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220 wheels review..

jacjac Posts: 452
I'm thinking of putting a new set of wheels on my bike, so I was delighted when I read 220 were reviewing the latest offerings this month...

UNTIL I read it!

"If your finances are limited then go for FSA's", it says.

These are the cheapest on review - at a whopping £899.95! More expensive than my bike.

Have I missed a review of cheaper wheels or is 220 just aimed at those willing to take out a second mortgage to pursue triathlon?

Comments

  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    This is an issue with 220. Not enough reviews of things most people can actually afford. I know all the bike porn is great but surely there is are a huge chunk of of tri participants who are limited by budget and who have to spend accordingly.



    I plan on getting new wheels in the medium term, but not for nine hundred pounds. What would be useful for me (and presumably many others?) would be a review of wheelsets costing say £200 to £400.



    Reviews in 220 seem to be all high end stuff (see recent review of aerobars) or they have a range of items over too wide a price range ie with a token budget item. They then conclude (surprise) that the expensive stuff is better than the cheap stuff.
  • sam_thebatmansam_thebatman Posts: 112
    This is typical 220 triathlon magazine, they never review anything that is remotely within my price range and it is really anoying. I just skip over any of the reviews of kit in the magazine as there is no way that i can afford any of the stuff.
  • there was a review of wheels that 220 did last year for training wheels that ranged from around £170 thru £350 ........... ebay is a good bet on wheels, i got mine from the states (FSA RD600 - they were about £600.00 list price on Wiggle, got them shipped and customs paid for £330.00 and they were new) - so don't mind the prices !
  • danny_sdanny_s Posts: 235
    Its not a conclusive review, but for mid-budget wheels, I got a set of Bontrager Racer X Lites, and they've been great, while stopping short of breaking the bank, they're light and supposedly moderately aero... also bladed spokes look good on any bike, but I found them really comfy! I've also heard really nice things about Fulcrum Racing 3 or 5 wheelsets which also can fall under 400, so maybe just look up roadbikereview's thoughts on it. They get a lot of people to respond.

  • diddsdidds Posts: 655
    agree with all the above points wrt 220's reviews. It seems to be a total gear porn scenario. Along with their race reports, they seem to be totally focussed on those at the top end of the sport in many ways, at those who will actually make use of/benefit from a £7500 bike or a £1800 wheelset. Don't get me started on the swim technaiqe stuff that suggests starting your swim training session with a 3K warm up...



    triathlon Plus seems to be a better reveiewer already - with meaningful reports and kit that is within more people's price range - based won just two issues though to be faitr.



    didds

  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    Is this another thread where the economy of scale comes in. we all want to save up for a really good bike and lets be honest a £2k is going to out perform a £500 bike.



    The same applies for the wheels. I would love a set of zipp wheels and I would expect them to outperform my cheap shimano tiagra wheels.



    At the end of the day, its expensive for a reason and cheap where are cheap for a reason.



    I agree that not everyone is able to afford them but it does give an insight to what we could have.

  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    Jac - It seems that 220 only are interested in things us normal working humans cant afford! maybe one day they might catch on!
  • jon_gjon_g Posts: 318
    i've also got the bontrager race x lite. really like them and much bettert han the standard wheels the bike came with, much lighter.

    i've had a read of triathlon plus (it was the free first edition that came with cycling plus) and they review more moderatley priced stuff that i can actually afford. afraid i might be switching over to them until 220 catch on that not everyone can afford the stuff they review!
  • Ron99Ron99 Posts: 237
    shadowone1 wrote:


    Is this another thread where the economy of scale comes in. we all want to save up for a really good bike and lets be honest a £2k is going to out perform a £500 bike.



    The same applies for the wheels. I would love a set of zipp wheels and I would expect them to outperform my cheap shimano tiagra wheels.



    At the end of the day, its expensive for a reason and cheap where are cheap for a reason.



    I agree that not everyone is able to afford them but it does give an insight to what we could have.





    Doesn't the law of diminishing returns apply though?



    I don't think a 2k bike is necessarily twice as good as one that costs a grand, and the same would apply to wheels. I suppose that if you're right up there and competitive with the race leaders, then it would make sense to have comparable gear to them, but I think for a lot of people, the gains to be had are probably not worth the money (IMHO).



    Maybe I'm wrong, but it just seems like a lot of people put their faith into better and better gear (am I blaspheming here or what?) 220 does a good job of spreading this idea - you read it and think 'there must be lots of people out there buying this stuff, I've gotta have it too, to stay in the game'

  • PC_67PC_67 Posts: 196
    I bought Planet X Pro Carbon 50s last year, about as cheap as you'll get. Less than 600.



    There were a lot of ads in the mags for the old FSA carbon wheels over the last 2 years, in or around 500. Not sure if they're around still now there's a new model out.



    My PX 50s look great. I really haven't a rashers whether they're faster though. They seem to be well regarded by more knowledgable cyclists than me.



    I did Windsor in 2007 with the regular Shimano wheels the bike came with and in 2008 with my PX 50s. My two times were within 10 seconds of each other! That said, conditions were cooler in 2008 and I had just done a full OD race the previous weekend so was hardly fresh.



    I have to say though that the absence of a review for such a popular wheelset as the PXs (or the Dalkkiia ones that are also at the low cost end -in carbon terms) strikes me as a bit cynical.
  • MGMG Posts: 470
    I also have Planet-X Pro Carbon 50 wheels, they are awesome value for money and come in clincher or tub. Cant remember how much they were though.....



  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Tend to agree with most of the comments above.A number of the wheels in the review can be purchased for alot cheaper by shopping around or purchasing (heaven forbid) last years model.They go on about tubs or clinchers yet fail to include Corima aero + which have the capability of using clinchers or the new tubeless clinchers.Highest price will not neccessary give you your best return for the money.Something missing from the test was...if they break or go out of true,can they be fixed easily,down your local bike shot,or off to the manufacturers and back some time next epoch.
  • PC_67PC_67 Posts: 196
    Jules, further to my post above I just noticed that the other FSA carbon 50mm wheels I referred to are advertised by JEJAMES Cycles in this month's 220 mag. £538 per pair but not sure whether clincher or tub. I suspect tub only.



    Just to further reveal how odd this month's 220 Wheel Review seems to me, HED has updated its range this year and has put in lots of double-page ads showing off its new wheels, including this month's 220. They've clearly spent time expanding the range - and are the wheels used by Chrissie W, the best triathlete in the world probably. Has 220 ever reviewed these new models? Not that I can recall.



    A proper "group test" should include all available opitions. I appreciate that for bikes this is too hard as there are so many. But for carbon wheels there are probably only about a dozen options and ALL should be reviewed with awards across categories - money no object, budget / value for money, versatility & so on.



    I accept that in the past I've been sceptical as to why Focus bikes (sold exclusively through Wiggle, one of bike & tri mags' biggest advertisers) always seem to score so highly in reviews. On this basis maybe it's good that HED doesn't score really well - at least you can maybe trust the reviews' objectivity - but surely a good pre-season wheel review should cover PX, Dalkiia, Hed, Corima and any others I've left out. It just makes it feel incomplete to me.



    EDIT: just noticed that HED Stingers ARE reviewed. Ooops!



    Note to self: do not post on internet forums when I have just polished off a bottle of wine by myself.
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Pc_67,agree with your comments regarding previous winners and advertisers etc.Editors choice seemed to be the most expensive and sold exclusively by wiggle.Very little was mentioned regarding rim depth.As the test was on racing wheels,the rim depth will play an important part depending on the course that they are going to be used on.

    I was suprised that in last months mag they missed QR out of the wetsuit test (maybe one of Triathlons most innovated companies wouldn't supply the Ed with any freebies,but I may have to eat my words due to the QR Cd0.1 feature).
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    gear review..I afforded some of them new fangled knotty lock laces today, a wopping £7.19...whereas regular lock laces are £4.19 ish, not sure if they are more than 50% better ..yet.
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