Hi all,

I'm looking in to getting some carbon wheels to use for racing crits and road races, and I think I've narrowed it down to these three options. (I've done a couple of searches, but have not seen these three compared.) I'm looking to see what your thoughts are.

I'm going with clinchers because I've never used tubulars before and it seems like a hassle I don't really want. Plus, for the amount I am spending, I want to be able to take them on occasional training rides without worrying about flats.

And I'm going with an aluminum brake surface because they are cheaper, come with less risk of warping due to heat and don't require swapping pads - meaning I could quickly throw them on my wife's bike for her races.

None are particularly light, but I can get good prices on these through local retailers.

Here are specs, provided by the manufacturer websites, so weights are probably a bit off:

Mavic:
Rim height: 52mm
Listed Weight: 1740
Cost: About $900

Hed
Rim height: 60 mm
Listed weight: 1768
Cost: about $1280

Shimano
Rim height: 50 mm
Listed weight: 1725
Cost: about $1400

Any thoughts on these would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.
James

hi, here are the wheels I have been riding..if that helps a bit.
I owned the 404 clincher 2009: great bearing and really smooth the stifness what not bad..but the durability was terrible.

I currently own the Easton ec90 aero and the 2011 carbon cosmic SR:
the easton are nice..but i find them a little too light terefore not holding their speed as i wanted too, may be i did not brake the bearings enough or something.
The carbon cosmic...are my favourite of all wheels.
they are stiff, roll really nice..and have a reputation for being durable.
few of the guys in my club ride the carbon sl...and have nothing bad to say about them beside the fact that they are on the heavy side.
I don't think you can go wrong with the SL...., also dura Ace is a pretty good brand in general i have never ridden them so couldn't tell you.

I have been shopping for wheels for a while..and always looking for what is good out there.
And the carbon sl were on my list until I came across the SR.

Also i ride in France from time to time and the guys racing there..lots of them have the Carbon sl.

good luck.

Just bought the SLR's today and will let you know how they roll.

I have the Cosmic Carbone SLs and have been very happy with them so far, with the exception of the somewhat lazy freehub engagement. They are plenty stiff even under my fat butt (currently 220 lbs), and I haven't noticed any adverse effects from their weight on any of the short climbs around here. As far as aerodynamics go they may be making a difference over my Campy Zondas but my speedometer and butt-o-meter have been unable to detect the difference. On a separate note, the Veloflex Corsa tires I have on them seem to roll much nicer than the Hutchinson Fusion 2 on the Zondas.

Anyways, I was in a similar dilemma while shopping for deep section wheels, and pretty much had it narrowed down to the list that you have. I decided to go with the Mavics purely due to their price (I got them for $800 brand new during a sale). If I had more money to spend, I would have chosen the Dura Ace 50mm clinchers because of what I feel to be superior Shimano hubs.

P.S. My Carbone SLs weighed about 1,800g for the pair with decals but without rim strips. Taking the decals of shaved 18g.

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The Carbone SLRs have been popping up on Bonktown.com for $1000. I don't know if are shopping at your LBS, but if you are going online, that might be the decider if I were you as it would be the lightest and still close to the cheapest.

Yep, $999. They arrive next Tuesday.

What is the difference between the SLR and SL (2010 models) please? I tried to search it out but to no luck.

SL = conventional steel spokes
SLR = carbon fiber spokes, slightly lighter

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Is that all? The price difference is huge.

So my conundrum is SLR $1,000 USD (Bonktown) or SL with MP3 for basically the same. Thoughts?

Well, this is WW and the difference in mass between the two is about 150g, so you may want to go with the lighter SLRs

With that said, I went with the SLs because they have proven themselves to be very durable and I didn't feel like messing with carbon spokes.

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Thanks for your advice. After much hemming and hawing - and temporarily thinking about sucking it up and getting tubulars - I ordered the Mavic CC SLR's from Bonktown along with the MP3 plan, in case I destroy those carbon spokes.

It seemed like the best option. I figure if I get some light tires and tubes - I'm thinking Maxxis Xenith Equipe Legere tires and superlight tubes, which should weigh around 200 grams total - I'm pretty close to what a tubular set up would have weighed.

Which tubular setup?

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53x12 - that's a good question.

I was looking at Williams 58 tubulars - which are reported at 1471 g and Hed Stinger 6, which come in at 1371.

And from what I've read, tubular tires weigh 250-260 grams. So, the total set would weigh about 1970 for the Williams and 1870 for the Heds.

If I did a 150 gram clincher with 50 gram tube, the Mavic wheelset would, in theory, weigh 1995.

Of course, that is all based on reported numbers, so the results will vary some, and my weights on tubulars could be wrong. Please feel free to correct my assumptions if they are innaccurate.

You won't find a 150g clincher tire, at least not one that you can ride every day. Think more like 180-200g for light clincher tires.

I suggest a pair of Veloflex Corsa clincher tires. My came in at 202 and 203 g each, and the ride quality and grip are great.

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