Upgrade wheels!

redbeach6506 said:

My bike(bianchi eros) came with ALX 320 wheel sets.
What kind of wheel set would you recommend for upgrade at a reasonable price?
Thanks

Wheelsets range alot. If you make your question more specific, you could get better answers. EG) what is a reasonable price, what kind of wheels are you looking for (aero, light, strong, stiff etc.)

Have a look at Neuvations. They are the best value.

Just for you daily training or do you also race and do you ride mountains/hills ever?

I think the consensus on here is the Neuvation wheels especially the Aero are great value & available in Campagnolo version.As long as you can live with silver only. A quick 'Net search sees BikePro in Melbourne & Ideal in Perth both doing them for 399$.

Bianchi Eros should be a Bianchi USA product and it's not sold outside of US. So I suspect the OP is US based and should be able to pick up a Neuvation at a better price. Then again, there are other choices.

sogood said:

Bianchi Eros should be a Bianchi USA product and it's not sold outside of US. So I suspect the OP is US based and should be able to pick up a Neuvation at a better price. Then again, there are other choices.

The Neuvation site price is about the same in AUD as the cost to buy them locally. I think this is the only bike product where it is the case.

If you aren't having any problems with your ALX 320s (e.g. spokes breaking, going out of true, etc.) then you will probably not notice a whole lot of difference in going to a new wheelset. I'd probably ride the Alex wheels for awhile, maybe picking up some good, light tires.

redbeach6506 said:

My bike(bianchi eros) came with ALX 320 wheel sets.
What kind of wheel set would you recommend for upgrade at a reasonable price?
Thanks

Mavic Aksium Race - unbeatable in this price range.

Thanks for all your nice comment.
I live in Chicago and it gets windy as you all know. I enjoy ride along the path and not yet participate in the race or group training ride though i found myself sensitive figures on my computer. I understand(am not an expert on equipment) my bike is for casual ride. But I had to admit the more I ride, the more urge to do more and challenge myself.. It is so nice to feel air, listen to leaves brushing each other, observe beautiful city's skyline changing view as I ride along the lake.
This is what I learned..
With cross wind, speed seems to decrease significantly.
As I pedal harder(faster), bike feels so heavy(I mean it seems to reluctant to go faster).
Acceleration is another thing I want to improve( probably need new bike, I guess)

Alx 320 wheels are very durable. SO far no problems I noticed.
I use mountain pedals and shoes because they are convenient.

One more thing, I wonder most riders along the path took early retirement from litespeed!!-ha-ha
Good day, everyone

redbeach6506 said:

Thanks for all your nice comment.
I live in Chicago and it gets windy as you all know. I enjoy ride along the path and not yet participate in the race or group training ride though i found myself sensitive figures on my computer. I understand(am not an expert on equipment) my bike is for casual ride. But I had to admit the more I ride, the more urge to do more and challenge myself.. It is so nice to feel air, listen to leaves brushing each other, observe beautiful city's skyline changing view as I ride along the lake.
This is what I learned..
With cross wind, speed seems to decrease significantly.
As I pedal harder(faster), bike feels so heavy(I mean it seems to reluctant to go faster).
Acceleration is another thing I want to improve( probably need new bike, I guess)

Alx 320 wheels are very durable. SO far no problems I noticed.
I use mountain pedals and shoes because they are convenient.

One more thing, I wonder most riders along the path took early retirement from litespeed!!-ha-ha
Good day, everyone

You've made some good observations, but unfortunately a new wheelset isn't the answer. All wheels are slower in crosswinds, since the crosswind produces a headwind component when combined with your forward speed. And yes, all bikes get a lot harder to pedal as speed increases. This is because the power required to overcome wind resistance increases as the cube of the speed. EG, going from 12 up to 15 mph on level ground requires you to produce almost double the power output.

No wheelset is going to change the physics of cycling for you, even though a lot of us wish it would. The best aero wheelsets, used in time trials, only save a few watts of power at 25-30 mph, saving maybe 10-20 seconds over an hour. That's a big deal for some racers, but nothing easy to see on your computer.

Since the great majority of wind resistance comes from your body, you can increase speed far more by getting down into a good race position, with elbows, knees, and head tucked in. A well-fitted road bike which allows you to maintain a good aero position comfortably will help to maximize your speed, particularly on a windy day.

Don't forget your clothing either. Wear tight-fitting jerseys that don't flap around, and keep them zipped up to keep the air out. I've seen riders wearing big nylon jackets inflated like a puffy balloon...definitely not the low-drag solution 🙂

dhk2 said:

You've made some good observations, but unfortunately a new wheelset isn't the answer. All wheels are slower in crosswinds, since the crosswind produces a headwind component when combined with your forward speed. And yes, all bikes get a lot harder to pedal as speed increases. This is because the power required to overcome wind resistance increases as the cube of the speed. EG, going from 12 up to 15 mph on level ground requires you to produce almost double the power output.

No wheelset is going to change the physics of cycling for you, even though a lot of us wish it would. The best aero wheelsets, used in time trials, only save a few watts of power at 25-30 mph, saving maybe 10-20 seconds over an hour. That's a big deal for some racers, but nothing easy to see on your computer.

Since the great majority of wind resistance comes from your body, you can increase speed far more by getting down into a good race position, with elbows, knees, and head tucked in. A well-fitted road bike which allows you to maintain a good aero position comfortably will help to maximize your speed, particularly on a windy day.

Don't forget your clothing either. Wear tight-fitting jerseys that don't flap around, and keep them zipped up to keep the air out. I've seen riders wearing big nylon jackets inflated like a puffy balloon...definitely not the low-drag solution 🙂

Too true. My wheels are about durability, weight, and stiffness. But I heard that makes no difference either🙁..........

bobbyOCR said:

Too true. My wheels are about durability, weight, and stiffness. But I heard that makes no difference either🙁..........

Don't forget the art of it all. Get an expensive wheel and get brainwashed that you'll be much faster on them... And little do you know, you just broke that mental block and will be able to push yourself faster! I wish! 🙄