C5 Golfer Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 Which type of tires and or wheels do you prefer or have experience on road bikes? BTW my bike selection is down to a Serotta Concours or Legend with Ultegra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin A. Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Jeez...called out by name lol. I'm not that great of a road biker, but the wheels that came on my OCR are Xero's. I'm not too thrilled with them. From my mountain bike experience Mavic's are great, so I would assume that their road wheels would be great as well. I got to ride a pair of Zipp 404 Clydesdales and they were BY FAR the best wheel I've ever been on. They spun up super fast, and once they were up to speed, you could feel that the wheel wasn't taking much of your energy at all, they were just throwing it at the road. If you have a big pocketbook, Zipps are the way to go, IMHO. As for tires, these days, you really can't go wrong if you talk to someone at the shop. There's a tire for everyone, at every budget. My personal favorite is the Michelin Krylon (I think that's the name of them...), because they have an excellent combination of rolling resistance, wear, grip, and durability. As gimmicky as it sounds, the rubber is infused with carbon and in my experience they wear much better (maybe not because of it directly, but something is better about these tires) for it. I just bought a set of them for my father for christmas and he also loves them. I'd say that you're bike selection is great, and those two grouppos are very well matched. Some will yell that campy is better because it's more pro than shimano, but you really can't go wrong with either of them. If your budget allows, check these shifters out, I'm dying to try them: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=BUY_PRODUCT_STANDARD&PRODUCT.ID=3351&CATEGORY.ID=36&MODE=&TFC=TRUE they're the SRAM equivalent of Record or Dura-Ace, and with only 13 moving parts, they've gotta be reliable. K.I.S.S. all the way. SRAM also makes them in a Rival model, which is on par with Chorus or Legend. No matter what, you're looking at a hell of a bike and I'm jealous . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Al, had to chime in here uninvited. :D I've been riding Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL's for a few years now. About 1500 g for the pair. Spin up fast, fairly aero (but don't suck in a cross wind), and near bomb-proof. I regularly jump RR tracks with em, and in three years and 15000 K they have never needed truing. They cost a bit, but mount them with some Continental GP Attack/Force tires and some light tubes and you'll have a nice ride. Mine are spinning on a Litespeed Tuscany, with a Dura Ace 10 group which almost lets me survive this f'ing snowless winter we are having in the East. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarveItUp Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 There are huge number of options for wheels at many different price points and for many purposes. For example, the Mavic Ksyrium SSC SLs are a very good wheel but a lot of people will say it is very stiff. Nice for racers and heavier riders, not so good for lightweight folks. Also, if you break a spoke, the replacements can be really hard to get and expensive. The zipps are really cool, but the deep aero profile can make them a bit of a handful for new riders in cross winds. If you buy full carbon wheels, you'll also find that braking is not as good as with an aluminum rim. I think I'd worry too much if I was riding every day on $2,000 + wheels (there are cheaper ones but zipps are pricey in general). There are some really light wheels out there but durability may be an issue with these. Many people will buy super light wheels and use them only for racing and use more durable wheels for every day. I recently picked up a set of Neuvation R28 Aero 2s for my Kuota Kharma. After much research, they looked to be a great compromise of light weight, durability, aerodynamics and relatively low cost and they came very highly recommended in all the reviews I found. I also like the fact that they come with 6 spare spokes - and you could use standard spokes in a pinch. I am a light rider, but Neuvation also makes a slightly heavier version that is more durable (the M28). I was also considering the Fulcrum Racing 3s. Probably a little stiffer but a really nice design and made by Campagnolo. A good place to research wheels is roadbikereview.com. Keep in mind that there is always somebody out there who has trashed every wheel so take the reviews with a grain of salt. Carveitup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C5 Golfer Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Thanks for all the replies... Additional Question: Tubular or clincher style? - what is the main difference and advantage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 If you're going to be 50 miles from home it's nice to have the ease of fixing a flat by just sticking in a new tube. If you are thinking of racing seriously, tubulars are good. They are more trouble to mount but when glued properly, a flat at high speed in a pack will not cause you as much grief; when a clincher blows, it is often instantly, and rolling the tire off the rim in a corner is a possiblility. Tubulars tend to leak only from the puncture instead of all around the rim so you may get some time to stop safely. You can ride the flat to a stop most times because the glue holds the tire in place. Personally, I ride clinchers on the road, but use tubbies on the track. A half decent pair let you run pressures of 150-170lbs. which makes you pretty much float on the track surface. You're never far from home, so flats aren't so much of a problem and getting down off the banking with some rubber under you instead of just a metal rim is nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmarsden Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 It seems to me, that a lot of wheel recomendations are based on marketing and appearence. There are a number of scientific measurements on the web like the following that show that some of the more popular wheels are not really any better than others. Wheel tests Michelin ProRace 2s are a little lighter than their Krylions if you want to give up some durablilty for racing. Nice bike choice - Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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