D1G1N1XY

Hey guys quick question. I found a Easton EC90 Aero 56mm Carbon Clincher Wheelset for like $1200. Normally these run for like $2200. So needless to say I am very, very tempted. But not for racing, but honestly because they will look very nice with my frame. And we all love a pretty bike. My question though, can these be used for an every day wheelset? A Couple times a week, maybe putting 40-50 miles per ride. Or are these designed strictly for racing, and won't hold up on everyday riding? Thanks for any advice.

brian416

Carbon wheels work great for daily use, I'd go ahead and buy them assuming you are not too heavy for them

GlennR

I recently purchased a set of EC90SL 38's and use them on my daily ride. in the past 3 weeks i've put 300 miles on them. During a group ride Saturday, there was another rider with them and he uses them daily.



They are pretty durable, so ride them.

D1G1N1XY

Awesome. I actually didn't think about the weight consideration. I'm about 158lbs on a good day, 165lbs on my fat boy days. Normally 161lbs.

Syncmaster

Do your rides normally take you over very mountainous terrain? Where you're on the bakes a lot?

primov8

Those EC90s are great wheels. I had the same wheelset and never had any issues; perfect from day 1, and eventually gave them to my brother. He sold them a couple months later only because he bought a 303/PT wheelset. The only thing I didn't like were the decals but I was able to remove them and it gave the wheels a custom look.

D1G1N1XY

Another question before I pull the trigger. The seller states that the set is set up for SRAM, but can be used with Shimano (groupset I'm using). Is there anything additional I need to purchase to install the wheels?

johnybutts

D1G1N1XY: A couple of things to consider + some history.

In 2009 and 2010 Easton overproduced their carbon wheels. Industry insiders got amazing prices on the wheels during that time. I remember I bought a 2010 EC90 Aero wheelset for like $750. Later they raised the prices to ~$900.

I was super excited, got my tubulars glued, did a test ride on Friday and a race on Saturday. First lap of the race I hit a pothole and cracked the rear rim. I'm not super heavy - 170 lbs and it was kind of a freak accident. I would have jumped the pothole except it was in a turn and riders on either side of me, etc etc...

Easton wouldn't warranty - fair enough, I paid to get the rim replaced. After this it was a constant battle with the hubs. I found that they were extremely finicky on the bearing pre-load. On the hubs that year pre-load was done with the quick release, so you never know if you quite have it right until it's in the bike. Too much and there was drag/grinding (my personal experience can't make claims for others).

Last little story: drove to a race on rainy night. Bike on bike rack with the EC90s on there. Get to motel at like midnight, wheels were FILLED with water. The EC90s didn't have drain holes. Later I found that most of it will get drained from centrifugal force (maybe this is common knowledge), but if your glue job is spectacular, water will be sealed inside.

When they worked, they worked fantastic, but maintenance on them was such a constant PITA I sold them for $500 just to get rid of them.

Bottom line here, is check to see if the newer models have any of these problems before you buy. My experience with them was not a happy one. But Easton typically does pretty good work, and i suspect they've fixed all these isseus.

TrojanHorse

No, Shimano and SRAM 10 speed use the same spline pattern, you'll be fine.

Happy riding.

johnybutts

Also, one last bit of info from the 2010 era. The lightweight spines used on the freehub was weird. Shimano freehubs didn't allow SRAM cassettes (as most do). If you needed a SRAM cassette Easton would deliver a SRAM compatible freehub for you, but another PITA.

These days the new Shimano 11s requires slightly more freehub spacing and many hubs have retrofits. It would be worth checking compatibility if you ever plan to move forward to 11s.

johnybutts

Maybe.... read my post above.

GlennR

Not 100% true. My EC90SLs would not accept a SRAM PG-1070 to match my SRAM Rival components. I had to put on a Shimano Ulterga 6700 cassette which is compatible with my SRAM chain and RD.

Easton's site does say Shimano/SRAM but in reality, the SRAM didn't fit.

GlennR

Mine are painted on and not removable.

primov8

They're decals under a clearcoat. It wasn't difficult to remove using goo-off and some elbow grease.

D1G1N1XY

Thanks for all the info guys. I feel more confident about the purchase now. Currently using a 6700 cassette, so hopefully I should be good to go for installation.

D1G1N1XY

Love the ENVEs by the way. A bit out of my range at the moment :-)

Elvo

Not with easton. I think their red freehub body is dura ace 10 spd only (when DA made their weird cassette) while their black one is SRAM/Shimano 10 spd. I ended up with the 10 spd DA one and was able to exchange it for free through their warranty service.

Look into Flo Wheels if you want aero bombproof wheels for daily riding

primov8

Thanks.
The EC90s are just as good and you won't be disappointed, especially for the price you're getting them for.

ericm979

Easton has three freehub bodies- Campy, Sram/Shimano, and Shimano. Shimano freehub has deeper 10sp splines that only 10sp cassettes work with, but won't get gouged by the cassette. Sram/Shimano freehub fits either cassette but will get gouged by Shimano 10sp cassettes.

I think carbon wheels are a waste except for racing, but I understand that some people like to pose.

jamesdak 

?? Ok so why in your opinion are they only ok for racing??

milkbaby

Red freehub body is Shimano 10 speed only, black freehub body is Shimano/SRAM compatible.

I have a pair of EC90 SL carbon clinchers that I ride here in flat Florida all the time. Braking is not as good as with aluminum rims, and I don't like to ride them in the wet because of that and the possibility of more grit scoring the brake track.

Biscayne05

Team BMC sells their sets for about $600-700 on EBAY.

zazenzach

just be aware braking on carbon is not the same or as efficient as on aluminum. that can be a problem if youre in traffic or in rain.

and ive heard from some that heat can also be a problem and can warp the rim if you dont learn to brake a certain way.

zacster

Honestly, it sounds like overkill for everyday riding regardless of whether they hold up or not. For $1200 I can think of a lot of other things to buy, not all bike related.

D1G1N1XY

Maybe. But I've been saving up because I really wanted to build up a nice bike. I have been learning the craft on entry level bikes, and now I feel I'm ready to create something really nice. Now normally I wouldn't really consider wheels just yet, but for 45% off, it only made sense to buy them now, because who knows when or if I'll catch a deal like this. When opportunity knocks right?

Plus I won't be riding this everyday. I'll use the Synapse for that. But when I do bring her out, I want it to come out of the garage looking nice and ready to eat up road.