Check out Williams or Flo. You can get deep dish wheel sets for around $1,200. I love my blacked out Williams 85's. Ran them in New Orleans a week and a half ago in the 30 mph winds.

Personally, I wouldn't buy the Chinese wheels. A crash as a result of a mechanical isn't worth the cost savings IMO. Too many other good options exist.

Go take a look at the classified here or check eBay. I got a nice pair of HED carbon clinchers for $500 off SlowTwitch.

Is there any benefit to getting them new instead of used? There is no difference between a 2010 wheel and a 2016 wheel?

Flo Cycling carbon clincher pre-order starts tomorrow.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Why are those half the price of a Zipp wheel though?

Flo's business model is direct to consumer. Do your research on them. Flo is respected on these forums.

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Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/

Flo has a neat little chart with all of their wheels and a baseline wheel. Their new 2016 models are faster than their 2012 models of same depth, but both are significantly faster than baseline. So it's a matter of return on investment. Yes the 2016 wheels are faster than the 2012 wheels but not incredibly so. You're chasing the pointy end of the scale which is expensive.

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--Chris

Yes. The brake tracks on the cheap Chinese clinchers are abysmal. I've tried a lot of them, and Zipps are the best, but Williams is almost as good, just as fast, and half as expensive. The new Flos look promising too, but if you want them, you better be on it tomorrow at 1pm eastern.

I have been reading and researching this a lot lately in anticipation of my wheel buy... First, there is a fairly significant advantage to 2016 wheels. All of the companies have been refining their shapes as they adopt fluid modeling advances and spend more time in wind tunnels. Plus, the last couple years are likely to be 11-speed compatible, whereas older wheels are likely only 10-speed.

Next, I think that there is a massive market shift underway with wheels such that the crazy premium pricing from Zipp, Enve, Easton, Bontrager, etc. well north of $2K & $3K is no longer justified nor viable. It is the same shift underway with power meters. Flo, Williams, and many others are demonstrating that they can deliver wheels that perform equally, and in Flow's case, probably better, than Zipp at 1/3 the price. I bet those legacy players cut prices substantially within a year.

The first generation Flo wheels were heavy, but they delivered a crap ton of performance at a great price. IMHO, the current generation equals or exceeds everyone else's best. They make Zipp's pricing look silly at $2,500 more for Zipps.

I will be buying Flo wheels.

Flo's have good hubs?

 

Search this forum and you will find a number of threads about these Chinese Wheels. Some people have had very positive comments while others have not. As I understand it, if you use some of the more highly regarded Chinese brands you have a better chance of getting a set of well made wheels or if there is an issue, having it addressed. Not saying that occasionally Hed, Zipp etc don't have one fall through the cracks at quality control also.

Here are a few to keep you entertained:


http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...se%20wheels#p5778142


http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...se%20wheels#p5598312


http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...se%20wheels#p4079174


The last one should keep you occupied for a while.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

I have not read anything materially negative about Flo. I think they are just good solid hubs. I love the spoke lacing for the Zipp hubs. But, by the same token, Zipp has recalled their wheels a few times because of hub failures. So, I guess you could argue that Flo's (everyone's) hubs are better than Zipp. :)

Flo uses the same Sapim CX-Ray spokes as high-end Zipp or HED wheels.

Sweet; you are right. I don't know why I thought they were using round spokes. Another win for Flo and the market usurpers.

What boggles my mind is that Zipp has moved to using lower-cost Sapim CX-Sprint spokes on their Firecrest lineup. They now only use CX-Ray on NSW or Firestrike wheels. Boggles my mind because my napkin math suggests that's maybe saving $5-$10 on a $2000 wheelset.

It helps differentiate NSW from the firecrest though.
I mean, they say NSW are 3-4 W faster than standard firecrest.

Just one persons data point, but this experiment said that at 30mph, 1.3w are attributable to the change in spokes.
http://www.novemberbicycles.com/bloa/2013/1/22/aerodynamic-drag-of-lasers-vs-cx-rays.html


So, a little under half the difference could be attributable to the change in spokes?

Engineering/research, marketing.

I fully believe that Zipp or Flo or any of the other big 'names' do the research that they say they do, and this doesn't come cheap. As a result, their wheels are faster and lighter and more reliable than the ones that do not have this work behind them. You pay for that.

On the other hand, buying 'slow' wheels isn't great value for money either.

There's a premium which is related to marketing. If you buy Zipp you're paying a lot for the name. Your mileage may vary.

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

Yeah, that thought occurred to me. The NSW marketing has never made it clear if the difference is even aero or related to the lower-friction rear hub (lower friction while freewheeling). At least one article has said that Zipp says the NSW isn't aerodynamically faster at all.

Though I could afford NSW, this is one reason why I'll be a Flo sheeple tomorrow morning. Because at least Flo is transparent about what you're getting.

I would try to pick up some Hed Jet 6 or 6/9 on sale, you can find them for 1000 to 1200 new. They are aero as anything, same weight wise, and you dont have to deal with the crappy braking and brake pad switch hassle of carbon clinchers. No hub recalls, the list goes on and on why they make the most sense. I know Hed does not have the marketing power of others but they are great all around wheels.

I bought a used pair of Ritchey WCS Carbon Tubulars 2 years ago on eBay for $740 shipped. I've ridden them for 2 cyclocross seasons in about 40 races total without issue. I run low pressures and bottom out once or twice a lap when racing. They've held up great. I'd at least look at used wheels.

Can't forget Boyd wheels

DishedWheels might have some good options for you...

+1

HED just makes great wheels that are not as flashy as full carbon. You can't go wrong here.

I have owned the Flo 60s, 30s, and FC 404s. Cross wind performance of the 404s is noticably better. To the best of my knowledge the cfd design process Flo uses probably doesn't allow them to do much in terms designing for crosswind stability. Zipps are a heck of a lot lighter than the Flo 60s. My 404s weigh about 35grams less than my Flo 30s. Zipp also has a warranty where you will replace damaged rims for a reasonable price. Unless Flo has changed recently, your warranty option is to buy a new wheel.

Don't get me wrong, Flo makes a nice wheel, it's just that the Zipps are better in my opinion. You doget what you pay for. You just have to decide if the price premium is worth it to you.

If you shop carefully you can sometimes find them pretty cheap. My 404s were 1600$ with a new PT G3 laced in.

Thank you for all your input, so what I came up with is:

Buying them new I get crash replacement and a warranty
I decided I wanted DT Swiss Hubs

So I bought Enve's and Eagle Wheels on Amazon, and I am going to ride both and hope I don't fall in love with the Enve's because that's going to be a fun one to explain to my wife.