[bowler1]

Hi,

I have a Lemond road bike that came with Rolf Vector Comp wheels. I just upgraded the front wheel to a Vector Pro (have not been able to ride it yet) and am thinking of upgrading the rear as well.

I found a good deal on ebay and purchased a Vector Pro rear which is in the mail, but I am having second thoughts. I looked at a lot of the reviews here on the board for the Vector Pro and they are mixed. Seems like it has a lot of durability and hub problems.

I am debating whether to swap out the rear for a Vector Pro or to keep the Vector Comp on and use it in conjunction with the Vector Pro in the front.

I weight 177 pounds and ride a steel frame. I don't ride my road bike a whole lot as I do a lot of mountain biking. I would like an upgrade in performance, but don't want to have to constantly worry about wheel failure either.

What do you think?

How big is the performance difference between the Vector Pro and Comp in the rear (I already am upgrading the front)? As I understand it there is a big weight difference. Plus the Pro has bladed spokes (and a lot less of them than the Comp).

thanks for your help

Matt

 

[Dinosaur]

Spoke count

I have Rolf Vector Comps of my old Klein Quatum Race which I seldom ride anymore. The difference between the two as far as I know is the spoke count. The VP's have 14 front, 16 rear. The VC's have 18 front, 20 rear. Both are laced to Hugi hubs (sealed bearings). These wheels were made by Rolf for Trek bicycles and you can only find them on places such as ebay. My VC's have been o.k wheels for me. I do have a problem keeping the rear wheel true, but I weigh over 200 pounds. If I were to upgrade my old bike they would be the first thing I would have replaced. One problem is if you damage a rim (rims don't last forever) is you will be pressed to find a replacement. I cracked my rear rim about 4 years ago (when my bike was 2 years old) and Trek did not have a red rim in stock. My option was to go with a blue rim or buy a completely new wheelset for $300. I went with the blue rim. Low count rims can be a problem. I'm not really hot on them. I would not worry about the front rim, but a rear rim with only 16 spokes and you ride rough roads with pot holes, I'd be a little bit concerned.

 

[KSC]

I'll weigh in. I got the Pro's when I bought my Trek. Seems they just had the falling out w/ Rolf and were unloading these wheels, so I thought I was getting a great wheel upgrade. These wheels are super light and ride great, but the durability sucks. Like you, I don't ride tons of road miles, unlike some of the people on here, and my hub cracked in less than 2 years. I'm also a fairly light rider (150-155 lbs), come from an mtb background so don't smash my bike on a lot of stuff. Of course because Rolf has reincorporated himself and Trek says they're not our wheels, nobody will take responsiblity for the durablility issues. My shop says they've seen many many of those wheels come back with broken hubs. I'm not sure I'd buy Rolf wheels just on principle.

Anyway, I replaced w/ a standard open pro/dura ace setup. Easy to service, smooth hub, noticeably heavier when you pick up the bike, but never bothered me once I start riding. I am still running the Pro up front and it's doing fine. Never had to retrue front or back rims a single time, so for me the low spoke count wasn't an issue.

 

[geraldatwork]

You can't rely on the reviews unless there are dozens basically all agreeing. Probably the biggest determing factor in how a bike product performs is the weight of the rider. IMO that is the most likely reason for divergent reviews on products. I've asked a few times to include weight and height of rider imput spaces when writing a review. For some silly reason someone thinks your favorite ride is more important than the weight of a rider. DUH

 

[MarkS]

Good experience with the Vector Comps

I can't comment on the Vector Pros. But, my 2001 Trek 5200, which I bought in October 2000, came with Vector Comps. I put at least 10,000 miles on them before I swapped them out for Mavic Ksyriums in 2003. For the last year, I have used the Vector Comps on my commuter bike (a Lemond Poprad). I would say that since the Vector Comps have been on the commuter bike, I have put another 2,000 to 3,000 miles on the wheels. RBR poster Funknuggets recently visited Baltimore and described the streets where I commmute as looking like they were bombed in WWII and never repaired. I have had no problems with the Vector Comps. In fact, the front wheel only has been trued once and the rear wheel still the true. So, if I were you, I would keep the Vector Comps.

 

[cmgauch]

I bought a pair of VCs on closeout from Supergo prolly 4 years ago. I'm 5'10" & weigh 180-190 (depending). I put about 6k mi on these things: rec rides, commutes to NYC, long distance rides, etc. I even crashed them really bad. They are still true, I haven't touched them, not even once.

 

[bowler1]

Vector Pro

Sounds like most have good things to say about the Vector Comps (I have been satisfied with them as well)

Can anyone else commend on the Vector Pro wheels? I am now starting to lean towards keeping my Vector Comp rear for the increased durability of the higher spoke count and hub----seems like a whole lot of people comment on the Vector Pro rear hub cracking.

What kind of performance difference might there be between the two? I know there is probably a big difference in durability.

Matt

 

[633]

Sounds like most have good things to say about the Vector Comps (I have been satisfied with them as well)

Can anyone else commend on the Vector Pro wheels? I am now starting to lean towards keeping my Vector Comp rear for the increased durability of the higher spoke count and hub----seems like a whole lot of people comment on the Vector Pro rear hub cracking.

What kind of performance difference might there be between the two? I know there is probably a big difference in durability.

Matt

I have ridden both. I got rid of my Vector Pros because of lack of availability of parts. There are always some hubs or full wheels on eBay for the Comps, but much less for the Pros. If I was going to keep the Pros, I'd have an eBay search set to e-mail me anything with "Rolf" in the title, and then I'd probably stock some spares.

 

[RickC5]

I think VPs are just fine!

I have Vector Pros on my 2002 Trek 5200, and my wife has them on her 1999 Trek 5500. Neither of us have had any problems whatsoever with these wheels. My have remained totally true, even though I weigh over 200 lbs, and I just don't miss all the potholes out there. I think my hub could use some lube, as it has become a bit noisy after three years, but that's it.

I have also read reviews on the VPs that were negative, but there are negative reviews on Ksyriums too. While there are lots of other good wheels out there, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Vector Pros, considering they can frequently be bought for MUCH less than comparable wheels.