Paul, you have made me want to look at the Tillium vs. the HED Alps now. I have never really been seriously in the market for a front carbon wheel (as I run a Lew in the front), but I am now curious.

I found your post very informative. I don't find anything in your post any more than informative, with possibly the opinion of the HED stickers. I never liked them, myself.

You're okay with me, Paul.

I also think yout post was fine. Did not think you "trashed your competition. Liked the debate with you and Dr. Dre.

Also,if I did think you were just giving advertising bs,I would check out all the facts on the compitition,and then challenge your post.....That is afterall how "I" learn.. Thanks Paul.

"Paul, you have made me want to look at the Tillium vs. the HED Alps now. I have never really been seriously in the market for a front carbon wheel (as I run a Lew in the front), but I am now curious."

I thought you were clincherphobic?

Extremely clincherphobic. I would not go with a clincher to race on. But I would like to look at them head to head to satisfy my own curiosity.

Hi, I wrote the review

Yes I did test them and ride them almost daily

The Tilium SS's have been bombproof and have not came out of true one bit. They are very comfortable as well.

I toured the Spinergy plant with Paul and can verify that Spinergy is a top notch operation and really puts in work to get a great set of quality wheels to the consumer

I also use HED wheels and believe that both HED and Spinergy make great models, and offer variety to the consumer

But, from a firsthand user, if you are looking for a great carbon race wheel, like John Cobb said, be sure to take a look at the Tilium SS as well

Now here is what I have a hard time to understand...

I went to three independent bike-shops in the Boulder area over the weekend. And all of them mentioned that the tiliums are very hard to true. One said, that once they are trued they stay that way, the others said nothing about that. Seems to me quit significant.

How about the glue between the rim and the carbon that's dripping out?

Other than that, they seem attractive wheels for the price.

While i can agree with you on most of your points, i don't think it was a great marketing move to be so blunt on a public forum.

I for one will argue that you can make great rims that are sleeved if the process is done correctly. Is one better than the other? depends on how they are executed. Mavic also uses rivets (which weeken the rim during there installation), so they certainly aren't an engineering standard.

Spinergy also isn't an industry leader in mehanically sound designs or products. Before pointing out another company's flaws (HED does have many, you only touched on them), you might want to point out your own.

I have a set of the Tilium Carbons and have rode them for six months in training as well as racing. They are extremely comfortable, handle well in crosswinds, and have stayed true from day one. Spinergy got a bad rap a few years back but my Tilium's have been trouble free and the customer service is fantastic. If your looking for a good value and want a wheel that you can race and train on the Tilium is hard to beat.

Hi folks,

Sorry to be bringing this thread back to life after so long. I have a pair of HED Alps that requires truing. I have not done any truing on recessed/hidden nipple wheels and there is no agent here for me to enquire.

For all those who know or have a pair to verify, do I just need a 5.5mm HEX nipple driver to true these?

I am also getting a strange creaking sound from the rear, it seems like the spokes are rubbing. It is very different to the sound of nipples clicking and is a distinct creak.

Help is needed!

You should have received a Red t-handle spoke key with the wheels from HED. I did, you just need to use that.

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I feel compelled to point out that reviews I've heard of the Spinergies have been very mixed:

http://www.roadbikereview.com/..._302945_2490crx.aspx

http://www.roadbikereview.com/..._174295_2490crx.aspx



half the reviewers found them to be excellent wheels, especially at the price point. however, several reviewers have had problems keeping the wheels true. one had spokes starting to pull through the rim. more than one had a problem with customer service. there are people I know who are still using their old Rev-X wheels, and there used to be a site documenting catastrophic failures of Rev-Xs, and the very poor customer service the owners received.

Wow, pretty poor reviews. Wonder if Paul C. will respond to this. I bought some 650 Alps since this thread started in Feb. and I am very pleased with them so far.

buffedup,
You do need a 5.5 wrench. They do not come with the wheels, but 5.5 is a fairly common size. If you cannot find one you can always order it from us (Hed Cycling). a strange creaking could indeed be spokes rubbing - is it always present? just under load?
feel free to send a message to me the address is hed@iswest.com
-andy

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Andy Tetmeyer (I work at HED)

I think the ALPS is a good allrounder wheelset , I've had my clincher set for a couple of months now and am happy with my decision to buy them after agonizing over the choice between disc , tri-spoke or deep section rims or a combination for ages . I only ride time trials on courses that vary from flat 16 - 80 k.m's to hilly 15- 50 k.m's in one of the windiest places on the planet so that influenced my choice . I certainly don't get a seat of the pants feel of super acceleration , an ability to climb like a mountain goat or wanting to just keep spinning when up to speed like you hear people rave about but I can confidently say they're worth a 30 second improvement on a 16k t/t over the Dura ace wh-7700 wheelset I was using. Too many variables to say whether they will totally suit your own situation but I don't have anything bad to report these wheels.