I have a wonderful city bike which I've rebuilt for longer tours on road. Right now I'm running an Alfine 8 hub on super robust Ryde Rival 25 wheels, but I'm looking to drop some weight and go faster.
I love this bike – it's comfortable and fits me well. Would it be crazy to drop $850 on a carbon wheelset?
by vProTi
5 Comments
Crazy? Probably but if that’s what you want then do it. I upgraded almost every part on my Cannondale Quick and some think I’m crazy. The bike fits well and I love to ride it – that’s what matters. As the young kids say, you do you and live your best life.
what good is a few hundred grams gonna do when you’re lugging 10kg+ of touring gear with you?
A couple of things. How much do you and your bike weigh? A lot of those road bike wheel sets have a 110-20 kg limit just so you know. Also are you aiming to transfer the IGH to new wheel set or switch to different drivetrain in which case you need new shifters, cassette etc.? If you want to use that alfine hub you would need to get it removed from your old wheel and used to make a new rear with different rim and spokes.
I wouldn’t get carbon bladed spokes on a wheel set for a bike like yours or probably a deeper section rim. Those things are really suited for carbon frame road bikes where you want everything to be as stiff and aero as possible. You probably would find it would ride a bit funny with super stiff/deep wheels.
Honestly just doing things like changing to a tyre with much lower rolling resistance, might be a good first step.
I have an interest in internal gear hubs. Since you mentioned potential weight savings, how do you feel about the Alfine’s weight? I haven’t had hands on one, but I have noted how darned heavy a Nexus 7 speed hub is. That plus an eye toward relative simplicity has shifted my own interest toward the Nexus 3 speed hub.
I do get that you’re touring and place value on robustness and versatility. But in light of the IGH weight, will you be getting much practical gain in switching rims?
Rationally, I would tell you that it makes no sense considering the overall system weight and (lack of) aerodynamics.
However, you’re on /r/xbiking. People are not here because they are looking to make rational decisions regarding their bike builds.