The original Ascent Comp raised the bar for ultra-light weight ultra-high performance clinchers. The Ascent II takes it even higher. Ascent II has shed 53 grams for an unbelievable weight of only 1419 grams per pair!
If climbing, sprinting and race winning performance are your goals, then Ascent II is your weapon of choice.
Strengths: strong, light, take a beating and hold up well. Good value for the money. Straight-pull, round spokes. Solid value for the money. Hand-built in California!
Weaknesses: alloy nipples can get fragile over time... but that's true with any weight weenie wheel using alloy nipples. If you want a heavier wheel... buy something with brass nipples.
Bottom Line:
Liked these wheels so much I bought two sets! Have stayed round, true, and gave me absolutely no problems. I actually prefer them (aesthetically) over the new SLX wheels. Velomax spent extra effort making the Gen3 hub beautiful.
Submitted by
Michael Baker
a Recreational Rider
from
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2010
Strengths: Fast, Smooth, and Easton Strong.
Weaknesses: Boring graphics if that is a weakness, which it is not.
Bottom Line:
These wheels have stayed true since day one. They are lightweight and stiff for the under 200 lbs crowd. I was hit by a car an pushed into the curb and the wheels are still in flawless shape.
Bike Setup: Cannondale R1000 Frame, Slice Premium Fork, Shimano Ultegra 6600 Grouppo, Shimano FC-R700 Crank, Easton Ascent II Wheelset, Salsa Rasta Ti Skewers (ofcourse), FSA OS-115 Stem, FSA SLK Post, San Marco Aspide, Nothing fancy just light at 16 LBS and fun!
I've used my Ascent II's for four years now on various bikes. They're on their second set of wheel bearings (first set having lasted about 3500 miles), which were pretty straightforward to replace. Early in their life, the front rim was damaged - my fault - racing incident. Easton simply sent a replacement rim, spokes & hub shell assembly. No quibble, no charge. The wheels remain true, the braking surfaces in decent shape having been used wet and dry. The wheels are pretty close to the claimed weight, and are stiff enough to sprint and descend with confidence. Ride quality is good, bearing friction is low. Buy them and fear not.
Strengths: Incredibly longlasting, and strong for the weight. True out of the box, and (almost) forever after.
Weaknesses: Alloy nipples are very maleable.
Bottom Line:
Purchased wheels about 6-7 years ago. Perfectly true since the day I bought them. However, I've gained 30+ lb. (thyroid issues), still the wheels have been great. I've replaced the bearings twice; which isn't bad considering the wheels probably have 18000 miles on them.I don't consider myself to be hard on equipment, and these wheels' longevity reinforces that feeling. Recently broke spokes on both wheels, causing the wheels to go out of true. Having gone 6-7 years without truing, and 18000 miles; when I attempted to true the wheels several alloy nipples self-destructed, making it impossible to true the wheels. Those I've been able to extricate have been replaced with brass nipples (at my weight I'll take the weight penalty for the assurance I'll be able to fix the wheel). When I figure out how to get rid of the 'broken' nipples, these wheels will be back on my bike in a hurry.
Felt a little play in my back wheel yesterday. On inspection I found that the nut that holds on the cassette was finger tight causing the whole wheel to have about a 1/16 in play. Read More »
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I'm thinking about buying a set just wanted to see what people thought of the wheel set. also let me know what you think and how much you weigh. thanks for all the help Read More »
I am trying to figure out what the difference is btw these two series of wheels produced by Easton. I race on Orion IIs and was thinking of buying another pair as mine are getting Read More »
