Good morning ST er.s
I ve recently sold my Flo 60/90 wheels in preparation for the July upcoming purchase order. My Flo’s were bomb proof and I was extremely happy with them. I really like small start up company feel and their approach to the informed consumer. He lies my dilemma, I’ve also missed out on a set of wheels because of mass sale off process. With that in mind I’ve been searching other wheels in my price range and it seems like the Reynolds Assault/ or Strike seem to be a good option. Other than weight can someone explain the difference between the two Reynolds wheel sets. Anything that would make you not purchase vs waiting on Flo if you’d miss the next sale?
For reference I’m a top 25% Ag’er , 172 lbs, prefer long course 70.3 and x 2 140.6 and races left this year are Augusta and IMFL.
Thank you in advance for taking time to provide feedback.
Regards
Swiss Side Hadrons might be worth a look too. Similar sort of cost to the others you mention. I’ve got a set 62.5mm front and 85mm rear and I’m thoroughly enjoying them!
With regards the difference between the two Reynolds wheelsets, the Strike is a 62mm rim and the Assault is only 41mm. I think the designs are similar in other respects, it’s simply that they’ve given different rim depths different names.
I race on a pair of Strikes, my wife races on a pair of Assaults. Both are excellent wheels and are very bomb-proof. I have nothing to compare to but they are certainly fast enough for me.
I ride on Strikes that I’ve had since 2013. They are great wheels, very durable and an excellent value. I have several friends on the newer Assault/Strike combo (Assault goes up front for better handling in wind) and none have had any issues whatsoever with Reynolds wheels. While a little bit on the heavy side, I think their value and quality (they are wheels that will last thousands of miles or at least mine have thus far) make them worth considering. You can usually find them on sale, too, or from a retailer that allows a discount coupon to be applied (10-20% or more off), which is nice.
I can speak to this with 100% accuracy. I own both these sets of wheels (2013 model year) and they are great. I’ve only had them trued once in 3 years and there were only minor adjusting needed. From your perspective things to know are:
Work best with Reynolds CryoBlue Power pads
They have internal nipples (mechanics hate these)
They are typically 16/20 spoke counts
Decals were replaced once in 3 years mostly because I’m OCD and they had some nicks and scuffs (rider fault)
I’ve run latex and butyl tubes without issue (use rim tape obviously)
They feel snappy, fast and keep momentum when riding. I’ve hit some pretty hairy potholes in the past 3 years and there is no chipping etc. Assaults are my training wheels and the strikes are my race wheels. disc cover works perfect on rear for racing from wheelbuilder.
Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.
Can you comment on the internal nipples?
Are they faring carbon with holes that the spokes run to the rim? Pardon the terminology
I have a set of Mavic Carbones with an aluminum track and carbon fairing. I was under the assumption that full carbon wheels the spokes were adjusted from outside the faring?
Would the you be comfortable running the Strikes as training and racing. I’m only in the budget for one set of wheels.
Thanks again
Yes I started with just the strikes and ran them for a year alone. Then I got a second bike and the assaults. These are full carbon clinchers so there is no fairings on them. The internal nipples basically means the tire and tubes must be removed to access the spoke nipple holes. Then to adjust tension there is a tight hole the wrench has to make it into to rotate the nipples.
The benefit is there is no extra material outside the rim profile so it is thought to be more aerodynamic and cleaner.
Glad I could help all this stuff takes some hands on experience to finally “get”. I was told before hand and since I don’t true wheels it didn’t make a difference to me LOL
all this stuff takes some hands on experience to finally “get”. I was told before hand and since I don’t true wheels it didn’t make a difference to me LOL