Which wheel to buy...

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PinarelloPrinceSL

by PinarelloPrinceSL

I'm currently looking at 1 of 3 different wheels, and looking for personal opinions on all 3... pros/cons/personal use etc...

1) Campagnolo Bora G3
2) Reynolds Stratus DV UL
3) Corima Aero

The Reynolds interests me quit a bit due to the extreme light weight... I was wondering what hubs and spokes they use though.

The Corimas seem to be a popular choice with the pros as well (Ullrich etc)

Boras are $$ but I can get a pair now at a reasonable price.

Are there any pros using these Reynolds wheels at all in Europe?? If these wheels are as great and stiff as everyone claims, where are they in the peleton??

The Corimas seem like a nice wheel, a little heavier at 1470 for the pair, but where I live in Canada its flat as a pancake, and the road I do the majority of my riding on is a 12km brand new asphalt provincial park with a few slight rises (mostly like false flats, but after 90km, they get to ya)

By the way I am 6'1 and 170 pounds if that changes anything.

Thanks!

by Weenie


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Michiel
Posts: 244
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: The Netherlands

by Michiel

Pinarello,

Reynolds use White Industries Hubs and Sapim Spokes. More info you can find at www.reynoldscomposites.com

I use a pair of LEW-rims (which are the predecessor of the Stratus wheelset) spoked up with Tune hubs and DT Aerolite spokes. These are lighter than the combo used by Reynolds. I like them a lot, they are stiff and light. Why the pros in Europe don't use them? I don't know. Whit pros the everlasting argument is sponsoring.. Only a few riders can break through this moneyrelated subeject, examples are Ulle, Zabel, Chipo, Hamilton, Lance. I know Saturn rides them in the US and some other teams in your continent. I have always suspected that the Bontrager rims used by US Postal are made by Reynolds, but evidence is nowhere to find...

The downside for Reynolds and Corima rims (Bora I don't know) is that the spokes are located inside the rims. If you want to tighten your spokes, you have to pull of your tube before you can!!

I haven't seen Ulle on Corima's though :noidea:
He rides Leightweight in the climbingstages (and also a lot in flat stages) and Shimano wheels, but I might be wrong...


doozer
Posts: 198
Joined: Thu Nov 06, 2003 11:24 am
Location: fragglerock

by doozer

if i had the money I'd go for the reynolds.. the wheels aren't the lightest out there due to the weight of the hubs but the rims are perhaps the lightest at that depth. remember that these wheels will accelerate well due to this latter fact. I'd assume that as the white industries hubs are a little heavier you may find they're well made, strong and very servicable but i'm only assuming this.. either way the wheelset has a very impressive weight.. perhaps more pro teams will take on these wheels in the following seasons (either officially or rebranded products)

there was a thread a little while ago about upgrading the UL reynolds hubs and spokes to build a superlight set of deep wheels but I don't think reynolds sell the rims separately.. and to buy new hubs and rebuild woud be very costly!!

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... t=reynolds

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum ... t=reynolds

dooz :mrgreen:
Dance you cares away, worries for another day, dance your cares away, down at fragglerock.

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Michiel
Posts: 244
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: The Netherlands

by Michiel

Pinarello,

I stand corrected :oops:

You very well might be right.

I agree with Doozer, I had to replace my hubs. I got the weightgain as I used Tune hubs and DT Aerolite spokes. You could ask Reynolds if they would consider selling the rims separate, but I suspect the won't.
But you can always try!!

Cheezhead
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 6:02 pm

by Cheezhead

Well, the bad news is that Reynolds will not sell the rims separately, I've already tried.

The good news is that I ordered a set of the DV-UL's and they're scheduled to be delivered TODAY!!! After work I'm running over to the LBS, gluing on a set of Tufo S3 Lite's, short ride, then using them for the State TT Champs tomorrow. I'll let you know what I think about the wheels after that if you want.

Racing Aardvark
Posts: 639
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2004 1:44 am
Location: Boulder, CO

by Racing Aardvark

Michiel wrote:I know Saturn rides them in the US and some other teams in your continent.


Saturn is gone this year, and they never rode Reynolds. The last few years they were sponsored by Lemond bikes and used Shimano wheels (can't remember if they used Bontrager).

The big team using Reynolds here in the States is HealthNet/Maxxis. One of our local cyclocross honches used Reynoldswheels the last couple years and (as far as I know) didn't have issues.

Cheezhead
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 6:02 pm

by Cheezhead

Racing Aardvark wrote:
Michiel wrote:I know Saturn rides them in the US and some other teams in your continent.


Saturn is gone this year, and they never rode Reynolds. The last few years they were sponsored by Lemond bikes and used Shimano wheels (can't remember if they used Bontrager).


Saturn used Reynolds forks and stems, I believe. They did ride Lemond bikes and Shimano wheels.

Like the Aardvark said, the only pro team I know of that uses Reynolds wheels is Health-Net.

PinarelloPrinceSL

by PinarelloPrinceSL

So what are the overall impressions on the Corima Aeros then? I heard Corima makes Campagnolos rims as it is, and the Corima is still going to be alot cheaper than the Bora for me...

I currently have Eurus wheels, and the Corimas will be more aero.

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Ye Olde Balde One
Posts: 481
Joined: Sun Oct 19, 2003 4:26 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA

by Ye Olde Balde One

PinarelloPrinceSL wrote:So what are the overall impressions on the Corima Aeros then? I heard Corima makes Campagnolos rims as it is, and the Corima is still going to be alot cheaper than the Bora for me...

I currently have Eurus wheels, and the Corimas will be more aero.


The Corima Aero rims are great rims, robust and reliable. Ulrich has used them this year, in fact I'd suggest they are the most used rebadged rim in the peleton in the last 10 years. The hubs are pretty heavy, I'd get Spada or Tune hubs and CX-Rays to build them into a really nice and light low spoke count set of aero wheels.

This is a Winium built up for Cross Worlds last year;
Attachments
Spada-Winium.JPG
Ride lightly!

C-40
Posts: 517
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 3:11 pm
Location: Detroit-USA
Contact:

by C-40

Cheezhead wrote:Well, the bad news is that Reynolds will not sell the rims separately, I've already tried.

The good news is that I ordered a set of the DV-UL's and they're scheduled to be delivered TODAY!!! After work I'm running over to the LBS, gluing on a set of Tufo S3 Lite's, short ride, then using them for the State TT Champs tomorrow. I'll let you know what I think about the wheels after that if you want.


Sorry to tell you this but you are taking BIG chances with your gluing technique- The pros apply 2-4 coats of glue (usually 3) with 24 hours between coats. Have you ever felt a front tire roll off? A dear friend rolled a front at LOW speed and broke his femur in 3 places.....end of the season for him and lots of muscle loss.....

Read this after your race!!!!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/fix/?id=tubular

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Cyco
Posts: 1875
Joined: Sat Nov 30, 2002 4:49 am

by Cyco

C-40 wrote:Sorry to tell you this but you are taking BIG chances with your gluing technique- The pros apply 2-4 coats of glue (usually 3) with 24 hours between coats. Have you ever felt a front tire roll off? A dear friend rolled a front at LOW speed and broke his femur in 3 places.....end of the season for him and lots of muscle loss.....


I've only ever left 24hrs between each coat when using Shellac. A good glue (I normally use Conti) on a warm day can vent enough solvent to be able to apply the layers at 1hr intervals. You will know if you have applied it to fast if you come back to place the next coat on and the previous has bubbles in it.

It is much easier to fit a tyre if you have pre-streached them. I prefer to have them inflated on a clean rim for 1-2 weeks if I can arrange it.

If it was warm to hot I would be confidant in my technique that I could glue a tyre the afternoon before a TT (not RR, crit or track event) - No tyre I have glued on has ever come off the rim without me wanting it to (most dont even come off then!).
Success is how far you you bounce back up after being knocked down

PinarelloPrinceSL

by PinarelloPrinceSL

Well I've decided on the Corima Aeros... after speaking with a few retailers, I heard some pretty bad things regarding Reynolds attitude towards customer service and such in general...

Oswald
Posts: 794
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 10:11 pm

by Oswald

Cyco wrote:I've only ever left 24hrs between each coat when using Shellac. A good glue (I normally use Conti) on a warm day can vent enough solvent to be able to apply the layers at 1hr intervals. You will know if you have applied it to fast if you come back to place the next coat on and the previous has bubbles in it.

It is much easier to fit a tyre if you have pre-streached them. I prefer to have them inflated on a clean rim for 1-2 weeks if I can arrange it.

If it was warm to hot I would be confidant in my technique that I could glue a tyre the afternoon before a TT (not RR, crit or track event) - No tyre I have glued on has ever come off the rim without me wanting it to (most dont even come off then!).


I agree... you would be using them too soon!

by Weenie


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Cheezhead
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2004 6:02 pm

by Cheezhead

Well, I'm back from a weekend of racing with my new Reynolds wheels and all i can say is d@mn these things are awesome! Pulling them out of the box I couldn't believe how light they were, I almost threw them through the ceiling picking them up for the first time!

Accelerations are super quick, so much so that at times I felt I was in a gear lower than I actually was. Braking is excellent (using Kool Stop Carbon pads), even in wet conditions (it rained all throughout the TT). First ride impressions are 100% positive!

For those concerned about Reynold's customer service, I have to say that I was very satisfied and impressed in dealing with them. I ordered the wheels and they were on backorder, but they said they'd do their best to get them out to me before my race, and they made it! The wheels were perfectly true right out of the box. The front hub felt a little rough when spinning the wheel, so I called Reynolds right up and they were very helpful in telling me how to fix the problem (all it took was taking a little preload off the bearings), and they offered to send a new bearing right out if that didn't fix the problem.

For those of you concerned about me not waiting long enough on the glue before riding them. I used Tufo tape, which according to Tufo, is safe to ride after rolling around the parking lot for 100 feet to let the glue set.

If anyone has any more questions on these wheels, I'll be more than happy to answer them.

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