Interesting. I just sent them a message asking if they could do a wheel with a Powertap build.

nice idea, but the wheel might need to be trued at some point, if you're training with the powertap all the time

I'm thinking cheap race wheel :)

They recently put up a web site, with a webshop in the pipeline:
http://ronwheels.com

Like the look of these. And the price, I'm OK with 500 for a race only wheel. Rim tape from SwissSide, I see, wonder if they use the same rim. Interesting.

Anyone with firsthand experience?

Hello.
Anyone bought this Wheel?

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Cervelo P5d and R5 Owner

I have purchased the Aeron wheel - the transaction went through on May 21st so it should deliver anytime now; I'm in the U.S.

Part of the deal of my purchase was that I would review the wheel on a couple of different forums so I'll start here. Honestly I'm excited for it to arrive.

I've been communicating with Jakub from Ron Components via their Facebook page and asking a few questions.

The bearings that are used on this wheel are Enduro. A google search leads me to believe they have mixed reviews on performance, however I also keep the "steak rule" in mind when reading online.. (whereas you cook 100 steaks, 99 are perfect and 1 is overdone, chances are 99 people will leave happy but won't review your steak however the fellow with the overdone steak is going to blast you on the internet).

The hub that is used is a quote, "custom developed hub made by Powerway". Another Google search leads me to think these hubs are not terrible, but commonly found on the imported carbon wheelsets from China.

One plus the other leads me to believe this is not a high performance set, but it's not terrible either. The wheel will spin well, it shouldn't explode, however wear and tear and time are something I can't comment on.

This all led me to my last question to Jakub before the wheel arrives:

"Hello, another question on the Aeron wheel. Is the freehub replaceable? Say I would like to put a new freehub and bearing set on the wheel. Is it possible to do this without causing problems with the carbon fairing or disrupting the seal?"


He answered yes, that quote "this hub can be serviced just like any other".

So my first goal will be to take it for a spin as is once it arrives, however if I don't like what I'm spinning on I do like that I can replace parts. More to come........

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Regards,
J. Smith

The disc arrived today. It was well packaged, came with the wheel, storage bag, valve covers, skewer, spacers for the 9-10-11 speed Shimano sets.

First off the wheel feels very light to me, definitely lighter than my Oval 946 carbon clincher rear. It also feels solid. I went around the entire wheel checking the seals and where the fairing is bonded to the rim. It is not going to budge. Surprisingly where valve sits in the wheel is also completely sealed as you can see in my attached picture. I was expecting just covers based on other information around but they have literally sealed this thing up tight; you cannot see in the wheel anywhere. I'm curious what's in there. It sounds hollow but I'm going to ask and will report back here just to clarify.

The wheel is definitely true, not a tick to either side, it spins straight. The freehub goes for quite a while but I haven't timed anything yet.

I will point out its a loud hub, if you coast at high speed anyone around will know you're there. I don't mind a noisy hub, kind of like it so it won't bother me.

The skewer looks like a training skewer, toss it in the "random parts" drawer.

The only thing I don't like so far is the rim tape, it's rough and not straight in one spot leaving a rough edge up. A good bump and I think it may puncture a tube. This is a cheap fix, not a big deal.

This weekend will be the test ride, got my disc but forgot to buy the pump extension to be able to air it up, rookie here. More to come, I have pictures to share but can't from my phone, they will go up tomorrow.

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Regards,
J. Smith

Pics:

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Regards,
J. Smith

that doesn't look bad... hmmm is it wide or "bendy"? I have a Spez-Trans and I read that too wide or bendy discs would rub.

I definitely would not call it bendy. The carbon fairing is completely solid to the touch though I'm sure it will flex very slightly with weight on it during a ride as it should. This was a concern of mine too; prior to buying this disc I ran a wheelbuilder aerojacket and it sat pretty well but not flush against the rim perfectly, and too the touch you could "move the excess flex" around. When I was eyeing this out skewered on my trainer to make sure it was true, there is not warp / flex / misshape to the lens or flat side of the wheel.

As for the rub, This was something I had big issues with on my Kestrel with the aerojacket. If I ever took it to the granny gear the chain would barely run the aerojacket. If you zoom in on my picture where the disc is laying flat on the ground, you'll notice there is a small carbon ring right around the hub where the disc is bonded to the inner wheel. That ring is about 1mm thick, and likely their solution to the "chain rub" or the best they could do with it. I will report back once I get it on the bike.

I have PM'd Jakub with a question about what is actually in the wheel under the covers, if anything, so waiting to hear back on that. Also I hit up the LBS on my lunch, got the 90 degree adapter for my pump, went ahead and grabbed a new tire and tube.

Tonight I'll test ride. Whole setup is the Aeron Disc with a 48mm presta and a Continental GP 4000 S II tire.

Hope to make a video by the weekend.

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Regards,
J. Smith

My understanding is that Powerway is simply a 'house' brand of one of the major hub manufacturers. I have two different model powerway hubs on different wheelsets and they both perform well (...no complaints from me). If you look at hubs from companies like Flo, it would appear as though they are using custom powerway R13 hubs with good quality bearings (Don't quote me on this as I could be mistaken).

If you're willing, pop off the freehub body and tell me if it's a 3 pawl, or 6 pawl freehub. I could pretty easily determine which powerway hub it is from that (the R13 hub has 6 pawls, and the R36/R39 has 3 pawls). I would imagine that it's more like an R13 as the R36/39 has more 'cosmetic' features that are completely unnecessary on a disc wheel.

I have nothing but good things to say about enduro bearings. I put a set in my HED H3 and they rolled beautifully. ...More importantly, the quality of these bearings is a step (or two) above the standard Chinese bearings.

Of course the freehub will be replaceable! The powerway hub bodies cost about $50 to replace when bought from aliexpress.

For the money, these wheels look like a great deal. I've wanted a disc like this for a while, since none of the 'bulge' discs (like flo, HED, Zipp) can fit in my P4.

That's great information, Beston and thanks for sharing. Test ride is done, a little under 6 miles. I had around 2 miles of pancake flat, mostly neighborhood turns, climbed a little under 300 feet.

On the flats I was comfortably cruising between 21 and 23mph. I'll average 20 to 21 on a flat 40k so this was a slight improvement, I'll need to get out and put some miles down to be certain but I certainly felt like I had an advantage.

The climb, I almost snagged a KOM lol. This wheel is lighter than my old wheel so no feeling of "dragging it up the hill", definitely enjoyed cruising back down.

It felt very stiff and precise, I liked it, felt safe. No rub at all which is good, I have some clearance pictures for you guys.

The wheel rolls very smooth, the hub wasn't as loud as anticipated. It had very good reaction when I went from coast to pedaling, little play. At this moment I'm planning on leaving the hub and bearings as is, it rolls well enough that I can't justify an upgrade at this time - the gain would be so little I feel.

Last, the fun part. Does it "whomp whomp whomp"...? Yes, it does. Not as loud as say a Zipp 9 or core filled disc but when you drop to your 11t and start hammering, undeniably the sound picks up, especially on a turn or if you pass anything the sound can bounce off of.

Overall, I am pleased with the purchase. It's a legit 500.00 race disc. Wear, tear and time is the next test. I'll update accordingly here, I'll be running it on a 28 miler Sunday, racing an Olympic in early July, and another 70.3 in later July.

If anyone has any questions I haven't addressed fire away and I'll try to answer to my best ability. Eventually I'll get a video up. If there is any particular picture / angle you would like to see let me know and I'll snap it.

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Regards,
J. Smith

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Regards,
J. Smith

I'm sure the wheel is fine. A disc is a disc. A covered spoked wheel on an aluminum rim seems to produce a very sturdy wheel that should last for a good long while.

I did a bit of looking around on the site and it appears that they are using a Powerway R36 hub (http://ronwheels.com/Technologies). It's a good hub and should perform well with the enduro bearings.

I'm glad to see these kinds of options creeping up and having some small startup companies starting to work with Asian producers to put together affordable equipment. I have bought a few wheels from China over the past year and I'm both happy with the quality of the wheels and the price points that are offered.

Well, I took it out for an actual ride. Sunday we did 25 miles with an accent of just a little over 1000 per our mapping. My Garmin stated less. Whatever, climbed a big ass hill a bunch of times. I had all of my race gear on the bike, didn't wear a kit but I did break out the aero helmet. We mostly took it easy, the heat index was 109, but I let it rip on a couple of flat stretches and got a few 22-23mph miles. Felt great, rode smooth. It took engine effort to get there and maintain especially when bordering 24 but I definitely felt like my efforts were boasting greater results than before.

Best part about climbing, descending. I got it up to 40mph. First descent was kind of scary because A: I'm testing a disc without any other reviews, B: I'm still getting used to having a Torhan 30 between my aerobars, and C: I was running a 58mm deep carbon on the front. Mix them together with the anxiety that the wheel may fail, I felt I had a sail on my bike and a death wish - crosswind of any kind sucked.

To boot, some jerkoff in a white 4 door passed me on the hill doing maybe 5mph more than I was so he crept by, then swerved in front of me, braked and flipped his signal on to make a right turn. Just... WHY? Stupid prick couldn't have just followed behind me instead of impatiently jumping ahead to save what totaled to maybe 3 seconds of drive time? I had to come up out of aero and smash the brakes to keep from going into the side of his car. Then I had to flip him the bird and yell profanity.

Anyhow.

I survived, and once I realized the wheel wasn't going to explode into pieces at high speed descent 2 and 3 were much more enjoyable, we hauled some ass!

Overall I'm really happy and impressed with this wheel. This fit my budget, it performs very well to my standards and I can't wait to race it in early July. My next race is an Olympic that is pancake flat. Quite possibly the flattest tri in the Midwest, absolutely NO gain. Should be a fun time to TT that bike course and shoot for a top 3 AG.

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Regards,
J. Smith

Hi All, Any updated review for these disc wheels? Thanks.

Mine is through the season and going strong, still true. Just ran it Sunday at IMLOU and had zero issues.

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Regards,
J. Smith

I bought one of these a few months back.
It is a solid enough wheel and happy with its construction.
However it does not fit centrally on my frame by about 2mm - it needs to go towards the drive side.
I have concluded it is a dishing problem as my other 3 wheels all fit well.
I have been emailing Ronwheels for a few days now with no reply.
I want to get some specs on the wheel underneath the carbon.
I am hoping that the wheel can simply be trued (correct the dishing) like any other spoked wheel.

Is there a Ron wheel user which can give me a feedback about brake surface anodisation?

Does the black anodisation lasts?

Thank you!!

Hi!!! do you have a long term feedback for braking surface anodization? is the surface still black?
Thank you!!!!!

I wonder if you managed to get this sorted, I have exactly the same issue. Wheel does not sit centrally and is about 2mm off, its Shiv frame.

Did you get it fixed, if so how? I'm assuming the spoke tension can be altered with a key from under the rim tape.

Thanks

Hi
Yes had no problem correcting the dishing ( lbs did it) as the spokes are accessible and easily adjustable with tire off. Happy with the wheel since then.

Mate cheers for that, its been annoying me for ages and just never got round to doing something about it. Too busy racing!!!

Thanks

Simosl3:

It's still black.

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Regards,
J. Smith