Comparing wheelsets ???

kfb said:

Buying a new road bike soon and i'm pretty comfortable with most of the components that come on the bike. One issue i'm still debating is how to know which wheelset gives the most bang for the buck? I'm getting a Specialized Roubaix and depending on which level I get they come with either Alex ALX290's or Shimano WH-R540 wheelsets. Are either of these significantly better at any one aspect of riding, or will I really not see much of a difference between either? The Alex are 20/24 hole, with the Shimano being 16 hole. What effect, if any does that have (strength, weight, etc)?

I mostly take 20-50 mile weekend rides, but also plan to do some longer event rides down teh road. Thanks in advance for any help!

Neither. See if they will switch out for some open pro rims,ultegra 32 hole hubs and butted spokes.

kfb said:

Buying a new road bike soon and i'm pretty comfortable with most of the components that come on the bike. One issue i'm still debating is how to know which wheelset gives the most bang for the buck? I'm getting a Specialized Roubaix and depending on which level I get they come with either Alex ALX290's or Shimano WH-R540 wheelsets. Are either of these significantly better at any one aspect of riding, or will I really not see much of a difference between either? The Alex are 20/24 hole, with the Shimano being 16 hole. What effect, if any does that have (strength, weight, etc)?

I mostly take 20-50 mile weekend rides, but also plan to do some longer event rides down teh road. Thanks in advance for any help!

The short answer is that either of those wheels would likely support your riding in terms of durability, and I doubt anyone has any real data illustrating one one would likely outlast the other.

Without looking up the specs for each, it's a safe bet that the Shimano wheelset is a bit lighter, which never hurts. It's a more expensive wheelset in terms of sheer market value, and that's probably reflected, at least in part, in the quality of hub. Other aspects of wheel construction that can creep up in wheel comparisons is how well the rims are machined. What's that mean for you, on the road? Hard to say -- maybe nothing at all.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't let this wheelset choice be too significant a factor in your bike selection process. The Shimano might be the better wheel, but if so, it's likely quite marginal a difference; there's a lot of other stuff differentiating those bikes and you should look to them. Good luck!

I've pretty much decided to go with the base Roubaix model instead of the Elite.
105 group instead of Ultegra, and Alex wheelset instead of Shimano. I was just wondering if it would be worthwhile to upgrade on the wheelset. I've seen some complaints on the Alex wheels?

kfb said:

I've pretty much decided to go with the base Roubaix model instead of the Elite.
105 group instead of Ultegra, and Alex wheelset instead of Shimano. I was just wondering if it would be worthwhile to upgrade on the wheelset. I've seen some complaints on the Alex wheels?

Ya couldn't give them to me.

boudreaux said:

Ya couldn't give them to me.

I've seen complaints too; then again, I've seen complaints for nearly every wheelset on the market. There are certainly better made wheels available, but the Alex set on my fiancee's Specialized has held up, and first hand, that's as much evidence as anyone has.

Granted, she's neither a clydesdale nor a touring maniac, but she rides. I keep an eye on them, and they're fine so far. Boudreaux's advice to switch out for a decent built pair is perfectly sound. In fact, I might have a pair I don't need...

kfb said:

Buying a new road bike soon and i'm pretty comfortable with most of the components that come on the bike. One issue i'm still debating is how to know which wheelset gives the most bang for the buck? I'm getting a Specialized Roubaix and depending on which level I get they come with either Alex ALX290's or Shimano WH-R540 wheelsets. Are either of these significantly better at any one aspect of riding, or will I really not see much of a difference between either? The Alex are 20/24 hole, with the Shimano being 16 hole. What effect, if any does that have (strength, weight, etc)?

I mostly take 20-50 mile weekend rides, but also plan to do some longer event rides down teh road. Thanks in advance for any help!

I suggest you ask how far can you ride either with just one broken spoke.
I also suggest that you find out the costs in time and money to get a broken spoke replaced and wheel trued.
Standard 32 or even 36 spoke wheels are easier to maintain and can often be safely ridden even if you break a spoke. Many of the lower spoke count wheels are un-rideable if just one spoke breaks; and have some proprietary parts that make service cost more in terms of time and money.
Now, I know there are some who will pipe in that you won't ever break a spoke and that having all that redundancy of 32 or 36 spokes is a waste. However, when I ride and talk with other bicyclist who put on serious miles, most are of the opinion that lower spoke count wheels should be avoided due to long term reliability and serviceability issues.
If you weigh under 200 pounds, qulaity built 32 spoke 3 cross wheels with DT Competition double butted spokes on good quality hubs like Shimano 105 or Ultegra should provide you a great secure ride with long tern durability and serviceability.

I agree with what the others posted.

If you're gonna race, and weight will be a big factor in winning (especially wheel dynamics), low-spoke count wheelsets are the way to go. If you're just going for the distance, 32-36 holed rims are more durable, and hold up better, stay true longer (if tensioned properly).

I ride on good to moderate roads, and so far my DA28 rims has given me no problems

Thanks for all the great replies everyone. I think for my needs, more spokes definitely makes more sense. I have no racing planned, and at my level I doubt the weight difference of a low-spoke count wheel will make any difference.