[shwndh]

My wife has an older Cannondale Synapse with stock Maddux 3.0 wheelset that needs to be replaced. Budget is under $300 and weight should be under 1900 grams for the set, she only weighs 125lbs so she won’t be hard on them. Problem is, I can’t find what I want in stock. Originally settled on Fulcrum Racing 6 C17 weighing in at 1760 gram a set for $250 shipped, but they’re sold out everywhere! I’ve narrowed it down to the following two alternatives:

1. Mavic Aksium rim for $186 + $64 shipping, 1840 grams
2. Campagnolo Calima C17 For $205 shipped, 1820 grams

The Mavic wheels would be the 1st choice but I’m not sure if the Campy wheels would be a bit better or the same.

 

[tlg]

Neither. You can get much better wheels in your budget.
Check out Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. All their wheels are high quality hand built. I have a few wheelsets from them. All are rock solid.

I would suggest the Blackset Race.

Blackset Race 24 700c Wheel Set

bicyclewheelwarehouse.com

They are on sale for $399.00. Use the Coupon code "20Now". And they are $319.20 with free shipping.

They offer 3 builds. My wife has the 20/24 build.
20 Front (610g) / 24 Rear (805g) = 1415g (Racing)
20 Front (610g) / 28 Rear (825g) = 1435g (Light Weight with all around performance)
24 Front (630g) / 28 Rear (825g) = 1455g (heavier duty build for everyday abuse)

These are almost a pound lighter than the wheels you're looking at. That's a huge difference.

 

[shwndh]

Neither. You can get much better wheels in your budget.
Check out Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. All their wheels are high quality hand built. I have a few wheelsets from them. All are rock solid.

I would suggest the Blackset Race.

Blackset Race 24 700c Wheel Set

bicyclewheelwarehouse.com

They are on sale for $399.00. Use the Coupon code "20Now". And they are $319.20 with free shipping.

They offer 3 builds. My wife has the 20/24 build.
20 Front (610g) / 24 Rear (805g) = 1415g (Racing)
20 Front (610g) / 28 Rear (825g) = 1435g (Light Weight with all around performance)
24 Front (630g) / 28 Rear (825g) = 1455g (heavier duty build for everyday abuse)

These are almost a pound lighter than the wheels you're looking at. That's a huge difference.

Thank you so much! I looked at these wheels for myself but I couldn’t justify a $400 wheelset for her because she only rides the road bike a hand full of times a year. But that discount code is golden! I’m going to push these because I’ll use them if she don’t wanna ride. Thanx again.

 

[Lombard]

Neither. You can get much better wheels in your budget.
Check out Bicycle Wheel Warehouse. All their wheels are high quality hand built. I have a few wheelsets from them. All are rock solid.

I would suggest the Blackset Race.

Blackset Race 24 700c Wheel Set

bicyclewheelwarehouse.com

They are on sale for $399.00. Use the Coupon code "20Now". And they are $319.20 with free shipping.

They offer 3 builds. My wife has the 20/24 build.
20 Front (610g) / 24 Rear (805g) = 1415g (Racing)
20 Front (610g) / 28 Rear (825g) = 1435g (Light Weight with all around performance)
24 Front (630g) / 28 Rear (825g) = 1455g (heavier duty build for everyday abuse)

These are almost a pound lighter than the wheels you're looking at. That's a huge difference.

I'll second the Blackset Race wheels. You can't do better for the money. Better than anything made by Mavic.

 

[tlg]

Thank you so much! I looked at these wheels for myself but I couldn’t justify a $400 wheelset for her because she only rides the road bike a hand full of times a year. But that discount code is golden! I’m going to push these because I’ll use them if she don’t wanna ride. Thanx again.

It's valentines day. She deserves them

 

[Lombard]

Thank you so much! I looked at these wheels for myself but I couldn’t justify a $400 wheelset for her because she only rides the road bike a hand full of times a year. But that discount code is golden! I’m going to push these because I’ll use them if she don’t wanna ride. Thanx again.

I would suggest the 24/28 spoke count option. The wheels are light enough and the extra spokes will make stronger wheels which will have fewer problems.

 

[shwndh]

I would suggest the 24/28 spoke count option. The wheels are light enough and the extra spokes will make stronger wheels which will have fewer problems.

Yea, I was tring to decide what the best spoke count would be. I was leaning towards the 20/28. I have a 20 in the front on my bike and I’ve had no issues. Old open pro rim though.

I don’t know about Mavic’s newer offerings but I had great experiences with their older stuff. Seems to be a different company now.

 

[GKSki]

You should probably shop around for the Campagnolo Sciroccos as well.

 

[Lombard]

Yea, I was tring to decide what the best spoke count would be. I was leaning towards the 20/28. I have a 20 in the front on my bike and I’ve had no issues. Old open pro rim though.

I don’t know about Mavic’s newer offerings but I had great experiences with their older stuff. Seems to be a different company now.

20/28 should be fine considering she is lightweight. The vast majority of stress is on the rear wheel.

Mavic quality has declined significantly.

 

[shwndh]

I just placed my order for the 24/28 Blackset Race 24 Wheelset. 20 gram difference is not going to be noticeable. I compared them for hours to other available wheel sets in this price range and they could not be beat for the build quality, variety in configurations, tubeless compatibility, and claimed weight. Can't wait to get them now. I'm thinking this will be a significant improvement in feel once she rides on these compared to those wobbling boat anchors she has now. I'll post back experiences when I get them. Thanx for the reminder on BWW. Been wanting to try them for years.

 

[thatsmybush]

Whelp RBR works, did not know of this place but needed some new basharound CX wheels and this place fit the bill.

 

[shwndh]

I just received and installed the wheels today. They came well packaged but the box was extremely light though! They’re certainly not flashy looking at all but the hubs look and feel quality. The 2012 Synapse Alloy they were installed on doesn’t look any different but the rims are wider. The bike feels like it’s 2 pounds lighter! She could definitely feel the difference picking the bike up. Supposedly, the old wheel set was about 2100 grams. This new set has a claimed weight of 1455 grams. That along with the new Salle Italia SLR Tri saddle has made a significant drop in weight. It’s too cold to go test ride but it sure feels lighter. Have to wait til the weekend to test ride.

 

[tlg]

but the rims are wider.

You can run wider tires at a lower pressure and have a more comfortable ride.

Glad you like them. Let us know what she thinks after riding them.

 

[shwndh]

Finally got to ride today. Sun came out and temps over 60. Beautiful day! She loves the new wheel upgrade! She just kept saying “the bike feels lighter”and her new Salle Italia was very comfortable. She climbed every hill like a pro, so I guess I dun good. I may have a new riding partner.