I'm mostly a lurker here on WW but thought that I'd post up a product review since there's little to be found on the net about these wheels. Road Bike Action Magazine recently gave a positive review of the base model Stealth PBO clinchers with the heavy aluminum brake track but I wasn’t interested in those due to the weight and the unsightly brake track.

I decided on the Spinergys for a number of reasons: I already own a set of 10+ year old 26” MTB Spinergys that are still true (occasional XC riding), PBO spokes provide exceptional comfort, the (attractive to me) rare-ish 12k carbon weave (rumor has it that the rims are made by Corima in France), the mid 45mm depth and wide 22.6mm rim width (which I confirmed to be a size sold by Corima). I really wanted the wide ZIPP 303 Firecrest clinchers but they were out of my price range and these wheels bridge the gap between my existing Williams and the Zipps.

I just bought them on eBay for $1249 from an authorized distributor (free shipping within the U.S.A) and I’ve managed to put on 100km (62 miles) in 2 dry condition rides. My recent wheel experience includes some Mavic aluminums and I just switched out a set of 2011 Williams System 38/58 (38mm front and 58mm rear) full carbon clinchers for the Spinergys. I liked the Williams but not the Williams font (the decals are under the clear coat and non-removable) and it began to bug me after a while. I swapped my Vittoria Corsa EVO CX 320 tpi tires directly over from the Williams.

Front wheel weight (no quick release or rim strip) = 675 grams
Rear wheel weight (no quick release or rim strip) = 840 grams
Total wheelset weight (no quick releases or rim tape) = 1,515 grams (Spinergy claims 1,500 grams)
Spinergy supplied rim strip (both pieces) = 35 grams
Total wheelset weight (rim strips but no quick releases) = 1,550 grams

My impressions so far (the bad):
- They seem to spin up a little slower than my Williams (which weigh virtually the same but are broken in and also come with hybrid ceramic bearings). This could be all in my head though.
- Viewed up close (very close) the 12k carbon weave isn’t as consistent as most of the 3k weaves that I’ve seen which hurts the aesthetics ever so slightly.
- The spoke drilling on the inside (tube side) of the rims was left a little messy and the edges had some minor burrs. The issue was very minor and wasn’t a problem after the rim strip was installed. I thought about going over the edges with a file but didn’t think it was necessary.

The good:
- They ride slightly more comfortably than the Williams.
- The wider rim is noticeable while seated and it looks awesome.
- In light winds the wider, shorter and blunter nosed Spinergys seem totally unaffected by side gusts that may have affected the Williams.
- They are laterally stiffer than even my deeper rear Williams 58mm. With my Williams I would occasionally get a tiny bit of brake rub when seriously powering out of the saddle. Even though the brake gap was reduced with the new wider 22.6mm rim (I made no brake adjustments), I didn’t notice any brake rub with out of the saddle efforts.
- With my existing Williams carbon specific brake pads, the braking was NOTICEABLY stronger with the new Spinergys vs. the used Williams (but not as good as with aluminum). This may be because the brake tracks are still fresh and not broken in yet. The brake tracks are still quite glossy but are gradually wearing in.
- They look much cooler than both the Williams and ZIPP Firecrests (my riding buddies agree). The Firecrests are too boxy looking to be really aesthetically pleasing (in my humble opinion).
- I have no opinion of the reduced pinch flat susceptibility of the wider rims since I haven’t experienced any yet. I weigh 180lbs and run my tires at 120psi.
That’s about it for now…

Do the stickers come off?

Yes the decals come off.

Any pics on the bike?

Unfortunately not many photos. I've put on another 150km since my original post. I continue to appreciate the soft ride quality from these wheels but have noticed a bit of side to side flex under major power output (brake pad contact). That's to be expected though because I really like to stand up and power hard up hills. I don't know if it's a placebo effect, but I also have a lot more confidence going into corners and I'm banking the bike over a bit more. Simply looking at the wider profile of the rim and the way it gives the clincher tire a broader profile gives me that confidence.

Thanks for the review. I was considering the aluminum brake surface version.
How is your braking on the full carbon?

I don't have extensive experience with carbon brake tracks but I can say that the braking with the Spinergy FCCs has been substantially improved over the Williams that I used prior (same Williams carbon pads run on both wheels). That being said, it's possible that the braking might be better only because the new (yet to be fully broken in) brake track on the Spinergys is grippier or even that the wider rim places the pad contact into a higher leverage area of my Shimano brakes. I've yet to ride in any notable wet weather though so I can't comment in that regard.

I have a new set of Planet X single pivot brakes and new Corima cork pads waiting to be installed. We'll see how they work out.

Good info, cheers.

Couple points which you can choose to ignore if you like

Try dropping your pressure with the wider rims... if you are a traditional 120 fr & rr guys and in the 70 to 80 kg bracket, try 100 fr and 110 rr..... all the points you noted re more connected feel and more confidence will be enhabced further...

Re braking, the corima corks will be so so in the dry and noteably worse in the wet... zipp tangente platinum (by swissstop) and reynolds cryo blue pads (Barradine manufactured i believe) are some of the best all rounder pads going right now for carbon...
The you have swisstop yellows, but these are alittle more grabby and more outright power.. depends how you like the brake feel.....

Anyhow thought that info might be useful?

Good stuff. Thanks for the input Shadwell. I'll try dropping the pressure and see how they ride. Though I'm really, really wary of pinch flats, it's certainly worth trying them out at the lower pressure because I value comfort to a large degree. Also duly noted about the Zipp and Reynolds pads. I'll definitely consider those when the Corimas wear out.

Cheers

Now that the wheels are breaking in, I think I'm beginning to notice more flex coming from the rear wheel when I stand up and crank going up hills. Maybe the tension is slackening on the spokes? Getting a little annoying since it's rubbing on the brake pads on every power stroke.

I made a recent change to my brake set-up. I switched my Shimano dual pivot brakes with Williams carbon pads over to Planet X brakes with Corima cork carbon pads. Surprisingly I noticed no loss in performance. They felt virtually identical. A buddy riding on Williams clinchers was in awe of how much better the Corima rims brake as compared to the Williams.