I am looking to buy race wheels and have found a pair of these at a (relatively) good price. Please let me know (good or bad) your thoughts on these wheels. Will I regret not spending the extra jack to get Zipps? I hate to spend more on wheels than the bike. I’m not that good! Thanks.
Do some due dilligence on overheating of carbon clinchers and tire performance/braking.
All carbon clinchers are not created equal.
If you do a search on this forum and others you’ll find some relevant insights.
Been using this wheelset for about a year on my road bike, soon to go on my Cannondale Slice when it arrives.
Have been using Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL’s and would say the Reynolds certainly roll as well and soak up a fair bit more road buzz.
Running with Conti 4000s and Michellin latex tubes. Couldn’t be happier with their performance.
First set of full carbon clinchers so can’t compare so any others.
I have a set of Reynolds Strike and so far so good and this is my second set already. Can’t complain for the price either. Go for it.
I’ve got about 6K miles on a set, training and racing as I train on race day gear and at $1700 price point I feel these are affordable to train on as well as race.
I’m pretty carefull rider in the sense i don’t drop them in craters but I’m really impressed with how rugged they are as they’ve stayed true…As I’m a borderline Clyde around 195lbs.
Been riding them with Mich Pro3s exclusively, haven’t worn out the braking surface and i ride/decend mtns on them (Wasatch/Tetons mainly)
I’m so hooked on Reynolds I’m buying the 46/66 set next to compliment the disc to make a nice quiver of wheels for all conditions training/race day.
I’d consider the Reynolds 46/66 set intially if this is your first set of carbon deep dish wheels (costs the same as the 66 strike set) as the 66 front strike can be a little squirly in heavy wind, you gotta stay on your game as it’s a big sail to intially get used to as I almost went down a few times when a gust caught it vs a 46 you won’t get blown around as much in heavy winds like Kona or even St George if you’re new to deep dish wheels or smaller/lighter rider.
I’ve been riding on Strikes for about a year now. I also ride the Reynolds Assaults. I have nothing but praise for these wheels. I have Zipp 404 clinchers, Zipp 808 Tubulars, too. For the price, they are a great whellset. I’ve hit some big pot holes and have never needed to staighten a wheel yet. With that being said, if you do need to true a wheel you will need to remove the tire, tube, rim strip. Will that be a hassle for ya?
I often ride the Strike rear and Assault front as earlier posted by another rider. Great wheel choice for crits and tri racing. I train on these wheels with some good hill climbing (Harriman/Bear Mtn). I can’t say that the Strikes are great climbing wheels, but you are not purchasing them to be King of the Mountain!
Great bang for the buck…Great performance wheelset. Go for it!!
I bought a set of strikes earlier this year. I’ve put several thousand km’s on them since. Front + Rear $999
At this point, I would easily buy another set - I am happy with them.
I was worried about the bearings and the braking surface when I bought them.
The bearings are allegedly lower grade than the other model but mine spin endlessly so I can’t see it getting much better than that.
The braking surface has a mild discolouration but nothing I’m worried about. I don’t ride the brakes because of the ‘heating up’ concerns but I couldn’t find any information on whether these wheels truly have a problem with heating up the braking surface. I dont want to wear them out regardless, so I just pulse my brakes as absolutely necessary. I’m can only guess that is helping me not wear out the rim or risk warping it.
Great wheels, definitely buy them if you found a good price!
oh and ummm I used Michelein Pro Race 3’s as well. They match up great on the width of the wheel.
However, I dont know if anyone else has this issue but it takes an insane amount of work to get the tire on/off. Its an extremely tight fit, to the point where I’m breaking tire levers.
I think that is probably the PR3s, I’ve had these tires on several sets of wheels and its a pain in the a$$ every time to get them on
.
^bump
will the Reynolds Strike fit 24 and 25mm tires/tyres?
other clincher tires/tyres recommendations are deeply appreciated!
The Strikes will fit any size tire but that tire width might not fit in the frame. You could mount a 700x28 tire on any wheel. The 28 probably won’t fit in the fork/chainstays/seattube well on a normal road bike though.
.
Put them in the over at 200 degrees for 3-4 mins. Works like a charm.
Bob
Agreed with the Pro race. However, if you use the bontrager R4, it works great, and you get the tire on and off really easily.
Of course, you can’t really train with the R4 (I tried…they don’t last long).
I absolutely love mine. Use them day in, day out, on both my TT and road bikes. I run Corsa Evo CX on them which I find awesome and real comfortable (whether it’s the 320 tpi or my brain… it works for me).
I think it depends on whether it’s your first set of carbon wheels.
Strikes were my first – FANTASTIC compared to the old metal nightmares I was used to. I’ve ridden more this season than ever before, in part to the quantifiable performance improvements attributable to the wheels. I’m so enamoured that I use them in training. I have no complaints and I will keeping them for the rest of the season.
HOWEVER…I must say that I’ve started to fantasize a bit about the new FireCrest 808’s. Maybe it’s the marketing…maybe it’s the ‘grass is greener’ phenomenon…but probably it’s the extra depth and sexy profile.
If I were you, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick-up the Strikes if they’re your first real wheel set. If not, I’d wait, save the pennies and buy the FireCrests.