Williams Cycling Wheels vs. SRAM Wheels?

Triathlon Forum
1

I am curious whether anybody has any experience with either Williams Cycling wheels (58s) or SRAM S60 or S80 wheels. If so, I would appreciate your thoughts re: quality, ride, comparison to similarly sized Zipps or Flashpoints, etc. Thanks.

2

I’ve been testing the S80s and will soon be doing something soon on my blog. I cannot compare to the Williams wheels but can compare to Flashpoints, which I also have. Both are frickin’ sturdy; they’ll serve well as racer/trainers if you have one spent on wheels. I took FP60s to Europe last year and hammered on them between riding and packing, and they were super solid. The SRAM S80s are proving to be the same. The rim shapes are exactly the same patented rim shape of all Zipp wheels, so you got that going for you, too.

The diff. between SRAM and Flashpoint is going to be in the freehub body; the SRAM one uses its own quieter body on a six-pawl design. For those who don’t like that rattlesnake sound of a freewheel, the SRAM will be the go. Both are unbelievably stiff, though, and the prices ($1300-$1400 or so per pair) on either are great.

-Jay

3

Thanks Jay. I really appreciate the feedback. Testrider.com has a positive review of the Williams wheels but I’ve nothing on the SRAMs so your comments are very helpful.

4

The S80 are proving to be my favorite wheelset in the barn. They are priced aggressively and they are butter at high tempo. I love my set.

5

Jay,

Did you ever post the review of the S80’s?

Cheers!

6

Sure did. The Competitor sites are down at the moment (something not uncommon of late and I’ve not been impressed with), but you can find the story when it comes back at:

http://competitor.com/sports/triathlon/on-test-sram-s80-wheelset/

Cheers…

-Jay

7

If you can grab 808’s for $1500 I’d be all over that, but I didn’t have any luck finding them that cheap (at least nothing less than 3 years old)

here is a good review posted on here a while back on the SRAM S80’s

http://competitor.com/2009/06/sports/triathlon/on-test-sram-s80-wheelset_1693
.

8

I run the Williams 85 Wheel set and I’m more than happy with them. For the price, you can’t beat them and they cut through the wind very well. I race anywhere from 185 to 195 pounds and they hold up extremely well. Crosswinds on the front wheel of course is an issue in heavy winds, but in normal ranges they handle well. Williams doesn’t seem to gauge you on the Power Tap option either as this was the most economical combination by far to get a wheel set with the PowerTab hub. If you want the name brand warm and fuzzy feeling, go with SRAM, but I’ve been more than impressed with Williams.