Wheel upgrade recommendation

Put me down for a "ME TOO!". I have the same bike and absolutely love my CAAD 8. In doing my pre-purchase research, however, everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) told me the bike was stellar but the wheels were [censored]. Guess I'm still new enough that I can't tell....or at least I don't have anything else to compare them to. I figure me dropping a little weight and building up my cardio stamina as well as my leg and core muscle strength will make more of a difference at this point than new blingy wheels. Besides, I'm having a hard time justifying putting $2000 ZIPPs on a $1000 bike! [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif[/IMG]

My advice (and the advice I'm currently giving myself) is to ride what you have for at least a season's worth of base miles and then see what you want to spend your budget money on for upgrades. My 2 cents anyway......

I just realized that the Vegan responded to the Double Pepperoni and made my self chuckle! LOL.

I don't think upgrading the wheels will do much.

Wear them out and buy a new set.

I prefer Mavic OpenPro rims. I think I have Ultegra hubs on at least one set.

If you really want to buy a new set of wheels buy a rear wheel with a power tap hub. About $1000. At least then you can see how strong/weak you are.

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If you want to spend money, buy a cassette or 2 so that you can put the gears you are happy with on the bike.

I ride with a 16,17,18,19,20,21,22,24,27,30. (I think it took a 16-27 and a 12-30 to arrive at this.)

Have a look at these ...
http://www.pro-liteoz.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=19
http://www.williamscycling.com/sys19.html
http://www.williamscycling.com/sys30.html

I am a Mavic fan. Look at the Ksyrium Elites $650k, 1485 Gram or Ksyrium SL $1000, 1445 gram. These are prices for wheelsets. The SLs are significantly stiffer than the Elites. The Elites are very good wheels. Either set is nearly bomb proof. I call my Elites The Gopher Killers, as I have nearly decapitated a gopher with the back wheel.

I'm assuming you have Shimano and/or Sram components.

Hubs: DT Swiss 240s or Chris King road

Rims: get something with a welded seam, but there are a lot of good pics out there by Mavic, DT Swiss

Spokes/nipples: go butted, 14/15 gauge, brass nipples for longevity.

Stick with 32-hole hub/rim/ wheels if possible, but if your lighter weight, could do a 28F, 32R

Those hubs will never go out of style, retain their vaules after 1000's of miles. Once the rims finally fail, rebuild up the hub with the latest/greatest rim choice.

Ohhhh, lastly find a local competent/confident wheel builder to do this job (this is a big part of the equation). Make sure you find the right one.

IRD Cadence is a great wheel that most people aren't aware of, and their not factory built wheels which means they use off the shelf parts that are easy to find at any bike shop instead of waiting weeks for a part to come for a factory built wheel. Their an aero wheel that for a set will weigh about 1700 grams and around $560 for the whole set.

Here's a site that builds them at reasonable prices: prowheelbuilder.comird cadence aero road wheel set packages.htmlOpen ↗

I would give Williams Cycling a shot. I got the system 30s and I love them for the price of about $500. They spin up great and have very fast rolling ceramic bearings.The rims seem to be very stiff and strong. I smacked a few potholes and railroad tracks at +25mph and they are still true. The company is nice since they eliminate the middle man so the prices can be lower. Also the first time I called customer service to talk to them about their policies, it went straight to the owners phone! Can not beat that customer service. williamscycling.comwilliamscycling.comOpen ↗

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by DoublePepperoni [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hello, I'm a newbie cyclist converted from running some months ago. I bought an entry level road bike and have been riding it everyday and have seen some good improvements since starting out. A friend of mine tells me that the frame is fairly decent but that its about time I upgraded the wheels. The bike I currently ride is a Cannondale Caad 8.6 with Maddux R3.0 wheels and I paid around $1200 for it. If anyone has any recommendations or even any opinions on wheels in general, I would love to hear them. Thanks all in advance.

Spending big $ on a wheelset that 'may' save you 300-400 grams(on a pretty typical 85,000 gram 'package-bike and rider) isn't something I would do. Work on the motor(you), get a good bike fit, loose weight, ride and/or race smart, work on your fitness.

Wheels need to be reliable and reasonable in terms of weight, yours are.