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I'm looking at some Fulcrum racing 5 wheels but Im not sure if they would serve my daily rider better or my weekend bike. My daily work commuter is a Giant Escape and my weekend bike (mainly for fitness and fun) is a specialized Allez.

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    [In a shady voice] "Hey man, those are real nice wheels on your commuter.... it'd be a shame if they were to get stolen......"
    – RoboKaren
    Jun 24, 2017 at 5:10
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    All snark aside, this is likely to get closed as 'opinion based' - as there's no canonical answer possible. Better in what way? If you are measuring overall watt-hours, you likely spend more distance on your commuter. But weekend cycling is more fun time. And as I hint above, commuter bikes are usually theft-targets so I wouldn't put anything nice on them.
    – RoboKaren
    Jun 24, 2017 at 5:12
  • There's generally only comfort and financial and security reasons for a commuter bike over a super-nice one. If you can afford them, why not?
    – Criggie
    Jun 24, 2017 at 6:36
  • I have a set of fulcrum red metal 5's and I was about to say that the LBS near me said that a replacement freehub for them would b expensive (mine needs new bearings) but I've just looked and it's probably only £50-£60 by the looks of things. I really like my wheels but I am on the lookout for some new lighter ones but, and here's just my opinion, I would keep the fulcrums on for my commute and use the new ones for trail riding only. The racing 5's are sub £200 a set so I'd live with the risk on a commuter bike and buy a blummin' big lock. I always thread my lock through the back wheel anyway.
    – Chris
    Jun 24, 2017 at 7:35
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    So, you already got them and don't know what to do with them?
    – ojs
    Jun 24, 2017 at 12:12

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Yes, I think it's totally worth it. It depends on if you have a budget to spend on extra parts of course.

I have a specialized secteur as my commuter and after a year or so of owning it I replaced the stock wheels with some mavic aksium wheels. Now, the decision was made as part of a groupset upgrade. The bike was equipped with a low end shimano 8 speed and I got the wheels as part of an upgrade to an 11 speed groupset. That said, the wheels are on the low end of an aftermarket wheel and they still make a huge difference. They ride much better than the stock wheels, are lighter (but still heavy by road/race standards), more responsive, and brake better.

I also bought some locking skewers with them and don't ever worry about carrying an extra cable or anything besides a good lock. The downside is that you need to carry your skewer key around everywhere, but I usually just keep mine in my bag.

Of course, they might get stolen, or your whole bike might get stolen because it draws more attention, but if it's something you want to do and aren't going to be upset if it happens, don't think twice about it. Make the upgrade. I'd recommend getting a used wheelset.

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