Got my new wheels yesterday. They are the Planet-X Model B and I got them on special at £99. What I’ve really been wanting is just to find a cheap second-hand rear wheel that will fit a 10 speed cassette, with the intention of slapping a turbo tyre on it and using it for indoor training.
A barrier to getting me motivated enough to use the turbo frequently is that I’ve only ever had one set of wheels and switching to the Tacx turbo-specific tyre every time I’ve wanted to get on the turbo has been a little onerous (and grubby). I know a lot of people use their regular tyres on the turbo, but after ruining two in a single session back in 2008, I’m much more comfortable using a tyre that’s fit for purpose. So having a spare rear wheel built for turbo training and ready to be swapped on or off as required would save me lots of time and effort and keep me more motivated.
So I looked for a second-hand wheel. Posted a wanted message on the Willesden CC website, no replies. Checked eBay, several times over several months. There were not many single wheels being sold, mostly pairs. Most of the cheap, single rear wheels I found were also only 8/9 speed compatible (although I’ve since learned that any Shimano 8/9 speed steel freehub will also take a ten speed cassette). The thing is, I didn’t want to pay much as I was only going to use the wheel for turbo – it didn’t need to be light, or aero, or even look nice. I didn’t really feel like paying £80 for a pair of basic wheels when I only wanted to use the rear one, and only for turbo.
An alternative would be to get a new set of wheels for everyday use and relegate my existing rear wheel to tubro training. But if I was going to do that, I might as well splash out on something decent and I couldn’t really afford to. Then I discovered the Planet-X wheels. It was quite by accident that I came across them, while researching some second-hand Xero XR-1s that were on eBay. They were listed as a similar alternative so I thought I’d check them out.
Planet-X Model B wheelset
The Model B is light, about 1,650 grams per pair with semi-aero rims and bladed spokes. I’m not convinced of the overall advantages of bladed spokes, but they do look the part! The wheels are recommended for fast training, road racing, triathlons and time trialling. Fast training is something I do, when I can, and I’m keen to get some road racing and time trialling under my belt this year, if and when I find the time. But at £99 (on special), are they not a bit cheap to be reliable? I googled for as many reviews as I could find and they were all overly positive.
The only problems described were some slight shimmying when descending at high speed (although a lot of user reviews refuted this), and an issue with the the aluminium freehub splines becoming damaged. The second issue, on further investigation, seems to be specific to Shimano ten speed casssettes (which have a slightly different shape around their contact points than their 8 and 9 speed counterparts) and is a problem that American Classic have worked around with their wheels by manufacturing special clips and pins to keep the individual cogs in a cassette aligned. However, the issue does not occur with SRAM cassettes. As I’m an SRAM man, these wheels should be fine. At such a good price and with favourable reviews, I figured it would be a better option to get these and use them as my main wheels rather than spend just a little bit less on very basic wheels that I would only use for turbo.
I went out on them this morning on the way to work. It looked like it was going to be a nice dry dash into the office, but instead it rained practically the whole way. I don’t mind rain too much, but I’d just spent over two hours cleaning my bike at the weekend and to get it all mucky doing something as mundane as going to work is always a bit disappointing. My first impressions of the wheels are that they feel very light and fast. I can get up to speed on them very quickly and seem to be able to hold a slightly faster pace than my old ones at a comfortable level of effort (although that could be a complete placebo – perhaps I just had fresh legs, a nice clean drivechain, tailwind and a case of subconcious post-purchase justification). They respond well to quick accelerations and feel like they maintain their subsequent speed quite well. If it’s not raining at lunchtime I’ll head out to Richmond Park and see how they perform there.
Update:
I managed to get a lap of the park in for lunch. My fitness is far too inconsistent at the moment for me to start making objective comparisons between old and new wheels, but the Planet-Xs do feel a bit faster and respond nicely to acceleration. I find after giving a little kick I can hold the higher speed with the same percevied effort as prior to the acceleration for longer. I tried to hold a steady 250-300 watts from Robin Hood Gate up to Roehampton, which was quite comfortable, the pace was good and the wheels felt very smooth (I suppose new wheels should feel quite smooth though!). At about 35-40 km/h they also start making a little ‘cutting through the air’ type of noise, which my previous wheels didn’t. Not quite like deep section aero rims, but a limited variation of that kind of sound. Oh, and they also have a much louder freewheel than I’ve been used to, but I don’t think that will affect performance!
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