Williams Cycling Wheel System 30x

Price Paid:  $519.00 at www.williamscycling.

Favorite Ride:
Alpine Dam

Bike Setup:
09 Specialized Roubaix Pro
Campy Record 10

Summary:
I bought these to replace a pair of Mavic Ksyrium’s because the bearing-less freehub body was worn to the point that it affected shifting. I still can’t believe Mavic doesn’t use bearings in the freehub, had I known the wheels were disposable I wouldn’t have bought them in the first place.

Anyway, regarding the Williams 30x. What a great product and a great company. I did a lot of research as I wanted an all around, somewhat aero and laterally stiff wheel set at a reasonable price. At first I was concerned about the plainness of the wheels. There is nothing fancy here other than the ceramic bearings (which are amazing btw).

The wheel has bladed, j-bend spokes which was my main concern as I used to break spokes at the bend all the time. I was convinced that straight pull spokes were the way to go however I know better now. It’s all in the build quality and these were dead straight out of the box and still are after almost 7 months on very and I mean very bad roads here in the north east. I rode all winter on these and they are still perfectly true and round.

The ceramic bearings are an improvement I can feel over the steel bearings in my Mavic’s. They are amazingly smooth and roll forever. My front wheel spun for over 5 minutes the other day with the bike on my work stand. Not a scientific test but the Mavic’s don’t spin for even a minute.

I can also feel the difference in lateral rigidity. There is no slop when standing hard on the pedals. The wheels never touch the brake pads and there is no creaking, or pinging noises from the spokes. I weight 185 lbs when in shape but the wheels also endured my 190+ winter weight and all the extra clothing that goes with the cold weather.

Regarding customer service. Keith Williams, the owner of the company knows how to keep his customers happy. The wheels arrived well packed in a solid box and were in perfect condition. However, on the first ride I experienced extreme front brake chatter and after several rides it wouldn’t go away. I tried emery cloth and rode on it a few more times before contacting Keith. His response, “It may be a defective rim, I’ll send you a new front wheel and an RMA # to return the old one free of charge”. The new wheel has worked flawlessly since November.

My latest experience with Keith was today. I’ve been hearing a strange noise coming from the freewheel so took it apart to find one of the freehub bearings had a lot of play. Again, Keith said I’ll send you a new one free of charge. And this is after 7 months of use!

What else can I say? Great wheels, great price and the best customer service I’ve seen from any bicycle parts mfr.

Strengths:
Strong
Stiff
Reasonably Light
Great Bearings
Great Price

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Disposable Mavic Ksyrium’s

Price Paid:  $390.00 at Williams

Bike Setup:
Specialized Tarmac SL2 / Dura Ace

Summary:
I am a 160lb rider and bought these wheels because I wanted a bomb-proof training wheel that was also light and stiff enough for riding crits (lots of acceleration/sprint abuse). These wheels have been amazing. They are still true as the day I got them and I've even crashed them once. I ride and race these all the time and have two other (more expensive) wheelsets that are sitting around collecting dust (except when I have a HCTT). At the price, these are the best you can ride!

Strengths:
Bomb-proof, light, cheap!

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Easton Ascent II
Rolf Prima Elan Aero
Reynolds Alta Aero Comp

Price Paid:  $489.00 at Williams Website

Favorite Ride:
Hillaceous Kirkland

Bike Setup:
Spesh Tricross, WIlliams 30X w/ Conti 4000's

Summary:
I'm no wheelset connoisseur, having ridden only one other wheelset, but I can say the Williams 30X wheels are a big improvement over the stock rims that came with my Tricross. I changed tires at the same time (32s to 25s), so direct comparison is a little hard to make, but with the Williams 30X's and the new tires, I definitely gained between about one mph on the flats, and noticed a distinct improvement in power transfer on the hills. I've put about 500 miles on the 30Xs so far, and have had no problems with them.

Strengths:
Great performance-per-cost ratio, light & stiff, nice looks

Similar Products Used:
Alex Rims ACE 19

Price Paid:  $400.00 at williamscycling.com

Summary:
I bought these through a team deal. I replaced the OEMs that were on my 2003 Trek. So far, they're great. They seem to be faster than my teammates' wheels -- I'm guessing it's the ceramic bearings. I will pass guys on descents with no pedaling. They just roll faster.

BTW - They come with rim strips installed.

Strengths:
Low rolling resistance
Great price

Weaknesses:
None so far

Similar Products Used:
Bontrager Race Lite

Price Paid:  $500.00 at WilliamsCycling.com

Favorite Ride:
Any

Bike Setup:
Cervelo RS, Sram Force, Williams 30x

Summary:
I bought these for my new Cervelo RS build last month. I was searching for some wheels to go with my new bike, considering Ksyrium SL's as I had been using a set for a few years without problem. While the Ksyriums gave me bombproof performance, I was not happy with the drag that seemed to be prevalant from the freehub body mechanism and the hubs. THe rims are also not very aerodynamic, so I thought I should try something else...

I came across the Williams reviews on TestRider.com. (If you haven't seen this site I highly recommend it). All of the Williams wheels reviewed got glowing reviews. Based on this I decided to purchase the Williams 30's. I noticed on the Williams website that the 30's have a rider weight limit of 190 lbs. I am exactly 190. I called Keith Williams (he answers the phone when you call!) and he recommended I go up to the 30x if I didn't mind the 75 gram weight penalty. Since I don't race I decided to take his advice.

I must say that so far they have performed great. I have ridden them about 1,000 miles so far and not a problem. I have noticed a slight decrease in the smoothness of the front bearings, which I will keep an eye on based on one of the previous reviewers experiences. Other than that, the rolling and braking performance is awesome! They are also very stiff. As for the weight goes, let's just say that these feel faster than my previous set of Ksyriums. They seem to roll longer and more aerodynamically - don't know if it is a mental thing or not but they sure seem faster.

Strengths:
Reasonably light, stiff, aero, smooth.

Weaknesses:
Front bearings?
Rim width seems narrow, I would like to run 25c tires but feel they might be too wide.

Similar Products Used:
Neuvation M28 aero
Ksyrium SL