I think I’m ready to buy my own race wheels having rented for my last four or five races (70.3 and IM).
From reading here, it looks like the HEDs have a good reputation for balance of performance and price. Plus, they make a tri-spoke!
But, I find their website hard to understand. They appear to have different versions of the same thing at the same price without clearly articulating what the differences are (i.e., stinger vs jet plus). I just want the best - which one is it?
Also, am I right in understanding there is no rear wheel tri-spoke? So if I buy the front tri-spoke with a disc rear (my preferred option) and then qualify for Kona (don’t laugh, it could happen), I couldn’t get a tri-spoke rear to match the front?
I want the tri-spokes because they look awesome - no real other reason…
You could likely find a rear trispoke on the used market, ebay, etc, quite easily and cheap. Might be 10 speed freehub though, on which you might be able to put an 11 speed conversion cassette onto.
Cheers - should have mentioned - it is a ten speed bike. 2013 Trek Speed Concept with Ultegra, so older ten speed would be fine. I assume I can find a way to run 10 sp on the current offerings.
I definitely want clinchers - Not up for tubulars (have used in the past).
Do you know why they don’t offer a new tri-spoke rear? Am I wrong to believe they are quite fast?
Cheers - should have mentioned - it is a ten speed bike. 2013 Trek Speed Concept with Ultegra, so older ten speed would be fine. I assume I can find a way to run 10 sp on the current offerings.
I definitely want clinchers - Not up for tubulars (have used in the past).
Do you know why they don’t offer a new tri-spoke rear? Am I wrong to believe they are quite fast?
Thanks
I always loved trispokes too, but I believe the general consensus is that they are no faster, and possibly slower, than the more recent deep wheel offerings like the Jet 6 and 9. Trispokes can also supposedly be harder to handle in strong winds.
As for no longer making it in a rear, maybe just due to low demand. Most people who you see using a trispoke wheel is a front paired with a disc rear.
Think I’ll go with the Jet Black in that case. 6 or 9 front and disc rear. If I qualify I can add a 9 rear without telling the wife that I have to replace the entire wheel set!
If you want the best tri spokes in clinchers you would have to order the H3 Plus which is an 11 speed wheel which is a wider and better version of the H3. I can only see the front on their website now but they used to make a rear and they are still for sale on some websites. If you want to go cheap you could get a set of H3 wheels that are narrower and an earlier version generally 10 speed but you can buy a freehub and convert them to 11 should you upgrade. If you want a deeper wheel you can still find the H3D which is a deeper rim version of the H3 but I would only run that on the rear. I have a set of GT3 tubular Hed tri spokes I run at Kona and a disc rear at all other races.
Thanks. I’m actually a little nervous that the wider design may not fit my bike. It is pretty tight in the rear already. I think I’ve run older Zipp 808s and Durace something’s there but no idea how wide they were.
I can just see myself buying a new bike at the end of this exercise to fit the wheels!
It is a bit hard for me to buy second hand or from other sellers because I am based in NZ and we don’t have much on offer here.
Depends on postage and the US postage is a killer.I got a set of Corima four spoke out the UK for not a bad price to Australia that I train on purely because they look badass…
Thanks. I’m actually a little nervous that the wider design may not fit my bike. It is pretty tight in the rear already. I think I’ve run older Zipp 808s and Durace something’s there but no idea how wide they were.
I can just see myself buying a new bike at the end of this exercise to fit the wheels!
It is a bit hard for me to buy second hand or from other sellers because I am based in NZ and we don’t have much on offer here.
You really should get the wider wheels. The old narrow Trispoke is very limited on tire choice because low Crr tires that are only 20mm wide are pretty much limited to just the Conti SS and who knows how much longer they will even make that tire.
You should have enough clearance on the 1st-gen SC for any of the HED wheels.
Agree. I had a gen 1 SC, and I had no issue using wide HED Stingers/disc, as well as Zipp Super 9 and 808 wheels, with conti 25mm tires. That said, I did not have the duo trap thingy installed on the chainstay, so if you do have that, maybe that could make things a bit tighter, not sure…
Trust me. You want a jet black disc and jet black 6 (or 9) front. I’ve got a jet black disc/9 combo on my Felt and it’s awesome. I’ve got jet black 4 set on my road bike. It’s more than just a black brake surface. The surface is also textured which makes the braking MUCH better than traditional aluminum brake track (in my experience). Full disclosure, I’m biased cuz I’m a huge fan of HED wheels (I’ve got 3 sets) because of value, performance, and my hatred for carbon brake tracks. If you follow My Bike Shop online they have sales regularly on HED wheels.
Unless you get a crazy good deal, I would not buy a 10-speed disc wheel.
I too have a 10-speed bike but I made sure to buy an 11-speed HED Jet Black disc wheel to future proof it for my next bike. It will also hold it’s value far more.
And as Richard mentioned, 11-speed wheels come with the simple 10-speed adapter.
And it’s my opinion the HED Jet Blacks are the finest wheels made unless you are a pro racing mountain stages. Then a full carbon wheel that saves you a few grams is necessary.
Will definitely go for 11sp and use a spacer. Good to hear others have used these same wheels on a 1st gen SC. It is still a great bike which is plenty fast enough for me!
Last question - though I am sure it is more a question of preference - any views on 6 vs 9 for the front?
Last question - though I am sure it is more a question of preference - any views on 6 vs 9 for the front?
Deeper. Always deeper.
My first set of wheels were 60/90 because I was worried about handling. I regretted it almost immediately. The handling was a non-issue, and the 90mm looks so much better up front. When I upgraded to disc, I upgraded my front to 90mm. It is freakin’ awesome.