Advice from the hive mind please:
I’m torn between two wheel options because I have the jet black disc for the rear and need a new front wheel. My choice is down to the hed jet regular for way cheaper, or the jet black for a lot more. 60mm for either. I’m poor, so cheaper is appealing. I’m vain so the matching front wheel with the fancy anodised brake track is appealing. Please tell me which is the better value… am I losing out on performance (other than braking but either is still better than my current pure carbon surface old wheel) by going for the not so pretty but far cheaper option?
Here’s my options: https://www.pushys.com.au/hed-jet-9-black-700x25c-18h-clincher-front-wheel-1.html
My Bike Shop is showing the Jet 6 Black for $820 and the standard Jet 6 Plus for $450 (after their 20% off discount).
I have the 9/Disc Black set, and I love them. I got them because of the improved braking, and I like the braking so much that I got a set of Ardennes Black for my road bike. If braking matters a lot to you, and especially if you might ride in the rain, then the Black front is worth it.
There are a couple minor differences, but truly, other than the braking performance, the wheels are functionally identical.
Doesn’t the anodizing wear off and turn silver? Or am I wrong about that?Not really, or at least not right away. My Ardennes Black wheels are still perfect and black after a lot of brutal braking. I have a slight silver area on my front TT bike wheel, but I think that was a problem with the pads. The back wheel is still perfect and black.
Thank you for that info. My bike shop is USD and being in Australia with the crummy exchange rate at present, postage and taxes for import, I need to buy local so Pushys is the best deal (only) I can find in Australia.
Well from an aero point of view they should be exactly the same. So it depends if you care if there is 11g weight difference or looks. Hubs I am not sure if there is any significant difference between Sonic and 545.
Braking wise never tried the back wheels, but my Hed jet plus brake just fine with a pair of swisstop salmon pads. I guess in Oz you might not be having too much wet weather
I rode the crap out of my blacks and the brake track BARELY discolored. 2 full on back to back descents down Mt. Evans and still couldn’t touch the color. I figured that would destroy it for sure! Contrast that to a Flo rim that comes off right away.
I have had both Jet and Black. For TT or Tri a black sharpie on the Jet brake track would hold up through a single event where looks matter no problem. You don’t use brakes much in Tri and you could save a boat load. I do just that with my Jet 9 front
…I have had both Jet and Black. For TT or Tri a black sharpie on the Jet brake track would hold up through a single event where looks matter no problem. You don’t use brakes much in Tri and you could save a boat load. I do just that with my Jet 9 front
This isn’t in pink?
My only addition is if you are patient, one might pop up in the classifieds forum, on eBay Aust., or your local craigslist. I’ve gotten all my wheels by those sources.
Do you have any pictures of the front wheel showing silver? Curious to see what the worst case scenario is.
Black looks cool, but my brain ells me regular aluminum rims are the more sensible choice. I always end up riding through rain showers, and an afraid that road grime will end up chewing through the black coating. I assume Hed’s black and Mavic’s Exalith are DLC coatings (even though mavic calls it ceramic), so super resistance to scratch, but could be “chipped” if you are unlucky enough to have wet sand between your rims and pads while braking.
Do you have any pictures of the front wheel showing silver? Curious to see what the worst case scenario is.I will try to remember to take a picture and post it later.
The HED brake tracks are more than just a coating, they have a machined texture to the braking surface (1/32" maybe a smidge more).
After 3 season I have wore my blacks so there is a streak of silver, that is some gravel riding and wet rides on gritty roads. They still brake amazing, just show some wear.
The blacks brake better than my mechanical disks (by a lot) and 90% as good as my ultegra 8070 setup.
