Submitted by
biker58life
a Recreational Rider
from
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2011
Strengths: tough, stiff enough, smooth tubeless ride, roll freakishly smooth, fairly good deal if u can get them below $900.
Weaknesses: I like these to be under 1000 grams but I also like to see world peace.
Bottom Line:
In a nutshell, I love these wheels. IDK if the tubeless tires are tuff t2 put on bcoz I go to LBS and I never hear any boohoo from them. I have Hutchingson Atoms, expensive (about $160 for the whole shebang) but just stunning. To me.
I love the tubeless set up, as a matter of fact, I bought a complete bike with a set of old scandium tubeless in '08 and I never looked back; I have 4 bikes and they all run tubeless. Shimano D/A hubs are fantastic, roll beautifully. I am about 180 pounds and wheels are tuff! I have a riding buddy who is over 250 and these r the only wheels still working when out of warrantee; he has since lost 60-70 pounds. I just put in an order for Colnago C59 and I so want to get another set of these; I guess I can pay more but will I get more? Madfiber tubeless look pretty sweet though.
Similar Products Used: Ksyium Equipe, Zipp 303, D/A C24 CL,
Bike Setup: Scott Addict R2, Colnago President, Ridley Noah, Scott Addict SL, Look 555,
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dewey Formby
a Recreational Rider
from
Date Reviewed: August 7, 2011
Strengths: Light, wonderful tubeless ride when functioning properly. Great road feel with lower psi, and no speed loss.
Weaknesses: Impossible to mount fresh out of the box tires for a normal guy. Tires would not hold air, sealant dried.
Bottom Line:
I, too, have had problems with these wheels. I could not mount tires, neither Hutchinson tubeless or typical tubed tires. I tucked my tail and went to my LBS. He is experienced but new to tubeless and he struggled too. He got them on, with Hutchinson sealer, and the ride was DIVINE. But they wouldn't hold air. After a few returns for resealing, I gave up. I was going to sell, but decided to try tubed tires once more. I cleaned the dried sealant as best I could. I took slightly used tires off another wheelset and they mounted right up. The tires need to be seasoned first, prestretched. I've only ridden in the neighborhood, will report on a longer ride, but they are holding air well, and these are light wheels. I will experiment with psi.
Bike Setup: 2009 Specialized Roubaix Expert, stock Ultegra specs, Hed Ardennes fr wheels with Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 320 tires, or Continental GP 4000 S, a tossup.
Strengths: Low rolling resistance, Comfortable ride
Weaknesses: Not that stiff, doesn't stay true for long. Tough to mount the tubeless tires.
Bottom Line:
I purchased those wheels as a trade for the Bontrager Race that initially came with my Trek Madone 5.5. I also have a set of Shimano RS 80 and I can't say the 7850 wheels are stiff but boy they roll better, very low rolling resistance, they roll forever !
For the price I would wish they would be stiffer. My Campy Zonda (on my other bike) at half the price are stiffer and stay true. After about 1000km I had to bring back the 7850 that was not true anymore. Now they are ok. Changing tires are not a pleasant experience but once they are on they are great to use, very smooth ride.
Great rolling wheel for the price but was expecting a stiffer wheel. I have purchased a new bike and this time I'm going back to Campy for the wheelset.
Strengths: Light, look good, solid, strong, no flex, stay true.
Weaknesses: Tubeless tire choice, freehub body.
Bottom Line:
I have to say that I have been disappointed in these wheels. I read so many great reviews on them that I thought I was buying the next best thing since sliced bread. After one year riding them I cannot recommend them. The tubeless tires from Hutchinson are hard as crap to get on. Then they won't hold air after about 1,000 miles, even with sealant. I decided to just run them with tubes and couldn't get the darn regular tubed tires on (I guess it's hard to put any tires on these rims) so I threw them on ebay in frustration and sold them. Also, the freehub body produces significant drag. Don't know if that was a defect on mine but I even had it overhauled and it still produced drag. They are light and solid wheels. I think if there was a better tire choice then they would be worth keeping. I understand Maxxis is coming out with some new tires but they are over $100 apiece. Crazy.
Strengths: Great workmanship. Reliable, and lite. There is more weight in hub which may add to the overall bike weight, but the weight is at the center of rotation so they feel light.
Weaknesses: Not much choice as far as tires. Hopefully more tire manufacturers bring some competition and choice.
Bottom Line:
I love the wheels. The combination of Shimano workmanship and the tubeless tires is great. If you have sore back after a long ride, or you ride a bumpy roads, try them, you will never return them. It's like riding on new pavement.
