lightest wheels for around $500 USD

LewisBricktop said:

im still riding on my stock bontrager selects, and somwhere between mile 10 and mile 7000, ive decided that they suck. my cycling budget is limited so i try to keep my bike as light as possible within my constraints. i weigh anywhere from 160-170 lbs so that shouldnt be an issue. at least i hope not. i was wondering if anyone knew anything about the new shimano wh-6600 that is part of the new ultegra sl set.
(below)
cyclingnews.comtech.phpOpen ↗

any other suggestions are greatly appreciated, as long as its not bontrager anything. again, my budget is probably going to be around $500 USD. thanks

Try DT Swiss 240 hubs with 1.1 rims with DT spokes. Ebay has them sometimes for a great price.

LewisBricktop said:

im still riding on my stock bontrager selects, and somwhere between mile 10 and mile 7000, ive decided that they suck. my cycling budget is limited so i try to keep my bike as light as possible within my constraints. i weigh anywhere from 160-170 lbs so that shouldnt be an issue. at least i hope not. i was wondering if anyone knew anything about the new shimano wh-6600 that is part of the new ultegra sl set.
(below)
cyclingnews.comtech.phpOpen ↗

any other suggestions are greatly appreciated, as long as its not bontrager anything. again, my budget is probably going to be around $500 USD. thanks

a good choise is American Classic Hub, Sapim Laser Ray and Ambrosio Crono F20 Rims. Low cost and a very very good wheel. The crono f20 rim is for tubular.

Hi, I've been lurking here and this is my first post. But back to your question. Have you looked at Rol wheels? They are a local builder here in Denver and they have a selection that will be easily within your pricepoint. Give them a look. Good Luck.

ts1 said:

Hi, I've been lurking here and this is my first post. But back to your question. Have you looked at Rol wheels? They are a local builder here in Denver and they have a selection that will be easily within your pricepoint. Give them a look. Good Luck.

ROL is a top notch company. I recently asked them for an honest comparision of their VOLANTs to the Mavic Kysrium Elites I'm currently riding. Sean responded that the VOLANTs were designed to compete directly with the Elites. His wheels were ~140 grams lighter, and had higher spoke counts than the Elites (+2 front, + 4 rear). He thought his wheels would perform similarly to the the Elites and suggested that unless I had durability problems should "ride them till they die".

ROL's honesty, a great $379 price for the Volants, combined with the rave reviews of other riders puts them at the top of my list when the Elite's "die".

You should be able to get a set of Ritchey Protocols for under $500 (new) on Ebay or other online stores.

actual weight = 1530gms

dude...Get a set on Dura Ace 7800 wheelset or the DT Swiss..I gave up on Ksyrium Elites (a typical rear wheel going out) I just picked up a pair of Dura Ace on Open Pros for 265.00 from performance 20% coupon. The DT Swiss 240s are awesome...I got into a wreck and I will take some time rebuilding them.

A

LewisBricktop said:

im still riding on my stock bontrager selects, and somwhere between mile 10 and mile 7000, ive decided that they suck. my cycling budget is limited so i try to keep my bike as light as possible within my constraints. i weigh anywhere from 160-170 lbs so that shouldnt be an issue. at least i hope not. i was wondering if anyone knew anything about the new shimano wh-6600 that is part of the new ultegra sl set.
(below)
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=/photos/2007/tech/newarrivals/08-13/Shimano_Ultegra_SL_wheelset

any other suggestions are greatly appreciated, as long as its not bontrager anything. again, my budget is probably going to be around $500 USD. thanks

From your post, can't tell if the X-3 wheels needed a lot of maintenance, or if you just decided they are too heavy. If they lasted 7000 miles, and that's not enough for you, then you'll want the longest-lasting set you can buy for your $500, not the lightest wheel out there. "Weight, durability, and price...pick any two" is the old cliche.

One option would be Velomax/Easton Circuits. I ordered these with my new frame built kit, thinking these low-spoke count wheels would last a season or two. Surprise, at 15K miles now, no truing of the "twin-threaded" spokes has been required. The hubs aren't sealed well, like a lot of "boutique" hubs using press-in cartridge bearings. But that shouldn't be a huge problem unless you ride in rain or sand/dirt onditions. Believe they are well within your price range, and weigh around 1650 grams.

At $500, you might be able to find their top model, the Orion II, which has nicer hubs and rims, and weighs in around 1477 grams.

LSU1981 said:

ROL is a top notch company. I recently asked them for an honest comparision of their VOLANTs to the Mavic Kysrium Elites I'm currently riding. Sean responded that the VOLANTs were designed to compete directly with the Elites. His wheels were ~140 grams lighter, and had higher spoke counts than the Elites (+2 front, + 4 rear). He thought his wheels would perform similarly to the the Elites and suggested that unless I had durability problems should "ride them till they die".

ROL's honesty, a great $379 price for the Volants, combined with the rave reviews of other riders puts them at the top of my list when the Elite's "die".

I'll second (and third -my dad has a set as well) your recommendation of the ROL Volants. They are awesome tires...

They also have the d'Huez model which are 1445 grams and $595. That will be my next wheelset (hey, a dude needs two sets of wheels for a cross bike! =)).