I ride a 2003 Serotta Councours (custom geometry Ti frame). All the tubes are round. Wheels are rim braked aluminum rims (30 mm alloy aero profile that are 23 external width). I can run 25 mm wide conti GP5000s with no rub and a little room to spare. Now I know this is far from an aero bike, but I have been considering upgrading to carbon wheels with a mid-depth profile (~45 mm) to gain some speed. Based on my need for a rather narrow external width rim (~23 mm) and rim brakes I figured used wheels are a good option as wheels with a few years on them are generally narrower… a few years old also may mean that the technology in the wheel hadn’t advanced to the level it is at today. So my question is do you think putting something like Reynold Assault wheels circa 2010 or so (I us this as example as I have seen numerous sets on the resale market and they are narrow enough to work with my frame limitations) would provide me with a better ride experience (ride quality and or speed) or would a wheel that old not provide much over my current alloy wheels in terms of ride? My current wheels are Rol Race SL (1550 g which is same weight as older Assault wheels).
It may not make you faster, but I think the best looking bike is a classic round tube with deep aero wheels! I say go for 60mm+ and send it!
There are some newer wheels with fairly narrow internal. I wanna say DT swiss Arc wheels are 21 or 23 internal? Theres still some companies making good aero disc wheels…get em while you can!
full carbon non tubeless Zipp 404s would work well in your situation. They’d also be more stable than v shaped Reynolds. They don’t require tire levers to change tires either making tire and tube swaps east and fast.
I have the Zipps and love them
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