Just curious, if you had win the lottery and have no budget for buying the current hottest race wheels, which one will you choose (if you are a heavy guy ~200lbs)? And why (if know your stuff)?
Everyone will probably say Firecrest 808s, and the clincher part of those is convenient since all of my other wheels are clincher, but I would go with the upcoming ENVE Smart 8.9. Everyone has a set of Zipps so the ENVEs would be something out of the ordinary. I have no clue if they will really test better than the crop of HEDs and Zipps, but surely they will at least be in the ballpark.
Lace them to a set of ultralight Tune Mig/Mags and you have a pretty killer wheelset.
And most importantly, the matte/gloss black graphics would look great on all the matte black super bikes coming out (Shiv, BMC, Argon 18, Blue).
I’d agree Enve’s are a great wheel for heavy riders. I’ve been using their 65mm wheelset for a few years when I have weighed from 175-195, in crits, TT’s and Triathlons, very stiff solid wheel. Not sure if I’ll get their new ones, mainly a cost benefit issue for me but they are definitely strong.
Simon Smart had a good point about wheel/frame integration. Your best choice of wheels is probably related to the frame you have and the wheels used in their testing. For example, Cervelo has used Zipps for most of their development, while Trek has used Hed. I also remember Felt talking about the work they did with the latest iteration of the DA when Garmin switched from Zipp to Mavic.
Madfibers, though I have no idea how they’ve done in the wind tunnel. However they are stiff and sub 1100g
Just curious, if you had win the lottery and have no budget for buying the current hottest race wheels, which one will you choose (if you are a heavy guy ~200 lbs)? And why (if know your stuff)?
I’d strongly consider a set of Zipp 808 clinchers, non-firecrest, with alloy rims, these. They are very strong and they have excellent braking capability in all weather (surpassing that of any carbon rim, including zipp’s) and solid performance in all-weather braking is a critical factor for a heavier athlete. Zipp claims that “the 808 clincher is perhaps the most rugged racing wheelset on the planet, having outperformed all comers in drum impact testing.” I wouldn’t doubt it.
Madfibers, though I have no idea how they’ve done in the wind tunnel. However they are stiff and sub 1100g
Why not Reynolds RZR then? They’re 200g heavier, but the rim is deeper, has a better shape, and the SPOKES ARE AIRFOILS! How can that not be better? Or, if you’re a total weight weenie, the RZR46 is ~970g, same NACA airfoil spokes and still a better shape than the madfiber rim, although not as deep.
I’d be interested in the Lew/Lightweight wheels vs. Zipp vs. Corima. Corima’s aren’t sold here in the USA anymore last I heard but they have won such a huge number of Ironman Hawaii races back in the 80’s/90’s that I think it was only recently that Zipp surpassed or challenged that total. ENVE looks pretty cool…lots of press lately on them.
I just picked up some 2011 Mavic Carbone SLR wheels and they are the bomb!
I just picked up some 2011 Mavic Carbone SLR wheels and they are the bomb!
I hate mine. 
I just picked up some 2011 Mavic Carbone SLR wheels and they are the bomb!
I hate mine.
Wow. What do you hate about them? (not hurting my feelings…expensive wheels…you ought to love them!)
I was being sarcastic.
There is NOTHING to hate about those wheels. I wish I could do them justice, but they’ll have to settle for me.
BTW - hope you got the SR’s They’re sweet.
ENVE 65’s…light enough to be climbing wheels, deep enough to time trial with, tough enough to cyclocross on and with the convenience of clinchers
It would be very nice if a independant group (something like Tom’s hardware for PC component) could evaluate, test and rate (without industry pressure) all these wheels! I think this is missing. The only data we could find is produced by the compagny themself or magazine that take the majority of their revenue from those same compagny 
Every review they do talk how great this wheel is and superior it is. But next month you find an other review telling the same about a completly different wheel set. Very sad… and useless!!!
There have been independent testing of the different wheels. But inevitably, the testing methodologies gets questioned. What kind and size of tire was used? Was the tire new, or had it shown wear? Was it used in a frame or just standalone? What kind of fork was used? Was the latest model year with the newest rim shape used in the test? For every independent test, whatever company showed their wheels coming in second place will likely dispute the method by which the testing was done.
If there is any consensus, it seems to be that deep rims are better than box rims. And that Zipp and Hed wheels seem to be the two companies that have the best rim shapes.
For a heavier rider looking for dedicated race wheels, I believe both Zipp and Hed make versions of their wheels with more spokes in them to support more weight.
Why not Reynolds RZR then?
+1000 on these. They are very impressive in person - don’t know about aero-ness though…
The exact same as ten years ago - Mavic IO w/ Mavic disc.
Are the Mavic IO tough enough for bumpy road?
I like my Aeolus 9.0 wheelset, but if I had another choice at what I want I would definitely go with Madfiber. They are so sweet looking.