About to pull the trigger on one or the other. Zipp’s 404 Firecrest - used but very minimally. HED Jet 6+ - brand new (comes with warranty). Price is almost identical. Both carbon clinchers. This is my purchase of race wheels…have been using stock wheels that came with bike. Any help / insight is appreciated.
thanks.
About to pull the trigger on one or the other. Zipp’s 404 Firecrest - used but very minimally. HED Jet 6+ - brand new (comes with warranty). Price is almost identical. Both carbon clinchers. This is my purchase of race wheels…have been using stock wheels that came with bike. Any help / insight is appreciated.
thanks.
HED doesn’t make carbon clinchers.
Yes that is not a carbon clincher. That is aluminum rim with a carbon bonded fairing. The Zipp is a carbon wheel. With that being said the HED price is very good, but the URL seems to indicate that it is HED JET Flame Rouge and not the HED JET+. I would call and verify that you are in fact getting the HED Jet+ for that price. If that is a HED Jet+, then that is a smoking good deal for a new wheelset with manufacturer warranty.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/hed-jet-6-fr-clincher-wheelset
Right… that’s an aluminum rim. Which is what makes HED wheels so great.
The Hed wheels are an aluminum box section rim with a carbon fairing.
got ya - thanks for the clarification - should have been more specific.
thanks.
so which ones would you go with? given the option?
so which ones would you go with? given the option?
I own a HED Jet 9 wheelset that I train and race on. They probably have 9,000 miles on them and they are still in great shape. The HED wheel is more durable, has better braking performance and does not require special brake pads. From an aero perspective they are virtually identical. Plus I think they look better. And they are less expensive. No brainer as far as I am concerned.
I like Zipp more than HED. Braking on carbon is not as bad as people claim it is. I used to be very skeptical of carbon braking until I got my Zipps and changed my brake levers. Buy the wheel that impresses you the most. I would look at Flo wheels too. They share their data, are honest with their claims, and are backed up with amazing customer service. The only thing HED has that’s better than Flo at the moment is the Jet Black machined brake tracks.
Well I like to brake so I go with Hed Jets.
Perhaps more helpfully: if you want to be able to swap between training and race wheels without having to swap pads, you might prefer the aluminium brake track.
A few years back this would be quite a conundrum. Zipp or Hed? Today the answer is easy: Neither.
Flo. There’s really no reason to buy anything else. They are just as aero, and unlike other manufacturers, Flo actually share their data with us. It isn’t fast because their marketing says so, it’s fast because the data says so.
And then there’s the price. Less than half the cost of other brand name wheelsets??!
The Hed Jets were on sale yesterday for $899, $999 today I believe. I think last year during the holidays they were $899 with a 20% coupon available. So the Heds can be had as cheap or cheaper than the Flo wheels when there is a good sale.
Everything you said about Flos could be said about Swiss Side.