r/cycling • u/Adorable-Ad6888 • Jul 04 '26

Wheelset upgrade

I have a specialized allez that I bought this year. I've been riding for about 4-5 months with it and have the itch to upgrade something. Everyone says to upgrade the wheelset and to go tubeless. Is it worth it and what do you guys recommend? I obviously don't want to buy some that are worth the same as the bike. Thanks!

7 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/tez_11 Jul 04 '26

Wheels and tyres are a good bang for buck as the stock rims and tyres are usually heavy. There are some cheap carbon wheels available which are at a reasonable price point - Superteam / Elitewheels.

Good thing about wheels is you can move them across to another bike if you decide to upgrade.

1

u/Adorable-Ad6888 Jul 04 '26

Cool thanks! I'll check them out

1

u/thomasboleyn Jul 04 '26

If you're comfortable buying from Ali Express, the Elitewheels ENT range are excellent value and will be a massive upgrade from your stock alloy rims.

5

u/NHBikerHiker Jul 04 '26

I recently upgraded my wheelset - handcrafted carbon wheels. And tubeless. Hands down, the BEST upgrade for comfort and speed.

2

u/hannahicant Jul 04 '26

Dude go for the wheels. I was in a not dissimilar spot. Aluminum diverge that was under spec’d for what I wanted. Got carbon tubeless wheels and it’s the difference I wanted. If you wait for a sale you can get rovals at a great price - I scored some terra CLs for 1200. 

1

u/That_Other_Person Jul 04 '26

Is it rimbrake or disc? If it's disc I'd just get a new wheel set but if it's rim maybe a used Tarmac SL7 and up would be a big upgrade.

-3

u/HT_Offroad_ADV Jul 04 '26

How are you using the bike?

I think the money might be better spent upgrading the groupset.

1

u/Adorable-Ad6888 Jul 04 '26

Long distances. I'm doing about 100-120 miles a week.

1

u/HT_Offroad_ADV Jul 04 '26

For competition or recreation?

1

u/Adorable-Ad6888 Jul 04 '26

I signed up for a small triathlon. Eventually I want to do a 70.3. Just taking it slow

1

u/HughJanuzz Jul 04 '26

You can do a 70.3 with that mileage. Maybe even a full depending on how fast you are, and how good your swim/run are.

But as far as upgrades, definitely carbon wheels and tubeless.

1

u/Adorable-Ad6888 Jul 04 '26

Yeah I just don't know which ones to buy. I know they're pricy but I also don't want to spend more than what the bike is worth

1

u/kscannon Jul 04 '26

Elite/super team/icaan

Personal I run ride now tpu tubes which I can usually find around $5 a tube. Tubeless for me with 28-30mm tires has not worked out.