Anyone have experience with these wheels??
good or bad, I would like to hear about the tdf58 wheelset.
I have ridden a set of Vector pros for the last 6,7,8,… can’t remember years. They probably have between 35-50,000 and they have never been trued and are still on the original bears. I have trained and raced them on everything, including gravel. They aren’t particularly light, which probably explains their durability, but they are pretty aero (14 spokes) and you sure can’t complain about the success.
A couple of qualifications though:
- Rolf was bought by Trek and operated by them for a few years before becoming an independent company again. My wheels might be from the Trek years.
- There have been complaints about hub flange failures. I have hammered the poo out of mine and I am not a reasonably sized person (~ 160 lbs depending on recent beer consumption) with no problems.
- I bought a set of FSA RD600s last year as a backup (figured the Rolfs couldn’t last too much longer). The FSA rear looks like a pretzel and won’t stay true. The front rim already has a big dent in it after a single dirt ride (and I didn’t flat and I don’t remember hitting anything).
I guess my recommendation would be that you can’t go wrong with a pair.
160 pounds is not a “reasonable size?” By that you mean too light right? ; )
I had a set of Vector Comps that I rode for a couple of years. I busted a spoke and found out that I could not get spokes anywhere. The local Trek dealer said that they could order them but they came in batches of 35 and I would have to order that many if I wanted replacement spokes. I just had the wheel rebuilt with standard spokes. Worked OK.
I’ve got around 10,000 miles on a set of Rolf Vigors. The rims are still dead true and I’ve never had to true or replace spokes.
But, on the front wheel, I’m on my third set of bearings.
2 sets. I had a pair of no name Rolf’s I picked up in 1990 that were w/o a doubt the lightest climbing pair I have ever raced. To this day I regret selling them as I could FLY up hills.
Rolf Vector Comps which were equally as bullet proof, but nowhere near as light and fast. Liked them, but they were stolen with my Litespeed.
I’m not sure I have ever met anyone with Rolf’s that didn’t love 'em.
I bought a Trek 'cross bike in 2000 that has Rolf Vectors on it. I’m a big 'ol clydesdale (250+ at times) and after at least 8000 miles, I’ve only had to have the rear wheel trued one time.
They aren’t the lightest (espcially my bottom of the line Vectors), but they aren’t that heavy, and seem to be pretty much bullet proof.
i have a pair of vigors that i bought used 4 years ago and have never had a problem. i train and race with them. very light and fast!
MOP: Did you replace the bearings in the front or did you have LBS do it. If you did it, was it difficult and where did you get the bearings. I have a set of 2006 Prima Vigors. Ride them once in a while and put a few thousand miles on them this summer but the front bearings went. Still, all in all, good set of wheels.
The “trek era” wheels are branded Rolf. The wheels since then (around 2003) are Rolf Prima brand. The Vector Pro’s mentioned above are pre-Rolf Prima.
I bought a set of Rolf Prima Elan’s in 2004. No real problems, probably 10K miles on them. Rims finally wore out so the hubs were reused with some IRD rims with paired drilling.
There is no magic on the bearings. All the bearings are standard Enduro 68XX series and inexpensive to purchase. Alchemy Bicycle Works has them or any bike shop can order them from QBP etc. The bearing numbers are in the hub repair instruction on Rolf’s site.
Regarding the Tdf58, I believe the rims are the same non dimpled Zipp 404 style rim that is OEM’d to several manufacturers. The main difference is the spoke count, and hence the drilling for the rim but the rim construction is the same.
The Rolf Prima wheels are top notch. I rode my vigors into the ground. I got about 20-30,000 miles on mine and they never really had to be trued, and are still hanging on my wall. I weigh ~175lbs and am really hard on my equipment. I now race on the tdf38, and tdf58s. The rims are Zipp, but I believe that they have some reinforcement around the spoke nodes to be able to handle the high tension, but I could be wrong. The newer rolf wheels have white industries hubs where as the orginal vigors had american classic.
I have ridden Zipp 404, 808 and Hed3 and the Rolf TDF38 are the best combination of weight aero and stiffness that I have tried. I just wish that I could get a powertap built into mine and they would get something deeper than the 58. The customer support is also great. They are a smaller company but their quality is through the roof. Hope that helps
thanks everyone! Great info!! It seems that the Rolf wheels are highly appreciated by their riders and highly underestimated overall.
LBS did the bearings.
The first set self-destructed during a HIM and sounded like I was dragging a bucket of bolts.
I think the second set was installed wrong as it had a lot of side-to-side slop in the wheel. So the LBS replaced it again. The third set has been fine for 4000 miles so far.
Still, I think they’re good wheels – I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again. My only worry is, with so few spokes, how the wheel will hold up if/when I ever break a spoke. It would be a bummer for my front wheel to taco on a fast descent. 