Monday, December 5, 2016

New Wheels for the SuperSix

   I have been rocking the same road wheels for two bikes now, a really great pair of Mavic Ksyriums. As the miles have been adding up, there have been some noticeable age indicators on these wheels: a creak in the front wheel; the free hub body needs cleaning and greasing about 2 times a season, and the wear indicators are getting shallow.
   I came across this great lightly used set of Ultegra wheels on CraigsList, and decided to update my bike. These area pretty standard training wheel, "good for anything up to a race." which is accurate for what I'll use them for.

Old (top) and new (bottom)

   One thing I didn't want to do was take on a huge weight penalty. Here is how the weight difference shakes out. Weights were taken without tires, skewers or cassette:

Mavic front: 1 lb 8 oz
Shimano front: 1 lb 8 oz

Mavic rear: 1 lb 14 oz
Shimano rear: 2 lb 2 oz

   So there's a +4 oz difference - totally acceptable for a new wheel set. If anything needs to be addressed on my bike it is the crank - a heavy replacement for the failed FSA SLK last fall. 
   As the wheel set is newer, the free hub body is set up for an 11 speed so I had to get a spacer from Sports Garage to fit my current 10 speed group:

10 speed spacer

   This was a simple addition and with a little adjustment it was shifting smooth. Here's a show with the new wheels:

All set up!

   While at it, I decided to put on some new rubber as well. The Continentals I was running were getting pretty beat up.

Tire damage 

   I got some Michelin Dynamic Sport tires I was excited to try out. They are 28c tires, larger than the 25c continentals. On the first ride I found out that there really wasn't sufficient clearance with the monster 28c tires, so I reverted to some 25c's. Big tires are going to have to go on the cross bike someday.
   Some of the reviews I read on the Ultrgra wheels said mounting was challenging because they are tubeless, but I was able to get these on with no tools. Maybe those reviewers need to work on their arm strength.

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