Price Paid:
$0.00 Favorite Ride:
Mad River Road Race course Bike Setup:
Cannondale or DEAN Ti -- both my bikes
get to use the Orions. Summary:
It's high time this wheelset got a review.
The Velomax Orion Pros (tubular sister
of the Orion Comp) climb like an angel
and descend like the devil himself.
In fact, what impresses me the most
about the Orion Pros is how stable they
are on fast, extremely technical descents,
like the east side of Appalachian Gap.
I'm also very impressed with the Ascent
Comp, but clinchers are more prone to
pinch flats than tubulars, and the tubulars
(wheels and tires both) are a tad lighter.
This is an important factor for me, since
I do a fair amount of riding on dirt roads,
and two miles of the Mad River Road Race
are run on dirt, mostly downhill, so you
hit stuff *very* fast.
I ride the Orions all the time once the
snow melts, so it's fair to say that my
current pair have roughly 5,000 miles
on them.
My one complaint is that the polished
hubs have to be wiped on a regular
basis, to prevent discoloring from my acidic sweat. I understand the '03
hubs are addressing this issue -- and
the '03 Velomax can use either a
Shimano or a Campy cassette body.
I've never had to true the front. The
rear comes out of true by a few mm
after I've hammered on it for 500
miles, but it's easy to true IF YOU
KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
If you true your own wheels, I highly
recommend that you call Velomax for
some tips on truing high-tension spoke
wheels. If you have your local shop
true your wheels, it would pay to ask
them to call Velomax. I've built wheels
for 25 years, and some of the truing
techniques used on a rear Velomax are
counter-intuitive.
If you want a tubular wheelset that
comes close to carbon for weight,
without the hassles of carbon (price,
braking), Orion Pros are the way to go. Strengths:
lightness, ascending, descending, looks,
low price (relative to carbon wheelsets) Weaknesses:
After two hard years on these wheels,
I can't think of any. Similar Products Used:
Rolf Vector Pro, Mavic Ksyrium
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