Give it a respray and maybe some new wheels and enjoy for more years. You are winning!
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Actually, the anodized black paintjob is just perfect, high quality, no scratches, love it 
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Those are decent tires for casual use, but if you feel like a change, something like a Vittoria Corsa Pro Control might ride a bit better and perform a bit better overall. It wonāt be an earth-shattering change if you keep the same size, but tires are a wear item so youāll have to replace them eventually.
Obviously, if you arenāt running tubeless, thatās an option. That would let you run slightly lower tire pressures for more comfort and usually less rolling resistance as well. Or if you donāt want to go tubeless, maybe latex or TPU tubes (assuming youāre running butyl tubes today).
And possibly go a size wider for your road tire. So, 30 or 32mm. Most of the top road tires come in one of both of those.
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Itās better. Hell yes, itās better. Go to 28, 30, or 32ā¦ the largest of those thatāll fit in your fork, and run them at lower pressures. Youāll go just as fast and be WAY more comfortable.
Folks, thank you all for your valuable input. I will stick with my good ole mule and probably move from 28mm to 32mm tires.
Today I put on my CX wheelset, with 35mm Panaracers.
Wow, that was comfy and ironically I did not feel any slower. Probably I just tanked over worse road parts I would probably normally slow down for.
Was a fun ride. Maybe I will take the bike to the forrest much more often. I have not done so for a long time!
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Iāve upgraded from BB7s to cable-actuated hydraulic calipers: Juin Tech R1 Hydraulic Road CX (JT1903). Transformed the stopping power, vastly better modulation and much easier upkeep with no need to swap levers. Iāve subsequently tried hydro 105s on a hire bike and found the Juin techs to be better, although that could be a set-up issue. The 105s were definitely the weaker brakes, though, even allowing for set up.
Like you I ride an old cross bike and thought about changing recently; Iāve decided to stick with it and spend the money on training in Spanish sunshine instead of Scottish murk. Also picked up a bike which lives on the smart trainer permanently.
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If you arenāt racing cyclocross, you can also swap those for the largest gravel tire that will fit in the frame. Something like a 40 to 45mm Terraspeed or Pathfinder Pro (if theyāll fit). Like the road tires, theyāll roll faster and allow a lower pressure vs the 35s.
For what itās worth, Iāve found my 40mm Terraspeeds are ~1mph slower than 28mm Specialized Turbos over my normal paved ride. For solo rides, if the gravel wheels are on the bike, I often wonāt bother changing them. But will change them for group rides where the speed is higher and I donāt want to get dropped.
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Just adding to what I said aboveā¦
If youāre only riding solo, and donāt care about absolute speed, you might consider selling both current wheelset/tire combos and buy one really nice wheel set with fast gravel tires. Youāll get the comfort of wider tires, lower rolling resistance, and a small aero hit. Net loss is a bit of top-end speed on pavement (aero). Net gain is comfort and speed on gravel/dirt.
But, if you do care abut speed on pavement, and/or group rides, then keeping a dedicated road wheel makes sense.
My current setup is:
Gravel - 30mm deep, 25mm wide (internal) carbon wheels with 40mm TerraSpeed tires (will probably go to 45mm next time I need a set).
Pavement - 50mm deep, 21mm wide (internal) carbon wheels with 28mm Specilalized Turbos (have a set of 30mm Corsa Controls ready when I need them).
[I have two bikes this season, but last season I swapped the above wheels on a single bike as needed]
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Hi,
bringing this topic up again, my question:
-
stick to this āoldā, tested and fitted bike and update the wheelset
a) to 23mm light Alloy wheels (500-600ā¬)
b)) or to 30mm Carbon wheels (800-1000ā¬) -
or buy a full carbon aero bike for 4000ā¬+
(thinking about the van Rysel RCR Rival AXR)
what do you think?
Would a full carbon racer make such a huge difference to mY current bike with upgraded alloy or carbon wheels?
Quoting you here:
That should tell you everything you need to know: no. Since this is a CX bike with disc brakes, you can even join the wide road tire club and put on 34ā35 mm road tires (at lower pressures)!
If you have a strong itch to spend money, here are some areas I would focus on:
- Good clothing. My butt is classist and loves fancy 7Mesh bib shorts. Get a good jacket to keep you warm in the winter. Make sure you have the right gloves. Itāll make you want to ride more.
- A power meter on your bike. Iād get Favero power meter pedals. In case you have MTB shoes, they make an excellent mountain bike pedal. Otherwise stick to the Assioma.
- Upgrade your wheels. Entry-level carbon wheels cost 1,000ā1,500 ā¬ these days. Consider brands like Hunt or Zippās 303S. Iād get wheels that are 40ā50 mm deeps. This is the goldilocks depth and all modern mid-depth wheels are well-behaved in crosswind. Nothing to worry about.
Typically, Iād also consider upgrading your other two touch points (saddle and handlebars), but since you seem to be happy as a clam, Iād just keep things as they are.
No. Youād get a bike thatās less versatile and perhaps even less capable in some areas. With my aero road bike I have to stop when the cobbles get too rough. Plus, you donāt know whether the bike you mentioned is actually a good fit.
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thank you. this is my feeling too.
- I have good clothing. Ekoi all the way
- I have a 4iii one-sided PM and happy with it
- I have a Specialized Seat perfectly matched with my sitbones after the Bikefit. almost never any kind of problems here
- wheels: yes, this I would like to do asap. I am thinking about the following alternatives for wheels:
or
How much would the Carbon be noticeably better than the alloy?
IMHO both are a tad too shallow. If you want to go for Hunt wheels look at the 44 mm or 60 mm deep ones instead.
But honestly, Iād go for Zippās 303S which are on sale for 940 ā¬ on bike24.de. They are deeper, wider (25 mm internal) and just great.
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Thanks. I donāt want to do any CX or Gravel with this set.
Do I need higher/deeper wheels for road?
I will keep one āoldā wheelset with 38mm on it.
I am sceptical about Zipp and Hookless. whatās your take?
Since āmoney is not an issueā - electronic shifting could be considered. Made a huge difference for me on my gravel bike - reliable shifting w/ much less fatigue to the hands. Also ability to position remote shifters (blips etc.) on the tops of the bars. Iām in the process of upgrading my 2010 Felt carbon fiber hard tail mountain bike (that I absolutely love) to electronic shifting.
Define āneedā. I think it is better. And you can use these wheels also for gravel tires, no problem.
I didnāt have to cross that road as my carbon wheels are hooked. My impression is that the world is going hookless for the most part, so just make sure to run tires that are wide enough.
If I had a 1,000 ā¬ hole in my pocket (and approval of my minister of finance), Iād go for the Zipps. The Hunts are quite narrow.
Yes, but I think it is way down the list I posted. (I have electronic shifting on one bike and I agree with the advantages. I can shift with my pinkie fingers.)
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23mm to 30mm depth is not an aero upgrade.
I installed 50mm wheels on my 2014 Colnago and it made a big difference. I also did race fit jersey and aero helmet.
Are you trying to be fast for a particular reason? If not, then the 30mm wheels might be fine.
Personally, I wouldnāt touch hookless at all. If you have an older bike, verify that the wider ties required for hookless will have enough clearance.
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Thank you. I donāt need to be āfastā, I am not racing, competing or anything.
I am not even riding in groups, just for myself whenever I find time.
I am just looking to make my bike zippier, lighter, less bulky. My current set up of wheels weighs 3,8kg
I donāt know if I need 50mm for that or if 23/30 is enough tto already make a huge difference.
Moreover: I donāt want to have any hassle with my new wheelset - just ride and take care of my bike in a reasonable way. I donāt want to be worried about carbon breaking or Hookless setups or anything.
What model wheel do you have? What bike do you have? Iām doubting 3.8kg but maybe you are measuring it with the cassette, tires, and all.
Iād suggest getting a mid-depth 45mm or so carbon wheelset for your bike. That should make it feel more responsive and give you an aero boost as well. On top of that, ride the fastest tires - like GP5000s or equivalent. If you ride Gatorskins or some flat preventing tire, you loose like 20+ watts.
Iād get some more budget priced wheels. I bought mid-priced ($500 5 years ago) Farsports wheels. They have been fantastic. They totally transformed my 2014 Colnago and my performance on group rides
Make sure you understand how much clearance you have and what width tire you can run. My Colnago can still only accomodate a 25mm tire and couldnāt take an extra wide rim.
You also need carbon brake pads and braking in the wet will suck.
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this is my setup, and yes, I weighted the RX010 wheeler with cassette and the tubed tyres. With a lighter wheeler, going tubeless on Conti 5000 I hope to get down in weight by about 1,5kg, unrealistic?
why would I need carbon brake pads? I have disc brakes. Do I misunderstand something here?
So you say I do not need carbon wheels at all and should go for the more budget friendly alloys?
I have a set of wheels for Gravel with 40mm tyres as well. Works fine for a little bit of rough terrain. So clearance space should not be an issue.
No then. I thought you had an older rim brake bike. Skyās the limit for what wheels you want.
I meant a budget friendly carbon wheelset. Performance wise, there often isnāt a measurable difference between budget friendly and expensive wheels.
