Original wheelset vs Carbon wheelset
- Thread starter The Brook
- Start date
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
After a bike's frame and fork, wheels (and tires) perhaps have the second highest impact on how a bike rides and performs. But it also depends on what the rider wants and values. Cruzbike's stock wheels are good, get-the-job-done hoops. Lower in cost, durable, and comparatively heavy. For many riders, they're just fine. They are also a smart choice for a smaller company like Cruzbike, to help them keep costs down while still offering at least decent performance. They could offer ala carte wheel upgrades, but that would drive up the cost of what is already a somewhat expensive bike, and CB would have to deal with the overhead of extra wheelsets.
If you value speed, performance, and ride quality, you put in a lot of miles, including climbs, and like to compete with the faster DF riders, upgrading to something like the Firecrests and higher-end road tires makes sense and would be money well spent. You will most likely notice the difference, perhaps by a lot. If you're more into taking in the sights at a leisurely pace, and maybe carrying small loads from time to time, the stock wheels with the right tires for how you ride should serve you well, with minimal fuss.
If you value speed, performance, and ride quality, you put in a lot of miles, including climbs, and like to compete with the faster DF riders, upgrading to something like the Firecrests and higher-end road tires makes sense and would be money well spent. You will most likely notice the difference, perhaps by a lot. If you're more into taking in the sights at a leisurely pace, and maybe carrying small loads from time to time, the stock wheels with the right tires for how you ride should serve you well, with minimal fuss.
For a V20, you are really leaving a lot of average speed on the table with the stock wheels. On a very aero bike/rider setup, the wheels make a higher percentage of the total overall drag, so you can may high percentage changes to drag going from shallow depth wheels to deeper wheels. I personally thing the weight is not as much of an issue on the V20 and the aero drag is what you are after. I have 90mm wheels on my V20 (not light). I went through a couple of stages but picked up about 1-2kph going from 50mm to 90mm, and probably another 2-3kph from stock wheels to 50mm (with better tyres also).
So if speed is the goal... then deep carbon wheels are probably the best upgrade you can do.
So if speed is the goal... then deep carbon wheels are probably the best upgrade you can do.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
Agreed. I build my own wheels, and chose to run 50mm carbon rims on my V20c. I also agree that a deeper rim will yield slightly higher speeds on these bikes, and that wheel weight is not the first priority. My only "yeah, but" for anyone thinking about such an upgrade is this: I weigh only 130lbs/59kg, and I live in an area that sometimes has pretty good crosswinds, including on some descents. Catching a stiff sideways gust at speed on a V can be a butt-puckering experience, and the deeper the rim, the stronger the sidewind might feel. I have heard that heavier riders tend to be less affected, while lighter riders get tossed around more easily, which makes sense. I would have liked to go deeper, but felt that 50mm was a good middle ground, given my weight and local conditions.
Totally agree. I am about 70kg and I have ridden my setup in strong winds and you get blown around a lot. Not more than I can handle, but on a strong/gusty day it can have you wondering if you should have gone out. But for the rest (99%) of the time the speed improvements are noticable and appreciated. Of course if you are not too fussed about the speed, I would not recommend very deep wheels because of the compromises. But the V20 is all about speed right? Otherwise you would choose a different option in the lineup.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
Absolutely. Anyone planning to buy a V should also be planning to ride it fast. A few strategic upgrades, such as wheels, make sense.
Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
I don't know anything at all about the wheels that come with any of the CB models, but deep wheels can add quite a bit of free speed. At a bit over 80kg my 60mm deep wheels are a dream in all of my rides on the flats except one 100m segment that is a severe crosswind doing all I can to not get knocked over. I am not doing any timed segments that include any significant climbing so I would just keep those heavier wheels on because at a total weight of about 100kg including the bike that extra 200g of wheel weight isn't going to make a difference on the climbs anyway.
If Mavic asked me for my perfect wheel I would tell them to make the CXR80 a hooked tubeless ready 28mm wide aluminum hoop and rim bed (to remove the need for rim tape) with Exalith braking surface, 80mm carbon fiber fairing bonded to the rim, and run a 25mm Conti GP TL tire (105%). It would look something like this...
but with the Exalith brake track like this...
If Mavic asked me for my perfect wheel I would tell them to make the CXR80 a hooked tubeless ready 28mm wide aluminum hoop and rim bed (to remove the need for rim tape) with Exalith braking surface, 80mm carbon fiber fairing bonded to the rim, and run a 25mm Conti GP TL tire (105%). It would look something like this...
but with the Exalith brake track like this...
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
I mentioned earlier that I build my own wheels. I source my rims from Light Bicycle, and one of the several reasons I like them is that they will make you a rim without spoke holes in the rim bed (and with or without a brake track). The lack of spoke holes adds a little bit to the building process, but I sure don't miss rim tape. It does take about seven weeks for the rims to arrive because they are a custom order (only a $10 upcharge), so there is a wait. I took the picture a bit ago to show my brother how much wider today's road rims are compared to the early 90s.
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Frito Bandito
Zen MBB Master
That looks really nice braddah! I will have to check them out. Just thinking out loud but I wonder if they would take a Mavic wheel with Exalith brake tracks and bond CF to it in the desired depth.
chicorider
Zen MBB Master
An interesting idea. I kind of doubt that LB would do that, but I imagine you could find a carbon fiber craftsman who would.
The jump to a high-end carbon set like the 303 Firecrests is usually pretty noticeable, especially in how the bike handles and accelerates.
