I’m considering upgrading my wheels as there’s a 10% sale on at the moment. I’m currently running a set of stock wheels that came on my Canyon Endurace: DT Swiss E 1800 Spline. I’m thinking of going for a DT Swiss ER 1400 wheelset. Would this be a worthy upgrade? or am I just wasting money?
Links to wheels:
https://www.dtswiss.com/en/products/wheels-road/endurance/er-1400/er-1400/
Depends on your goals with the wheels and how much the cost is, relative to your budget and potential other upgrades. What do you hope to get out of them?
I’m looking for a bit more speed. My bike is aluminium so I’m not looking for anything carbon. Personally I don’t think I’m at a level yet where I would feel the benefits of carbon.
I just sold a pair of lightly used Zipp 303 NSW on eBay for not much more than that price. You might consider buying something lightly used. As for your comment about not being able to notice the benefits of carbon, I would reply that everyone deserves the best product they can get for the money they spend.
How weird, I was just going to post a very similar question and noticed yours. I think I’ve got exactly the same bike as you and am thinking about upgrading for crit racing (and also wanting a second wheel so I don’t have to keep swapping cassettes for hillier rides). Don’t want to spend more than £500 though.
Don’t really know where to start. How would I know if the new wheels are going to be better than my E1800’s? Just assume that if they are lighter or more aero then they may be faster?
Evans Cycles have 10% off on wheels until the 7th
What is the point in running an aero wheel when you don’t have an aero frame? Also, if you don’t have a few inches of drop, why consider aero-stuff at all? I’m in the same boat too, FWIW, stem is not slammed, round-tube bike, etc. I’d probably go for the wheels though and buy a bigger set of tires for gravel.
These are valid points. I was thinking a lighter wheelset may lead to some speed gains. But of course, upgrading the engine leads to the biggest gains 
Totally disagree here. Aero bikes are a fairly new invention. We rode aero wheels for many years with non aero frames and it makes a huge difference.
Because reducing CdA is reducing CdA. It’s all linearly additive (for the most part, results may vary). If you can do something to get more aero that doesn’t make doing other things to get more aero more or less valuable.
As far as $/W go, spending on the frame is about as bad as it gets.
How were those gains measured?
Speed
To add on to my question, how will you measure gains? Races, gran fondos, Strava KOMs? Hills or flats?
From the wheel choice, it feels like you’re going for climbing because of shallow wheel depth and lighter weight.
Gains mainly show up from from long duration or high intensity affairs.
Seriously. We were all riding aero wheels before aero frames rolled around. Chances are the people winning your local races aren’t on aero frames.
It’s not the bike.
This. I’m too lazy to link to all the various wind tunnel and velodrome tests that confirm this notion, but they do exist.
Wheels make a bigger difference in aero gains than an aero frame. So all else being equal, I’d rather have aero wheels and a non-aero frame than aero frame and non-aero wheels.
A few hundred grams of wheel weight makes very little difference in speed. Aero profile is much more valuable for that. You “might” notice a difference in acceleration though. I’d still get aero. I don’t know if you can get them where you are but I’d look at getting some flo 45s or something along those lines.
Thanks for your advice. In all honesty, I’m not too sure what I should be looking for in a wheel better than the E 1800 Spline. I saw that the ER 1400 was lighter than my wheels so thought they would be faster by default. I’ll have a look into the Flo 45s. I think its best to do a bit more research before buying. I shouldn’t really buy purely because they are on sale! I think I’d come to regret that decision!
IMO - go for carbon. Next time you upgrade your bike wheels won’t be a factor and you may find more options or a frame set that works better.
Wheels make the bike!
@berto2cj are there any wheels you would recommend? Bear in mind my bike is aluminium and I don’t need something that would break the bank!
I have a set of aerus- if you have ever heard of blue bikes that is their house component brand.
Look into a site called my bike shop- they have bargains and blowout sales often. Just sign up for their newsletter, be patient for a month and I’d bet you’ll find something