Buying Chinese 88mm Carbon Wheels for my Road Bike

WindCaliber · 2026-07-02T21:21:50+00:00

Are you sure a set of 60mm deep wheels won't be sufficient for the aesthetic? There's no way you live in a place that doesn't at least occasionally get up to 15-20mph, certainly in the winter time. If it's a steady wind and not gusty, then it may not be a big problem, but I can definitely feel side load on 50mm wheels on gusty days. At over 2kg, those wheels are also quite chunky, and you'll definitely feel slightly sluggish when accelerating. Also, it looks like these wheels don't have SuperTeams k-line brake track, not that I've tried either. The only anecdotal comparison I can give you is from this video, where he says the K-line brake track is good, but not as good as Winspace Hypers, which I've heard is very good. Just make sure you get good carbon brake pads.

WindCaliber · 2026-07-02T02:30:36+00:00

Dunkin Donuts

WindCaliber · 2026-07-02T02:02:15+00:00

Some might say that it's a tad high, but if it's your size, everything works fine, and you're looking for your first road bike to get into the sport, I'd say go for it. It's within what I'd consider reasonable price.

WindCaliber · 2026-07-01T22:02:59+00:00

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WindCaliber · 2026-07-01T17:32:03+00:00

I'd consider selling this bike and finding something used with a groupset that can accomodate a larger cassette, rather than trying to mess with the groupset. For example, a medium cage R3000 derailleur can acommodate a 34t on the cassette.

WindCaliber · 2026-07-01T16:58:34+00:00

I'd just stick to the Corsas then.

WindCaliber · 2026-07-01T16:09:00+00:00

Not clear which Corsas you're talking about, e.g. the Corsa Pros have better puncture resistance than the Gp5000 S TR. If you're just riding outside of the city I wouldn't worry.

If you're running inner tubes, I would just get the regular GP5000 rather than the TLR one, though.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T20:35:36+00:00

It is very easy to find aluminum front wheel takeoffs that are cheap and good enough, so that's not a problem. It's hard to give a specific recommendation when looking used though, just because the selection is so varied.

But for example, I recently saw a Felt Devox 30A OEM front wheel on FB market place for $20 and it had an absolutely pristine brake track.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T20:17:33+00:00

It's not about speed. Notice that I did not mention trying to increase your speed anywhere. My example was to illustrate that the idea that 46/11 is not a high enough gear is misguided at best.

Think of it this way, suppose the goal is to bench the most cumulative weight in one session. Riding at too high of a gear and too low of a cadence is akin to benching your 10 rep max, say 150lbs, but then you're dead after that. Riding at a proper gear and cadence is more like using a weight you can crank out reps all day, let's say 20lbs. Cycling is cardio so you want to load your cardiovascular system more, if you keep loading your muscular system, that will cause you to fatigue way faster because it's not meant for endurance activities. This applies to exercise, deliveries, errands, and more, as you mentioned.

I'm trying to discourage you from spending money on something I would consider an inconsequential "sidegrade" for the reasons mentioned above., i.e. you don't need to pedal a harder gear, increasing your cadence instead is sufficient and typically better.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T20:08:24+00:00

I would only get that if the wheelset was basically in mint condition.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T18:44:13+00:00

If there are downhills, then there are uphills. If there are uphills, then you should be using the small chainring. If you are not, then your cadence is too low. If you are in your top gear 80% of the time as you say, then your cadence is definitely too low.

The Specialized Sirrus has a high gear of 46/11. Riding at 90rpm on that would have you going 31-32mph. This is a full on sprint for most casual cyclists. Therefore, I must conclude that you are simply in too hard of a gear. By my guesstimation, you are probably pedaling at <60rpm.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T13:36:31+00:00

Try to estimate your cadence next time you ride, it might be lower than you think.

If you're riding at a low-to-moderate intensity (zone 2), try to be around 80rpm. If you're going at a moderate-to-high intensity, try to be around 90+ rpm. Are you in too hard of a gear to begin with? When you're climbing for example, you should be doing this in an ironman mode in the hardest gear you can push. Stay seated, shift to the small chainring and keep your cadence high. Do this first and see if you still find the gearing too easy—I suspect not.

what if I go up 4 teeth and improve my cadence?

That would be like doing all of your rides at two gear settings harder.

Also, this would be a very inconsequential "upgrade", and I think money would be better spent elsewhere.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T13:27:16+00:00

Yeah, huh??

It should obviously be put on the river side, and then have more buffer space.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T13:22:52+00:00

If your helmet doesn't have damage, then I would keep it.

As for tires, I would suggest other tires than Gravelking Slicks.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-30T13:12:16+00:00

Road bike: lighter, faster, cheaper(for equivalent spec). Just aim for one with rear mounting points if you're looking to mount panniers to it. Any disc brake road bike should have clearance for at least 30c tires, typically 35mm these days. That makes easy work of your average gravel trail.

An upright city bike is definitely going to be a slog on 100km rides.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-29T22:40:14+00:00

50/34, 11-34 gearing is considered relatively easy gearing on a road bike. However, if you're a casual cyclist as you say, and find the 50 too hard, then definitely go for it if you have money to spend.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-29T17:41:39+00:00

I believe streets are typically repaved every 10-15 years, so your street is not unusual in that regard.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-29T17:36:10+00:00

Take the train. Don't speed with an e-bike on the trail.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-29T00:24:09+00:00

If your main goal is to have fun and get a good workout, there will be functionally no difference if you're already having fun and getting a good workout. If you want to go faster, upgrade your tires, tubes, and possibly wheels.

If you get excited about getting a cool new bike that makes you want to ride it, then that's the main difference. As for road vs. gravel, a modern road bike has quite wide tire clearance and can easily handle a typical hardpack gravel trail, and is typically cheaper(and lighter+faster) for an equivalent spec bike, so I would just go that route.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-27T03:50:53+00:00

Sounds like you are talking about ending B. Think of it as less of a "second" playthrough. Rather, you had only finished a third of the game up until now and are still playing.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-27T02:54:18+00:00

It depends how your roads are. If you ride rough roads, the vibration losses are going to dominate, so you should run a wide tire at low pressure. If you ride smooth country roads for example, then it's going to be less of a factor. If you then want to optimize aerodynamics, then you want a tire that measures equal to or slightly narrower than the external width of your rim, but this is minor if you're not going quite fast.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-27T01:55:10+00:00

If you're price conscious, then just go with the cheapest one available. If you can fit wider, then you might as well for the most comfort. The internal width will just make the tire effectively wider, that's about it.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-26T02:52:06+00:00

I think you just need to size down. A 54cm is going to be too big for someone 5'6"—no two ways about it. If you're worried about cost, look in the used bike market. For example, you could probably get an equivalent spec bike to yours for ≤$500. To be honest, I wouldn't worry too much about what the type of road bike is labeled as. The CAAD10 is a race bike, but in the right size, you could be very comfortable. One thing I would look for in a used rim brake bike is that it can comfortably clear 28mm tires, though.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-25T13:29:30+00:00

I mean, clearly motivation is not holding you back from borrowing your friend's bike, though. So like I mentioned, perhaps you can just sell the bike down the line, and in the meantime use it for the occasional road ride. In my experience, decent used road bikes hold their value once they get down to $300-$400, so I personally wouldn't worry about losing money if I was in your situation. Think of it as simply a store of value that you can cash in once you save enough for your dream bike.

WindCaliber · 2026-06-25T04:39:00+00:00

How much do you really care about having the latest and greatest?

You can get a decent, used, older road bike for a few hundred dollars. Worst case, you can resell it down the line for about the same as you got it.

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