Hey Bikers..
Last year i purchased a carbon roubaix elite...
i went into the same bike this year.. and i told him i wanted to upgrade my bike... he said the most noticeable difference i will see is with new rims... Mavic Open Sport, double wall rim, machined sidewalls w/ eyelets is what my bike has now.... are new rims the right decision? if so i am willing to spend 800 max.. but would rather be in the 600 range unless 800 will bring me to much better level.... please help

bump bump

Help with what? It's always said that wheels are the upgrade that will make the most difference. Are you just asking what wheels would be better than what you have, and be within your price range?

Try posting this in the Wheels & Tires section.

i am basically looking for some direction ... i ride on mostly flat terrain...

My Serotta Fierte steel bike came with low count Shimano WH-550R wheels. I read pros and cons and decided to keep them instead of upgrading. Meanwhile I researched wheels. I found a pair of Dave Thomas's Speed Dream wheels used on E-bay. The seller lived in the same state as me and seemed to be honest so I took a chance. They are his AR-20 Velocity Aerohead O/C rims and White Industries hubs.

Wow! They made in an incredible difference in the smoothness of the ride and I believe I picked up about .5 mph average on a 30-mile ride. After this experience I am firmly convinced a true wheel upgrade is worth it.

If you want custom, there are several builders that you can talk to. Dave Thomas at http://www.speeddream.com/ is one and this one also gets high reviews http://www.whitemountainwheels.com/. There are many more. Several internet sellers will do handbuilt wheels and you can specify the parts. You can do a search and find them. Colorado Cyclist and Competitive Cyclist are a couple. A local builder might serve you as well as anybody but will probably be more expensive as it is tough for them to compete on price.

DT Swiss or Velocity rims and DT Swiss, White industries, Shimano Ultegra/Dura Ace or Chris King hubs. If you want the best bang for the buck go with Shimano Ultegra and also for quietness and rebuild. Depending upon your weight and objectives, 20/28 spoke count is what I settled on.

Rol Wheels, Williams Cycling, and Neuvation are all high quality direct sellers that give excellent service and stand behind their wheels. The Rol Volant may be one of the best values in cycling. Williams is offering ceramic bearings. Roadbikerider.com reviewed the Neavations and gave them very high marks as have others. Do a search and go to the review section and get lots of opinions.

You will not have to spend close to the amount you have budgeted to get high quality wheels.

http://www.williamscycling.com/
http://www.rolwheels.com/
http://www.neuvationcycling.com/

Good luck. If I had not found the Speeddreams I personally would have either went with the Rol Volant or the Williams 30X, leaning toward the Williams because of the higher spoke count and I am a heavier rider. I am not sure about ceramic bearings but I guess they cannot hurt.

The Open Sport is a workhorse rim, designed to a price point and to be durable. It weighs 490 grams. The "top of the line" Open Pro is designed more for performance and weighs 435 grams. Other weight differences will appear in the hubs and the spokes. If you stay with traditional 32 spoke 3X wheels, the opportunities to drop weight are limited. However, you have a strong set of wheels that's well suited to everyday riding on real roads with bumps, holes, junk, etc. Personally, I'm a fan of traditional wheels. They're built for the real world I ride in and they're really not that heavy.

If you want lighter weight wheels, the sky's the limit. You don't say much about your riding but imply that budget is a big factor. For lighter weight, lower spoke count, you might want to consider Neuvation: http://www.neuvationcycling.com/. They have a compellingly realistic view on wheels and strive to provide value at an affordable price. Are they the peak of chic? No; if you want Ksyriums, nothing else will do. However, they probably have an option that will appeal to you and offer a meaningful performance upgrade or weight reduction. All wheel manufacturers' marketing specs will focus on weight (and special design features). Weight's easy to measure. Durability, however, is not so easy to measure. Use common sense, if it has fewer spokes, each spoke is carrying a proportionally higher load and each eyelet is bearing a proportionally higher stress. The more "aero" the rim, the less forgiving the ride. Lighter wheels make durability compromises. Aero rims have more material and weigh more.

Consider your riding needs and try to dispasionately compare your options. Just don't sell the open sport wheels; keep them as a backup and training wheel! Visit Wheels and tires, as suggested, do your homework and Good luck!

Ya gotta like the custom shops at colorado and excel. the new dt rims are nice and round, tag them up with a ultegra or dura hub set...man what do you want in a heavy duty 28\32 combo.? It will fly,.

First, new rims on the same hubs will not likely result in a noticeable difference unless they're a substantially different kind of rim (and Open Sport v. Open Pro is not THAT different).

I will assume that your bike shop actually meant new wheels, rather than actually trying to sell you upgraded rims and then kill you on the cost of building the wheels, putting a large portion of the cost of the upgrade into their service department where their profit margin is probably higher.

I'm ambivalent about new wheels. I bought a set of Ksyrium Elites last year after many years on Ultegra-105-Veloce level hubs, and they definitely feel different, but it's a subtle change and I doubt that I'd even notice the change if I didn't have thousands of miles in my legs and on my bike(s). The Ksyriums are stiffer, and they have better hubs/bearings. So I coast a little faster and get more solid road feedback (some people might call it jarring) which helps with cornering confidence. But they don't make me faster on the flats or hills, at least not that I can perceive.

My advice, and I give this advice a lot, is not to change anything that's not broken until you have several thousand (let's say 5000) miles on the bike. Apart from the psychological boost, upgrades are typically VERY subtle unless you swap out your whole groupset to something a few pounds lighter or something--and even then the difference wouldn't be hard to miss. If you don't have a very intimate knowledge of how your bike rides, you run a strong risk of shelling out good dough and not getting a perceivable difference, which would be very disappointing.

And finally, remember this about upgrading: After you've been riding with your new gear for a few months you're gonna forget what the old stuff felt like, and you'll be back where you started--feeling slower or weaker than you want and looking for technology to make up where commitment lags.

i am basically looking for some direction ... i ride on mostly flat terrain...

Mostly flat? - there isn't much you can do to your bike to bring you to "a much better level". You'll have to upgrade the engine for that.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it... I agree with post above... I have Mavic O.P. on my old bike. I've had the rear rim replaced twice, hub replaced once in 33,000 miles. My new bike has Ksyrirum SC's. I was trying to think of the big diff between my old bike and the new one and I think the wheels make a diff. But tires do also. For general riding a Mavic OP laced to a Ultregra or Center hub is a good way to go...get them hand built and talk to the guy who builds them. Types of roads and body weight plays a role...

...meaning the last two posters. However...if you wanna think about a "best bang for the buck" upgrade, here's a suggestion. I just got a Titus Oseo (great bike...really love it..) from Colorado Cyclist. I think you can spend megabucks on wheels, but even if you ride on the flats, good wheels are a plus. So I got Easton Circuit wheels and put Continental 4000S tires on them, and I think it's a really decent setup. Seem to accelerate really easily, roll really cleanly, have plenty of road feel but don't beat you to death. The 4000S are a few bucks more but significantly lighter than the regular 4000 tires...

Wheels will make the biggest difference. your budget is realistic and doeable. Should be able to get a set of wheels in the 1400-1480 g for your budget. the wheelset you describe is probably in the 1800-1900g range. In addition to the ones listed try Nimble wheels, the Spider is in your price range. http://www.nimble.net/ SPIDER is a very light weight (1,351 grams/set) metal rim clincher wheel for road racing and fast riding, sold factory built at a moderate $520/set price. or contact Mike Garcia at Odds and endos http://www.oddsandendos.com/main.sc I have a set of his wheels. they have performed well. ask this question in the wheels forum.

Save your money until something breaks. Get some nicer tires, clothes, and shoes that really fit if money is burning a hole in you pocket.