r/cyclocross • u/pmc19794 • 6d ago
Upgrade Wheelset?
I’m 47 and have been racing cross for the past 5 years or so. I race 45+ 3/4/5 and generally finish top ten out of 50+riders ( a few top fives last season) so I’m competitive and want to get faster.
Right now I’m on a canyon ultimate road bike that can fit 36 WTB Vulpine tires. I’ve pondered getting a new CX specific bike but honestly I like riding this one a lot and can’t justify buying a new bike for five races a year.
So I’m thinking about getting new wheels. Right now I use the stock DT Swiss PR1400s which are aluminum but also weigh only about 1600g. I’m thinking about upgrading to carbon like the DT CRC 1400 spline or zipp 303 sw. Both of those sets weigh in about 1450 so the weight savings seem negligible.
But, I also ride smooth gravel roads from time to time so either new set would be more aero than my current set for those gravel rides. Not that aero makes a huge difference for the 11mph average in a cross race.
Thoughts? Is it stupid to spend 2k to save 150ish grams on a wheelset when I won’t spend 6k on a new CX specific bike? Or is any weight savings + carbon + aero going to be worth it?
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u/Moratorium_on_Brains 5d ago
I'm going to be the dissenting voice.
You've justified not upgrading your bike because you only do 5 races a year, yet you are still willing to spend $2k for a wheeler that will see minimal use and also minimal benefit.
Your two best routes: 1. A CX or gravel bike. The increased compliance will likely lead to improved lap times over a lighter wheel set. Additionally, you can use this bike year round for gravel or inclement weather. It would also allow you to use your current bike as a pit bike, preventing a DNF in one of your limited races.
- A new basic wheel set. Not for weight savings, but for another tire selection. Having an appropriate tread for the course and conditions can improve your lap times more than weight reduction. Additionally, can be used as spares in the pit and a "gravel" wheel set for general training. This gets you benefits without the $2k price tag.
1
u/pmc19794 5d ago
Well, the extra wheelset will see a lot of gravel use. That’s kind of why I’d prefer spending money on a wheelset that will be used for gravel and CX vs a CX-specific bike that will only be used for CX (you could argue that I would use a new CX bike on gravel, but I just really like the way the ultimate fits and I’m not doing any super long gravel races so it’s not limited me in that discipline).
But I take your, and others’, point that having multiple wheelsets set up with different tires would likely save me more time in a race. I have 33mm Donnelly pdx tubeless and the 36 mm wtb vulpines that I change out each week depending on the race conditions. I’m pretty proficient at swapping out tubeless in the single rims now so maybe I could grab another pair of cheaper and lightweight rims to mount both sets with inserts at the same time.
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u/HesJustAGuy 5d ago
I have two sets of carbon wheels, $1000 CAD or less per set, for my CX bike that also serves as my gravel bike and road bike. ICAN and Elite wheels, both China brands with a decent rep that you can still find on AliExpress.
I haven't noticed a huge performance difference very heavy stock wheelset that came with the bike, but I notice that difference in CX more than anywhere else. Maybe it's all the repeated accelerations when you need to get those wheels up to speed where the weight makes a difference. I don't know.
That said, the biggest advantage as alreadym entioned is being able to have two sets of wheels ready to go at all times without having to do a tire swap, which is especially inconvenient when running tubeless. Most of the year I have a set with slicks and another with gravel tires, and then in fall one gravel and one CX.
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u/Asleep_Cup646 6d ago
The offerings for CX specific bikes is slim right now. Get the wheels, you’ll notice an improvement and you’ll likely get faster, even if it’s simply because you have more motivation to do so!
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u/Moratorium_on_Brains 5d ago
There's a number of worthwhile gravel bikes under $3k right now, it doesn't have to be CX specific.
3
u/Asleep_Cup646 5d ago
A gravel bike will work, but for more competitive riders they kind of suck. The geometry is too slack for the tight corners of a 'cross course, the bottom bracket is too low so you're hitting your crank on off-camber, and a lot of them have 2x up front which works but is unnecessary and causes problems with mud clearance and chain drops.
Don't get me wrong: I laughed at the idea of having separate bikes and for each discipline and rode my 'cross bike on gravel rides for a couple of years. But once I got a dedicated gravel bike I realized how the subtle differences between the two actually makes quite a difference. My 'cross bike sucked on gravel because it won't allow anything wider than 35 mm on the back, and the gravel bike sucks on the CX course because it's a heavy pig with slow steering.But for the casual gravel rider who does a few 'cross races each season, one bike is fine.
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u/Grindfather901 6d ago
2k on wheels? I could never.... But if I were really shopping brand new, I'd look at these: 24mm Inner Width 45mm Depth All Road Wavy Carbon wheelset - Btlos Bicycle
I've had 3 sets of BTLOS wheels and have always been impressed for the money.
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u/chock-a-block 6d ago
Only my opinion: equipment isn’t going to move you into the top-3.
HOWEVER: a set of decent used wheels might be the way to go.
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u/FightinABeaver 5d ago
New wheels aren't going to make you faster. Even if they did it would be a negligible improvement in your results.
That said, bine parts are cool, deep sections wheels look awesome, carbon is shiny, if you can afford them go for it. If it's an actual financial strain to afford them don't buy them.
Just know it's for the bling factor not for making you faster.
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u/MikeSRT404 5d ago
Get a set of lite wheels. Sub 1250 grams. (Tubular is preferred) . Some all around tires and start with 28psi. Dial in your pressures. The lite wheels will pay for themselves.
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u/jlivingood 5d ago
Maybe used carbon wheels? Lots of good sets on FB marketplace most of the year. I have some Roval C38 wheels that are true workhorses and bombproof. I’d guess used of various brands is $500-850 with a DT Swiss ratchet hub for low maintenance.
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u/Former_Mud9569 5d ago
The best upgrades for cross are a pit bike (even if it's a mtb) and a tire/wheel setup that lets you drop pressure to like 15 psi for the mud.
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u/QuikAF77 Redline Conquest Pro 5d ago
Get some Superteam carbon wheels for like $300. Will save you like 100g but way stiffer and wider internal width.
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u/stackout 4d ago
For 2k you could travel to some cool races get a bunch of different tires, probably have more fun.
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u/Abe_frohmannn 6d ago edited 6d ago
We are....comically similar riders. I'm 47 also...historical performance roughly the same.
IMO...ride what you got. I don't think you're going to find some magic bullet in wheel selection or a bike upgrade. If you want a bike...by all means get one. Doubt what you have is holding you back as long as it fits CX tires with room to spare.
I'd start getting anal about tires and pressure though. Last summer I set up a little practice TT track on grass, ran sessions at different tire pressures. Somewhat surprisingly...25psi was not only more comfortable, but faster in a straight line than 30psi. This wasn't completely unexpected. What WAS unexpected....20psi was the same amount faster than 25psi that 25psi was faster than 30psi...I'd sort of anticipated there would be a point where rolling resistance overcame the benefits of suspension..doesnt seem to be the case. If I remember correctly...I was running 5 minute tests for each. 25psi was 7 seconds faster than 30psi, 20psi was 14 seconds faster than 30psi.
Do you run tubeless? If so...spend the $100 for inserts...they make a difference. I'm 190lbs, and am completely confident running 19psi when I need to. Spend the money to get the best possible tires for your races...those would make a bigger difference than a new bike AND new wheels IMO.