Which HED front wheel, and why?

Jul 31, 19 2:50

Post #1 of 27 (2239 views)

Advice from the hive mind please:
I’m torn between two wheel options because I have the jet black disc for the rear and need a new front wheel. My choice is down to the hed jet regular for way cheaper, or the jet black for a lot more. 60mm for either. I’m poor, so cheaper is appealing. I’m vain so the matching front wheel with the fancy anodised brake track is appealing. Please tell me which is the better value... am I losing out on performance (other than braking but either is still better than my current pure carbon surface old wheel) by going for the not so pretty but far cheaper option?
Here’s my options:
https://www.pushys.com.au/...r-front-wheel-1.html

https://www.pushys.com.au/...her-front-wheel.html

Thanks, in advance :))

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 3:25

Post #2 of 27 (2201 views)

It's a lot to pay for aesthetics!

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 3:25

Post #3 of 27 (2201 views)

Doesn't the anodizing wear off and turn silver? Or am I wrong about that?

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 3:30

Post #4 of 27 (2194 views)

My Bike Shop is showing the Jet 6 Black for $820 and the standard Jet 6 Plus for $450 (after their 20% off discount).

I have the 9/Disc Black set, and I love them. I got them because of the improved braking, and I like the braking so much that I got a set of Ardennes Black for my road bike. If braking matters a lot to you, and especially if you might ride in the rain, then the Black front is worth it.

There are a couple minor differences, but truly, other than the braking performance, the wheels are functionally identical.

https://mybikeshop.com/...ack-front-wheel.html
https://mybikeshop.com/...lus-front-wheel.html

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [ZenTriBrett] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 3:33

Post #5 of 27 (2192 views)

ZenTriBrett wrote:

Doesn't the anodizing wear off and turn silver? Or am I wrong about that?

Not really, or at least not right away. My Ardennes Black wheels are still perfect and black after a lot of brutal braking. I have a slight silver area on my front TT bike wheel, but I think that was a problem with the pads. The back wheel is still perfect and black.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 3:38

Post #6 of 27 (2185 views)

Thank you for that info. My bike shop is USD and being in Australia with the crummy exchange rate at present, postage and taxes for import, I need to buy local so Pushys is the best deal (only) I can find in Australia.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 3:55

Post #7 of 27 (2165 views)

Makes sense. When I clicked your link, it looked like USD and did not show nationality. Yep, you are at the mercy of local availability and pricing.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 4:34

Post #8 of 27 (2135 views)

noodlecat77 wrote:

am I losing out on performance (other than braking)

What other features do you think the black might offer????? Better Braking and aesthetics are it

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 4:38

Post #9 of 27 (2121 views)

The best value is the non-black wheel. Braking is still very good with the 6+ wheel.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 4:41

Post #10 of 27 (2114 views)

Well from an aero point of view they should be exactly the same. So it depends if you care if there is 11g weight difference or looks. Hubs I am not sure if there is any significant difference between Sonic and 545.

Braking wise never tried the back wheels, but my Hed jet plus brake just fine with a pair of swisstop salmon pads. I guess in Oz you might not be having too much wet weather

Edit: Kool Stop Salmon pads!!

Last edited by: msrixon: Jul 31, 19 4:45

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 5:58

Post #11 of 27 (2044 views)

Can you take advantage of the British pound taking a Brexit dump and order from the U.K.? The HED Jets are super popular with the U.K. TT crowd.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 6:53

Post #12 of 27 (1999 views)

Thats a ridiculous price difference.

My advice - buy the silver front. Sell your black disc, buy a silver disc so you have a matching set :)

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 6:56

Post #13 of 27 (1996 views)

I rode the crap out of my blacks and the brake track BARELY discolored. 2 full on back to back descents down Mt. Evans and still couldn't touch the color. I figured that would destroy it for sure! Contrast that to a Flo rim that comes off right away.

I have had both Jet and Black. For TT or Tri a black sharpie on the Jet brake track would hold up through a single event where looks matter no problem. You don't use brakes much in Tri and you could save a boat load. I do just that with my Jet 9 front :)

24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [cmscat50] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 7:07

Post #14 of 27 (1979 views)

cmscat50 wrote:

....I have had both Jet and Black. For TT or Tri a black sharpie on the Jet brake track would hold up through a single event where looks matter no problem. You don't use brakes much in Tri and you could save a boat load. I do just that with my Jet 9 front :)

This isn't in pink?

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [Ai_1] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 7:09

Post #15 of 27 (1971 views)

Absolutely not. The wider the sharpie the better :)

24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 7:21

Post #16 of 27 (1962 views)

My only addition is if you are patient, one might pop up in the classifieds forum, on eBay Aust., or your local craigslist. I've gotten all my wheels by those sources.

-------------------
Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [exxxviii] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 8:40

Post #17 of 27 (1922 views)

Do you have any pictures of the front wheel showing silver? Curious to see what the worst case scenario is.

Black looks cool, but my brain ells me regular aluminum rims are the more sensible choice. I always end up riding through rain showers, and an afraid that road grime will end up chewing through the black coating. I assume Hed's black and Mavic's Exalith are DLC coatings (even though mavic calls it ceramic), so super resistance to scratch, but could be "chipped" if you are unlucky enough to have wet sand between your rims and pads while braking.

Last edited by: bloodyshogun: Jul 31, 19 8:47

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [bloodyshogun] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 9:11

Post #18 of 27 (1890 views)

bloodyshogun wrote:

Do you have any pictures of the front wheel showing silver? Curious to see what the worst case scenario is.

I will try to remember to take a picture and post it later.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [bloodyshogun] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 9:41

Post #19 of 27 (1875 views)

I've got over 1k km's on my 6/9 black set, none of the finish has worn off the brake track.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [bloodyshogun] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 9:52

Post #20 of 27 (1863 views)

The HED brake tracks are more than just a coating, they have a machined texture to the braking surface (1/32" maybe a smidge more).

After 3 season I have wore my blacks so there is a streak of silver, that is some gravel riding and wet rides on gritty roads. They still brake amazing, just show some wear.

The blacks brake better than my mechanical disks (by a lot) and 90% as good as my ultegra 8070 setup.

Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [ZenTriBrett] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 13:23

Post #21 of 27 (1809 views)

ZenTriBrett wrote:

Doesn't the anodizing wear off and turn silver? Or am I wrong about that?

Yea you’re wrong about that. The HED jet black isn’t anodized. The metal is actually black. Will not wear off like FLO.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [msrixon] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 14:20

Post #22 of 27 (1782 views)

Thanks... yes that’s what I was wondering- if there were any technical improvements that mattered a lot, like rim shape, hub, construction etc. so generally not (11g is nothing compared to the weight I should lose!) looks like I’ll go for the cheaper option! 🙂

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [grumpier.mike] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 15:21

Post #23 of 27 (1750 views)

Unfortunately no... £1 =$1.78AUD. Not favourable, especially once import taxes and postage to Australia is applied :(

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [noodlecat77] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 18:11

Post #24 of 27 (1690 views)

Check ebay, Sometimes you can get good deals on . Got jet9 black rear wheel + casette+ gp4000 all brand new for $500 total. Same seller had front wheel also similar price.

Re: Which HED front wheel, and why? [bloodyshogun] [ In reply to ]

Jul 31, 19 18:24

Post #25 of 27 (1678 views)

bloodyshogun wrote:

Do you have any pictures of the front wheel showing silver? Curious to see what the worst case scenario is.

Here is a picture of my front TT wheel. Something bad definitely happened, like maybe something abrasive in the brake pads. Both sides look exactly the same. But, the back wheel is perfect. And, my set of Ardennes Black wheels on my road bike, that were subject to worse braking, look perfect.

triguy86 wrote:

The HED jet black isn’t anodized. The metal is actually black. Will not wear off like FLO.

The aluminum material in HED Jet Black wheels is silver.

Last edited by: exxxviii: Aug 1, 19 6:43

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