Can anybody tell me if they have had any experience with these wheels? I am looking for a good aero wheelset that won’t break my bank account. Durability has always been a concern of mine when it comes to aero wheels. Can you put serious miles on them without problems? Are they easy to true? Any recommendations would be appreciated!
I bought a set of Hed Alps (700c clinchers) last summer and used them for the first time at IM USA. I like them although honestly haven’t really tested them fully. I will say that due to the rain during the race and having the bike sit in transition afterward that water did get into the bearing and caused them to dry out. I could hear them “rubbing” when I slowly turned the back wheel. It was a simple fix for my local bike shop and now their good to go.
I like 'em and I didn’t have to drop $1400…'nough said.
Hi Brian, I’m no expert but I am an avid researcher (read geek). I live in New Zealand, the land of very expensive bike equipment. I looked for close on a year before deciding on the Alps. They represented, by far the best value for money and most versitile wheels for me. I ordered them from the States and even taking into account the freight they were $NZ600 cheaper than I could get here. I am VERY pleased with them so far and can’t wait to race them in IMNZ. Hope this helps, Scott
I’m curious as to how the Alps stack up against the new (or is that old) Stinger 5.0’s. Anyone know?
Did you test those Tilliums or just because they are cool?
I heard they are hard to get trued? Is that so?
I have a pair. I bought them used. I love them. The have held up quite well to the New York City riding and racing conditions. I think they are some of the better aero climbing wheels and the price discount to Zipp’s made it worth the while. Truing them is easy if you are a do it yourselfer.
some of the early production run had problems holding proper spoke tension. We have made some changes to the molding process and switched to Sapim nipples designed specifically for deep section rims. The new wheels are better than anything out there. Our spec is .020 inches true and hops. I called Zipp and HED and their specs are higher.
Just a few other observations since I ran down to Nytro and picked up an ALPS wheel when this thread began:
The HED rim bed looks very shallow. With the special “nipple rivots” protruding out into the bed I would imagine you would want to run pretty thick rim tape further reducing the depth of the bed. I measure the depth to be 6.8 mm. I measured one of our aluminum rims that we buy from Sun and it measures 7.4mm. This may be the reason HED does not authorize certain tires to be used on their wheels. Thats another thread though.
The HED rim is not welded, it uses a pinned or sleeved joint. All of our rims are welded and then machined, the same process that Mavic uses. Not many people will argue that it produces a better rim.
HED uses what looks like a Taiwanese hub on this wheel. By the looks of it I would say Joytech or Formula. Not that they are bad hubs but I feel our hub using Hadley Racing alloy cassette system is better. The cassette body can be switched out for Campy or Shimano in about 10 seconds. It is the same system Velomax uses and I believe Zipp used until a year or two ago.
Finally the graphics on the HED wheel look cheasy, I know that this is not a huge point but at $900 I would expect more than momochrome stickers. The HED logo on the wheel I got looks like it was cut out with an exacto knife and there are some jagged edges on it. Our graphics may be loud and obnoxious but they are made by a guy who also makes the decals for the decks of Aircraft carriers and the logos on Navy jets.
If I have made any mistakes please correct me. I dont want to misrepresent the HED wheel.
Thanks Paul, you just helped me make up my decision.
I will buy a pair of HED ALPS!
Somebody that is trying to trash the product of someone else, in order to make his own wheels look good, looses all credibility.
You should focus on making a good product and stand behind it, no matter what the rest of the industry does. Obviously you don’t try to put out a great product, you just try to find arguments why your wheels should be better than others; wrong approach!
I had Spinergy wheels many years ago, they where way to flexy for me. I bought Cosmic Carbone front and H3 rear and didn’t look back.
Now I was intrigued by Spinergy again but the soap bubble popped right now!
That’s the best post I’ve read in a long time!
Sorry about the site. We are all pretty “internet inept” to say the least. If you want to know about Spinergy products feel free to email me anytime or stop on by our office in Carlsbad. The door is always open. We usually head out for a ride at lunch but are here the rest of the day. I love to talk to people about wheels, bikes, racing, training, the New England Patriots, whatever.
I didnt mean that the nipples were sticking out. In fact they are quite recessed. The “rivot” or “holder” does have a sharp edge and would require careful taping. I agree that everyone should use velox but there are many weight weenies out there who dont and for them it could be a problem. If I were HED I would include Velox with the wheels. I do believe sleeved rims are an issue. We used some rims from Extreme for a while and got nothing but complaints about the brakes “thumping” or “pulsing” on the seam. My understanding is that when you weld and machine rims you start with a slightly oversized extrusion and then machine the side walls perfectly parallel after welding. The sleeved jointed can never be aligned as well.
What part of my post was trashing? I am confused. Comparing products is trashing? If I am making things up up a competitor then yes I am trashing them but stating facts? What did I state in my post that was not fact? Maybe my decal comment and for that I apologize. If Andy from Zipp comes on and says our 303 is “x” number of grams lighter than the Tilum SS and we use Ceramic bearings, should I consider him trashing me? I assume those are the features he sells his product on and it is up to me to tout the features of my product and let the customer decide. “Next time I see a Pepsi challeng I am running right out and buying a Coke. Pepsi is obciously trashing the competition!”
“HED uses what looks like a Taiwanese hub on this wheel. By the looks of it I would say Joytech or Formula.”
That is what people typically call an opinion not a fact.
I’ll just reply this one more time then I stop because this could go on forever and it’s not worth it…
There is a french saying:
C’est le son qui fait la musique!
Attempt to translate: It’s the sound that makes the music.
Or, it’s the tone of your post that makes it trashy.
you write for example:
“Finally the graphics on the HED wheel look cheasy”
after that you could even say " I love HED wheels" and it would mean to everybody that you really meant: “HED wheels are crapp”.
I have at my desk hubs from Joytec and Formula right now. The HED hub looks incredibly similar to the Joytech. endcaps, axle etc. I dont know why another manufacturer would copy a taiwanese hub so I am guessing that is what it is. I do admit though that you are right. That was an opinion and not a fact.
I honestly apologize if thats how it sounded. I couldnt think of a better word than cheasy. I dont know how much they cost so I didnt want to say cheap.I am sure the screaming chicken decals on the hoods of Pontiac Trans Ams cost a fortune but they look “cheasy” People tell me all the time our decals are obnoxious, so everyone has their own opinion. When we set out to develop the Tilium SS one of our goals was the sweet spot in the marketplace for a carbon aero wheelset for around $8-900 dollars. After speaking with several top retailers, It became obvios that the HED Alps was the competition. We were told that if we could make a better ALPS that we could deliver we would have a winner. I think we succeeded, and every dealer I have shown the wheels to, agrees. I just get frustrated when people still say " which one should I buy?" I think we have them beat in almost every way. And yes that is my opinion based on the facts that I have. Thats why I follow this forum. Trying to figure out what I can do to make our products better and to let people know when I think we have succeeded. I believe, as I am sure that Gerard and others do that the people who post on this forum are the opinion leaders among their peers. If I can convince you that our products are worth a look, then I have done more than I could probably do with a huge ad campaign in one of the mags. The flip side is that if I alienate one of you then I have done damage to my company. If that is the case then I am truly sorry.
"I just get frustrated when people still say " which one should I buy?" I think we have them beat in almost every way."
Do you mind expanding on the ways which you don’t have them beat?
A-men to that!
Sorry, I didn’t want to spend any more time on this but hey this is actually getting funny, like it!
You english folks, can’t beat that humor.
As the guy that started this debate (at least I started it this time), all I have to say is “Wow!” There is nothing like a passionate discussion. I’m still not sure what I’ll get. So far, this has been more about the journey than the destination.
Thanks,
Brian