Just about ready to finally get a wheelset. I would love to go with the C4.0 or even the williams 38 carbon clincher, but im not fast enough for carbon yet. That and i done feel like dropping that kind of money. Currently im running the shimano RS10s (1844g!) that came with my CAAD9-4. So its down to the soul wheels, seems to be good bang for the buch. So the S2.0 1330g 25mm deep or the S3.0SL 1400g 30mm deep. I weigh in at around +-180 lbs. The weight savings will be nice on the S2.0, and the S3.0SL. 3.0 looks like it would be a stiffer wheel. Neither are deep enough to cut through the wind. Im in Florida so everything is flat and fast. Aero would be nice but have to go carbon to keep the weight down. I dont want the ride to be to harsh though, 30mm alloy rims might be to harsh. Im currently running and plan on always running Veloflex master 22s with latex to keep the ride smooth. Thanks.

I purchased the S3.0 wheelset about 6 months ago. I've only completed a few TT events with them, no crits or road races yet. The wheels are true, have stayed true, look good, and swapping freehub bodies is easy enough. Sean was easy to deal with and they arrived well packaged. I would consider another wheelset from this company...for what that is worth.

I think the biggest factors with your decision are your type of riding/racing (if you do) and your weight. All else is moot.

Florida - mostly flat (hills are bridges). Aero would be king here, weight not so much an issue unless you're aiming to build ultralite. You could consider going for the S4.0 - they're heavier, sure, but they're quite deep and hold speed very well. Shallower rims don't hold speed very well, but the lower rotating mass at the rim does help for sudden accelerations, which would be great for sprinting out of corners in a crit, for example... or attacking up hill. But again, not too many hills where you are!

Like the poster above, I also commend you going with Soul - Sean provides an awesome product, great customer service, an unbeatable (non-sale) pricing for the product quality/level.

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Exp001

ChristianK how do the wheels ride and spin up? Harsh, flex? No racing here just some fast group rides. Keeping up with the attacks and the acceleration out of the corners is about the hardest parts of the rides. Weekend rides we hit some hills here but there all but 100 yards long. Do aero wheels even help when riding in a pack?

Aero wheels help all the time, but they're best known for 'holding speed' rather than accelerations and counter-attacks. If you were off the front for quite some time, either alone or with another escapee, the aero wheels would help you stay away.*

It could be easily said, however, that getting semi-shallow or non-aero wheels that are as training wheels would be more work for you to keep the speed up, hence making your training more effective during those long stretches when you're in the peloton cruising or hammering. You'll get stronger by having to do more work in staying with the group**. Many pros choose to use ultra-deep wheels in their off season training methods, but those are often for long solo rides.

I recommend you go with the S3.0 (or S3.0SL and get the best of both worlds).




*of note: The amount of additional work you'll be doing with non-deep-aero wheels isn't that much. At a certain point aero is useful and does save your power output, however it has been shown and proven by numbers that the differences aren't terribly dramatic. Significant at a certain point of depth, yes, but not dramatic of a difference to make a person several km/h or mi/h faster at the same level. The effects are best seen over the course of time.

**A friend of mine once built up an anti-weenie training bike for his off (and on) season in racing. He used every method possible to make the bike quite heavy while utilising the same ultra-light drivetrain he used for racing. For example, he loaded the seatpost with pennies and tack-welded them in. Heaviest bars he could find, heaviest stem, heavy frame, etc:. He continued his normal training regimen with this heavy bike. He podiumed on nearly every race he entered, won more than he ever did, etc:. Kinda crazy though, he took 'train heavy race light' to the extreme.

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Exp001

The only actual races I've completed with them were uphill TTs. The fastest I've ever gone was on these wheels, but I cannot attribute that to the wheels alone as I was out of shape the last few times for that event later in the season. I ran a 1100 gram set of tubulars later in the season and was slower...I doubt it was the wheels fault.

I believe aerodynamically efficient wheels can help under almost all conditions. I have not crit raced with these wheels, but for what you are asking about (fast group rides), I am not sure if much can beat them for the money. I would not hesitate to run wheels from Soul again if I am in need of a set with similar specifications for another build.

Christian.

Looking on the forums i came across some 27mm yishun alloy chinchers that come in at 1390-1400g. Uses kinlin XR270 hoops, pillar bladed spokes, chosen hubs $290 shipped. Hard to pass these up for the price. Need to do some more reading up on these wheels.