OK, so I’m in my local LBS today, we start chatting in up, get on the topic of wheels … the SRAMs, some Bontragers, Zipps, Mavic, then he points to some Edge Composites wheels, gives me some info and I go away thinking I need to look into this company, very intrigued. I’ve done some research now, there’s not a lot, but what I did find was pretty flattering, very impressive actually. Just wondering, does anyone have any experience with this company and it’s products? I’m ready to plunk down some change on a new wheelset.
Very high quality construction. Their strength to weight ratio crushes offerings from Hed and Zipp. But they are slower wheels as only zipp and hed hold the patent for the semi-toridial rim. I would use edge wheels for cyclocross in a heartbeat. For a tri I’ll take zipp or hed. Hed stinger 90 specifically.
I use the clincher 68s. They are very stiff and very strong all due to the fact that they mold the spoke holes into the cf rather then drill them. I use mine for crits and tt/ tris. Until I see tunnel data I won’t comment on the aerodynamics. Great all around wheel though. Also a few of my friends run the tubulars. Road racing/crits only and they love them as well. Same as the clincher just a little lighter.
o you think if you upgrade to ceramic bearings it would make a diff to speed up the wheel?
Not much with ceramic; the wheels spec with DT Swiss 240s hubs, which are, in my opinion, the finest, silkiest hubs in the industry (though I am highly partial to Zipp’s new hubs of late as well). I just got a set of the Edge 68 clinchers and will devirginize them Friday on the Mount Lemmon climb next Friday at TriFest. I’ve had some, shall we say, dicey (read: nearly fatal) tests to failure with carbon clinchers in the past, so I am only slightly concerned for my life on the descent. In Swiss Stop we trust.
The guys that created Edge were the brainpower behind Reynolds Composites, and previously, I believe, worked at Lew Composites. Some of my colleages race crits on them and say they kick absolute ass.
My clincher 68s with DT190s arrive this week. Even if they are a few seconds aerodynamically slower, the convenience and confidence (in the event of a flat) of having a clincher are worth it to me. My wife used edge 38 tubulars (with DT190s) for cross this year without any problems, although I know some elite men did break some tubular rims…it’s cross, things (especially carbon things) break. The 404s didn’t fair as well…the (older style) hubs seized up after a few muddy races.
I just got a set of 68 clinchers about 2 weeks ago. I’ve only done one long ride. And one race on the back wheel. I built the rear wheel 24 spoke DT Swiss 240 and the front wheel 20 spoke Alchemy ELF.
They are great wheels. I’ll start off with one complaint; the front wheel braking. It pulses a lot, when I’m coming to a stop (under 10mph) I will come to a stop in a second when it hits the part of the wheel that has a bulge. This isn’t a factor when going at high speeds because the wheel spins faster and i go over the bulge faster so I don’t notice it a lot. But its there.
That being said I would still buy more of their wheels (and I plan on it). They are the stiffest wheels I have, over my 08 Reynolds DVUL’s. They came in at 1530 grams bare. They are amazing wheels in the fact that the nipple holes are molded and the spoke tension can be brought up very high. Sprinting with these wheels are great. I can feel very minimal energy loss while sprinting out of the saddle (I’m 160lb, 5’9, sprinter). I raced the rear wheel yesterday with my Reynolds DVUL front wheel yesterday. When sprinting out of the corners the rear wheel felt great. If I didn’t have such a great crash replacement warrenty on my Reynolds I would ride the Edge’s all the time.
Like others said I don’t know how they perform aerodynamically. I can probably say they aren’t better than 808’s, but probably better than 404’s. I didn’t buy them all for aerodynamics, I bought them for the stiffness plus aero (and carbon clincher).
If your a bigger rider or strong rider and am looking to get a wheelset around this depth get the 68’s, or even wait for the 110mm wheels to come out which they say they are doing wind tunnel testing on right now. Not sure about Zipps crash warrenty as I’ve never looked into them, but if your a light rider on smooth roads get zipps for the aerodynamic capabilities. but for durablity/lightness/stiffness get Edges.
Ya, good point on the patents – I wonder how significant the Zipp/HED patented profile advantage really is, at all yaw angles, etc., over the same/similar depth aero wheel?
The relative sales of Zipp/FlashPoint/SRAM and HED/Bontrager versus all others tells either a story of effective marketing or true product effectiveness.
Makes you wonder why anyone else would market an aero/deep wheel if the Zipp/HED advantage is significant.
Also, makes you wonder why Zipp/Hed don’t offer a deep all carbon clincher as light and bomb-proof. “It’s a conspiracy, man!”
Also, makes you wonder why Zipp/Hed don’t offer a deep all carbon clincher as light and bomb-proof.
just give it time. they will. but hed ‘sort of’ does already, they put the aero “fairing” on bontager all-carbon clinchers, but these are not true structural aero wheels.
The lightest carbon clinchers at the moment (AFAIK) are the Edge 68 clinchers, which if built 16/20 with light hubs can get down to ~1.45kg and cost ~$2100 (according to wheelbuilder)
So the potential is definitely there.
I think if you look at the zipp/hed aero data on their wheels
you will see that most of the deep dish ones have a yaw angle range where drag drops really low.
I believe basically a non shaped rim wont have that.
i beleieve hed/zipp don’t make an all carbon clincher because they don’t have the patent that covers it
Ya, good point on the patents – I wonder how significant the Zipp/HED patented profile advantage really is, at all yaw angles, etc., over the same/similar depth aero wheel?
The relative sales of Zipp/FlashPoint/SRAM and HED/Bontrager versus all others tells either a story of effective marketing or true product effectiveness.
Makes you wonder why anyone else would market an aero/deep wheel if the Zipp/HED advantage is significant.
Also, makes you wonder why Zipp/Hed don’t offer a deep all carbon clincher as light and bomb-proof. “It’s a conspiracy, man!”
i don’t think there is a patent covering this, or else Gigantex would not have been able to make their carbon clinchers at such low prices.
They make some great wheels. They sponsored the Muncie Endurathon last year and we gave away two sets of 38mm tubulars. Both winners seem to be very happy with them. One of the guys has been using them for cross racing in Wisconsin and says they work great and have stayed true through a nasty race season. While I didnt get to ride them, they looked great built up with DT 240 hubs.
i don’t think there is a patent covering this, or else Gigantex would not have been able to make their carbon clinchers at such low prices.
if gigantex has the patent they can make them at any price they want
.
and yet companies like corima have been making carbon clinchers (in their own factories outside taiwan)for much longer than gigantex have.
A good friend of mine has been using the clinchers as his daily riding wheel for some time now and loves them.
I used a tubular 68 in Kona in 2007 and really liked it.
Jay and/or others that have this CC68 wheelset:
I am new to the carbon clincher arena, but have a set of clincher 404s at the moment. I guess my question is, since the braking surface is carbon, does one have to be extremely careful when putting on a tire? Lets just say that I have a new PR3 and it is quite difficult to get onto the rim…should I be careful in using the tire tool when pressing against the side wall of the clincher? Or are these pretty bombproof? I have to use a lot of force when putting on new tires to my 404s…
Also, would these be good for an everyday wheelset for triathlon racing and road training? I’m going to build up a PT-laced rear wheel and will need use it for everything.
The high pressure and stiffness of these rims and the resins they use make it easy. I don’t remember getting the tires (conti GP 3000s) on to be any more or less difficult than a standard alloy rim. I think wheel diameter standard (in relation to tire diameter standard) is the biggest culprit in this case. From what I have learned (following a recent trip to visit Vittoria), there can be a fair bit of variance in wheel diameter from brand to brand, and that the tire industry has the tolerances pretty tight—I watched them take tires off the line and measure tolerances on a special machine at Vittoria, which hosts production for several other tire brands.
So to the point of your question: it shouldn’t be a problem at all if you needed to use a plastic tire lever (I wouldn’t use a metal one ever on carbon), as it’s very, very stiff all over the rim, but really, you should be able to mount a tire by hand on this wheel anyway.
I’ve testing the CC68s now on a daily basis and it’s been great—they’re definitely strong enough to take a daily beating, and certainly light enough to be race-worthy. To the point of how tough they are, I pre-rode part of the Sea Otter XC course with Conrad Stoltz (who is using Edge carbon 29er wheels on his race bikes), and he said he flatted while training one day, and had to ride the last few miles (of fireroad, I think he said) in on that wheel… and aside from cosmetic scratches (nothing went into the fiber structure), the wheel was unfettered. That says a lot about how strong these rims are—Conrad ain’t easy on anything.
People ride these on their cross bikes. These things are practically bomb proof.
I have a set of clincher 68’s laced to a Powertap SL+ hub 28 hole, bombproof wheel and I use it for training, racing, and cyclocross. I would stay away from low spoke counts if you will be doing all your riding on it. As long as you use plastic levers you should be fine.