Calling all Techies - What Wheel set should I buy

[geoff m]

Guys,

Had a nice set of wheels Ritchey Protocol WCS (About 1500 grams) which lasted me 14,000kms, but back wheel cracked.

I now need to buy a new set. So for you techies......

I weigh about 88kgs and do about 6000km per year to Waterfall and RNP and about 1000km per year racing.

I've been told I'm heavy (the bastards!) and perhaps should consider a set of training wheels and a set of racing wheels and that the above wheels should have been used for racing and I should have a more sturdy training wheel.

To be honest, lifes too short, and too complicated for me to change wheels. So I'm after a set I can use for both. Lindsay has kindly lent me a back wheel he found dumped on the corner at Redfern one day coming back from Saturday Slowies. Its a good interim solution (except that Weiyun thinks its jinxed because I had two flats on Saturday, one last week and two the previous two weeks - can't understand why), but I do notice how much heavier and non responsive it is.

So, I'm after something light and strong. Is it possible?

Lindsay mentioned that the Shimano Ultegra set is a good compromise and so did one of the guys at CBD Bikes. He reckons many wheel makers are making strong light wheels for use as both training and racing for lazy dudes like me.

Wieyun came up with some other options - forgot dude - what was it again?

Also, I've got my front wheel - should I just get a new back wheel, or a new set and keep the front as a spare?

Don't want to pay anything more than $500 and much less if possible.

Dear Techies.....please provide wise cousel.

[geoffs]

I'm really happy with the wheels i'm using which are holding up fine for me and I'm a bit heavier.

Velocity aerohead rims (OC rear) Sapim 14/15/14 spokes and Dura-ace hubs. Atom make a rim which looks similar to a Velocity DeepV but only weighs about 460gm.
Avoid low spoke count wheels and mavic wheels.
Fulcrums seem to be very reliable

[weiyun]

The key question you have to decide is b/n custom vs factory wheelset. Velocity/Ultegra or above is a common recommendation as suggested by geoffs and make sure it's being put together by a highly experienced builder. For factory wheels, Fulcrum Racing 5 Evolution is solid and can be had well under your budget. Effectively it's a Campagnolo and uses that 2:1 drive vs non-drive side spoke ratio which is designed to even out the spoke tension for the rear wheel.

[mikesbytes]

Velocity Deep V rims are pretty much bullet proof and are one of the better for aero without going to carbon.

I've run a set of Deep V's on ultegra hubs, hand built by Lindsay and had no problems. I weighed between 82 and 84kg for most of the time I had them.