I bought a new 700c Hed standard disc three weeks ago, since then I’ve used on 2 easy workouts to get used to it, three 10km TTs and a 40km TT today.
After the third 10km, I noticed that the wheel was moving from side to side when I watched the movement of the rim between the brake pads (omg what a stupid sentence, please telle me the english expression for this). My local bike store told me to keep riding on it while they ordered a new wheel to me (a free replacement, of course).
During todays TT the problem I mentioned above became much worse. Even though I had slacked the wire of the brake so much that braking capacity was about 10%, the wheel kept banging into my brake pads when I was standing in the hills, and on the flats it was all very unstable. I had to abandon half way through, dangerous to continue.
I will get a new wheel if I want, so that’s not a problem. What I’m worried about is the construction of this wheel. To me it seems a bit fragile, the carbon layer is very thin in my opinion. I’m a pretty big rider (6’2, 167lbs) and I use big gears (typically 55/(12-14) on the flats), and I can see that that might shorten the duration of this wheel.
Now I’m considering whether to get my money back and buy another brand, or to get a new Hed. It worked brilliantly in the first three races (three victories ), so the thing I wonder about is what experiences other slowtwitchers have had with this wheel, especially in the long term. Was this a rare failured product, or are Hed wheels really this bad? Should I go to another brand, or keep sticking to Hed?
I had a HED and ripped the hub apart from the carbon, after five years of use. HED replaced it for $150. I have owned two discs, one stinger and one jet from hed. Thats the only problem I ever had in 10+ yrs of using HEDs.
Irregardless of the suitability of HED’s disk wheels for you,
I can’t believe you chose to do a race on malfunctioning equipment and that your shop recommended that you keep using it, and then you chose to race by compromising the effectiveness of your brakes. If the results were important to you at all, you should have used some other wheel, even your training wheel, because you probably would have finished and been safe.
You’re not that big, but you’re obviously very strong since you are winning time trials. Many much larger people who are sprinters are using these wheels without problems. I think it was probably a manufacturing defect but YMMV.
I’m 5’10" and 180 pounds – I hammer my HED’s and have never had a problem. Sounds like bad luck to me. As someone else said – Hed will take good care of you.
I just had a similar experience with my new Zipp disc (early graduation present from my wife). First time I rode it (the day before Wildflower), the wheel moved from side to side rubbing against the brakes. When I spun the wheel, everything looked fine and the wheel was true. But anytime I applied even the gentlest load through the cranks, I got the side to side action.
Fortunately, I had packed my trusty 404 rear as a back-up.
Thanks for reminding me I need to call my dealer about it!
Make sure your skewers is on tight enough and that it is lined up in the dropouts straight.
Other than that, I have no idea, better talk to your lbs about it.
), so the thing I wonder about is what experiences other slowtwitchers have had with this wheel, especially in the long term. Was this a rare failured product, or are Hed wheels really this bad? Should I go to another brand, or keep sticking to Hed?