Wheel upgrade?

[Dave W]

Does anyone know anything about these wheels?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121514207457? ... EBIDX%3AIT

To me with my limited knowledge they seem keenly priced. If I was in the market for upgrading my Wiggo, mamil, carbon wannabe bike would they be any good?

[Brucey]

I know about the bits but not the builder.

What will you use the wheels for, and what are you trying to achieve with your proposed upgrade?

cheers

[Dave W]

Probably use them for cycling.

[bikercolin]

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/road ... aid:716718

I have found these wheels from Rose Bikes to be well built and long lived

[Brucey]

Probably use them for cycling.

oh, well that is different then....

surface, weight, type of tyres fitted, are you competing, how fast do you think you will go, what kind of change do you want/expect from your previous wheels.....

all these things can affect the suitability of wheels for your purposes.

cheers

[RRSODL]

Does anyone know anything about these wheels?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121514207457? ... EBIDX%3AIT

To me with my limited knowledge they seem keenly priced. If I was in the market for upgrading my Wiggo, mamil, carbon wannabe bike would they be any good?

They should be OK. He is a well know wheel builder.

[Keezx]

The price is reasonable but no bargain.
My problem would be the old fashioned narrow rim.
For the same price you might get a set with 17/18C rims which improve handling and comfort with 23 or 25 mm tyres.
For the same reason I wouldn't use Open Pro's anymore.

[beardy]

That is an interesting assertion as that is right at the extreme of what is allowed for a 17mm rim with a 25mm tyre and beyond it with a 23mm tyre.

According to Schwalbe.

http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/reifenmasse.html

It would be reasonable to attach more weight to their opinion than that of "some guy on the web" wouldnt it?

PS: I am carrying a 23mm tyre as a spare even when I ride with 17mm rims on the bike, so one day I may get to test your theory.

[Keezx]

Well, actually it isn't my theory, but a trend which is going for the last 3-4 years.
In general I am sceptical to trends but this one makes sense and worldwide a lot of people do expierience the small but
obvious advantages.
23 mm Tyres can be ridden absolutely problemfree on 18C rims and even 19C rims with lower pressure without risking pinch flats.
At the moment I am riding 23 mm Conti Grand Prix's at 6 Bar rear and 5,5 Bar front, no problem whatsoever and clearly smoother and more stable in corners then the same tyres on 13 or 15C at 7 Bar.

[beardy]

Well that is good news if I ever have to use the spare.

It seems that every bit of advice about rims, tyres, size and pressure contradicts the last. My personal experience doesnt count for much because by the time I change tyres I have forgotten what the pair previous to the ones I was replacing felt like.
So it is a matter of trying to sift through and evaluate the sources. No offence meant but you can see that something in print from a major respected tyre company does carry more weight on the "authoritative voice" side of things.
Yet I never discount anybody's personal experience, especially if others mirror it.
Though I am a bit suspicious of "group think" occurring in places like forums.

Also the advantages may not pass on to different types of cycling, These are after all semi-aero rims and I think I heard comment once on this forum about wider rims improving the aerodynamics.
Now I have joined in on repeating "what a guy on the forum said".

[Keezx]

Personal expierience is far more important then some tables which origin lies in the dark times where tubulars were the norm and clinchers for tourers or citybikes.
So I only talk about smoother rolling and grip in corners.....
Good alternative for tubeless which I don't like.

[beardy]

So prior to having that personal experience, what convinced you to give it a go?

DaveW is looking to spend around £250, which is a bit much to gamble just on something they read on the web.

[Keezx]

As I'm active on German forums too (I'm Dutch) I stumbled on some long threads about this item.
(Germans like to discuss all kinds of technical matters thoroughly)
Was never very satisfied with the standard combination of 13 or 15C rims and 23 mm tyres.
25 mm is better but felt sloppy in the corners (I'm 62 but still racing) so when I picked up the idea in those forums I decided to give it a try.
Tubular tyres still feel better but too much hassle....

[beardy]

Ha, A Johny foreigner repeating another Johny foreigner!!!

JOKING in case anybody misses it.

Yes having two different groups working independently helps to demolish the ideas that group think builds up within an isolated community. Though that Schwalbe information also comes from Germany.

I personally dont know the answer, thanks for the replies, I will watch how things develop in the world and relax more about the prospect of ever using my spare which I previously believed was an emergency measure only and beyond the realms of what was wise.

[Brucey]

23 mm Tyres can be ridden absolutely problemfree on 18C rims and even 19C rims with lower pressure without risking pinch flats...

Maybe, but when I've tried narrow tyres which fitted almost this way (i.e. with the rim external dimension about as wide as the tyre), I liked the stability in the corners but I found an unexpected problem; during very hard cornering the edge of the rim would hit the road!

I heard some funny noises and felt feelings I didn't recognise and when I looked, I found that the rim edge was covered in tiny marks. So I soon quit running tyres that way.

I've looked at the latest generation of wide aero clincher rims and I don't see anything much that would make them any different in this respect. Maybe they are OK for time trials etc but for the hardest cornering I am not yet convinced, and I would veer towards a tyre that is a little wider than the rim. So for me if I want to run 23s I'm still going to choose a rim that has an external width of about 20 or 21mm.

YMMV of course

cheers