I dont hear much about the Reynolds wheels on the Forum.
Who has them or knows how they compare to the Zipps,Velomax(Easton), HED’s, Spinergy, and the other usual suspects?
How’s the Hub?
How’s the Carbon Wheel?
Longevity?
Tech Support/Service?
Tubular, and Carbon clincher?
Thanks.
Interested as well…
Who has them or knows how they compare to the Zipps,Velomax(Easton), HED’s, Spinergy, and the other usual suspects?
I have the Reynolds Alta set which I’ve had since August’04. I’ve been using them exclusively for training. I race on Zipp 404’s. The Altas are only 30mm deep and are all aluminum, so I don’t think they really compare. They do compare to Mavic Ksyriums as to ride quality and strength, all for about $250.00 less. They are very light, incredibly strong, smooth, and fun to ride on.
How’s the Hub?
Apparently the Altas use the same hub as their higher-end all carbon-rimmed wheels. I really like the hub. Very similar to my Chris King hubs with a lot less noise (!).
How’s the Carbon Wheel?
My next big purchase will be a tubular set of the Stratus’. I’ll tell you then, in a year.
Longevity?
A few weeks ago I popped a spoke on my Altas (rear wheel, non-drive side) and they repaired it for free through my LBS (where I purchased them–at R and A Cycles here in Brooklyn) all in about a week. I got it all handled w/ 1 email to Reynolds.
Tech Support/Service?
See above. I’ve talked to owners of the carbon wheels and they’ve all loved them and one of the reasons they purchased from Reynolds is that they have one of the best warranties on their equipment in the biz.
Tubular, and Carbon clincher?
Clincher, for now.
I have had a set since 2003 (with the original white industries hubs) and have found them to be great wheels. They are stiff, light and strong. I even used them for a road race that had a dirt road section with gravel and washboards that we just hammered through and they took it well.
The hubs have been holding up fine, although I only use the wheels for racing, probably about 20+ days per year. I did break two spokes, but that was when another rider fell in front of me and I ran over his bike so his pedals went into my spokes. I run the tubular and would suggest you go that route as the clinchers are significantly heavier and more expensive.
The Zipp 404 would probably be a little bit more aero but that is just a guess.
THere is a revew of them on cyclingnews.com.
The consesnus is that they are excelent wheels. THey are the same things as LEW wheels which for a long time where considered one of the best wheels out there similair to leight weight wheels.
They are known for being very stiff and responsive. But I have no first hand experience with them
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech.php?id=tech/2004/reviews/reynolds_stratus_dv_wheels
marc gullickson races cross on the stratus. that should say something about robustness. (but then gully doesn’t pay for them, either.)
http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/probikes/gullickson_redline
says here he now uses the “cross” version. but when they first came out, he used the straight up dv model. only difference I can see is that the cross version has 8 more spokes.
I have a pair of the Lew Palermo. I have raced these for the last 3 years on very rough surfaces in RR, crits and TT’s. I have ridden them in training and fun rides countless times (because I could).
I’ve got at least 6000 miles on them, I weigh between 165-175 and have never had any problem with them, not even a truing. I’ll race them this season and to date I can’t see any reason to think I’ll need to replace them. The brake surfaces show no wear, period. They integrate something into the brake surface to make them more durable and I believe that it works. I rode them in a rainy crit on city streets and the brake surfaces looked like I’d screwed them up. I washed the bike and the wheels looked like new and I can’t feel any wear on the surface. They do eat my DA brake pads (I do clean the pads with an emery cloth when I put the Lew’s in.) as I don’t change them out for carbon pads however, I would prefer to buy brake pads over rims. I think the braking is fine on them with some loss of modulation at higher tire pressues. I’ve since lowered my tire pressue to about 105F-110R and never have any troubles with braking.
The Reynold’s version is slightly different with a 46 mm rim depth over the Lew’s 42 mm. They are slightly wider and I don’t doubt that some evolutionary changes have been made.
I’d buy them again.
I’ve got 2003 Stratus DVs and I absolutely love them. Up until recently, I used them mainly for racing but now I’m starting to ride them more on training rides because they’re so superior to my training wheels (Mavic Equipe) and it’s much more enjoyable to ride on these wheels from a speed and comfort standpoint. They are absolutely indestructible (can’t say that about Zipps) but I’m guessing the Zipps are a bit more aero (46mm vs. 58mm dish). The Reynolds are better climbers than the Zipps (stiffer, lighter). The White Industries Hub is one of the best. Period! Definitely go with Tubular. Don’t waste your money on the Ultralights since they’re about $400 more and less than 100g lighter. Cane Creek sells the exact same wheel (different hub?) for a couple hundred dollars cheaper but the Reynolds name and decals are cooler.