Wheel upgrade from shimano rs11

I've been through 3 sets of wheels on my Genesis Equilibrium: RS10, Pro Lite Bracciano and RS21.
In retrospect the RS10 were horrible wheels, hard to adjust the cones and not that comfortable to ride on. I don't know the difference between RS10 and RS11, my guess is it's pretty minor.
The Pro Lites felt a big upgrade at the time but then I bought the RS21s as a winter set of wheels and the downgrade from the Pro Lites was barely discernible.
The RS21s are heavier and the bearings have more friction but that's only noticeable freewheeling downhill; The weight I don't notice at all, comfort was on a par with the Pro Lites and the cones are a lot easier to adjust.
Swapping between the Pro Lites and RS21s, I actually prefer the heavier RS21 front wheel as the bike feels more stable and less skittish in the wind.

This week I discovered the joys of Tour International mag. Check the free issue for a scientific appraisal of lots of wheels. RS30s (which I suspect are pretty close to RS21) come out favourably. The article also debunks the myth of wheel weight being important.

My point is spending £110 on RS21s was a big improvement over the RS10s but the ride quality of the £330 Braccianos wasn't that much better.

I agree with everyone else about tyres. My theory is best upgrade you can make to a bike is the tyres. Conti GP or GP 4 seasons are the best I've tried.

"I wouldn't recommend the supersonic tubes though, they are very fragile and latex are a better light weight option IME."

Thing is that if something gets through the tyre, any inner tubes is done for, normal or lightweight. I might have been lucky, but I've not found the light tubes to be any more problematic than the normal ones. I even use the MTB Supersonic tubes on my MTB

I couldn't agree more about buying decent tyres though. Having tried loads of tyres, all my bikes are now shod with Continental Black Chilli tyres from GP Supersonics on my track bike, to X-Kings on the MTB. Horses for courses though, a track bike that maybe only does 100km a week will be fine on Supersonic tyres, a road bike that does 500km+ won't be!

I think both Richard1982 and CXR94Di2 are right.

If you take 600g out of your wheels you will notice the difference in a subjective sense - the bike will feel like it accelerates faster, is more responsive and generally feels nicer. I have RS80 C24s having started out on a pair of Cannondale's finest Alexrims and trust me they feel perkier. I wouldn't recommend the supersonic tubes though, they are very fragile and latex are a better light weight option IME. As well as the RS81 and Fulcrum Racing 3 options above you could look at hand built lightweight wheels like Pacenti SL23 on decent hubs, <1400g.

Will it alter your times over a reasonable distance to any significant degree? Probably not so that you will notice, the effect will be marginal at best and there are too many other variables to show consistently improved times. If you want to go faster then regardless of how fit you already are, improve your training. (spend your £500 on a power meter and train to power maybe?)

Better tyres are definitely worth every penny though - best vfm upgrade you can make to the bike. Conti GP4000S2 have got my money, grippy, light, puncture resistant and fairly long lasting. Why some people spend £000s on a bike but are content to ride round on £20 worth of rubber is beyond me.

A few hundred grams in the overall rider+bike weight is insignificant. Better tyres will give a smoother ride and confidence with grip.

I was chatting with an old fella last night at our club time trial. We were discussing time trial bikes and wheels. In his prime he could do sub hour 25 mile TT and sub 22 minutes for 10TT on his steel framed bike with no time trial bars.

I asked him about the kit he had bought over the years and whether he thought the solid carbon rear wheel was giving him better times. He commented that it helped once upto speed to maintain a certain speed, but could be a detriment on rolling courses where it would weigh him down. He said it was down to the engine. Overall carbon wheels didn't make him that faster. Its just the way trends go and the pursuit of the retail side for us punters to keep buying new kit. A little cynical but this was from a veteran with many years of practical knowledge, it didn't stop him though being dressed in a skin suit, aero helmet and shoe covers

I agree with CXR94Di2.

It has been shown repeatedly that shaving a bit of weight, including rotating weight, makes naff-all difference to speed whether on the flat or up hills. But people want to believe the hype.

Luganos aren't great. Get some nicer tyres (Ultremo ZX, One, GP4000S II etc) and spend the rest of that £500 on wearing them out by doing something meaningful.

I ride 501's and they do not hinder me against my riding friends. Tyres are where I focus the money having moved from lugano to schwalbe one made the ride feel faster and more comfortable.
I've heard similar comments from people riding continental gp4000s.

Change your tyres first, a lighter, more supple set may alter your perception of the wheels/ride enough. Whilst you are at it, think about changing the tubes for something lighter if possible. This way you are altering the rotational weight which can affect how a bike handles and feels (gyroscopic effect and all that).

Will you notice 200gm? Depends where the weight is and what kind of riding you do. Many wheels are light because they get a silly small hub but the rims are relatively heavy. Therefore look carefully at the weight of the rim rather than all up weight. A lighter rim helps when going goes up and accelerates better but becomes hard work on the flat and is less stable. Flatter rides it maybe worth going for heavier rim that holds speed well. In which case you may be able to go a for a deeper rim. The trade off is that deeper rims catch side winds more than comparable shallower ones. I have doubts that deeper rims feel faster because they are more aerodynamic or because they are stiffer, but that's for another day.

For me it's hard to reccommend a wheelset as shown above it depends and I have four sets each for different circumstances;
Mavic CXP 22/33 on Hope hubs for winter,
Fulcrum Quattros for general go to "training" and flatter rides,
Swiss Side Francs for hiller and wet rides,
American Classic Carbon 40, for events or "because I'm worth it" rides.

I upgraded the wheels on my road bike a couple of years ago. I had bought a Focus Cayo that came with Mavic Aksiums and Schwalbe Durano tyres. I was thinking about whether I could justify an upgrade when the decision was forced as I cracked the rim on the front wheel of the Aksiums.

I bought Fulcrum 3s and shod them with Conti GP 4000s tyres.

It didn't make me alot faster, but it did make the bike nicer to ride. The wheels are stiffer and the annoying brake rub when I got out of the saddle disappeared. They do get up to speed quicker which feels good (the upgrade is a bit lighter), but improving fitness and riding more has had a much bigger effect on speed.

Lots of people will tell you not to spend your money. The answer to going faster is not usually spending money, but sometimes upgrades do help you to enjoy your bike more and for recreational riders like me that at the end of the day is the most important thing.

So in summary I am pleased with my choice and if you can afford it and are more focussed on how the bike will feel rather than average speeds then there is no reason why you wouldn't enjoy the outcome of a similar upgrade.

I have some RS11's as cheap training wheels for when it's bad out - they weight (without skewers) 1951g - just checked as they were handy. I'd get some Shimano RS81 C24's (1504g / save 447g) and swap your tyres to Continental GP 4000s (410g for two, saving around 90g) and Continental Race 28 Supersonic inner tubes at 50g each - saving 100g for the pair over normal inner tubes.

From the first shop I tried:

RS81's £309.95
Tyres £63.50
Tubes £18.70
Total £392.15

So if you shop around (especially for the tyres/tubes) for about £350 you would save about 637g from your wheels - mainly from the rim. As I use these two set-ups I can tell you this is noticeable.

Of course the other option is to get something more aero, such as RS81 C50's - heavier by about 200g, but you'll notice the aero benefit more than the 200g. But then you're looking at £530 for a set of those wheels.

I'm in a similar situation with upgrades for a Defy 1. For about £300 if could save about 300g and get 28mm medium section rims, but I don't know if I would notice a difference in real world.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but for 200g you will not see any difference in performance(speed) up hill or flat. You might feel a difference in tyres, but it will be imperceptible. Wheel performance is all a con unless your going to solid wheels, even that is minimal.

Honestly, if you want to be faster, train harder. I have increased my average speed, (2 mph) from last year by interval training. and not just doing ride outs.

If you have money to burn in your pocket, by all means get yourself another set of wheels, but don't be surprised that there is no noticeable speed improvement over your usual courses.