double spin last night, fairly high intensity too - av, HR 84% of max.
Legs like jelly today.
double spin last night, fairly high intensity too - av, HR 84% of max.
Legs like jelly today.
Finally got the new Scott out for a ride at weekend ...nice loop out to Skenfrith. Lovely ride, sora shifters easy to use but front mech needs adjusting. Does not want to go to big ring. Will take advantage of first free service.
Shocking commute yesterday. Got a flat halfway, put a new tube in and then my pump failed at about 20psi
Went to the nearest suitable shop(asda) and bought another pump a Bell one. It came with a crappy plastic Schrader to presta adapter which was so poor it didn't let any air in and then pulled the valve core out when removed...
Ended up getting someone else to look after my CAD lesson at 9, got a lift for the last bit and taught their CAD lesson (in my riding kit) at 10!
Ah yes, a perfect reminder of why I hated cycling as a kid! Sorry to hear about your bad ride Paul....just take comfort from the fact that a similar episode in a car would have been even more frustrating/expensive!
Sora shifters really wind me up... their design means you can't upshift from the drops.. one of my constant bike test niggles along with shitty wheelsets on top end bikes.Originally Posted by Wheeze
Ah now that is worthy of entire thread topic. I live my life in a state of wheel based confusion (road not mountain, that is easy).
I know the Brits are fixated with rear mechs and possibly groupsets but obviously the frame and wheels are what matters. But what confuses me is the comparison of wheels between manufacturers. In the groupset world you can, broadly, compare Campy, SRAM and the big S but wheels are more difficult.
So, in the real world (ignoring carbon deep rims/trispokes etc) how do you compare wheels? For the sake of my sanity please lets stick to clinchers.
Second question, what do folk on the Forum prefer(again please keep quiet sponsored riders, you like what you are given) maybe for long sportives (sorry Hanneke) or racing even?
Pick the wheels that are available in your favourite colour.
HTH.
Too true, bike manufacturers always try and seduce people with groupsets. I'd always drop a level or two on groupset and get some better wheels. The difference between say Shimano Dura Ace and Ultegra in weight/performance is negligible but in price very significant. The same frame with Ultegra group and the difference spent on better wheels will always be a better bike.
Comparing wheels comes down to a number of factors. Weight is obviously very important as they're rotating mass but you don't want to sacrifice stiffness and durability too much. For day to day wheels, I'd always prefer a slightly higher spoke count and for them to be hand built. They'll always be easier to true and maintain and should have been pre-stressed to a decent level. The pinging you often get first time out on new machine built wheels is because they haven't been adequately pre-stressed and will often go out of true first time out. Hubs should be decent quality but you don't need to pay through the nose for ceramic bearings etc.
Best all round wheels I've ridden in the last couple of years are these ones from Strada. Light and durable and, the slightly wider rim, gives a plusher almost tub quality ride especially with wider 25-28mm tyres in winter. Small company in Sussex, all wheels handbuilt by Darren and truing for life guarantee.
http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/shop/v...-a23-wheelset/
So on this subject, my swanky new carbon BMC came with Mavic Aksiums (I didn't pay for a v swanky groupset - Ultegra and I'm very happy with it).
My mate said the bike 'deserved better wheels, so when you feel like you can justify it, upgrade them to Ksyriums'.
Will I honestly notice the difference? £450-worth of difference?
Aksiums are decent solid wheels that'll last and last but, guessing you spent well north of £2000 on your bike, your mate is right. A set of Aksiums will cost about £150 so represent about 7% of build cost (based on £2000). Hardly proportional when, after the frame, wheels contribute most to ride quality and performance. Trust me, you'll really notice the difference.
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