Performance from New Wheels ?

ROCYC said:

I have an entry level Tri bike. I don't want to spend too much upgrading it , I would rather save and get a better bike later. I did upgrade the crank to a Shimano ultegra 53/39. Is getting a better wheel set provide much performance and can you get a good enough set for a few hundred $ to make it worth doing. And if so what would you recomend? I saw a set of Shimano wheels on sale for 250. Thanks for all the information you can provide, I am new to this sport.

A light aero pair of wheels will likely make much more of a difference than your crankset upgrade. Of course how much of a difference will depend on what you have to start.

ROCYC said:

I did upgrade the crank to a Shimano ultegra 53/39.

You may have had a good reason for upgrading, but barring that, I think crank is just above the seat binder bolt, and just below bar tape in the "Bang for You Buck Upgrade List for Performance Cycling"

Wheels are near the top of the list...

Have you researched Neuvation Wheels? They have really affordable wheelsets with great quality. I have a pair of M28's and they have been a favorite. I prefer them over my Mavic Ksyrium SSL's? It may be worth a look. They have carbon wheels too? www.neuvationcycling.com is their link. Hopefully this helps you with the research.

ROCYC said:

I have an entry level Tri bike. I don't want to spend too much upgrading it , I would rather save and get a better bike later. I did upgrade the crank to a Shimano ultegra 53/39. Is getting a better wheel set provide much performance and can you get a good enough set for a few hundred $ to make it worth doing. And if so what would you recomend? I saw a set of Shimano wheels on sale for 250. Thanks for all the information you can provide, I am new to this sport.

carbonguru said:

Have you researched Neuvation Wheels? They have really affordable wheelsets with great quality. I have a pair of M28's and they have been a favorite. I prefer them over my Mavic Ksyrium SSL's? It may be worth a look. They have carbon wheels too? www.neuvationcycling.com is their link. Hopefully this helps you with the research.

M28s are also re-branded as Performance Titans. One good thing about any wheel upgrade is you can take them with you for a new bike. Since I'm a grinder, I'd invest in a 54 tooth tri ring.

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info. Very useful.

capwater said:

M28s are also re-branded as Performance Titans. One good thing about any wheel upgrade is you can take them with you for a new bike. Since I'm a grinder, I'd invest in a 54 tooth tri ring.

ROCYC said:

I have an entry level Tri bike. I don't want to spend too much upgrading it , I would rather save and get a better bike later. I did upgrade the crank to a Shimano ultegra 53/39. Is getting a better wheel set provide much performance and can you get a good enough set for a few hundred $ to make it worth doing. And if so what would you recomend? I saw a set of Shimano wheels on sale for 250. Thanks for all the information you can provide, I am new to this sport.

I think you would be better off saving the money for a new bike. It is normally cheaper to buy everything as a package insead of upgrading piece by piece. If you want better performance in triathlons then buy an aero helmet and aero bars. After that buy a rear wheel cover. The wheels make a very small fraction of the difference the helmet and bars will make.

A low level wheelset will not make a signifcant performance enhancement. Although, you may be able to get a better quality, more durable wheelset than what came with you bike.

ROCYC said:

I have an entry level Tri bike...... I am new to this sport.

Work on your engine......

I ride some with a guy who has a big bucks Serrota with top of the line Campy. Just to bust his sack, I'll bring out an old steel entry level Trek 12 speed with downtube shifters that I picked up from a yard sale for $8. Guess who wins the sprint and is at the top of the hill?

Teardrop helmet, aerobars, i agree. These will completely alter the aero's of your head, from a brick to something much more streamlined. The front wheel has less than 1/3 of the frontal area, and it shields the fastest spinning parts of the spokes from wind. If you do alot of flat triathlons, get a deep dish set with some weight. I know someone with lgihtweight standards and they have a very hard time keeping a set pace, because they lose momentum so quickly. so also consider this. Also a rear wheel disc cover is a good investment.

ROCYC said:

I have an entry level Tri bike. I don't want to spend too much upgrading it , I would rather save and get a better bike later. I did upgrade the crank to a Shimano ultegra 53/39. Is getting a better wheel set provide much performance and can you get a good enough set for a few hundred $ to make it worth doing. And if so what would you recomend? I saw a set of Shimano wheels on sale for 250. Thanks for all the information you can provide, I am new to this sport.

Check out the article in last month's Bicycling Mag on aero improvements. Contains results of work done by MIT team in windtunnel. Body position, aero helmet and not wearing gloves were the key things I recall, bigger than wheelset improvements.

Zipp website has a statement that their aero wheels can save 3-5W over standard wheels under optimum conditions, or something close to that. That's something around 0.1 mph at 30 mph according to the velo calculator. Over an hour, that speed increase would be 12 seconds.

In a big TT event of course, every second counts. Our local hero just won the World Masters TT (30-39 age group) in Salzburg by the same 12 seconds, which was a decent margin of victory. Expect to see him Saturday; will ask what wheelset he used and post here.

capwater said:

M28s are also re-branded as Performance Titans. One good thing about any wheel upgrade is you can take them with you for a new bike. Since I'm a grinder, I'd invest in a 54 tooth tri ring.

Please correct me if I am wrong, from my undertanding, it is the other way around, Performance Titans is the re-brand of Neuvation.

All Neuvation wheel are hand build and inspected before it start building, so there are some reject even before the production stage and this help to make sure all Neuvation is the highest quality before they get out of the factory.

There is a possibility that Performance Titan is part of the reject by Neuvation. But so far nobody can 100% confirm on this.

I am riding the Neuvation R28 Aero, it is a very very very good value wheelset! nothing even come close to that price. with something similar quality and performance I am sure you are looking at the A$900+ wheelset already.

and the wheel is very stiff for sprinting and light for acceleration! more efficient power transfer for the whole bike!

piero said:

Please correct me if I am wrong, from my undertanding, it is the other way around, Performance Titans is the re-brand of Neuvation.

All Neuvation wheel are hand build and inspected before it start building, so there are some reject even before the production stage and this help to make sure all Neuvation is the highest quality before they get out of the factory.

There is a possibility that Performance Titan is part of the reject by Neuvation. But so far nobody can 100% confirm on this.

I am riding the Neuvation R28 Aero, it is a very very very good value wheelset! nothing even come close to that price. with something similar quality and performance I am sure you are looking at the A$900+ wheelset already.

and the wheel is very stiff for sprinting and light for acceleration! more efficient power transfer for the whole bike!

These two sentences mean the same thing:
M28s are also re-branded as Performance Titans
Performance Titans is the re-brand of Neuvation

I'll throw in even a third tidbit:
M28s are rebranded as Supergo Korsos, but since Supergo no longer exists (it was owned by Performance) it's a moot point......

A few years ago, my dad bought a Bianchi San Remo with low end Campy Mirage-Veloce compnents and Mavic MA3 wheels. He all but gave up riding and I assumed ownership of the bike about 2 years ago. Im thinking of making some upgrades and seeing as I really like the frame, it will either be in the gruppo or wheelset. Which would be a better place to start. If I changed components I would probably go up to Chorus or I would upgrade the wheels to Campy Eurus. Any suggestions.

carbonguru said:

Have you researched Neuvation Wheels? They have really affordable wheelsets with great quality. I have a pair of M28's and they have been a favorite. I prefer them over my Mavic Ksyrium SSL's? It may be worth a look. They have carbon wheels too? www.neuvationcycling.com is their link. Hopefully this helps you with the research.

I have a set of Nuevations private labels with the Weyless brand...I really like them. I think they make the inexpensive set from Performance Bike also. They seem to be faster but much more stiff than my Mavic SSL-3s. I would suggest these if you are on a budget....but always remember....Its not the make...it's the motor.