Wheels

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by oroboy
I'm building up a new bike and need adviice on wheels. I don't race, but participate in a lot of fastpaced group rides. Good road conditions,quite hilly. I like to keep up with the group. I have been looking at Campy Protons and Neutrons, Velomax Ascent and Mavic Ksyriums. My LBS says the aluminum spokes will transmit more road twang than the steel spokes. Your advice and experience is greatly appreciated.

Oroboy

Have a quality set of wheels built with standard available components and a realistic number of spokes in a tangential crossing pattern. Have them use double butted spokes and standard brass nipples.
One example would be Record hubs, Open Pro rims, DT Competition Double Butted spokes $397.02 from Excel Sports.
You can spend less with Chorus or Centaur and still get very good quality, durability, and performance.
Durability and serviceability of wheels built with reasonable spoke counts and in a tangential spoking pattern will give you the best value in the long run.
Marketing of the factory built wheels that you mention is their greatest value. I am not saying that they are bad wheels, but you will be paying for marketing and not finding a performance improvement that is more than 1%. If you are racing for money that less than 1% margin could make a difference.
The money you save could be used in performance enhancing investments on the rider. Professional coaching on position and ways to improve your power output would be areas that come to my mind.

The wheelsets and wheelset makers your LBS suggested are all good examples of solid brand-name products; between mid-level Campy wheels like Neutrons and Protons, the Mavic Ksyrium line (actually 4 different options there, ranging from $300 to $1000), and the Velomax label, you've got a roundup of popular, proven options.

The Ksyrium variants, from the bottom-end Equippe to the high-end SSC SL and its pricey SSC SL TDF sister, have a reputation as great all-around wheels, durable enough for everyday use and heavy training, and stiff enough for serious racing. They aren't the lightest wheels for the dollar, but they're certainly in the lightweight ballpark as modern wheels go. The SSC SLs, in particular, have a reputation for stiffness to the point of discomfort -- a matter of preference, really. Most riders appreciate the snap. As you move down in the line through the Elites and Equippes, the grammage goes up and the hub quality goes down a bit, but so does the price. The entire line, in general, is solid.

I've never ridden Campy or Velomax wheelsets, but both, as labels, also have excellent reputations. Campy wheels are generally classic, well-balanced, all-around good choices -- exceptionally light, striking good compromises between comfort and stiffness. Velomax, a relatively new company, quickly earned outspoken fans in the cycling press and among pros for offering a similar balance of good traits. Fans sing about their durability and ride quality, and they're extremely lightweight. As they gain popularity, they're becoming more and more common in shops; I wouldn't worry about servicability.

Dave brought up the other good option, which is the built-wheelset -- the options are endless for combining hubs, rims, and spokes in traditional configurations to construct a wheel to suit your needs. Nearly any shop will do wheelbuilding, and some big mail-order houses (like Performance, or Colorado Cyclist) will assemble wheels to order as well. Chose a hub from a major label, like Campy, Shimano, Chris King or others, and combine them with spokes and a rim from another reputable maker -- Mavic, Velocity, and Ritchey make good ones.

Good luck, and have fun with the new bike.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by lokstah
The wheelsets and wheelset makers your LBS suggested are all good examples of solid brand-name products; between mid-level Campy wheels like Neutrons and Protons, the Mavic Ksyrium line (actually 4 different options there, ranging from $300 to $1000), and the Velomax label, you've got a roundup of popular, proven options.

The Ksyrium variants, from the bottom-end Equippe to the high-end SSC SL and its pricey SSC SL TDF sister, have a reputation as great all-around wheels, durable enough for everyday use and heavy training, and stiff enough for serious racing. They aren't the lightest wheels for the dollar, but they're certainly in the lightweight ballpark as modern wheels go. The SSC SLs, in particular, have a reputation for stiffness to the point of discomfort -- a matter of preference, really. Most riders appreciate the snap. As you move down in the line through the Elites and Equippes, the grammage goes up and the hub quality goes down a bit, but so does the price. The entire line, in general, is solid.

I've never ridden Campy or Velomax wheelsets, but both, as labels, also have excellent reputations. Campy wheels are generally classic, well-balanced, all-around good choices -- exceptionally light, striking good compromises between comfort and stiffness. Velomax, a relatively new company, quickly earned outspoken fans in the cycling press and among pros for offering a similar balance of good traits. Fans sing about their durability and ride quality, and they're extremely lightweight. As they gain popularity, they're becoming more and more common in shops; I wouldn't worry about servicability.

Dave brought up the other good option, which is the built-wheelset -- the options are endless for combining hubs, rims, and spokes in traditional configurations to construct a wheel to suit your needs. Nearly any shop will do wheelbuilding, and some big mail-order houses (like Performance, or Colorado Cyclist) will assemble wheels to order as well. Chose a hub from a major label, like Campy, Shimano, Chris King or others, and combine them with spokes and a rim from another reputable maker -- Mavic, Velocity, and Ritchey make good ones.

Good luck, and have fun with the new bike.

Ask how much and how long to fix a broken spoke, broken rim, or a broken freehub on each of your choices.
How much are you willing to pay?
How long are you willing to wait?
How about a year or two from now? ..... what will be the replacement parts availability? ... as one example, I am thinking about the Mavic Helium.
I only mentioned Campy in my earlier posting because it looked like that was the system you are considering. If Shimano is in the picture then DURA ACE, Ultegra, and 105 are worthy choices as are Chris King and Hope.