Hi All -
I’ve been looking at the neuvation wheels lately, particularly the R28 SL3.
It looks like a good wheel for the $.
I’m looking for a good all-around wheel. I’m not going to lay out the major moola for race wheels. I’m looking to do the best I can in the “strong enough to train on, fast enough to race, cheap enough to buy” category.
Right now I’ve got the OEM easton vista wheels on my bike. They’ve been fine, not great. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with them most of the time, but they don’t do a great job of staying in true. I ride in the Philadelphia area, which has no shortage of broken roads, so I can’t get anything too fragile. I weigh 155, but I get the sense I’m a little harder on my wheels than most people my size. My rides tend to be fairly hilly.
How much of an upgrade whill the Neuvations be over the Eastons? Will the differences be at all noticeable? Any other wheels (campy-compatible) I should look at in this price range?
i have 2 sets of the R28 aeros, for the price i love them. did have a problem with a fracture in the rear wheel but john was kind enough to replace with a new one! i will buy another set when the time comes for sure. go for it
A few years ago I researched the market very carefully and concluded that Neuvation offered the most bang for the buck. They’re as good as some wheels costing 2-3 times as much. Purchased a set of M28 Aeros that I recently upgraded to the ceramic bearings. They’ve been bombproof, stayed true and given me zero problems on my road bikes for three years now. You can deal with company owner John Nugent personally via email or telephone.
Go on roadbikereview.com and you’ll see that the comments are mostly very positive. I understand that John did get a bad bunch of hubs once, but he replaced them free of charge.
I have a set of OEM Neuvations, that came with a KHS multisport bike I bought in 2004. I knew nothing about wheels then (and don’t profess to know much more now), but I’ve had nothing but good experiences with them. They have stayed true after a lot of abuse, and a crash.
Earlier this year, for kicks I emailed the company to find out more about the wheels. I got a reply in 5 minutes. The wheels I have are equivalent to current M28 model.
Things I noticed about these wheels: 1) Dead silent 2) No rim tape 3) Always true 4) I never noticed anything bad
I also have a set of Easton Vista wheels (with Velomax hubs) on another bike. I don’t notice much difference between the two wheelsets. I’ve only got 500 miles on the Eastons but haven’t had any problems.
They came out of true within 500 miles. The breaking is mediocre and the aesthetics aren’t at all pleasing. I wish that I had spent a little more and bought some Mavic Ksyrium Elites. I don’t care that they’re a little heavier, either. I’ve never had a problem with a Mavic wheel.
I have a pair of the R28 aero 2’s, have ridden ~1800 miles on them. The rear came out of true once, but otherwise they’re been great. John is a great guy to deal with too. I’d recommend them.
I also have a set of Easton Vista wheels (with Velomax hubs) on another bike. I don’t notice much difference between the two wheelsets. I’ve only got 500 miles on the Eastons but haven’t had any problems.
I believe those are the M28 Aero 2s, but don’t quote me on that, you will want to do a little more research.
I bought a set a couple of years ago from Supergo (which was subsequently bought by Performance), and I think they are excellent wheels for the money. At the time Neuvation only had one set of wheels and these were the rebadged versions of those wheels. They are strong and pretty damn fast for the money. They are still on my road bike and going strong. My only complain is that the freehub that came with them feels cheap (it’s silent, never liked silent freehubs. I don’t need the super loud ones, but I do like a little whir). Hardly a deal breaker though.
This year I bought my first Tri-specific bike and ordered it with a set of Fulcrum racing 7s (mad by Campy, but their lowest model in the fulcrum line) that were about the same price as the Fortes from performance (at that time anyway). Originally I was going to order some Fortes, but decided to try something different. Wish I hadn’t. The only advantage the Fulcrum’s have over my Supergos is that when I put on my race wheels (404s) they have a lot bigger jump in performance. So I feel extra fast.
EDIT: I have never had them trued and I have jumped them off curbs up to about 10 inches high.
I love my Neuvations, I’ve had over three pairs. I currently ride and race on a set of R28 SL3s and I love them, like everyone else says they are completely bombproof. I know of many people who use Neuvations for cyclocross bikes, and two big fellas (215+) on my collegiate team ride M28s
I have about 4000 mi this year on my R28 SL3s and so far they are my favorite set, I think the new rims he uses for the SL “3” build into a bit stiffer wheel.
I’ve also had M28 aeros, which are now on my roomies bike and a set of C50 carbon tubulars which I just sold because I never used them. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about John and his company, they sponsor basically every single collegiate team in our conference
You’re in philly? I go to Drexel…if you ever want to check out my wheels let me know and I will meet you on Kelly Dr or something
I love my Neuvations, I’ve had over three pairs. I currently ride and race on a set of R28 SL3s and I love them, like everyone else says they are completely bombproof. I know of many people who use Neuvations for cyclocross bikes, and two big fellas (215+) on my collegiate team ride M28s
I have about 4000 mi this year on my R28 SL3s and so far they are my favorite set, I think the new rims he uses for the SL “3” build into a bit stiffer wheel.
I’ve also had M28 aeros, which are now on my roomies bike and a set of C50 carbon tubulars which I just sold because I never used them. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about John and his company, they sponsor basically every single collegiate team in our conference
You’re in philly? I go to Drexel…if you ever want to check out my wheels let me know and I will meet you on Kelly Dr or something
-D
sounds good - i’ll try to take you up on that sometime soon. appreciate the offer.
On our cycling team quite a few riders purchased the Neuvation R28 wheels last year. Every single one has had issues with the rear rim cracking around the spoke nipples leading to loss of trueness and wheel failures. I do have to note the Neuvation has good customer service and these riders have racked up a lot of training miles, probably well in excess of 12,000. Meanwhile my Power Tap Open Pro wheel keeps on rolling.
I would bear in mind the Keith Bontrager mantra. “light, strong, cheap, pick two”
I would suggest you look into a set of handbuilt with Campy hubs laced to Mavic CXP33.
I think if reliability is your main concern, I’d stick to the M28 Aeros. They are definately bombproof from my experience and don’t weight much more than the lighter wheels.
I think if reliability is your main concern, I’d stick to the M28 Aeros. They are definately bombproof from my experience and don’t weight much more than the lighter wheels.
great price on those, but they’re shimano only. the R series (aero and sl) are available in campy.