Road Wheel Upgrade Advice from Giant P-R2

[Horsey031]

Hi everyone, 

 

I am looking to try and upgrade my Giant P-R2 11spd Wheelset on my Giant TCR 0 (rim break). Please bear in mind I ride MTB and I am new to road riding so have not had the opportunity to experience performance wheels. I consider myself a decent rider and can put in 100km on MTB or Road. 

 

Firstly, would it be advisable to upgrade these wheels, would I actually notice a significant increase in performance?The Giant PR-2 weigh about 1.9kg for the set so not exactly light.

 

I am looking at the Toke 22A mainly because of their 1331g combined weight, to me that sounds like a considerable saving of almost 600g. There is not a lot of information out there however there are a few reviews that say they are great wheels. Am I sacrificing stiffness or strength by going so light? These are the lightest allow wheels I have found that I can afford.
 

Would it also be worth my while to look at used wheels, maybe try an invest in something carbon or a higher specced wheelset? 

 

I am also open to looking at other brands and can possibly spend R7 000 at a push. Any advice on a brand or model will be greatly appreciated. 

[Zawillow]

I'm also interested in suggestions for upgrading PR2's. Another requirement I would add is whether you can run them tubeless like the PR2's. 

 

 

Hi everyone, 

 

I am looking to try and upgrade my Giant P-R2 11spd Wheelset on my Giant TCR 0 (rim break). Please bear in mind I ride MTB and I am new to road riding so have not had the opportunity to experience performance wheels. I consider myself a decent rider and can put in 100km on MTB or Road. 

 

Firstly, would it be advisable to upgrade these wheels, would I actually notice a significant increase in performance?The Giant PR-2 weigh about 1.9kg for the set so not exactly light.

 

I am looking at the Toke 22A mainly because of their 1331g combined weight, to me that sounds like a considerable saving of almost 600g. There is not a lot of information out there however there are a few reviews that say they are great wheels. Am I sacrificing stiffness or strength by going so light? These are the lightest allow wheels I have found that I can afford.
 

Would it also be worth my while to look at used wheels, maybe try an invest in something carbon or a higher specced wheelset? 

 

I am also open to looking at other brands and can possibly spend R7 000 at a push. Any advice on a brand or model will be greatly appreciated. 

[Duane_Bosch]

I'm in the same boat.

 

My advice is keep an eye on the classifieds. You should be able to get a decent 2nd hand set of carbon wheels for under 7k.

 

Not tubulars tho. Well I don't want tubulars.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Duane_Bosch

[Horsey031]

I'm in the same boat.

 

My advice is keep an eye on the classifieds. You should be able to get a decent 2nd hand set of carbon wheels for under 7k.

 

Not tubulars tho. Well I don't want tubulars.

 

Thanks, I am definitely looking as well. 

 

I'm also interested in suggestions for upgrading PR2's. Another requirement I would add is whether you can run them tubeless like the PR2's. 

 

I bought my bike second hand, its an old TCR0 so I dont think these rims have tubeless. Do you think it is worth going tubeless? 

[Andy_P]

I was in the same boat 2 years ago. I have a Giant TCR Advanced 2.

For me, I wanted a carbon deeper section wheel (50mm), slightly lighter (although I don’t believe weight is too critical), must be tubeless compatible as well as wider (25mm rim width). I believe this really gives you a do it all wheel.

Some of the ‘cheaper’ carbon wheels (Darkhorse, Token) didn’t meet the above requirements and I ideally wanted a wheelset for less than R10k which these wheels were not.

I decided to go the chinese import route, after some research (check the chinese carbon thread on bikehub) I went for XM CarbonSpeed and purchased the wheels directly from them. Spec’d them exactly the way I wanted on Novatec hubs with bladed spokes (about 1550g weight). Total cost came to R8000 (will be more now with exchange rate).

I don’t ride my road bike that much but about 4000km later including numerous local road races and 1x IM the wheels are still going perfectly. I have not even had to true them as yet.

Edited July 23, 2020 by Andy_P

[Veebee]

Hi everyone, 

 

I am looking to try and upgrade my Giant P-R2 11spd Wheelset on my Giant TCR 0 (rim break). Please bear in mind I ride MTB and I am new to road riding so have not had the opportunity to experience performance wheels. I consider myself a decent rider and can put in 100km on MTB or Road. 

 

Firstly, would it be advisable to upgrade these wheels, would I actually notice a significant increase in performance?The Giant PR-2 weigh about 1.9kg for the set so not exactly light.

 

I am looking at the Toke 22A mainly because of their 1331g combined weight, to me that sounds like a considerable saving of almost 600g. There is not a lot of information out there however there are a few reviews that say they are great wheels. Am I sacrificing stiffness or strength by going so light? These are the lightest allow wheels I have found that I can afford.

 

Would it also be worth my while to look at used wheels, maybe try an invest in something carbon or a higher specced wheelset? 

 

I am also open to looking at other brands and can possibly spend R7 000 at a push. Any advice on a brand or model will be greatly appreciated. 

Dont waste your time with the Token Wheels. They not going to make a huge difference.

I would rather look at getting something more aero, if your budget is not too high then I would try to find something like American Classic Aero 420.

 

The Chinese Carbon wheels are also a good option. I can highly recommend Ican Wheels, I have 2 sets and the first set has done about 10 000km now without any issues. I used them daily and live in Kloof where I am on the brakes alot and have had no issues. But they will come in a lot higher than your budget

 

https://icancycling.com/collections/aero-series-wheelset

 

 

or

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bike-wheels/416264/american-classic-40-carbon-clinsher

 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bike-wheels/416389/carbon-wheels-38mm

[Horsey031]

I decided to go the chinese import route, after some research (check the chinese carbon thread on bikehub) I went for XM CarbonSpeed and purchased the wheels directly from them. Spec’d them exactly the way I wanted on Novatec hubs with bladed spokes (about 1550g weight). Total cost came to R8000 (will be more now with exchange rate).

 

 

 

Dont waste your time with the Token Wheels. They not going to make a huge difference.

I would rather look at getting something more aero, if your budget is not too high then I would try to find something like American Classic Aero 420.

 

The Chinese Carbon wheels are also a good option. I can highly recommend Ican Wheels, I have 2 sets and the first set has done about 10 000km now without any issues. I used them daily and live in Kloof where I am on the brakes alot and have had no issues. But they will come in a lot higher than your budget

 

https://icancycling.com/collections/aero-series-wheelset

 

 

or

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bike-wheels/416264/american-classic-40-carbon-clinsher

 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bike-wheels/416389/carbon-wheels-38mm

 

 

thanks for the advice. Chinese carbon is something I have been looking at. Might be worth my time to revisit this! Glad to know they are holding up for you.

[Tomik]

First thing you need to decide is if you want light climbing wheels, or aero wheels (not usually the lightest)

 

Light climbing wheels can be had for around R5k on the bike hub - something like Easton EA90SLX - weigh about 1400g and very stiff. Tubeless too. American Classic's also cheap but no longer supported (think the company went bust) and it's very hard to get tubeless tyres onto some of their rims.

 

For the biggest performance upgrade for most of SA conditions, I would opt for 40-50mm carbon aero wheels (or Alu equivalents, which will be noticeably heavier, but not as heavy as your PR-2's). These are around R10k used. Could be had for under R10k new from China but that was before the Rand blew out. 

 

Still worth looking at decent Chinese brands that offer free postage. Mine are Yoeleo - have put 25000km on them with no problems (even with the 'crappy' Novatec hubs). They cost me R8800 a few years ago, but are above R10k now. It's worth going on the wheel builder on their site (and Farsports, ICAN etc) to see what a decent build will cost. Then add 15% VAT for customs.

 

I'd start looking right here on the hub. Should be many okes upgrading to disc who have spare wheels they need to offload. I know I will in a few months.

 

Good luck.

[splat]

I am also looking to upgrade my wife's PR2 boat anchors on her disc brake Liv.

 

100mm front and 135mm rear with QR skewers make it hard to find with the current 142mm and through axle standards.

That, and I cant spend much more than R5k.

 

There is a set of American Classic wheels at a good price, but those rims just don't play nice with tyres.