Aerospoke 700C clincher

Price Paid:  $350.00 at Bike Works, Rochelle

Favorite Ride:
Trek 2300

Bike Setup:
Trek 2300 Bonded carbon fiber and aluminum frame
Mavic bottom bracket and crankset
Shimano Ultegra deraillures and shifters with the front deraillure shifter on the down tube to position chain eliminating chain rub.
Mavic rim with Ultegra front hub and Aerospoke rear wheel with 8-spd american classic hub.

Look pedals

Summary:
My first bike was a fuji touring bike that had a suntour hubset. these spoked wheels were built like a tank having 48 spokes on the rear wheel and 40 on the front wheel.

Then I bought a trek 1400 with 32 spoke wheels and as I grew stronger, I found that my wheels needed trueing more and more so I ended up purchasing some mavic rims and Ultegra hubs (32 spoke) and had a custom set of wheel built. Again, with the hills of north eastern NJ I found out that I really stressed the rear wheel all the time and even the custom wheels were getting truing on a regular basis.

Then I bought the Trek 2300, and right off, I upgraded to the Mavic bottom bracket and Crank set. I was amazed at the stiffness of the bike in that it seemed to surge forward with every stroke of the crankset, but again, I was spending lots of timehaving the rear wheel trued.

I purchased the Aerospoke and converted it to a rear wheel by having the hubs changed and put it on my 2300. what a difference this wheel made. Between the stiffness of the carbon/aluminum bonded frame, the Mavic Crankset and Aerospoke rear wheel, it seemed that every little bit of my energy was used to propel the bike forward.

I have used resistance trainers at home, and with the spoked wheels, I could always lean back and let the rear wheel fan me and cool me off. With the aerospoke wheel, there was no breeze from the rear wheel.

I have never regretted this purchase and would recommend them to people like me who are heavy (230+) to keep from having to perform regular maintenance on the wheelsets (rear wheel)

Strengths:
Strong, replaceable hub, never needs truing

Weaknesses:
No breeze from the rear wheel when riding stationary resistance trainers.

Similar Products Used:
regular steel spoked wheels, mostly 32 spoke

Price Paid:  $399.00 at www.eighthinch.com

Favorite Ride:
Fast Commutte

Bike Setup:
Fixed Gear

Summary:
Aerospokes are heavier than most carbon wheels, but they seem to hold up extremely well. Being a bigger guy (220lbs) I like that I don't have to feel like a wheel is going to collapse under me. Once up to speed these wheels are super fast and look awesome!

Strengths:
Strength, Color Choice, Speed (when up to speed)

Weaknesses:
A bit heavy, pricey

Similar Products Used:
C6 Carbon Tubulars

Price Paid:  $300.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
Capital Crescent Trail

Bike Setup:
Giant TCR A1
Everything OEM except the wheels

Summary:
If you are big rider (200+ lbs) and are concerned about true and reliability this is your wheel. You can't beat the price to value ratio. I've riden a 30 mile daily loop to work on these. I'm 200 lbs. and add up to another 25 lbs in pack weight. These wheels don't care. You need to know that these are one of the only wheelsets rated for tandem use. Yes they are a bit heavy, but that's what you give up for bombproof wheels. Need to mention that their customer service is also top notch. I've had to replace two wheels in the past due to accident/car rack damage with no problem. They offer half price replacement.

Strengths:
Practically indestructible
Customer service
Attention getters

Weaknesses:
Weight

Similar Products Used:
There is nothing like this in this price range.

Price Paid:  $314.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
Chicago/kimball to downtown

Bike Setup:
Fetish cycles Attack
deda pista handlebars, Fetish stem, Fetish carbon fork, Fetish headset, Andel 46t crankset, shimano bb, Fetish aero carbon seatpost, BEV tech. Carbon/Titanium seatpost, shimano dura-ace 15t cog and lockring

Summary:
When I first pulled the wheel out of the box I thought man this is pretty heavy for a wheel. I started to do my usual 25 mile run through the lakefront to downtown and noticed that I got from the beginning of the trail to downtown in about 10 mins faster then when I ride with my mavics. Great stuff! Saving up for the front to see how much more speed I can get.

Strengths:
Never need to be trued, look great, very great performance for the price, and hey, they are carbon! What more can you ask for?

Weaknesses:
A little heavy, but for the performance they dish out, who cares

Similar Products Used:
Mavic CXP22, Mavic Ellipse, Alexrims DC19, Weinnman DC18

Price Paid:  $300.00 at The Freewheel

Favorite Ride:
the alpine loop

Bike Setup:
*05 Pista rattle canned army green with stock crome fork
*rear Aerospoke
*no frills front hub laced to a black Velocity Fusion
*ODI lock on grips
*black no name riser bar
*San Marco Regal seat
*Sugino cranks
*platform pedals
*Specialized Armadillos (23 front, 25 rear)

Summary:
I just purchased this wheel (rear) yesterday and I already feel a difference. Its more responsive, it feels like my bike wants to just get up and go now. I dont get as much road vibration, which is nice because I ride with a track seat. This wheel is worth the money for sure.

Strengths:
Solid, responsive, quiet, smooth.

Weaknesses:
little heavy, but its on my comuter bike so it doesnt really matter

Similar Products Used:
none