Aerodynamics, looks, price, everything!

Nothing I can think of

Review is for the 2010 Hed Stinger 9's
Fabulous wheels. I've ridden Zipp 404's, 808's, Mavic Carbones, Reynolds DV46. These are better. At 90mm deep they are deeper than the Zipp 808's, score significantly better in the wind tunnel and are very light! Spin up quickly and stay there. I live in Southwest Florida where it's pretty windy, somehow Hed has managed to make these rideable even in windy conditions. Seem very strong as well. I'm 190 lbs and these feel indestructable.

Similar Products Used:

Zipp 404, 808, Hed 3's (also fabulous), Reynolds DV46, Easton EC90's

Unproven aero capabilities (couldn't get them working)

Valve extenders are unreliable, increased rim width causes incompatibility issues with brakes and frame clearance.

These wheels have been nothing but trouble. The original included valve extenders were machined wrong. The replacements took a week to get here. The design is inherently flawed and would not hold a seal on the rim (tested fine off rim). Forced me to remount a tubular tire twice. Finally bought some 3rd party removable core valve extenders.

Furthermore, the 2009 C2 22mm wide rim is incompatible with SRAM brakes (also 2009). The calipers can't open up to give enough clearance. Because of this, I'm currently riding a $30 set of brakes on an $8000 bicycle.

After all this, I found that the increased width of the rim rubs against my chainstay directly behind the bottom bracket. The wheel has been checked for true and is fine. It's slightly out of dish, however two mechanics have told me that even if it were perfectly dished, the clearance is so little that it would rub under flex no matter what.

Similar Products Used:

Zipp 404's

Everything about these wheels is outstanding!

Braking on carbon rims - but that's the nature of the beast.

These are wickedly beautiful wheels! They are light (less than 1400grams/pair), stiff (I weigh 185 and they don't flex), and aerodynamic. Everything about them is top-drawer. The rims are flawless, Sapim bladed spokes, beautiful hubs (look like American Classics to me...), perfect build. They spin up fast, and once you're up to speed, they want to stay there. It's hard for me to imagine a better all-around set of racing wheels - they are light enough for big climbs, yet aerodynamic enough for time-trialing. I put Tufo Elite sew-ups on them (super-easy installation using their extreme tape)and the ride is incredibly comfortable. There is only one downside to these wheels that is shared by all carbon rim wheels: even when you use special brake pads for carbon rims, braking force is hard to control. It's hard to go from light pressure up to high pressure on the brake levers and get a nice smooth, predictable increase in braking force - above a certain point, the pads tend to suddenly grip hard. I've used Corima pads for carbon rims and regular Ultegra pads, and I think the Ultegra's are a bit smoother. Overall though, I'd buy 'em again without hesitation - for the money I don't know of anything even close...

Similar Products Used:

Mavic, Weyless, Matrix, and some older tubulars.