You said it...

I have one on the front. It seems to be stable in the wind and handles well on turns and downhill. It makes some weird noises, but all "aero" wheels seem to do that. I like it and, for the price, you are correct----- tough to beat!

.

.

---

Lou Battaglia

Why didn't I retire last year?

im thinking of buying the jet 60's and the 90's... they're so inexpenisive, yes just a bit heavier than zipps, but i can deal with that.hopefully i'll have some races where i can pop the 60 in the front and the 90 in the back, also the jet90 front and renn disc in the back will be a nice combo also.

---

------------------------------------------------------------------
"The aspect of sport that you learn is that you have your good times and your bad times, but you share it with great people." - George Gregan

I saw another post on the Jet 60 saying it's basically a box rim w/ full length spokes underneath a carbon aero covering. Also said that it rides like a box rim, not soft like other carbon rims. If this is true, then the only benefit would be aerodynamics, not comfort. If I drop that much cash on a set of carbon wheels, I want them to feel like carbon wheels.

---

The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W

I saw that post, but i thought it was written by a member who works at Hed actually critiquing the Mavic Carbone. He was pushing the Zipp over the Mavic.

[reply]I saw that post, but i thought it was written by a member who works at Hed actually critiquing the Mavic Carbone. He was pushing the Zipp over the Mavic.[/reply]

Nope that was written by me. I have a Jet60 front and a Spinergy Tilium front. The Jet60 rides like a good box rim, strong but without the damping advantage of a full carbon structural rim with a bonded clincher hoop. The advantage of this is that it probably will never need to be trued. The disadvantage is that it's not quite as nice as something like a 404 or Tilium. The Carbone is made the same way but costs twice as much and is even heavier...what a joke for $600 a wheel. At least the Jet60 and Jet40 are reasonably priced rims.

I personally had wind problems with something as deep as a Jet60 and would likely not have fun with a 404 either. I also ride a lot in 20-25mph gusty crosswinds, which you might not have to deal with. The Jet40, Alps or Tilium/Stealth would be my personal choice. Overall I'd probably get an Alps (I've been considering it) since it is light, strong and 50mm instead of 58/60/65mm. I personally have not found a speed advantage riding the Jet60 over the Spinergy, possibly because the Spinergy has less spokes but lower profile...maybe balancing out drag enough that it's hard to conclusively tell a difference. Both were definitely faster than my training rim, a 30mm Velocity Spartacus (Deep V). The 404 is obviously a better rim but costs twice as much.

The noise while riding is from the stem hitting the carbon fairing, at least that's what it was in my case. A little electrical tape looped around the stem and it went away.

---

---

I always thought they were bombproof but the hub on my rear Jet 60 cracked a few weeks ago so the wheel is now toast unless I replace the hub. It's an early model Jet 60 so I'm uncertain if I'll bother. I used this wheel as my regular rear wheel on my road bike for several years and had put it through a lot of punishment.

Over all, they are a very good durable aero wheel. They are an aluminium rim with a carbon aero fairing. The quality of construction is not as solid as a Zipp 404, but it's also a lot less expensive. I've also got a Deep 90 that I'll use on the tri bike. Never had any problems with it or the Jet 60 front.

Nope. This was the post I was thinking of:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...20at%20hed%22;#64103

Re: Wheels - Zipp 404 or Cosmic Carbone [Drinyth] [In reply to] Quote | Reply

---

I work at hed, but I cannot resist chiming in. If you can't get or don't want some of our wheels, I think you would be well served with zipp. The reason why they have the edge in weight is because the construction of the two wheels is totally different. The zipp wheel is all carbon - the strength and structure of the rim comes from the carbon, and the entire rim section is structural.
The carbones are a very good copy of our Jet wheel - that is, they consist of an off the shelf alloy rim (or close to it, something that could stand alone) to which a carbon fairing is bonded. This makes for a very robust and reasonably priced wheel, but the two wheels are very different.
For you as a rider, the biggest differnce will be the weight, carbones will be quite a bit heavier. Aero-wise, they should be very similar, if one has a lower spoke count it will be more aero, but there won't be much difference in the rims alone. Well price might be different too, the carbones should be alot less, they are much less labor intensive to make, and materials cost less too.
I have never been to the zipp or mavic factory, so I am not anythink like an authority on either wheel specifically, but I know a bunch about wheels in general, and I know what it should take to make each of these, and that is what I base my comments on. -andy

So is the Alps put together like the Jet or the Zipp, or is it something else all together?

The Alps is essentially the H3 rim without the three carbon spokes, and the spokes are into the carbon and not the aluminum rim. In that regard it's Zipp like and not Jet like.

I think the spokes in the Alps go all the way to the alum rim. According to the Hed site "The spokes pass through the carbon to the alloy section. Anchoring the spokes at the alloy section keeps the rim light - no additional material is needed as a strain relief to counter the spoke tension. "

Call HED, they can rebuild your wheel at a reasonable cost (< $200), and it will have a brand new hub and spokes.

I will. Thanks for the suggestion.

True enough, the spokes are anchored at the rim. Still, the Alps rim is structural due to the carbon and foam core, unlike the Carbones/Jets.

One consideration with the Jets is that if you race in the rain with any regularity, expect them to fill up with about 4 pounds of water during your ride! That's really the only drawback to these wheels--that, and a slightly higher spoke count due to the fact that it's basically a standard, box rim.