HED Wheels: how good are they?

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nemeseri
Posts: 794
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:40 pm

by nemeseri

After years of not caring about aero, I decided to jump on the aero train with a new wheel set.

I'm not looking for very deep wheels, but more like an all around set. I'm quite light (<130 lbs) and it can get windy around here. Main features I'm looking for: clincher, good braking quality, not too heavy, quality hubs. And I really don't want to spend more than $1,500 so Zipps / ENVEs aren't an option.

After a brief research I found that the HED Jet series delivers a good value on paper. Not too heavy, alloy brake tracks very wide rims, lot of options (Jet 4/5/6). Is HED respected among the aero weenies? Are they comparable with bigger players?

Can you recommend something else based on my main objectives? I'm a big shimano fan, but the new c60 will be quite heavy and the c50s are quite old and I'm not digging their design. Based on my requirements how deep should I go?

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pdlpsher1
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Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

HEDs are good wheels. The disc version is being used at the Olympics on the U.S. team. The Jet 4 Plus should suit you well. They are 46mm deep and are wide which will give you a host of advantages. You should run 25mm tires on these in particular the Conti 4000 S II 25mm. If you are in the U.S. you could send me a private mail and I'll refer you to someone who will give you a nice discount on any Hed wheels.

Welcome to Aeroweenies :D

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by Weenie


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BeeSeeBee
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Location: Bay Area, CA

by BeeSeeBee

I'm 140lbs and it can get pretty windy around here at times. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go for a ~45mm rim for something a bit more balanced. 60mm isn't that bad, but it does require more attentiveness in windy conditions, especially while descending.

Do note that the 25mm wide +'s make tires wide, so make sure your frame has the clearance.

As for their aero chops, they've tested to be incredibly quick throughout the years, and this iteration is no different.

Tour Magazine test:
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nemeseri
Posts: 794
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2015 5:40 pm

by nemeseri

BeeSeeBee wrote:I'm 140lbs and it can get pretty windy around here at times. If I were to do it again, I'd probably go for a ~45mm rim for something a bit more balanced. 60mm isn't that bad, but it does require more attentiveness in windy conditions, especially while descending.

Do note that the 25mm wide +'s make tires wide, so make sure your frame has the clearance.

As for their aero chops, they've tested to be incredibly quick throughout the years, and this iteration is no different.

Tour Magazine test:


Thanks to both of you for the valuable input! So HED really seems to have a good value. @BeeSeeBee: do you have a link to the tour test? Can I buy access to it somehow?

1415chris
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Location: Surrey UK

by 1415chris

Take into account the dents which may appear on the carbon section of the wheels.

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BeeSeeBee
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Location: Bay Area, CA

by BeeSeeBee

http://www.tour-magazin.de/raeder/rennr ... 34659.html was the test

Tom Anhalt also got to do some independent testing with a bunch of different wheels and tires at the Specialized tunnel
http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/2015/10 ... art-1.html

At the end of the day, most of these wheels are within the margin of error from each other, so I'd probably buy wheels on qualities other than that. For me, I wanted braking I wouldn't have to worry about since I regularly ride up in the mountains and dense fog clouds are and was willing to take the weight penalty hit over full carbon clinchers. There are a few minor design flaws I've remedied on my own (nothing serious, just small annoyances I think they've since fixed), but they've got close to 15k miles on them (I bought them used and put about 10k on myself) and have been completely maintenance free.

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