I’m considering buying the Williams wheel System 58 clinchers for next season. I do a fair amount of road racing and need something in that depth range that I can use for both tri’s and road/TT. Looking to spend $1K or less. Does anyone have experience on these wheels? My friend whose in the business had been touting the new Giant wheels and tells me I’m better off buying the Giants even thought their only 50mm deep due to their wider flange and profile. Also need something durable. My 6’4" 200lb frame isn’t nice on wheels.
Thanks
If she can get you the $1600 Giants at under $1,000 that would be pretty sweet.
I’ve never ridden profile-design’s wheels, but i’ve heard that they are pretty good wheels. A bit heavier than HED or ZIPP, but a heck of a lot cheaper
I’ve never seen those before. Those are some good looking wheels
Anyone have experience with the Williams system 58s?
Anyone have experience with the Williams system 58s?
experience will tell you it is a fine wheel, works great, at a great price.
the wind tunnel will tell you its not as quick as a hed jet, zipp/sram 80, bontrager aeolous, or mavic.
if it were me I would go with one of the above used, over the williams wheel. and get a disc cover for the rear =)
I like the HED jet 60s but they have a low weight limit and that worries me at 200lbs. I think the 80mm Zipp/Srams are too deep and aren’t going to spin up fast enough for some crits and road racing I do. Plus some of the road races I do have some serious climbing so a lighter wheel would be better.
HED can do stallion builds.
the idea that deep wheels won’t spin up fast is a myth, based on the fact that we all sort of understand how inertia works from high school physics, but that we vastly over estimate the magnitude of the effect with a few grams of weight on a bike wheel.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Tech/Why_Wheel_Aerodynamics_Can_Outweigh_Wheel_Weight_and_Inertia_2106.html
as for climbing, a few grams of wheel weight aren’t as big of a deal either, and you would probably be surprised at the gradient needed to make a zipp 808 slower than a zipp 404 for instance.
We tend to use jet 90 front/rear for road races, crits etc, but if road racing/crits were my main focus I would probably use a jet 90 rear and jet60 front most of the time, juts for safety in pack when it is windy.
I like the HED jet 60s but they have a low weight limit and that worries me at 200lbs. I think the 80mm Zipp/Srams are too deep and aren’t going to spin up fast enough for some crits and road racing I do. Plus some of the road races I do have some serious climbing so a lighter wheel would be better.
That’s an interesting article. Maybe I’d be better off with a 606 style setup then. Thanks for the input jack
the wind tunnel will tell you its not as quick as a hed jet, zipp/sram 80, bontrager aeolous, or mavic.
Hey Jack,
just to follow up on this statement because I am trying to make a decision about race wheels for the upcoming season and find all this info a little overwhelming. How do you know that the williams is in fact slower than the above mentioned if it has never been in a wind tunnel ? And what kind of time our you talking about for say a 40K? For me there is a BIG difference in price and I am trying to justify my purchase one way or the other.Thanks
its probably only a little bit slower than a jet6 but a lot slower than a zipp 404. those rims probably ARE in a wind tunnel test somewhere but its hard to say since you never know what rim people are rebranding, or if they are still rebranding a rim =)
To be honest, even after researching and hearing the information, I’m still leaning toward the Williams. Are they the fastest wheels? No. Are they the lightest? No. But neither am I. All I know is that they are a good price for wheels that are going to make me faster than I am currently on my mavic ksyrium elites. I think I’d rather own a brand new pair of wheels than pay $1K for a set thats a few years old.
Jack,
Is there an issue mounting a wheel cover on a Hed Jet 90 clincher due to the way the spokes enter into the carbon fairing i.e. they enter in on the side, rather than the usual entry point? Also, why do Hed tout this as being a better spoke design, but don’t do that on the tubular version? Perplexing!
There were a couple of places unloading 2011 Zipp 404 clinchers for as low as $1100. I got a set for $1440, which is still a great price.
Might try looking to see if there are still any deals on the Zipps, since they are pretty much the best wheels.
it works fine with a wheel cover, i use it for all my races.
ive never heard of them touting that as a better spoke design. its simply necessary with a non structural fairing. I imagine its slightly worse.
Jack,
Is there an issue mounting a wheel cover on a Hed Jet 90 clincher due to the way the spokes enter into the carbon fairing i.e. they enter in on the side, rather than the usual entry point? Also, why do Hed tout this as being a better spoke design, but don’t do that on the tubular version? Perplexing!