Hi all, long time listener first time caller here seeking advice on new road bike wheels!
Tl;dr I"m looking for recommendations between the Enve SES 4.5 with Chris King hubs and the new Roval rapide CLX. Would do CLX III front wheel, Sprint rear (so a 51/58), exact same price point, planning 29mm 111 contis in front, 30mm GP5000 in back. More details below
I’m riding my first full ironman later this year. It’s a crazy flat course (300 feet gain over 112 miles). I’m using the race as an excuse to get new wheels and am pretty torn. Looking for wheels that will help on game day but can turn into daily drivers too, most of my riding is in the Bay Area, 50 - 75 miles, 4-6k gain. For the IM targeting ~35 kph, rocking aero bars as well.
Wheel options
1 Enve SES 4.5 with Chris King hubs
Pros:
I love the look and sound of CK, very blingy and heard they ride amazing.
Very aero wheel set but still good for climbing
Wider internal rims should be a lot more comfortable
Cons:
hookless seems like not the best
heavier than the Rivals
2 New rapide CLX
Would do CLX III front wheel, Sprint rear (so a 51/58)
Pros:
Lighter overall weight at ~1355 vs ~1476
hooked rims
Cons:
so new not yet reviewed and I’m hacking the recommended setup, unclear aero results
180s are awesome hubs but not as bling
3 (dark horse) lightly used Reserve 52/63
With DT 180 hubs for half the price
Pros:
half the price
really strong aero testing results and user reviews
hooked rims
wider internals close to the Enve
Cons:
heaviest setup by far at 1576
may not be materially better than my current wheels
lightly used, seem in good shape but you never know
Any other recs (looking <3.5k all in after tax and shipping)? Anything I’m missing? Should I just stick with my OEMs?
Lots and lots of ‘personal choice’ / opinions going to come in the replies, because there is no right (there are some wrong) answer.
I really really rate the CLXII I’ve got for stability and general all round goodness on the roadbike and use the front as my ‘training wheel’ on the Speed Concept. I have the Bonty 75mm front for my ‘race’ wheel, and up to now used the 75mm for both training and racing in all but very windy conditions when I’d train with no wheel on zwift, or race with the CLXII.
Differences in weight are almost irrelevant for your IM, and less than you’d think for those normal rides.
I’ve only ridden the CLX on your list, and the current/last? generation. But assuming they are even just as good I personally would not even consider anything else purely for the stability on the descents for your weekend rides or if the IM is gusty sidewinds (flat can mean open to the winds).
I had FLO and now HED wheels on my tri bike. And I have the current generation ENVE 3.4 on my road bike. I loved them all. My hot take thoughts…
I would not get either set. I would get a deep front and a disc in back. My first set of wheels were 60mm/90mm, and they were great, but I immediately had buyer’s remorse and wish I had 90/disc. The disc in back is a game changer, and it looks amazing.
The current gen ENVE wheels are amazing, and I love the look. I would lean toward those over the Roval, given the two options you listed.
Your tire choice is fine, but you are probably giving up a watt or two on those versus 25mm front & 28mm rear.
The hookless thing is fine, if you do not mind losing a little speed to lower than optimal pressure and wider than optimal tires
I’m also a huge fan of my HED Vanquish 60/80 wheelset, but also wish I would have gotten the 80mm front. I’m also curious about the upcoming wheelset from Premier Tactical, perhaps @marcag can shed some light on when to expect them.
Up until getting a new roadie and tri bike in the last 2 years, I had the ENVE SES 4.5’s on my roadie. Absolutely LOVED them! Only wheels I loved more were the Zipp 404’s on my old tri rig…thee work horse, can do all wheels IMHO. Man I miss those 404’s…
I don’t have experience with the CLX III’s or the Rerserves, but the ENVE’s were nice!
I do know what you’re saying from your other threads. It’s unfortunate you had damage.
I have a pair of first gen Premier wheels and they have been phenomenal as has the service I got from them.
So I would say I got incredible value from them. There are probably 2 or 3 wheels I would buy, I just don’t know if/when I will pull the trigger, but the new Premier is on my short list
Sorry, I cannot help at all on the wheel question. I just want to know what course you’re riding that you only have 300ft of elevation over 112 miles???
Thanks! I read a good chunk of that thread, it’s given me a lot of pause on the enves. I’ve heard great things about how they ride but hookless just seems like unnecessary risk and complexity
Ironman California! I think it’s actually a 26ish stretch of road and you go out and back twice to get the mileage. Should be fast and fun, downriver swim too!
Thanks! I’m leaning that way, only hesitation I have is around the setup. They have two now, both reverse mullets:
Sprints which are 63 in front, 58 rear.
CLX 3 which is 51 front and 48 rear.
Sprints sound ideal for the try but heavy handed for daily drivers, the clx 3 not aero enough. Thinking about hacking them together for a 51 front 58 rear but not sure if that’s gonna change the ride/aerodynamics if it’s not what they were designed to do but maybe I’m overthinking…
Is that the one in Sacramento? I considered doing that one last year but ended up opting for Arizona instead. Could have sworn the bike route showed more elevation when I looked at it.
The Roval depths are designed that way for a reason. Note that the front is the one where the wind hits, so the depth is more critical there, the back wheel more shielded. But the widths of the wheels also differ, again to reflect the different implications of the rotating front vs the ‘fixed’ rear.
Noting of course as I said above, I break the set and use with the 75mm Bontranger back, in part as the Road bike is 11sp and so hassle to swap cassettes. But still good stability compared to some (very old) 808 wheels, or even simple box sections.
My gut feeling is for the majority of your time, the CLX would be the sensible option. The Sprints wouldn’t be a bad choice, and probably a better choice for the IM in the sense that you may save a minute. But the CLX better for the ‘daily’ rides and in the future if you did get a tri bike then you can get Jim’s disk, and a deep front and you’ve options. The Sprints would be too close to the deeper tri specific wheels.
Yep, not sure about previous years but they’re claiming 370 ft this year. Honestly really looking forward to riding it Course Overview | IRONMAN California
but I’ll add to this…I’ve learned recently you get what you pay for, and I’m not talking about HED Vanquish wheels…