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Submitted by
rdcanuck
a Commuter
from Date Reviewed: September 16, 2010
Strengths: stay true, very durable, light, very quiet freewheel, looks greatWeaknesses: first rear wheel disintegrated in pot hole,\
braking surface wore out before any problems showed up.
Tend to fill with water through spoke holes on really wet rides and are impossible to empty.Bottom Line: I am a heavy rider (90-95kg) and commute 30kms/day every day with panniers weighing about 10kg. I ride at 35km/h on the flats on average and am very aggressive on the couple of hills that I normally ride.
I broke 3 rear axles (!!!) with the original custom wheels that came with my bike and my LBS mechanic suggested that i change wheels to something with a better supporting hub design for my weight and strength. He recommended the Xero XR-1 set and I was hooked by the look and the light weight but I also like the sound of the freewheel (my original wheel had a very loud click that I found annoying when coasting).
I immediately noticed a positive difference and loved these guys. Within 2 months of great handling and performance I hit a large pot hole that broke a spoke. i stopped and trued up the wheel best as I could on the sidewalk since i still had 10km to get home. By the time I got home several spokes had literally peeled from the rim leaving it in tatters.
i took it back to my LBS and he sent it to the factory. In the meantime I bought another rear wheel exactly the same to keep riding. To my surprise, Xero rebuilt the wheel for free (reusing my hub) but didn't decal it. I put this one in my garage as a spare and kept riding my newer replacement.
This was all in 2005. This is now 2010 and the sets have over 25,000km on them. Both the front and rear started going out of true for the first time this year. Within a month of this I broke a spoke on the rear wheel and finally put on the factory rebuilt wheel that has been collecting dust. The bearings in the hub are still spinning great and quiet even though I have been through four cassettes on them.
When I took a look at the front wheel closely, the braking rim is completely worn through with horizontal cracks appearing. The wear indicators are long gone and I didn't even notice.
Considering the great mileage I got out of these I called my dealer for another set just this month and they told me that they don't carry the brand anymore because too many of them failed like my first one did (the spokes would peel out of the rim). They suggested Fulcrum 5 as a suitable replacement.
I am now shopping for a strong light wheel and will likely go for the Fulcrum 3 wheel set which is about 50% more expensive than these.
In summary, these have been real workhorses for me but I suffered a severe failure early on. I am not sure if I was either unlucky with that one or lucky with the one that lasted. LBS experience has not been good. Because of that, I will only rate a 3.
Favorite Ride: Gatineau Hills loop
Price Paid:
$350.00
Purchased At: Cycle Power
Similar Products Used: custom wheels
Bike Setup: Eclipse Aluminum with Carbon forks
Ultegra Shifters, 105 derailers, 12-25 10 speed, 34/42/50 front, Crank brothers Candy pedals, Syntace aero bars
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
emonette123
a Commuter
from Date Reviewed: June 25, 2010
Strengths: Light and cheap.
Easy to spin and climb.
Remains true.Weaknesses: Poor durability
Skewers suckBottom Line: I rode these wheels for about 7000 km (4500 miles), on two consecutive seasons. I'd like to give them a good review but... I just can't. I notice some cracks around the nipple holes on the rear wheel at the beginning of this season. I hoped for the better, but the worst happened. The crack expanded to the limit where the nipple was just coming out of the rim. I noticed 4 other holes were cracked. At the same time, I broke a spoke on the front wheel, so I just returned the complete wheelset. The good news is they honored their (supposedly expired 1 year) warranty. But I just bought a different wheelset since I cannot trust these wheels.
I mainly commute with my bike, the road is not that bad, but there is a lot of vibrations.
Other problems I had with these wheels is the spacer on the back wheel coming loose on the drive side and the skewers are just crappy, you have to tighten them real hard to prevent them from slipping. The wheels also are not that rigid, you feel them bend when you climb over a pebble or a small bump on the road.
Bottom line: incredible value but really poor durability.
Favorite Ride: commuting
Price Paid:
$300.00
Purchased At: cyclepath.ca
Similar Products Used: My good old campi rims never cracked on the same road, but they are 32 holes rims, meaning a lot less tension on the spokes.
Bike Setup: Marinoni steel frame mounted on Campi Chorus
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
hsttrek
a Recreational Rider
from Date Reviewed: April 4, 2010
Strengths: Lightest wheel-set at this price point, zero flex at my speeds, trouble free, low spoke count look.Weaknesses: soft brake surfaceBottom Line: 3rd season with 3K miles on these wheels. At 6'/180lb these wheels have remained tight, true & flex free on my 2X weekly rides. I do a ping check every month on the spokes. 2 minor gripes: 1. Braking surface is very soft - I ended up with Campy pads that finally stopped the rim shredding. 2. Replaced rear skewer with Shimano due to wheel slips in the frame on hard efforts.
Favorite Ride: Any paved road
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At: Ebay
Similar Products Used: C'dale / Trek house brands - all popped spokes
Bike Setup: Jamis Eclipse, Chorus group, FSA compact crank
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Matt W
a Road Racer
from Date Reviewed: May 28, 2009
Strengths: Light, cheapWeaknesses: Way too flexy... When I was 180, standing would cause both wheels to rub the brakes. Slightly better now that I lost 15 pounds, but still very flexy.Bottom Line: Yes, these wheels are light and cheap, BUT, unless you are superlight, these things are way too flexy. I got mine about 3 years ago, so perhaps they have improved. Forget sprinting, your rims will rub the brake pads. Were pretty durable, until recently. A minor pothole (my Mavic Cosmos survived far worse) and now the rear rim will not stay true. Honestly, not bad for $200, but probably best suited for very light riders.
Price Paid:
$189.00
Purchased At: ebay
Similar Products Used: Mavic Cosmos
Bike Setup: Specialized Allez setup as a TT bike
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
tarmac09
a Road Racer
from Date Reviewed: May 6, 2009
Strengths: Aero and light, smooth rideWeaknesses: Spokes easily breakBottom Line: I purchased these wheels in order to improve weight and ride from my stock shimano wheelset that came on my Tarmac. The wheels feeland ride exceptionally well, but after 1,000 miles i have suffered from two broken spokes in the rear wheel, one while on a 100 mile ride and one while riding rollers under light conditons. It seems as though to shave the weight the comprimised the integrity of the spoke strength. At 135 lbs I can easily say I'm not overloading these wheels!
Favorite Ride: MS-150
Price Paid:
$219.00
Purchased At: Online
Bike Setup: Tarmac Comp Dbl, airione Saddle, Xero wheels, vittoria open tubular evo tires, look kea sprint pedals
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