High end clincher wheel suggestions?

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mxdclt
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by mxdclt

Does anyone know if there have been any plans for the production of Reynolds RZR's in a clincher form. I ride the Reynolds 46's right now and love them, have about 16K miles on them so I was starting to think about a new pair of wheels. Blessed enough to have the opportunity to purchase a high-end carbon wheel to replace mine. For convenience reasons, I will be sticking with Clincher rims. Looking at the following (lot of the standard ones):

-Lightweight Meilenstein C
-Mad Fiber Clinchers
-Zipp 303 Firecrest C
-Curious to know if there were Reynolds RZR C's in the works
-Any other suggestions, I would be more than happy to hear others ideas

I live in New Orleans, LA so much my riding consists of very flat rides or relatively flatter rides with many small "kicker" hills (5% - 9%). For example I can do a 80 mile ride with on 200 ft of climbing or a 65 mile ride with total climbing between 1.5k and 3k feet, so nothing too "mountainous". However, a couple times a year I will take trips with local riders to do some big mountain rides.

My current bike is a Wilier Cento1 SL with Campy Record / SR mix, and by dropping about 200g on wheels that will get me close to my goal of 14.2 lbs for my bike.

This is my first post on WW though I have been reading it for years, thanks for all your help!

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Brandonnie
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by Brandonnie

the madfiber are good in theory but read once somewhere that the wheels come 1mm out of true from the box.

NiFTY
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by NiFTY

I would think with such flat terrain 404 firecrests or enve 6.7 clinchers would be more appropriate. I am looking at the samething - lightweight semideep wheels, and am looking at enve 3.4 and meilensteins
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ECT
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by ECT

I remember reading somewhere around early 2011 that Reynolds intended to release a clincher version of the RZR, but have not heard anything since. They probably ran into so many issues with heat dissipation and the like that they shelved it temporarily.

kevosinn
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by kevosinn

Just got a pair of lightweight clinchers and its the best purchase ive ever made. Ive had shimano c50, c35's, c24's, zipp 404 firecrest. you name it ive had it. I was deciding between the mad fiber and lightweight and obviously got the lightweight's. They are the pinnacle of wheel technology and the fit and finish is second to none.
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Tinea Pedis
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by Tinea Pedis

I just moved on my Lightweight clinchers, as I found the opposite...

Was rather sad actually :(

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by poppiholla

If money is not a problem, the Lightweight Meilenstein are overall the best carbon clinchers. No doubt about that!
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campbellrae
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by campbellrae

Be interested to know what you thought of your Lightweights TP? Heard mixed reviews from the 3 people I know that have had them.

Rush
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by Rush

Is it just me, but there are no real advantage of carbon clinchers over alloy ones?

Unless you go the 'full-carbon' route such as a Lightweight or Mad Fibre, it seems their is very little difference in weight between a carbon and alloy rim.

Carbon tubulars seem to be in a world of their own (i.e. a lightweight 'climbing' rim is about 250 grams, a mid-aero rim such as a Zipp 303 tubular is 350g).... but I'm still struggling to see the benefit of a carbon clincher rim (e.g. Zipp, Enve) with a standard metal spoke/hub wheel for a recreational cyclist.

eric
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by eric

Rush wrote:Is it just me, but there are no real advantage of carbon clinchers over alloy ones?


They can make aero rims that don't weigh a ton. Try making a 50-60mm deep clincher rim out of aluminium and see what it weighs. What's the Hson 42mm aluminium? 600g?

I have a set of 50mm deep carbon clinchers I built on White H1 hubs (not the lightest) which came in at a wheel weight of 1320g...very close to the "ultralight" American Classic 350 clinchers from a few years back. The rims were 406 and 410g.

Of course there are drawbacks to carbon clinchers, which have been well discussed already.

ticou
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by ticou

The main one being, of course, their immense price. £2.6k in my hands to want to spend? I'd get that top of the line, hand built, made to measure 953 steel frame ( 2200 MpA anyone?) which would be about £1.6K, and get the lightest and finest hand built alloy wheels i could get away with.

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LarsEjaas
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by LarsEjaas

What about Bontrager Aeolus 5 D3 Clincher?

A bit shallower than Zipp 404, but should be just as aero - and thus easier to handle in the wind...

Weight is comparable to Zipp's Carbon clinchers at 1550 grams a pair.

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

Xentis Squadra clinchers.
You won't find anything better for braking on carbon clincher, dry or wet.
The pros (Milram, I believe) used them in the torrential rains of the Fall Classics.
They (xentis) made the rims for the famous Tune Schwarzbrenner wheels.
Tune no longer makes those wheels in clincher; Xentis is making them directly.
The shape is not a V shape, it is similar to the old ZIPP 303/404 shape - torrodial.

But, really, braking is apparently phenomenal.
And they look great, too.
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Zen Cyclery
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by Zen Cyclery

LarsEjaas wrote:What about Bontrager Aeolus 5 D3 Clincher?



I am not sure about this build. The Bontrager freehubs have shotty durability at best, and I would think that the radial lacing pattern on the non drive side of the rear wheel would be prone to going slack under load. This could lead to early fatigue or breakage.

OP- With regards to your build, maybe take a look at the SMART 3.4 clinchers from Enve. They are the most aero in their depth, and they have by far the best braking I have seen on a carbon clincher.
With regards to hubs and spokes, that will be entirely dependent on your weight and price preference.


-Roland F.

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Tinea Pedis
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by Tinea Pedis

campbellrae wrote:Be interested to know what you thought of your Lightweights TP? Heard mixed reviews from the 3 people I know that have had them.

Are they stiff and light, sure.

Look the business too. Given I rate aesthetics as still being a factor worthy of consideration that's important too.


However I wanted them so I could use them in racing and simply found that descending was not what I had hoped as well as getting surprisingly knocked around in cross winds.

I knew I wasn't buying a truly aero wheelset (and Lightweight don't market them as such) however the amount they knocked me around was more than I was expecting and too much for me to want to keep them.


Real shame, but that's as much as reflection on how far carbon rim technology has come over the past few years as much as anything else.


I now have some SMART 3.4c. Had raced on the tubular version, rated them very highly. Struggle to pick the difference with the clincher (aside from the small weight penalty). Already enamoured with them. And in terms of aero are in another planet compared to my LW's.

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