Vuelta Corsa-Lite

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Don's Bikes, Rialto

Bike Setup:
Cannondale Synapse Carbon 4, stock except for wheels

Summary:
Really like these wheels for the most part - light, roll fast, stay true, ridden 1800 miles on them. I weight 170 lb. Upgraded to them from Mavic Aksiums at the time of new bike purchase. One of the professional review I read at the time liked them, but noted several pinch flats in 400 miles of use. With the Maxxis Columbieres that came on them, with Kevlar liners inserted, I have had not one flat of any sort since purchase, running them at 110-115 psi. Since replacing a worn Maxxis with a Serfas Seca RS 10 days ago I have had FOUR pinch flats, one the typical snake-bite appearance, the other three single holes, but all on the rim side of the tube. Started at 110 PSI and with each flat increased about 5 psi. Today's was at 128 psi. The Seca RS's are much more flexible, less rigid than the Columbiere's, maybe that is why, but these rims have issues with certain tires.

Similar Products Used:
Vittoria Rubino Pro slick, Maxxis Columbiere

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Price Paid:  $285.00 at local bike mechanic

Favorite Ride:
scott cr1 sl

Bike Setup:
Giant TCR Aluxx 105
Scott CR1 SL Carbon 105

Summary:
Managed to lose approx 500gm on the digital scale swapping out from the xeros.

I shopped around a bit and these were recommended by my mechanic. They were the first pair he brought in so i was a little sceptical. I also paid a little more to support my LBS, but he recommended these within my budget.

These are a much faster wheel. I can now feel i'm over the power bend. Used to be able to stand on the forward pedal (yeah i know i'm supposed to pull the other one too) and it wouldn't go down fast enough. Now i'm able to sprint flat out. Gone from a flat 30kph non-drafted sprint of 48kms to 56kph with these wheels, on the same citcuit. So I can close gaps without getting sapped.

The rims are not very aero though and at over 40kph, without drafting, i can feel difficulty in adding speed without sprinting. So here's where a slightly heavier and more aero wheel might be better. I'm seldom the one who launches anyway, perferring the slingshot. But that also means I need to time it better as I can't hold the high speed.

Without the cassette and skewers they were a little over the claimed weight but still less than 1.6kg as a set. I wou;dn't want to skimp on the grease. Of course I have no idea how much of that weight is how far from the hubs. A wheelset weighing the same but with more of the weight closer to the center would be faster accelerating.

Stable in turns though i'm pretty light at 150lbs.

The ratchet in the back also sounds very hollow and uneven. Sounds like there may be an imperfect bearing or uneven spring tension as i can tell when it has rotated to the same spot in the wheel.

Overall. Im happy and these are good enough to probably race in for a couple of seasons. A set of super heavy tires go on these when not racing.

Strengths:
Light weight
Fast accelerating
Stable for light weight rider

Weaknesses:
Cannot hold high speed
Accelerating at high speed
Ratchet quality

Similar Products Used:
Xero XSR3

Price Paid:  $300.00 at online

Favorite Ride:
ALAMEDA

Bike Setup:
Full carbon 58cm, Ultegra 6600

Summary:
Great value, ~1.5Kg wheelset. Swapping out the Aksiums and fork that came stock with my bike, I was able to slash close to a full kilo and improve ride quality tremendously.

I weigh 190 lbs and can only throw these wheels a tiny bit out of true. The deflection is visible but so small I don't need to adjust my brakes and is not noticeable at all on the move. Granted, I have not climbed extensively on these but have put them through vigorous sprints without issue.

V section rims and aero spokes are a nice plus from box sections and regular spokes though I have yet to measure the difference it makes for me. Also, the pawls seem to be much quieter than the ones on most Mavic wheels.

Strengths:
Excellent value. Probably compares competitively to Neuvation wheelsets but I'm sure the customer service won't be anywhere near the same. John Neugent runs a bang up operation according to the reviews on this site.

Lighter weight = faster spin-up.

Weaknesses:
Probably not really meant for the heaviest riders but I think its up to the buyer to exercise common sense at this point. 2xx lbs. riders on wheels with virtually no spokes on them O RLY?