, definitely not gonna be looking into some fancy-pants plastic rims for a while.

I am intrigued by the idea of Reflexes as race wheels - still haven't weighed the pros/cons of tubulars yet but they interest me. For now I think I am going to build some nice training wheels and use them for a while until I decide if I want something lighter/more aero/more expensive for racing.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,864
4,164
Copenhagen, Denmark
Looks like a nice wheelset but more expensive than the DA C24. I got at pair of C24s at a killer price last year in the UK at 630 when the pound was really low but now they are just below 800.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
Been reading more on aero - seems like it's fairly important. Do these newfangled wide 'moar aero' rims (i.e. A23) actually do anything? Seems like if they do those might be a worthy rim choice, 1 for training, 1 for racing so I don't have to mess w/ brakes. Stans stuff looks interesting too, though the rims are maybe too light?

Seems like there are lots of good midrange options out there, makes decisions tough.