I want a new set, preferably ones that are easy to change. I don’t want to go tubeless, I just want a wheel set I can change tyres in without letting women down everywhere
I want a new set, preferably ones that are easy to change. I don’t want to go tubeless, I just want a wheel set I can change tyres in without letting women down everywhere
However it seems I may need a converter for the disc brake bolts.
1. Is that right?
2. Any other recommendations?
Thanks I’m advance!
What is your budget?
Any reason why you don't want to go tubeless? I resisted it for ages, but after a run of 7/8 punctures in 2 weeks I bought myself a set of Zip 303s with Goodyear F1 tyres. Annoyed I waited so long to change.
If you want some standard wheels as an upgrade I can recommend these. I have them on my winter bike and they are pretty much bomb proof. Easy enough to change tyres.
You should also consider that tbe tyres themselves might be the issue. Are you still running the stock tyres? Decent tyre levers also help. I use these and can get a tyre off a carbon rim using just one (carry two incase its a cold day and my hands aren't working)
I want a new set, preferably ones that are easy to change. I don’t want to go tubeless, I just want a wheel set I can change tyres in without letting women down everywhere
However it seems I may need a converter for the disc brake bolts.
1. Is that right?
2. Any other recommendations?
Thanks I’m advance!
What is your budget?
Any reason why you don't want to go tubeless? I resisted it for ages, but after a run of 7/8 punctures in 2 weeks I bought myself a set of Zip 303s with Goodyear F1 tyres. Annoyed I waited so long to change.
If you want some standard wheels as an upgrade I can recommend these. I have them on my winter bike and they are pretty much bomb proof. Easy enough to change tyres.
You should also consider that tbe tyres themselves might be the issue. Are you still running the stock tyres? Decent tyre levers also help. I use these and can get a tyre off a carbon rim using just one (carry two incase its a cold day and my hands aren't working)
I want a new set, preferably ones that are easy to change. I don’t want to go tubeless, I just want a wheel set I can change tyres in without letting women down everywhere
However it seems I may need a converter for the disc brake bolts.
1. Is that right?
2. Any other recommendations?
Thanks I’m advance!
What is your budget?
Any reason why you don't want to go tubeless? I resisted it for ages, but after a run of 7/8 punctures in 2 weeks I bought myself a set of Zip 303s with Goodyear F1 tyres. Annoyed I waited so long to change.
If you want some standard wheels as an upgrade I can recommend these. I have them on my winter bike and they are pretty much bomb proof. Easy enough to change tyres.
You should also consider that tbe tyres themselves might be the issue. Are you still running the stock tyres? Decent tyre levers also help. I use these and can get a tyre off a carbon rim using just one (carry two incase its a cold day and my hands aren't working)
Cheers Clem! Max £350, I don’t want to brake the bank.
It’s not the tyres. I’ve got the stock 28s, continental turbo 23 and continental 35s. All of them a bugger to change - it’s the wheels, those stock ones are notorious for it apparently!
Those look great but I’ll need an adapter right? They’re thru axel and my bike’s quick release.
I want a new set, preferably ones that are easy to change. I don’t want to go tubeless, I just want a wheel set I can change tyres in without letting women down everywhere
However it seems I may need a converter for the disc brake bolts.
1. Is that right?
2. Any other recommendations?
Thanks I’m advance!
What is your budget?
Any reason why you don't want to go tubeless? I resisted it for ages, but after a run of 7/8 punctures in 2 weeks I bought myself a set of Zip 303s with Goodyear F1 tyres. Annoyed I waited so long to change.
If you want some standard wheels as an upgrade I can recommend these. I have them on my winter bike and they are pretty much bomb proof. Easy enough to change tyres.
You should also consider that tbe tyres themselves might be the issue. Are you still running the stock tyres? Decent tyre levers also help. I use these and can get a tyre off a carbon rim using just one (carry two incase its a cold day and my hands aren't working)
Cheers Clem! Max £350, I don’t want to brake the bank.
It’s not the tyres. I’ve got the stock 28s, continental turbo 23 and continental 35s. All of them a bugger to change - it’s the wheels, those stock ones are notorious for it apparently!
Those look great but I’ll need an adapter right? They’re thru axel and my bike’s quick release.
Not too sure on the adapter. My experience of disc brakes is that they all have thru axles? Wasn't aware that discs ran with qr.
If your budget is £350 have a look and see if you can find something from DT Swiss. Pretty sure there will be some in their alloy range.
Some excellent advice has already been given but I'll just add my worth below.
Disc brakes can indeed be run with thru-axle's or QR's, however this obviously depends on the frame (Disc brakes on bicycles were invented before thru-axle's, thats a fairly recent adoption along with all the ridiculous variation in standards).
Pretty much all major brands will sell their disc wheels to be compatible with thru-axle's as that is currently the most popular standard, in most cases there is an adapter you simply put in either side of the hub to make them QR compatible (in some cases you may have to remove a part of the hub to fit the QR adapter but this is usually quite simple).
It is important to note that not all wheel manufactures do support adapters however, the most notable of which is shimano (they have a separate hub for QR and thru-axle) so check whatever wheelset you do purchase is either the correct hub type (QR) or is able to be converted to QR.
If the wheel manufacture does support adapters then these should come with the wheel however some lovely online companies like Wiggle, Chainreaction etc will split them and list them separately as that is the ethical sphere they operate in.
The other thing to note is that there is two types of how the rotor fits onto the hub. These are, 6 bolt or centre-lock. Pretty self-explanatory, 6 bolt uses 6 bolts to attach the rotor to the hub and centre-lock uses a lock ring in the middle and thats it. If you are intending to transfer your rotors over to the new wheels then get the hub type that matches otherwise it'll be new rotors. As an aside I'd recommend centre-lock over 6 bolt as it is much quicker to change rotors and remove for cleaning/service.
And finally other thing you might be asked is what freehub body type you need - looks like you're running shimano so its shimano for you.
Of the brands mentioned above I recommend Mavic and DT Swiss, Vision are alright but I find their hubs to be noticeably worse than the former in my experience.
@jamescafc Depends on what angle you're looking at it from - I will try and keep it brief but thats quite a loaded and broad question. I will say most of my experience currently is with the 11 speed Di2 as there is a shortage in the new 12 speed road stuff (and everything else still to an extent) and what is available is going straight to OEM's so I've only done limited work with that and no full builds.
From a pure product and performance point of view it is fantastic. Once set up and working properly it is near faultless, the ergonomics of it are lovely to and I personally love the button presses of the shifts. And in my opinion it provides the best shifting against the other two groupsets (SRAM AXS and Campy EPS). Other people will probably disagree with me on that and the difference is marginal anyhow. In theory you should only experience shifting issues when drivetrain components start to wear (chain, cassette etc).
However that is only in theory and of course in the real world there will be problems! And I think this is probably the most important bit for consumers/users to focus on which is practicality, serviceability and the cost of maintaining a (high end) groupset if you have issues. I will say most Di2 bikes I've either serviced or built have been fine and once set up are lovely to service. But when Di2 usually goes wrong it is expensive, time consuming and a pain to fix - in most cases its not something you'll be able to sort at home (and if you are a home mechanic reading this kudos for trying but please stop, it makes my job harder to undo your mess! I will add here that the Di2 E-tube connecting cables come in a multitude of different length's in order to fit multiple frames, please if you are building a bike from scratch or upgrading, check and order the right lengths. Do not turn up to your LBS halfway through wondering why a 200mm cable is not long enough to go up the down tube to the shifters, the answer is because you didn't measure or check what you ordered and its not long enough to give you the flogging you deserve).
The diagnostic tool (E-tube) for Di2 is rubbish, it will tell you if something is wrong but not what component or where in the system and it is NOT on the user app. This is an issue in a system where on most Di2 set ups there are over 10 connecting points (plus the components themselves) and only one of these has to fail, come loose etc for it to stop working completely, with integration (internal cables etc) this makes troubleshooting a nightmare (the new 12 speed Di2 does improve on this by eliminating the wiring between the shifters and battery so in theory less should go wrong).
Best case - one of the electronic cables at the shifter working loose - this is an easy fix, you just push it back in and away you go yay. Worst case - Nothing immediately visually wrong, you are forced into a game of trial and error roulette of replacing various components to find and eliminate the faulty part, this is time consuming and expensive (got to remove parts to get to those internal components!). Most common issues I've seen with Di2 when it goes wrong is water/rust getting into E-tube (the electronic wires) connecting points and shorting them and some of the batteries suffering from premature corrosion (again usually caused by water). I will say in Di2's defense I have only come across 3 mechs that have actually failed (all due to motor burnout) and I've never come across a Di2 shifter that has failed.
For comparison both Sram AXS and Campy EPS have diagnostic software built into their own apps which is much more effective and user friendly. As an aside with SRAM AXS being fully wireless there is alot less that can go wrong and if it does it is ALOT easier and quicker to fix (however I personally don't think the shifting is quite as good/fast as Di2).
So if something does go wrong with Di2 (and to be fair this applies to any high end groupset these days) it is not going to be a cheap fix. If you are looking at the new 12 speed Di2 for example all of the brains of the system are built into the rear mech, what happens if you crash on the driveside? or if you don't notice your mech hanger is bent and it goes into the rear wheel? That will likely be a new rear mech - RRP of that is £380 (Ultegra) . If your battery on the 11spd Di2 goes the RRP for that is around £160, again not cheap for some people. If you can afford that cost then fine but I've had my fair share of customers shocked by the cost of individual parts when it has come to servicing etc.
I've not covered braking as I'm assuming we're talking disc brake and if you've used a shimano hydraulic road lever before the brake system will be largely the same. I can go into more detail on that if wanted but don't think thats what ya after.
Final point I will say is do you (or anyone reading) really need (even though the industry is forcing it down our throats - I am of course aware most med-high end off the peg bikes now come with it) Di2/AXS/EPS? If you can afford it and want it then great more power to you, come and buy it from the shop where I work please (if we have stock!), I'm not going to tell you not to. But in terms of performance between a well set up and maintained mechanical groupset and an electronic one is it worth the price difference? In my opinion no its not (and I do own a bike with Di2). The performance difference between the two is marginal especially when compared to the difference in cost which is significant. And a mechanical groupset is far easier and cheaper to maintain than an electronic one, yes you will of course have different problems that you won't have with Di2 (gear cables snapping etc) but these are easily solvable.
TDLR - Yh its amazing when it works, on the occasions it breaks/goes wrong get ready to be off the road for a short while and have your wallet ready. Do you really need it and will you notice the difference? That's debatable but you will be the coolest person on the Sunday club run
Well that turned into a bit of an essay! Hope that gives you a good and balanced view on Di2 from my experience and if you want more specifics let me know.
Just to add to the above......my winter bike has Di2 and my "proper" bike SRAM Force AXS. I prefer the SRAM set up. IMO the shifting is slightly better, but there isn't much in it. Ultimately, I prefer the single button set up SRAM use. I also love the feature where SRAM adjusts the gear you are in when you switch between the front rings - its only a minor thing but it means the shifts feel far less clunkly. I have a long cage rear deraileur on both bikes and also find that Di2 is a little clunky at the widest points of the cassette (I am running an 11-32 on the winter bike). SRAM handles the bigger shifts much better and copes with a 10-36 cassette flawlessly.
You often hear it said, but I would never go back to mechanical shifting now. Touch wood, other than servicing, my experience has always been that it is fault free. I ride around 7000 miles a year.
In fact I am waiting for a £2k cycle to work scheme voucher to come through and my plan is to buy something compatible with electornic shifting and then to switch the set up on my current winter bike over (its a 2017 model and the frame is looking a bit sorry for itself now!).
@jamescafc Depends on what angle you're looking at it from - I will try and keep it brief but thats quite a loaded and broad question. I will say most of my experience currently is with the 11 speed Di2 as there is a shortage in the new 12 speed road stuff (and everything else still to an extent) and what is available is going straight to OEM's so I've only done limited work with that and no full builds.
From a pure product and performance point of view it is fantastic. Once set up and working properly it is near faultless, the ergonomics of it are lovely to and I personally love the button presses of the shifts. And in my opinion it provides the best shifting against the other two groupsets (SRAM AXS and Campy EPS). Other people will probably disagree with me on that and the difference is marginal anyhow. In theory you should only experience shifting issues when drivetrain components start to wear (chain, cassette etc).
However that is only in theory and of course in the real world there will be problems! And I think this is probably the most important bit for consumers/users to focus on which is practicality, serviceability and the cost of maintaining a (high end) groupset if you have issues. I will say most Di2 bikes I've either serviced or built have been fine and once set up are lovely to service. But when Di2 usually goes wrong it is expensive, time consuming and a pain to fix - in most cases its not something you'll be able to sort at home (and if you are a home mechanic reading this kudos for trying but please stop, it makes my job harder to undo your mess! I will add here that the Di2 E-tube connecting cables come in a multitude of different length's in order to fit multiple frames, please if you are building a bike from scratch or upgrading, check and order the right lengths. Do not turn up to your LBS halfway through wondering why a 200mm cable is not long enough to go up the down tube to the shifters, the answer is because you didn't measure or check what you ordered and its not long enough to give you the flogging you deserve).
The diagnostic tool (E-tube) for Di2 is rubbish, it will tell you if something is wrong but not what component or where in the system and it is NOT on the user app. This is an issue in a system where on most Di2 set ups there are over 10 connecting points (plus the components themselves) and only one of these has to fail, come loose etc for it to stop working completely, with integration (internal cables etc) this makes troubleshooting a nightmare (the new 12 speed Di2 does improve on this by eliminating the wiring between the shifters and battery so in theory less should go wrong).
Best case - one of the electronic cables at the shifter working loose - this is an easy fix, you just push it back in and away you go yay. Worst case - Nothing immediately visually wrong, you are forced into a game of trial and error roulette of replacing various components to find and eliminate the faulty part, this is time consuming and expensive (got to remove parts to get to those internal components!). Most common issues I've seen with Di2 when it goes wrong is water/rust getting into E-tube (the electronic wires) connecting points and shorting them and some of the batteries suffering from premature corrosion (again usually caused by water). I will say in Di2's defense I have only come across 3 mechs that have actually failed (all due to motor burnout) and I've never come across a Di2 shifter that has failed.
For comparison both Sram AXS and Campy EPS have diagnostic software built into their own apps which is much more effective and user friendly. As an aside with SRAM AXS being fully wireless there is alot less that can go wrong and if it does it is ALOT easier and quicker to fix (however I personally don't think the shifting is quite as good/fast as Di2).
So if something does go wrong with Di2 (and to be fair this applies to any high end groupset these days) it is not going to be a cheap fix. If you are looking at the new 12 speed Di2 for example all of the brains of the system are built into the rear mech, what happens if you crash on the driveside? or if you don't notice your mech hanger is bent and it goes into the rear wheel? That will likely be a new rear mech - RRP of that is £380 (Ultegra) . If your battery on the 11spd Di2 goes the RRP for that is around £160, again not cheap for some people. If you can afford that cost then fine but I've had my fair share of customers shocked by the cost of individual parts when it has come to servicing etc.
I've not covered braking as I'm assuming we're talking disc brake and if you've used a shimano hydraulic road lever before the brake system will be largely the same. I can go into more detail on that if wanted but don't think thats what ya after.
Final point I will say is do you (or anyone reading) really need (even though the industry is forcing it down our throats - I am of course aware most med-high end off the peg bikes now come with it) Di2/AXS/EPS? If you can afford it and want it then great more power to you, come and buy it from the shop where I work please (if we have stock!), I'm not going to tell you not to. But in terms of performance between a well set up and maintained mechanical groupset and an electronic one is it worth the price difference? In my opinion no its not (and I do own a bike with Di2). The performance difference between the two is marginal especially when compared to the difference in cost which is significant. And a mechanical groupset is far easier and cheaper to maintain than an electronic one, yes you will of course have different problems that you won't have with Di2 (gear cables snapping etc) but these are easily solvable.
TDLR - Yh its amazing when it works, on the occasions it breaks/goes wrong get ready to be off the road for a short while and have your wallet ready. Do you really need it and will you notice the difference? That's debatable but you will be the coolest person on the Sunday club run
Well that turned into a bit of an essay! Hope that gives you a good and balanced view on Di2 from my experience and if you want more specifics let me know.
Thanks for this. Currently running Ultegra Di2 on my all road bike which I use for the roads. Looking to buy an aero bike next month and I’m a creative of habit so was going to go for the same gear setup but saw Shimano has released 105 Di2 so will take a look at that as a way of investing a little more on wheels.
Power pedals on my radar too. This biking game is bloody expensive.
My Mavic Aksiums arrived today. Waiting on the torx key and the cassette removal tools to do a full change over, but thought I’d try changing out the front tyre while I can - my gods what a difference! I put the 28 on with my hands, MY HANDS. Last time I tried that on the old wheels I actually managed to dent the rims in 3 places
Very pleased, thanks for all your help as always guys!
Not doing the dragon this year, although it's on my list to complete at some point. Instead, Dirty Reiver (200km gravel event) and chase the sun should be a good starter for the year ahead
Trip to the seaside today (Sheerness) Bloody hell, the last hour was freezing.
Lovely looking bike! Had my eye on an Orbea for a while but think I’ve landed on the Ribble Ultra. Their new bars just helped edge it.
Cheers. It gets a lot of attention while I am out and about. Probably too much for my liking.
I am waiting for a £2k Cycle to Work voucher at the moment and can't decide whether to order the Ribble Endurance SL frame and their own brand carbon wheels (will then build it up with the Di2 on my old bike) or the 105 equipped Canyon Endurance - again will switch out the groupset for Di2 (and sell the 105 on).....decisions, decisions.
Comments
I saw a thread on a cycling forum where other owners of my bike have had the same issues, and they recommended a couple of different sets, but the Mavic Askiums seemed to be a top choice: https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Mavic/Aksium-Disc-12x142-Clincher-Wheelset/JW9Z
Thanks I’m advance!
Box Hill on boxing day
Bloody hell. Just zoomed in on that. A proper Biffins Bridge killer!
Some excellent advice has already been given but I'll just add my worth below.
Disc brakes can indeed be run with thru-axle's or QR's, however this obviously depends on the frame (Disc brakes on bicycles were invented before thru-axle's, thats a fairly recent adoption along with all the ridiculous variation in standards).
Pretty much all major brands will sell their disc wheels to be compatible with thru-axle's as that is currently the most popular standard, in most cases there is an adapter you simply put in either side of the hub to make them QR compatible (in some cases you may have to remove a part of the hub to fit the QR adapter but this is usually quite simple).
It is important to note that not all wheel manufactures do support adapters however, the most notable of which is shimano (they have a separate hub for QR and thru-axle) so check whatever wheelset you do purchase is either the correct hub type (QR) or is able to be converted to QR.
If the wheel manufacture does support adapters then these should come with the wheel however some lovely online companies like Wiggle, Chainreaction etc will split them and list them separately as that is the ethical sphere they operate in.
The other thing to note is that there is two types of how the rotor fits onto the hub. These are, 6 bolt or centre-lock. Pretty self-explanatory, 6 bolt uses 6 bolts to attach the rotor to the hub and centre-lock uses a lock ring in the middle and thats it. If you are intending to transfer your rotors over to the new wheels then get the hub type that matches otherwise it'll be new rotors. As an aside I'd recommend centre-lock over 6 bolt as it is much quicker to change rotors and remove for cleaning/service.
And finally other thing you might be asked is what freehub body type you need - looks like you're running shimano so its shimano for you.
Of the brands mentioned above I recommend Mavic and DT Swiss, Vision are alright but I find their hubs to be noticeably worse than the former in my experience.
Hope this helps and happy riding.
From a pure product and performance point of view it is fantastic. Once set up and working properly it is near faultless, the ergonomics of it are lovely to and I personally love the button presses of the shifts. And in my opinion it provides the best shifting against the other two groupsets (SRAM AXS and Campy EPS). Other people will probably disagree with me on that and the difference is marginal anyhow. In theory you should only experience shifting issues when drivetrain components start to wear (chain, cassette etc).
However that is only in theory and of course in the real world there will be problems! And I think this is probably the most important bit for consumers/users to focus on which is practicality, serviceability and the cost of maintaining a (high end) groupset if you have issues. I will say most Di2 bikes I've either serviced or built have been fine and once set up are lovely to service. But when Di2 usually goes wrong it is expensive, time consuming and a pain to fix - in most cases its not something you'll be able to sort at home (and if you are a home mechanic reading this kudos for trying but please stop, it makes my job harder to undo your mess! I will add here that the Di2 E-tube connecting cables come in a multitude of different length's in order to fit multiple frames, please if you are building a bike from scratch or upgrading, check and order the right lengths. Do not turn up to your LBS halfway through wondering why a 200mm cable is not long enough to go up the down tube to the shifters, the answer is because you didn't measure or check what you ordered and its not long enough to give you the flogging you deserve).
The diagnostic tool (E-tube) for Di2 is rubbish, it will tell you if something is wrong but not what component or where in the system and it is NOT on the user app. This is an issue in a system where on most Di2 set ups there are over 10 connecting points (plus the components themselves) and only one of these has to fail, come loose etc for it to stop working completely, with integration (internal cables etc) this makes troubleshooting a nightmare (the new 12 speed Di2 does improve on this by eliminating the wiring between the shifters and battery so in theory less should go wrong).
Best case - one of the electronic cables at the shifter working loose - this is an easy fix, you just push it back in and away you go yay. Worst case - Nothing immediately visually wrong, you are forced into a game of trial and error roulette of replacing various components to find and eliminate the faulty part, this is time consuming and expensive (got to remove parts to get to those internal components!). Most common issues I've seen with Di2 when it goes wrong is water/rust getting into E-tube (the electronic wires) connecting points and shorting them and some of the batteries suffering from premature corrosion (again usually caused by water). I will say in Di2's defense I have only come across 3 mechs that have actually failed (all due to motor burnout) and I've never come across a Di2 shifter that has failed.
For comparison both Sram AXS and Campy EPS have diagnostic software built into their own apps which is much more effective and user friendly. As an aside with SRAM AXS being fully wireless there is alot less that can go wrong and if it does it is ALOT easier and quicker to fix (however I personally don't think the shifting is quite as good/fast as Di2).
So if something does go wrong with Di2 (and to be fair this applies to any high end groupset these days) it is not going to be a cheap fix. If you are looking at the new 12 speed Di2 for example all of the brains of the system are built into the rear mech, what happens if you crash on the driveside? or if you don't notice your mech hanger is bent and it goes into the rear wheel? That will likely be a new rear mech - RRP of that is £380 (Ultegra) . If your battery on the 11spd Di2 goes the RRP for that is around £160, again not cheap for some people. If you can afford that cost then fine but I've had my fair share of customers shocked by the cost of individual parts when it has come to servicing etc.
I've not covered braking as I'm assuming we're talking disc brake and if you've used a shimano hydraulic road lever before the brake system will be largely the same. I can go into more detail on that if wanted but don't think thats what ya after.
Final point I will say is do you (or anyone reading) really need (even though the industry is forcing it down our throats - I am of course aware most med-high end off the peg bikes now come with it) Di2/AXS/EPS? If you can afford it and want it then great more power to you, come and buy it from the shop where I work please (if we have stock!), I'm not going to tell you not to. But in terms of performance between a well set up and maintained mechanical groupset and an electronic one is it worth the price difference? In my opinion no its not (and I do own a bike with Di2). The performance difference between the two is marginal especially when compared to the difference in cost which is significant. And a mechanical groupset is far easier and cheaper to maintain than an electronic one, yes you will of course have different problems that you won't have with Di2 (gear cables snapping etc) but these are easily solvable.
TDLR - Yh its amazing when it works, on the occasions it breaks/goes wrong get ready to be off the road for a short while and have your wallet ready. Do you really need it and will you notice the difference? That's debatable but you will be the coolest person on the Sunday club run
Well that turned into a bit of an essay! Hope that gives you a good and balanced view on Di2 from my experience and if you want more specifics let me know.
You often hear it said, but I would never go back to mechanical shifting now. Touch wood, other than servicing, my experience has always been that it is fault free. I ride around 7000 miles a year.
In fact I am waiting for a £2k cycle to work scheme voucher to come through and my plan is to buy something compatible with electornic shifting and then to switch the set up on my current winter bike over (its a 2017 model and the frame is looking a bit sorry for itself now!).
Need a new Garmin mount for my new (2nd hand) Canyon Ultimate
Want one that holds my moon light underneath also and was looking at this one
Any other ones I should be looking at?
Very pleased, thanks for all your help as always guys!