Strengths: super strong, yet conveys the surface precisely, the thin profile cuts the wind better, snugs tire to rim well, too.
Weaknesses: price, price, finding tubes with very long stems, the adapters leak air, price,...did I say price? best money spent so far.
Bottom Line:
I bought the spinergy wheels because I'm 6'4" and 225lbs. and wreck havoc on regular spoke wheels. I've crashed many times, lost the bike off the bikerack going down the road, wheels are the best! Best upgrade, even kevin-proof!
Similar Products Used: Being so big, I have to be a weight-weenie. I love carbon fiber. I use a carbon-fiber bar, and I have the Race-Face Next carbon fiber cranks.
Bike Setup: X-large '98 Cannondale, spinergy super-stiff wheelset, race-face next cranks, titanium bottom-bracket, manitou-air 3.5 inch front shock, thomptson seatpost, bmx seat and pedals, yeti grips,and continental semi-slick tires. I use an aero-bar for long distance rides. I've ridden this setup on the 1997-2003 MS150's to Austin,Tx, with one broke chain and three flats. I have about 7,000 miles on this bike, and I couldn't have done this without the outstanding quality of the spinergy super-stiff wheels!
Weaknesses: need valve extenders. Strong crooss winds are a little scary, but you get used to it quickly.
Bottom Line:
My wife and I both have Spinergy Rev-X on our Aegis Are Sveltes. We love 'em! We have riden across America twice on these wheels, and put on additional trainig miles, so it is safe to say thatr we each have over 10,000 miles on the wheels with virtually no problems. We did have to de pack the rear bearings on my wife's bike, but we are unceratin as to how many miles the wheels had on them before we bought them. They are smoooooth. They really dampen the road vibrations, and most of all we think they look very cool. They changed the appearance of our bikes dramaticly. Best touring wheel we ever had. No truing necessary. No spoke problems.
Bike Setup: Aegis Aro svelte/carbon fibre. All Campy Chorus
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Submitted by
John
a Road Racer
from Brisbane - Queensland
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2001
Strengths: They look alot stronger than their appearance would suggest. Motorists as well as other bike riders always take a second look. They really are a great wheel. Then spin freely, seem to be every bit a tough as anything I've riden before, very stiff and they look wild! Great conversation starter...
Weaknesses: The front wheel does get caught and suffer in crosswinds - I think this is probably due to the very deep rim, rather than the design of the blades. I'd be interested in knowing what effect crosswinds have on other deep rimmed wheels. No other weakness that I know of.
Bottom Line:
I got these wheels with the bike, it was a fantastic price for the bike alone and I wasn't fussed about the wheels. At first I wasn't sure about the Rev's and thought alot about swapping for a traditional wheel. After a few rides I'm glad I didn't swap and I'm sticking with the Rev's. They are outrageous to look at and ride very well. If they weren't so expensive alot more people would ride them.
There is a web site which claims all sorts of problems with these wheels, so I did a fair amount of research. My point was that if so many problems existed then I'm sure consumer agencies would have clamped down on the wheels/manufacturer.
If you want to try the following: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html and search recalls - bicycles and accessories - there is NO mention of Spinergy or Rev-X (but there are other wheels... that's another story). There are more good stories about Rev's than there are bad.
Similar Products Used: Similar Products - are there any?.
I still have my trusted, tried and proven Mavic SSC's (vintage 1985) which are still going strong, I must have a zillion miles on them :-)
Bike Setup: Lemond Zurich, DuraAce, Rev-X.
"The Full Monty!"
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Submitted by
Dave Freeman
a Road Racer
from La Verne, CA. USA
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2000
Strengths: Very stiff, very aerodynamic, accelerate very fast from a rolling start. Love em.
Weaknesses: Kinda heavy. Not too good in heavy cross winds
Bottom Line:
Very smooth bearings. Awesome wheels for crits or sprinting. Corners really well. Can be a little dicey in cross winds (Those blades provide a lot of area for a side wind to push against). I don't use them for long rides because I find the ride a little harsh, (especially when on the Cad 3), and they're a bit heavy, so they're not my first choice for climbing). But in a crit or a short road race--I love em.
Bike Setup: Cannondale Cad 3 with ultegra,& Litespeed Clasic wi Dura Ace
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Submitted by
Paul Rhodes
a Road Racer
from Manchester, NH
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2000
Strengths: Takes a beating, smooths out bumpy roads, bearings, looks
Weaknesses: Fills up with water in sever conditions (takes some time, but pretty easy to get out),like I said before when they are dead you need a whole new wheel.
Bottom Line:
After riding this thing all road season for training and crits, I use heliums in road races (because they are lighter and tubulars), I am amazed at how well it is holding up. The cones have only loosend up two more times in 6 months and I regreased it after a lot of wet weather riding. It really didn't even need it. It still has a tiny hop in it, but as not gotten any worse after 5,000 miles. I even smacked an 8 inch curb this weekend with it when I was invovled in a crash during a crit (some people really need to learn how to corner at speed) and it is totaly fine. I love this wheel so far and I am becoming more skeptical of the horror stories some people tell of these wheels. In 6 years of racing I have only seen 3 break, and two instances were because of crashes. I will still give the wheel a rating of 4 because when it does die it is expensive to replace. Anybody looking for low maintance wheels that smooth out the ride should look into these.
