New Wheel Choice: Hed Jet 6 or Campagnolo Bora One

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi all,

I’m tossing up between two new (to me) wheelset: Jet 6 (not Black) and Bora One 55 (2017 model) and thoughts and advice from you erstwhile posters would be appreciated. Particularly if either wheelset is an everyday set. They would be my everyday wheels.

Both have pros and cons, given my riding. They’ll be for my roadie (2016 Cervelo S3) only, which I use for mixed riding, usually involving hills, ranging anywhere from 6-20%. Hills are my main reason for wanting to upgrade: OE Mavics have brake rub on heavier climbs out of the saddle and they don’t roll well on descents, freewheeling less than friends’ wheels.

My thoughts are:
Hed: better aero, aluminium brake track, loved on ST. But heavier, risk of damaging fairing. Unsure what tyre width would fit in my frame.

Campy: lighter, great hubs based on experience with Fulcrum, rigid fairing. But poorer aero, poorer braking (although allegedly decent for carbon), more fiddly and expensive maintenance.

2

I can see the dilemma, because I am both a HED and Campy fan. One question would be if the Campys are tubeless compatible and the internal rim width. You wouldn’t want new wheels that limit your tire choice or are going to be out of date right out of the box.

Regardless I think I would still go HED. I had some Firecrests and I never liked fiddling with brake pads if for some reason I needed to swap wheels. I sold all my carbon wheels and my wheel fleet are all aluminum brake track. Less cool but more functional.

3

The Hed’s are the sensible choice. I have campagnolo on two bikes and the wheels are good quality but if aero and rolling wider tyres or tubeless are important. The Hed’s win

4

I have set of 2017 Bora One 50mm. I Love them. They are my everyday wheels on my road bike. I was attracted to the weight of them, bearing type and I found them to be a great price point (A lot less then Bora Ultra’s but a lot of the same characteristics). I have no regrets. I really noticed the snap and performance they have and love the weight (or lack of). They handle great in all conditions, however I ride Zipp 808’s everyday when I am riding by Tri bike (so I am used to deeper dish wheels).

I cant comment on HED. Although if you rely solely on the comments on Slowtwitch the choice is obvious. HED hands down, why would you buy any other wheel. And… If Lionel is on HED’s they have got to be fast… I know a few people who have HED Jet 6 and they are happy with them. I cant disagree with many of the Slowtwitch arguments, in fact I am considering getting a pair of HEDs to replace my Zipps.

Good luck… my vote would be Bora for road bike. The Roadies will give you props. However, I have received a bit of slack from my Roadie friends because I have Shimano on Campy wheels. It is a clash, kind of like a black and white cookie (Seinfeld Reference).

5

Thanks guys.

Logically the HEDs are the better option, but good old lust draws me towards the Boras.

Neither is tubeless compatible. The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

Funnily enough, if it wasn’t for my positive experience with Fulcrum / Campy hubs, I wouldn’t even be considering carbon clinchers, which I guess should be a sign.

The Lionel comment cracked me up by the way (I’m a noob and don’t know how to quote yet)!

6

Thanks guys.

Logically the HEDs are the better option, but good old lust draws me towards the Boras.

Neither is tubeless compatible. The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

Funnily enough, if it wasn’t for my positive experience with Fulcrum / Campy hubs, I wouldn’t even be considering carbon clinchers, which I guess should be a sign.

The Lionel comment cracked me up by the way (I’m a noob and don’t know how to quote yet)!
Lust wears off somewhat, practicality gets more important with time!

If the choice is close now, I’d say Hed is the easy winner in the lust versus practicality and performance later stakes.
Those Boras would be too narrow for my liking. I don’t think I’d buy good wheels narrower than 19mm given the choice.

7

Thanks guys.

Logically the HEDs are the better option, but good old lust draws me towards the Boras.

Neither is tubeless compatible. The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

Funnily enough, if it wasn’t for my positive experience with Fulcrum / Campy hubs, I wouldn’t even be considering carbon clinchers, which I guess should be a sign.

The Lionel comment cracked me up by the way (I’m a noob and don’t know how to quote yet)!

There’s a “QUOTE” link in the upper right of each comment.

Count me in the “Jet 6” column (though I’m enough of a cheapskate I run Jet 5s from Performance). Not cool, just very effective.

8

You can get jet black 5 at MBS for about the same price right now
.

9

Neither is tubeless compatible**. **The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

I don’t think the original Jet’s where 21mm internal, more like 19mm? The Jet+ went to 21 internal, 25 external and they are tubeless compatible.

About tire width on your S3, I found I couldn’t run most 25mm tires on that frame, or I would get rubbing at the chainstays. The widest ‘fast’ tire I could use without rubbing was the Conti Force 24mm. This was with Boyd wheels (19mm internal width).

10

Neither is tubeless compatible**. **The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

I don’t think the original Jet’s where 21mm internal, more like 19mm? The Jet+ went to 21 internal, 25 external and they are tubeless compatible.

About tire width on your S3, I found I couldn’t run most 25mm tires on that frame, or I would get rubbing at the chainstays. The widest ‘fast’ tire I could use without rubbing was the Conti Force 24mm. This was with Boyd wheels (19mm internal width).

JSK makes a vary valid point to consider. While the push to wider internal rims and cushier tires is great, with no decrease in rolling resistance supposedly etc. you may end up with a wheel that doesn’t work with your desired tires. On those wider rims, your favorite 25mm tire will balloon up to 26-27mm and possibly not fit, especially with a tight tolerance frame like the Cervelo.

11

Neither is tubeless compatible**. **The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

I don’t think the original Jet’s where 21mm internal, more like 19mm? The Jet+ went to 21 internal, 25 external and they are tubeless compatible.

About tire width on your S3, I found I couldn’t run most 25mm tires on that frame, or I would get rubbing at the chainstays. The widest ‘fast’ tire I could use without rubbing was the Conti Force 24mm. This was with Boyd wheels (19mm internal width).

JSK makes a vary valid point to consider. While the push to wider internal rims and cushier tires is great, with no decrease in rolling resistance supposedly etc. you may end up with a wheel that doesn’t work with your desired tires. On those wider rims, your favorite 25mm tire will balloon up to 26-27mm and possibly not fit, especially with a tight tolerance frame like the Cervelo.

A buddy of mine got the new Enver 3.4’s that have a 21 mm internal. He put a 25 mm GP4000S II and it ballooned up pretty large. The rest of us run the same tire on rims with 17-19 mm internal width and it was very easy to determine his tire was wider side by side. We didn’t measure it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his 25 mm tire was 29 mm wide on that rim. At first glance we assumed he was using a 28 mm GP4000S until we realized he had a 21 mm internal rim.

12

I have the HED Jet 6+ on my Cervelo P3 (TT bike) and the Campy Bora One on my Bianchi road bike. I wanted the Bora One because everything else on my Bianchi is Campy. I prefer the HED Jet 6+ and kind of wished I had gone in that direction now (plus they are a lot cheaper when you find them on sale).

13

Neither is tubeless compatible**. **The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

I don’t think the original Jet’s where 21mm internal, more like 19mm? The Jet+ went to 21 internal, 25 external and they are tubeless compatible.

About tire width on your S3, I found I couldn’t run most 25mm tires on that frame, or I would get rubbing at the chainstays. The widest ‘fast’ tire I could use without rubbing was the Conti Force 24mm. This was with Boyd wheels (19mm internal width).

JSK makes a vary valid point to consider. While the push to wider internal rims and cushier tires is great, with no decrease in rolling resistance supposedly etc. you may end up with a wheel that doesn’t work with your desired tires. On those wider rims, your favorite 25mm tire will balloon up to 26-27mm and possibly not fit, especially with a tight tolerance frame like the Cervelo.

So, just put on the 23C version of the same tire and it will measure the same mounted as the 25C on a narrower rim. Problem solved.

This is why measured width, not listed size, is what matters.

14

Neither is tubeless compatible**. **The Boras are a lot narrower: 17mm vs 21mm internal.

I don’t think the original Jet’s where 21mm internal, more like 19mm? The Jet+ went to 21 internal, 25 external and they are tubeless compatible.

About tire width on your S3, I found I couldn’t run most 25mm tires on that frame, or I would get rubbing at the chainstays. The widest ‘fast’ tire I could use without rubbing was the Conti Force 24mm. This was with Boyd wheels (19mm internal width).

JSK makes a vary valid point to consider. While the push to wider internal rims and cushier tires is great, with no decrease in rolling resistance supposedly etc. you may end up with a wheel that doesn’t work with your desired tires. On those wider rims, your favorite 25mm tire will balloon up to 26-27mm and possibly not fit, especially with a tight tolerance frame like the Cervelo.

So, just put on the 23C version of the same tire and it will measure the same mounted as the 25C on a narrower rim. Problem solved.

This is why measured width, not listed size, is what matters.

I agree that measured width is what matters, but to expand on that…shouldn’t measured width that is appropriate for a given rim should also be factored?

In the OP’s case when considering HED, the Jet+ is a 21 mm internal and 25 mm external. Their website clearly states that a 23 mm tire is fine on these rims as it would most likely balloon a 23 mm tire to at least 25-26 mm wide. If this assumption is correct, then measured width of the tire and external width of the rim merry well. You could of course go wider if you want.

However, you have other 21 mm internal rims like the Enve 3.4’s and Bontrager Aeolus XXX that are 27.5 and 27-28 mm wide respectively. Enve states that their new 3.4 rims are designed for 25 mm tires which I have to assume means they want it to balloon out to 27+ mm wide. Bontrager doesn’t make a recommendation for their rim, but do state they are designed with a 21 mm internal to accommodate the trend of wider tires.

It would be very interesting to see how various 23 mm tires mount on a 21 mm internal with 27-28 mm external. Maybe it mounts okay, stays at around 25-26 mm, and doesn’t impact performance despite the tire being narrower than the external. Or maybe it doesn’t mount okay and exposes too much of the sidewall?

I saw all this just to clarify that putting on a 23 mm tire isn’t always the answer for every rim in making it fit to your chain stays.

15

I have a set of 2012 Campy Eurus 2-way fit wheels. They’re nice wheels. I also have a set of the Hed Jet 6+ disc wheels, but haven’t bought the bike for them, yet.

If the wheels are going on a fancy Italian bike with a Campy gruppo, get the Boras - because this is a matter of the heart.

Otherwise get the Heds. And I go with the previous posts that mentioned the Jet 5 blacks at MBS.

16

It would be very interesting to see how various 23 mm tires mount on a 21 mm internal with 27-28 mm external.

Seeing as HED’s patent around the Vanquish line of wheels is for a 30mm external width (21mm internal width), they recommend a 23mm tire for best aero performance on these rims. The HED 6+ wheels max out at 26.5mm width on the carbon fairing. I run 24mm Turbo Cotton tires on mine, and they are not wider than 26.5mm when inflated. I believe the 23mm Corsa Speed on my Jet+ disc measures ~25mm.

17

The Boras are faultless. I run the 50s as my everyday wheelset on my road bike in hilly San Francisco Bay Area.

18

Otherwise get the Heds. And I go with the previous posts that mentioned the Jet 5 blacks at MBS.

Based on comments and my own nagging logic, I’m going to go with HEDs.

The Jet 5 Blacks on MBS seem to have the 25mm + width, but any reviews and info I’ve seen on 5s lists them as 23mm, having never been updated to + spec. Does anyone know if there is/was a 5+?

19

The black 5s were made exclusively for MBS.

20

We just mounted the Bontrager Aeolus xxx6 tubeless on a Cervelo P5 Six, solely for racing. We backed the screws out on the rear dropouts to accommodate 25mm tires and wheel width. The front tire had no issue with clearance. However, the Techno brake shoes on the P5 have limited adjustability. So, our LBS mechanic changed brake shoes to Shimano, with greater ability to adjust the tow. The XXX tire and wheel measures 27.5mm when mounted. Using the adjustment screw in the P5 brake levers, we were easily able to run the XXX and then switch to the narrower ZIpp for training. It was pretty easy once we figured out. The key was switching the brake shoes. We are also using the Swis Stop brake pads for both wheel sets.