Hello Folks. I'm new here so please be gentle on me. My knowledge of Campy is minimal, but I'm considering the 2007 Campy Scirocco wheelset to upgrade my Rocky Mtn roadbike form their original Mavic MA3s running on Ritchey Hubs (9 sp Shimano). Pretty much anything might be a nice upgrade... look'n to blow about $500 before the snow melts. I'm 180lbs, looking for a good allround wheelset. Opinions and/or options appreciated!

Silence speaks volumes. Humbug.

Hi mate,

Where are you from? In USD terms, $500 is decent in the prebuilt alu world, and i highly recommend the campy wheels.

Scirocco themselves are strange... c. 1720g or something like that for around $310. Its strange because it is a Vento wheelset, but with a 20h radial front wheel (same rim) instead of the ventos 24h G3 pattern. The rear as far as i can tell is identical, save for the sticker). So the Vento @ 1750g is basically the same, and the 4 extra spokes on teh front account for the tiny weight diff.. (as would the flanged hub). Basically @ <$200, i recommend the Vento. Cheaper, same thing, and reliable (i run these).

For $500 however, i highly recommend the Zonda. Record-class hubs (the Vento and Scirocco are simply made cartridge type, similar to the veloce hubs), 24/28mm differential rim profile (for stiffness, and it looks cool) and 16/21 bladed aero spokes (stainless). Zonda IMO is worth the $500 asking price b/c of the hubs (which are easily a notch above most things out there), the overall look (face it, its hot) and its reasonable weight @ 1610g. If you're not keen on hitting out on these, the Ventos are my pick @ $200. Like you may have guessed, IMO Sciroccos are a little in no-mans-land, weight/price/quality wise, u really get nothing over Ventos for the extra $$.

IMO Zondas are a great wheel. In the real world they are comparable to Mavic K SLs.. They also weigh >1600g in the real world (forget the Ks advertised claimed weight of c.1500g - see weightweenies for more info), but the quailty of the Zonda is better IMO, hubs as i pointed out (not much beats record hubs for quality and Mavic hubs have their noted problems..) The Ks are also noted for being very un-aero, not that i have full confidence in the Zs, altho they are most likely better in that regard. Finally SS spokes instead of Alu, much better looking IMO, and finally Mavic Ks, while can be had on sale these days, are usually $900+. No contest. @ $500 the Zs are a top buy.

Thanks very much, Wankski. You've sold me on the Zondas. Zoom-zoom!

PS - I'm from Victoria, BC, Canada. Mountain bike country, but we like our roadies as well!

I was thinking of the Scirocco, too. I'm still doing research and I've found a lot of people on here have posted that the Zonda front wheel is a bit too flexy. Perhaps not enough spokes for bigger riders. Did you find that to be the case Wankski?

ahh, that's interesting... just flicked thru some of the reviews here.... I tested out the Zondas and didn't notice anything like that... i'm 80kg, around 175lbs, but not being my set i didn't pound on them.. i was concerned about the spoke count as well. I'll look around for flex tests, since they are similar to Ks at the front which have been tested poorly but no one seems to complain about... the rear is fantastic IMO due to the 2:1 spoking which makes it far better than the conventional laced 20h of the Ks IMO...

the long term test of the Zondas come from my buddy who is a VFL player (aussie rules football)... needless to say, very fit, strong lad. > 6foot, and around 195lbs, all muscle... Had them for 2 years now, no issues at all, loves em..

If you do want more spokes to be safe, then again go the Ventos over the Sciroccos, and save the money... Another benefit is u can easily fix spokes yourself as they are conventional 2.0-1.5-2.0 spokes... u can even use a straight guage in a pickle which i have done (not the wheels fault, car collision... i have successfully rebuilt these after also having eyelets pull out after the crash and the writing off of the wheels..) edit: see thread here - wheels are quite strong and dependable >10,000 kms on these
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=108997&highlight=eyelet

Good to know, Wankski. I'm in the 180 lb range and don't expect to hammer too hard climbing, so flex shouldn't be a problem. I notice a wee bit of flex/brake rub on my lowly Mavic MA3s, but that's very rare (only when hammering hard). I'll be buying the Zondas soon; looking forward to them! Now if Spring in Victoria, Canada, would arrive soon, I'd be even happier!

Thanks Wankski. Definitely good advice. If your 195 pound friend can pound on them and not have issues, I'm sure it should work for BikingTim and I--who are about the same weight. I guess I'll look for some Zondas.

I have a pair of 2005 sciroccos - with the G3 pattern front and rear. The wheels have remained true for ~10,000 miles, and I haven't had to touch the hubs or anything else. They don't seem to flex much, and are relatively aero (as far as the charts I've found them in online). However, they are also fairly heavy, and totally uninspiring. It's a wheelset I wish I had a reason to replace, but they won't get even a wobble :)

yea, the 2005 Sciroccos (the black plastic hubbed ones??) were good wheels at the time - but note they are very different to the new versions. The older ones had 24 spokes G3, and w/ 30mm rims that were much heavier... totally different to the newer 24mm profile rims, alloy hubs that they run today - same rear wheel as the current vento... The 05 Ventos were too heavy to seriously consider at 2kg+. The 05 Sciroccos were around 1.8k which was more reasonable - there were differences back then between them...

Looking at those Zonda reviews again, it seems that issues have been had with the front spokes coming loose for a few ppl...instead of an inherent weakness... This isn't uncommon w/ radial lacing.... If this happens to you, tension them up nice and hard and apply spoke prep - this wont cause any issues since the spokes are bladed so can be held straight while turning the nipples...

I am on my second pair of SCIROCCO wheels this century. I put about 10,000 miles on the original black ones with no tune up before the first spoke broke.

I now have a pair of the new SCIROCCO wheels. Got them last May (they have probably around 2000 miles on them) and have had trouble with a breaking spoke. The same one each time. I weight 200+...is it worth it for me to have this tire rebuilt if the rim is not damaged? It has never been wrecked. The replacement spoke is thicker than the original ones. Is it worth it?

Thanks.

I am on my second pair of SCIROCCO wheels this century. I put about 10,000 miles on the original black ones with no tune up before the first spoke broke.

I now have a pair of the new SCIROCCO wheels. Got them last May (they have probably around 2000 miles on them) and have had trouble with a breaking spoke. The same one each time. I weight 200+...is it worth it for me to have this tire rebuilt if the rim is not damaged? It has never been wrecked. The replacement spoke is thicker than the original ones. Is it worth it?

Thanks.
hrmm, that is so weird. I s'pose it is from the rear wheel? In any case, just about any spoke will work.... i have even used a regular straight guage on mine... sure, just fix it, the spoke costs like $.50. If you trust a good wheel guy, its worth spending a few dollars to have them check the tensions and true the wheel. Losing one spoke doesn't require a rebuild tho... should just tag the spoke once u replace it, tighten it up *some*.... spin the wheel and see if u need to tension it further or less in order to bring the wheel back into true... Like i said, if u do it urself should cost less than a dollar.

Thanks. I am going to take it to the shop tomorrow. Every other Campy wheelset I have had for the past decade and a half have been bomb proof. I am just surprised to have this trouble.