ROL Wheels Volant

Price Paid:  $379.00 at ROL Wheels

Favorite Ride:
Old North Road

Bike Setup:
2006 Trek 5200 with Ultegra 10 Spd. Stock except for new ROL Volant Wheels and Specialized Saddle.

Summary:
After having ridden many thousands of miles over the past 26 years in all sorts of conditions, racing, commuting, touring, triathlons, mountain biking, etc... It was refreshing to come across these wheels and this company. I called Sean and spoke with him personally and he answered all my questions (Super Nice Guy). After expressing to him my disgust about not being able to find a decent set of wheels that didn't cost a fortune, Sean suggested the Volants. The wheels came to me true and spinning nicely right out of the box with rim tape installed. I mounted my old Bontrager tires and took them out on a nice 40 mile ride. Right away I noticed a comfortable ride with nice snap on acceleration, they spin up nicely. I took them on the annual Seagull Century and immediately noticed the way these wheels rolled. I could sit in a paceline and had trouble keeping from rolling up on the bike in front of me. They roll way better than any other wheel I've tried. I'm a big rider, 210 lbs, and I destroy rear wheels. So far I've destroyed two Bontrager Race wheels, 1 Trek Matrix ISO wheel and, the Cane Creeks went real flexy on me.

Strengths:
True
Comfortable
Climb well
Roll very well
Handsome looking wheels
I can't tell you how pleased I am to find such a nice performing wheel at such a reasonable price.

Weaknesses:
They don't cost as much as the "Boutique" wheels that are comparable in weight and performance so, some folks may turn their noses up at them.

Similar Products Used:
Wolber Aspin Rims, Ambrosio Rims, Campagnolo Cronos Rims, Mavic MA-40 Rims, Trek Matrix ISO Rims - all with Campy 36 hole hubs. Cane Creek Strada Wheels, Bontrager Race Wheels.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at rolwheels.com

Favorite Ride:
ALL!

Summary:
I have a 25 year old Bianchi Virata road bike and I was still riding the stock Araya CTL-370 wheels with a 7 speed cluster and Ultegra 600 hubs.

I was looking for a reasonably priced upgrade and after a lot of research I went with the ROL Volants.

After upgrading my driveline (DA downtube shifters, SRAM 9 speed cassette) and I kept the Ultegra 600 derailer.

I have ridden my favorite after work route which is a 10 mile loop that has 2 steep 1/2 mile climbs rolling hills and long flats. On my pervious wheels I was averaging 23.5 mph on the flats, and the steep long climbs I would average 12mph.

After mounting the new wheels which made my 25 yeard old Bianchi look like a brand new bike, I did a quick shakedown run. The wheels are nice and stiff and respond great to quick brusts of speed. You do feel the road a bit more than I was used to but it isn't harsh. The wheels seem to slice through the wind nicely and they hold speed incredibly. I would have like them to spin up a bit quicker but they aren't slouches either.

The next two nights I did my 10 mile route and I was extremely satisfied. My average flat speed went up to 27.5mph and I was averaging 15.5mph on the climbs. The wheels held speed very very well...once I got them to speed it required relatively little effort to hold them there. They descend extremely well too. I had an incident when descending one fast hill and got them up to 35mph...to my utter shock a work crew had put down one of those 6' x 8' thick steel plate to cover a utility hole and I was at about 30mph when I had no chice but to bunny hop the damn thing! I weigh just over 200lbs. and I thought I was going to destroy my brand new wheels! Well following my incident I pulled over to see how out of true I knocked the wheels...to my surprise they were as straight as they came out of the box! Impressive!

I would highly reccomend these wheels to anybody!

Strengths:
Very fast, resonably light, strong, aerodynamic and did I say fast?

Weaknesses:
Spin up a little slow.

Price Paid:  $370.00 at online

Favorite Ride:
3 mountains, 3 states

Bike Setup:
Litespeed Ardeness, ultegra 10 speed, Rol volant wheels, Ritchey, handlebar, stem and seat post. I love this bike

Summary:
great set of wheels for the money. I could not believe the quality and performance for at such bargain, specially after I got burned with Neuvations wheels. The customer service is second to none ( Sean) great guy over the phone and email, I like and use these wheels more than my Kysirium ssl's

Strengths:
True of the box , over 8,000.00 miles never had a spoke broken, descent like on rails, no flex that I can tell( 190lbs rider)great on the flats and climb terrific, they also look nice on the bike

Weaknesses:
None, for the price, the quality , craftmanship and the fact that I a break these wheels I do not have to mortgage the house to get a new set.

Similar Products Used:
Mavic kysirium, Bontrager, Mavic cosmic, fulcrum 7, Neuvation (save your money)

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Rol

Favorite Ride:
any

Bike Setup:
2006 Madone 5.2

Summary:
I received a new Volant rear wheel as a replacement for an SL. I road on the Volant for two months and had a spoke break at the nipple about halfway thru a metric century. Needless to say I didn't ask for another replacement.

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
Quality

Similar Products Used:
none

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Price Paid:  $379.00 at Rol website

Bike Setup:
LeMond Zurich (2003), Ultegra

Summary:
Purchased after stock Bontrager hub flange broke. Fantastic customer service (courtesy the owner). Have had the wheels now for several months and a couple thousand miles; still true as the first day I rode them. Free wheel a little noisy, but I view any time spent not peddling as wasted, so it doesn't bother me. Great product, and the first time I've been please enough with any purchase to write a review.

Strengths:
Noticeably more power transfer over Bontrager Race Lites.

Weaknesses:
None, unless the slightly louder noise bothers you.

Similar Products Used:
Bontrager Race Lites