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Enve vs Zipp vs Hed?

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Enve vs Zipp vs Hed?

Old 11-19-19, 04:54 PM
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wallacb3
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Enve vs Zipp vs Hed?

I am researching the best set of disc wheels for my road bike. I am not sure which would be best, and am currently looking at Zipp 303 or Enve 3,4/4.5 disc wheel sets, or even Hed, although I am not familiar with the line up in they have. I want a medium depth aero wheel. I had a 302 previously and liked it a lot. Any suggestions with pros and cons, particularly those from personal experience, would be very welcome.
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Old 11-19-19, 05:14 PM
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noodle soup
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Rim or disc brake?

Never mind. I see you said disc.
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Old 11-20-19, 06:25 AM
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Save a lot of money and buy some BOYD wheels, in my opinion.
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Old 11-20-19, 10:18 AM
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All of the wheels you've listed are fine, though it's worth mentioning that Zipp has had issues on and off for many years now with hub quality.

But really, you're looking at three quality brands, so it's not like there's a bad choice among them. Does one have a better logo to match your bike? Is one set notably cheaper than the others?
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Old 11-20-19, 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Fox Farm
Save a lot of money and buy some BOYD wheels, in my opinion.
+1

A 56mm deep(30mm wide) Light Bicycle wheelset with DT240 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes is about $975 with shipping. There's no way I'll ever buy Enve/Zipp/Hed wheels again.
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Old 11-20-19, 03:53 PM
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With disc wheels, braking is no longer an issue, so there's no need to buy tier1 brands.
Tier2 brands like Boyd, Tokyo wheels, Yoleo, are perfectly fine.
Even the tier3 Chinese disc wheels are fine now that braking isn't an issue (that was their main issue before).

The advent of disc levels the playing field a bit
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Old 11-20-19, 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Fox Farm
Save a lot of money and buy some BOYD wheels, in my opinion.
+3 Previous set ran 5 yrs until I traded them in.
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Old 11-20-19, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by aclinjury
With disc wheels, braking is no longer an issue, so there's no need to buy tier1 brands.
Tier2 brands like Boyd, Tokyo wheels, Yoleo, are perfectly fine.
Even the tier3 Chinese disc wheels are fine now that braking isn't an issue (that was their main issue before).

The advent of disc levels the playing field a bit
rim is only 1/3 of the equation, good rim with **** hub and **** spoke is still going to be a **** wheel
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Old 11-20-19, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
+1

A 56mm deep(30mm wide) Light Bicycle wheelset with DT240 hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes is about $975 with shipping. There's no way I'll ever buy Enve/Zipp/Hed wheels again.
Are they stable during crosswinds? It looks like it's more of a V shape rather than U which is more stable.
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Old 11-20-19, 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Robius
Are they stable during crosswinds? It looks like it's more of a V shape rather than U which is more stable.
They are quite stable in crosswinds. Enve hoops aren't as U-shaped as you might think.

Enve 4.5



Light Bicycle 56mm(30mm wide)


Light Bicycle 50mm(32mm qide)
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Old 11-20-19, 05:02 PM
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@Robius there's a lot of info on Light Bicycle wheels in this thread https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...le-wheels.html
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Old 11-21-19, 02:50 AM
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@noodle soup Thank you, I will read the thread. It looks like these wheels ticks all the boxes.
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Old 11-21-19, 01:53 PM
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If you're racing and missing the podium (or first place) by seconds you might one want of the big names. If you want the strongest fast wheel available, like for bombing down gravel mountain roads, you might want Enve. Otherwise, the LB option seems pretty compelling based on price and forum experience.
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Old 11-21-19, 04:54 PM
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I ride 24/7 with a HED Jet combo wheelset. 90mm rear and 60mm front. Crosswinds are surprisingly easy to control and almost unnoticeable. If you get used, try to make sure you get the updated SCT profile as I believe this is what makes them much easier to handle in crosswinds. I rode a non SCT 90mm HED Jet prior and noticed a difference.

Climbing is great in them IMO. They aren't "climbing" wheels, but they work extremely well for me and they are super fun on the descents. They look amazing and the HED hubs seem to spin forever. I have no regrets about going deep
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Old 11-21-19, 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
If you're racing and missing the podium (or first place) by seconds you might one want of the big names.
As anyone who's raced for any length of time knows, gaps at the finish are often not reflective of what happened during the race. Missing a bridge by a few seconds or not being able to close a gap of even a few feet in the middle of the race can mean minutes behind the leaders at the finish.
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Old 11-21-19, 06:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Chi_Z
rim is only 1/3 of the equation, good rim with **** hub and **** spoke is still going to be a **** wheel
You forgot build quality, even a good set of parts built poorly can fail prematurely
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Old 11-21-19, 06:19 PM
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Originally Posted by wallacb3
I am researching the best set of disc wheels for my road bike. I am not sure which would be best, and am currently looking at Zipp 303 or Enve 3,4/4.5 disc wheel sets, or even Hed, although I am not familiar with the line up in they have. I want a medium depth aero wheel. I had a 302 previously and liked it a lot. Any suggestions with pros and cons, particularly those from personal experience, would be very welcome.
Enve.. only neg is price.. quality,aeroness and warranty are there.
HED.. price is good, performance is good.
Zipp.. why bother.. they lead in nothing.. expensive and hubs are ok at best.
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Old 11-21-19, 07:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
If you're racing and missing the podium (or first place) by seconds you might one want of the big names. If you want the strongest fast wheel available, like for bombing down gravel mountain roads, you might want Enve. Otherwise, the LB option seems pretty compelling based on price and forum experience.
Originally Posted by asgelle
As anyone who's raced for any length of time knows, gaps at the finish are often not reflective of what happened during the race. Missing a bridge by a few seconds or not being able to close a gap of even a few feet in the middle of the race can mean minutes behind the leaders at the finish.
The big names are't always the most aero.

https://www.hambini.com/blog/post/bi...ne-is-fastest/



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Old 11-21-19, 07:38 PM
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If you choose to go full disc, Zipp makes FLAT discs that are very lightweight. I believe they are a spoke-free construction.

Most other brands do a spoke construction, or more of a V shape to the discs. Or are heavier.
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Old 11-21-19, 07:53 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
The big names are't always the most aero.
https://www.hambini.com/blog/post/bi...ne-is-fastest/
To say those results are controversial is a gross understatement.
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Old 11-21-19, 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by asgelle
To say those results are controversial is a gross understatement.
Sure, but at least they are all tested the same way, and the tester has no bias to one manufacturer over another.

There aren't many totally independent tests.
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Old 11-21-19, 09:07 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
Sure, but at least they are all tested the same way, and the tester has no bias to one manufacturer over another.

There aren't many totally independent tests.
You realize many people believe there were no tests at all.
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Old 11-21-19, 10:43 PM
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Originally Posted by asgelle
You realize many people believe there were no tests at all.
You realize that many people believe the earth is flat.
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Old 11-21-19, 11:11 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
The big names are't always the most aero.

https://www.hambini.com/blog/post/bi...ne-is-fastest/
It's amazing how wheels that have never seen a wind tunnel could be so much faster than ones whose prototypes spent dozens of hours in them. How does that work? I can understand copying a known commodity and matching its performance, but...?
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Old 11-21-19, 11:14 PM
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Originally Posted by noodle soup
You realize that many people believe the earth is flat.
Wait, first you're telling me AliExpress are the fastest wheels, and now you're telling me the world isn't flat? WTF?
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