7800 vs R600 opinions?

[Dr.Dos]

I tried WH-R7800 and 550, Cosmic Elites and Eurus, they're all excellent. Whatever you chose, they'll be fine wheels.

The Shimanos are the liveliest in race conditions, the Eurus feel very aerodynamic, stiff and strong and the Mavics feel best in training cause the seem indestructible. Those R600 look tempting, I'm sure they are a good choice too.

[HXTi]

Well here is my take on the 7800 vs r600. First of all I like the idea of lower profile rims because they are supposed to be more complaint and there is less rotational weight. Shimano's fit the bill here. I do realize Mario J that campy protons/neutrons are similar in design here. When I looked at the shimano site it showed that the r600 is about 125g heavier than the 7800. The only difference I see is that the front axle is steel for the r600 but the rim is made of scandium unlike the 7800. Good/bad who knows. The r600 also uses the offset rear rim like the protons/neutrons do. So as far as I can see they are a stronger wheelset with a weight penalty thats really is at the hub and not at the rims. I bet you couldn't tell the difference between the two during spin up. If the r600 is cheaper and stronger and just as durable with only a 125g weight penalty then it seems to be the better buy. What do you think?

However I asked this question here because I didn't have any inside info on the r600 and whether ultegra hubs were any good longevity wise. I have always seen a big difference between ultegra and duraace like with the pedals (7800 sl's better bearings) and diff between ultegra 9 and dura ace 9 components. Also the spoke quality and QC might be worse etc.
Any more info out there? But then these are for 10speed components and it seems ultegra10 and duraace10 are very close now. So it could also be for the wheelsets too. Hmmm

I won't have a new wheelset anytime soon though. I'm getting a new frame built for me and it won't be ready for sometime. So in the mean time I've been trying to justify and select my components.

Thanks again for all the help and any extra info will just be gravy on top.

[digger]

Hi,

I have never heard of a failure with this wheelset although bearings need occasional replacement. Better reliability then the Ksyrium SL's.

Even the Mavic Ksyrium Equipe are to be considered. Sharing all the same technical prowess as the SLs and the Elites, they only differ by the choice of spokes and nipples.
Something that can easily be upgraded should you feel so inclined later on.
At the current asking price for such a set they must be the bargain of the century in wheelland...

Ciao,

Wouldnt bother.. Very flexy... I have wrecked a set from a year of youth racing. Spend you money on wheels. Got a new set of Ksyrium SL2's and love them !

[tommy]

i wouldn't spend my money on the ksyrium elite or equipe aswell; They are really weak. and heavy too! i had alot of problems with them.
I would go for a custum wheelset.
7800 hubs, ambrosio crono rims(tubular) and 28-32 cx rays or mavic open pro (clincher)
if would be stiffer then the 7800 wheelset and about the same weight.


And if you want my opinion about 7800 vs r600 i would go for the 7800.
it will be lighter and the hubs are way better

[asphaltdude]

I haven´t got much experience in the R600´s. I have only seen it once, as the 7800´s and 550´s are the ones that sell. The 600´s seem to fall in a difficult place, pricevise.

Well, here in Europe the R600's are available from plm 300 euro and so they're cheaper then Ksyrium Elite's.
They're only marginally heavier then the 7800 (and the biggest difference is in the hubs supposedly). They seem like a very interesting set to me.
Next month the German magazine Tour will come with a big wheel test (including measurements of stiffness, acceleration and aerodynamics)
Too bad there aren't any user reviews of the R600 and R550 on roadbikereview.com yet.

[HXTi]

asphaultdude,

I wish I could read german. Do you know what the mag rated best clincher last year? Or top five or so? Is it the regular ksyriums, carbones, .......who knows. I'd be curious as to their picks after doing all the testing. If you have the info I'd love to see it. I read the shimanos have a 90kg limit and since I'm a little over that I now think its not a good idea. Anyways thanks in advance.

[asphaltdude]

I don't have the mag with last year's test.

This year's test will come out in a few weeks I guess....

http://forum.tour-magazin.de/showthread.php?t=44734

I'll buy it and if you want I can translate the most important parts of the article

[asphaltdude]

Some more info on wheel aerodynamics:
http://www.radplan-delta.de/rennradtech ... ungen.html

http://www.carbonsports.com/Produkte/Li ... index.html