New wheelset

CAD2 said:

G'day Guys,
just a question on a new wheelset. I'm considering buying a new shimano R550 wheelset for around $280 delivered (Brisbane, Aust) for my wife as training wheels.
Do you believe this to be a good value or can you recommend something else around the $300 mark.

Thanks for any replies.

For that much money, you'd be able to get a decent set of custom built 32 spoke 3x wheels that will never go out of true. Won't necessarily be light, but weight isn't a priority when training.

32 spoke 3x wheels will be a whole lot stronger than the R550s (which some will say are prone to damage - my experience hasn't been thus), will stay true for a longer period if built correctly, and will be easier and cheaper to repair if they do get damaged.

The only think they don't have is bling value, but then, 550's don't exactly have much in that department...

n

nerdag said:

For that much money, you'd be able to get a decent set of custom built 32 spoke 3x wheels that will never go out of true. Won't necessarily be light, but weight isn't a priority when training.

32 spoke 3x wheels will be a whole lot stronger than the R550s (which some will say are prone to damage - my experience hasn't been thus), will stay true for a longer period if built correctly, and will be easier and cheaper to repair if they do get damaged.

The only think they don't have is bling value, but then, 550's don't exactly have much in that department...

Good advice--assuming you can find a good builder.

CAD2 said:

G'day Guys,
just a question on a new wheelset. I'm considering buying a new shimano R550 wheelset for around $280 delivered (Brisbane, Aust) for my wife as training wheels.
Do you believe this to be a good value or can you recommend something else around the $300 mark.

Thanks for any replies.

If you have the opportunity, pop into your local LBS and ask them about hand built wheels...however if you don't have the time, the 550's are fine. I have a spare set that I used until I upgraded, and they were fine for training on.

Not sure why so many people are bagging the R550. I rode on them when I was >100kg, still got them on my bike.

I only had to true them slightly, and balance the spoke tension.

No issues with them.

I build my own set of wheels too around the 105 hubs.

I'd say with any set of wheels that you get, its important that the spoke tension is even. With factory built wheels, you are not gauranteed even spoke tension, the wheel may be true, but spoke tension may not be even. Same with handbuilt wheels, its easy to laterally true the wheels, but a good wheelbuilder will give you a wheel where the spoke tension is even as well. Such a wheel will be very strong.

I am glad that I took the plunge and built my own set. I learnt quite a bit through the whole process.

Mavic Aksium Race

Some people seem to go through life having no problems with the Shimano wheels other seem to break spokes by the handfull!!
I assume you know there is a R560 wheel now with improved 'brand-name' spokes.

roadbikereview.com is a US site & a good place to look for the good & bad & as has been previously mentioned on here Neuvation's R28 Aero wheelset get a 5/5 on there & for once the price in Oz is comparable to the US. Just need to add a little more to your budget.

You are going to have to scrimp on the hubs if you want a handbuilt pair of wheels around 300$.

For training you are better off with the R500. They are easier to true (huge difference), stiffer, heavier (marginally), less aero (marginally) and have better hubs IMO. I used R550s for a while but they were flexy, didn't go out of true much but were an absolute pain to straighten, and the hubs weren't flash either. There is a new '105' 5600 wheelset out. That looks like a significant improvement. If you go handbuilt, get a really good set of hubs. Everything else revolves around them (pun intended). Shimano or campy hubs I have heard are great, and a velocity rim. I was in the process of building up a set of Deep V/105 wheels but that is permanently on hold since I sold the 105 hubs I was going to use.

Also. DO NOT get the DT RR1.1 rims with single eyelets. Mine started pulling out of the front 28h rim. I sent them to Dirtworks to get them warrantied (hopefully). If it doesn't go well, I'll go to Neutrons. Or build a set with OP rims to the DT hubs. The new DT rim is 470g though. Ouch.

bobbyOCR said:

Also. DO NOT get the DT RR1.1 rims with single eyelets. Mine started pulling out of the front 28h rim. I sent them to Dirtworks to get them warrantied (hopefully). If it doesn't go well, I'll go to Neutrons. Or build a set with OP rims to the DT hubs. The new DT rim is 470g though. Ouch.

Why not Aeroheads?

Bro Deal said:

Why not Aeroheads?

Oh of course. Thanks. they are probably cheaper than OP anyway.

CAD2 said:

G'day Guys,
just a question on a new wheelset. I'm considering buying a new shimano R550 wheelset for around $280 delivered (Brisbane, Aust) for my wife as training wheels.
Do you believe this to be a good value or can you recommend something else around the $300 mark.

Thanks for any replies.

Some of the replies regarding hand-build wheels may have been thinking $US300 - I don't think there are many options for that price in $AU. I was quoted $AU500+ for wheels built from Mavic Open Pro rims and Ultegra hubs, which would be one of many strong and servicable combinations.

For $AU300 or so you have the Shimano wheelsets and not much else that gets recommended around here. [font=Verdana][font=Verdana][font=Verdana][font=Verdana]Mavic Aksiums are available for around $AU350 and are probably reasonable value but heavy. [/font][/font][/font][/font]For $AU400 you can get Neuvation R28 SL or R28 Aero wheels which get good reviews at roadbikereview.com.

Thanks for the excellent feedback. I will consider now also consider the R500 as well as the R550.

Thanks again.

In regards to truing the R550s, its easy if you have the right tool.

I dont know about flexy, the R500s are worse than the R550 in that regard.

Building your own wheelset will not be cheap in comparison to factory wheelsets. You have to spend quite a bit to get the weight of the wheelset down. But imagine the peace of mind you will have, if your wheelset was built by a good wheelbuilder. Well worth the extra cost if its within your budget.

I have to agree with getting a good hub. The 105 hubs seem to want to spin forever compared with the R550s and R500s. Again I dont have scientific way to prove this, but its an appreciable difference. If I had to do it again, I should have come in at the Ultegra level. But I have hit all kinds of potholes with my 105 Hubbed/DT swiss 14G spokes, and it still does not need truing. 32 spoked/3X is a simple and robust design.

thomas_cho said:

In regards to truing the R550s, its easy if you have the right tool.

I dont know about flexy, the R500s are worse than the R550 in that regard.

Building your own wheelset will not be cheap in comparison to factory wheelsets. You have to spend quite a bit to get the weight of the wheelset down. But imagine the peace of mind you will have, if your wheelset was built by a good wheelbuilder. Well worth the extra cost if its within your budget.

I have to agree with getting a good hub. The 105 hubs seem to want to spin forever compared with the R550s and R500s. Again I dont have scientific way to prove this, but its an appreciable difference. If I had to do it again, I should have come in at the Ultegra level. But I have hit all kinds of potholes with my 105 Hubbed/DT swiss 14G spokes, and it still does not need truing. 32 spoked/3X is a simple and robust design.

Thanks Thomas. I'm a tightarse at the moment so I can't really go over the $300 mark. I'm not expecting too much at that price. Just hope she can put a few km's on them without any problems.
Cheers.

roshea said:

Some of the replies regarding hand-build wheels may have been thinking $US300 - I don't think there are many options for that price in $AU. I was quoted $AU500+ for wheels built from Mavic Open Pro rims and Ultegra hubs, which would be one of many strong and servicable combinations.

Let me elaborate - if you shop around and buy from the right places, A$300 would get you a set of 105 hubs, decent spokes (not top of the line), and strong (but likely heavy) rims, plus the labour.

About $400 would allow you to do it comfortably without haggling your face off, and $500+ would get you an excellent lightweight set like the OP/ultegra combo you're suggesting.

I managed to get a set of custom built 32x 3spoke wheels on Alex DA22 rims, with cheap shimano hubs for a total of A$240. It's not light, but it does the job, and it was cheap enough. The parts were purchased from eBay sellers ($60 for the rims, $40 hubs), and the labour charge was about $120 for the pair. I must confess that I got a good deal on the spokes, which kept the price down.

n

roshea said:

Some of the replies regarding hand-build wheels may have been thinking $US300 - I don't think there are many options for that price in $AU. I was quoted $AU500+ for wheels built from Mavic Open Pro rims and Ultegra hubs, which would be one of many strong and servicable combinations.

$500 AUD seems really high. In the U.S. Ultegra/OPs would run about $240 USD. Aussie made Aeroheads would knock $10 to $15 off the set.

Bro Deal said:

$500 AUD seems really high. In the U.S. Ultegra/OPs would run about $240 USD. Aussie made Aeroheads would knock $10 to $15 off the set.

High but real, unfortunately. It is almost cheaper to pay for shipping from the USA for these unless you can get them at significantly less than retail here. Same goes for most cycling stuff.

thomas_cho said:

In regards to truing the R550s, its easy if you have the right tool.

I dont know about flexy, the R500s are worse than the R550 in that regard.

I am not sure about this, but truing the R550s with hub nipples is much more irritating than plain old rim nipples. Also, please show me information regarding the flex data on R550s vs R500s, I would love to see it. Theoretically the R500 is already the stiffer wheel with more spokes and slightly better bracing angles.

bobbyOCR said:

I am not sure about this, but truing the R550s with hub nipples is much more irritating than plain old rim nipples. Also, please show me information regarding the flex data on R550s vs R500s, I would love to see it. Theoretically the R500 is already the stiffer wheel with more spokes and slightly better bracing angles.

Like I said, if you got the right tool for the job, its a breeze. Shimano has a dedicated tool for truing the nipples at the hub. There is no way you can get to the nipples without that tool (basically its just an open ended wrench that fits the nipple).

No data on it, but thats just my experience. Shimano has some kind of "propaganda" regarding the design of their wheels (R550) vs the traditional design (ie R500), and the new design supposedly makes the wheel up to 30% stronger. Go question Shimano on their data.

thomas_cho said:

Like I said, if you got the right tool for the job, its a breeze. Shimano has a dedicated tool for truing the nipples at the hub. There is no way you can get to the nipples without that tool (basically its just an open ended wrench that fits the nipple).

No data on it, but thats just my experience. Shimano has some kind of "propaganda" regarding the design of their wheels (R550) vs the traditional design (ie R500), and the new design supposedly makes the wheel up to 30% stronger. Go question Shimano on their data.

Its funny that. In a recent ciclosportif event, a person with R550s in another team snapped a spoke. I happily kept going on my R500s. I don't trust Shimano, or any profit oriented company for that matter. They say Ksyriums are aerodynamic *rolls eyes*

I know about the dedicated tool, but it is more tedious. You have to have a sense for which spoke goes to which nipple.