Boyd vs FLO wheels

[weiwentg]

I don't want to derail the thread too far from the wheels, but unless I'm missing something, Boyd's hubs look like they were inspired by the Alchemy/Wheels Manufacturing hubs. The bearing sizes, flange diameters, and flange widths look very similar (not identical, but pretty close). I haven't compared them to Bitex's offerings, though (and yeah, the Flo hubs are likely to be Bitex or some other Taiwanese manufacturer's stock hubs, with Flo's stamps).

The Boyds are, as their own website says, made in Taiwan, and they go for $225 a set. The Wheels Mfg hubs are more like $620 a set, or White Industries are $400-some. I'm glad to pay some premium for US-made. I don't think the premium to the Wheels hubs is worth it, but I neither build wheels, nor stress out the ones I have very much (130 lbs at my heaviest, generally good roads). Either way, Boyd's own hubs look good.

[ripvanrando]

I currently have two sets of Flo wheels. I sold the third set, 60mm carbon/aluminum because I "upgraded" to Flo60 carbon. I also have Flo 30 aluminum with a bazillion miles on them. 20 front and 28 rear Sapim xray spokes is my standard because at 6'3'' and doing a lot of riding at night, I bash the daylights out of wheels.

I've never had to true a Flo wheel. However, I only have around 10,000 miles on the carbon Flo 60 wheels including TABR. (I have obviously had to replace bearings)

Flo 30 set cost me $500 and Flo60 carbon were $1100 if I remember correctly.

Boyt could be better, I have no idea.

[oldguy00]

Check out some sets at Nashbar, that also come with their 'forever' return policy:

http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/st...03_-1___204727

http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/st...33_-1___204727

http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/st...29_-1___204727

[bpm]

I have three sets of Boyd wheels: 44mm carbon clinchers, 60mm carbon clinchers, and 30mm aluminum clinchers. I've ridden all three sets hard, in good and bad weather, and they are as solid and true as the day I got them. I would highly recommend them.

[false_Aest]

Buy the Boyds.

I've been running them since Gen 2. Currently running 44mm tubulars and they're effin' awesome. I have torn down some super technical descents in/around Los Angeles and the braking is solid + predictable even towards the bottom after the brake track has become nice and toasty.

ADDED THIS: I think first set of Boyds were a little faster when the wind was coming straight at me but how often does the wind actually do that? The wind is pretty unpredictable in the Santa Monica mountains -- on one side of turn you're fine, but around the corner you're suddenly getting hit by a strong side wind and if you're a lighter person this can be unnerving. The shape of the rims makes the wheels a lot more stable in these conditions. I went riding with a friend about a year ago, he was on Enve 4.5s and I was on my Boyds. For ****s + giggles we swapped wheels on our 2nd descent -- there's a reason I don't have any interest in Enve's line-up.

I'm lucky enough to have ridden almost all of their hoops over the past 2 years and I have a hard time wanting to buy anything else.
To that end, I'll be calling up Boyd Co tomorrow and ordering a set of Black and Tans (rims not wheels)

Their hubs? Boyd did a demo for me @ interbike. I'm effin sold!

Buy Boyd.

[fignon's barber]

I've had a set of Boyds 50mm with Boyd hubs. Worked flawlessly. I can't compare with Flo, but one thing I'll say: Boyd is a conscientious guy who cares about his customers and takes pride in his product. That should be enough to pull the trigger.

[mcteague]

The Boyds do sound nice put I ended up ordering a set of 2018 Reynolds Assault SLGs. They usually sell for $1500 but the shop had a 15% off promotion along with one year of Reynolds' RAP crash protection thrown in. The Assaults have a lifetime warranty to boot instead of the usual 1 or 2 years. Reynolds have been well known experts in carbon parts for a long time. Too bad they no longer make forks. I had the Ouzo Pro on a bike years ago and have the UL on by back-up bike.

https://www.mybikeshop.com/products/...-full-warranty

https://www.feedthehabit.com/gear-re...eelset-review/

Tim

[Canadian]

I saw this thread and just wanted to say if anyone had questions about our products that I'd be happy to answer them.

Take care,

[oldguy00]

Yeah, probably worth mentioning that Flo has a -very- strong following/reputation over at slowtwitch, and that says a lot, those guys over there can be vicious!

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by sjbraun

I've got about 1,000 miles on a set of Boyd's 28mm carbon clinchers. Honestly, I can't notice any difference in braking performance compared to alloy rims. I bought my wheels last fall during Boyd's Black Friday sale when he offered WI hubs at no extra cost.

The wheels look great and ride that way, too. They spin up quickly and the ride is very comfortable.

I'd get another set, without any reservations.

-Steve

I'm similarly pleased with my Boyd 28 carbon clinchers on WI hubs. Really nice wheels (quick&comfortable&durable) and the Boyd brake pads are good. I have a set of Boyd 40 carbon tubs too, but the Boyd 28 clinchers are so versatile that I rarely swap for the deeper tubs.

[Andy sti]

I have 2 sets of Boyd wheels and 2 sets of FLO wheels.

The Boyds are a 28mm tubular disc set and an older 40-something mm tubular rim brake set. Both have been used for cross only and both have been perfect. Only problem is the older Boyds have a 10spd freehub.

The FLOs are a set of the 45mm carbon clinchers and an older 90mm/rear disc TT setup. The 90 and the disc both have aluminum rims. Both of these wheelsets have been perfect. The 45s have been my go to race wheel the last 2 seasons, I really like them. Need to replace a spoke from my last crit after someone put their foot into my front wheel though.

I really like what FLO has been doing and highly recommend their wheels. Can't go wrong for the price. That being said, you can't go wrong with Boyd either. Just pick and be happy with your wheels.

Andy

[isaacneff]

I don't have a lot of experience with FLO.

I have had great luck with Boyd wheels. I have now built a bunch of their rims up and sold and ridden their complete wheels and they have all been flawless!
Highly recommend.

[bitpuddle]

Originally Posted by stien

I'm here to represent the HED bandwagon. Try the Jet+. Life changing. The ride quality is there, so is the aero, so is the braking.

Was going to say something similar. The Head + rims are wide — 25mm ext/20.5 internal — so you need to be sure your frame will fit them.

But because they are so wide, 25c tires at ~70psi have a fantastic feel. I’ll never go back to narrow (internal) rims. The closest match for additional air volume is probably the newer 303 firecrests (also quite nice). Frankly, I’d go with the Ardennes Black, as the aero differences are minimal and the shallow wheels are so much nicer in crosswinds and the breaking is so good on the Black rims.

I’m generally impressed with the Boyd rims. The newer ones are reasonably wide and they’ll do 24/28 spoke builds, which I’d prefer for an every day wheelset. If I wanted to deal with the hassle of carbon braking, I’d trust them to build a set.

[false_Aest]

Originally Posted by bitpuddle

I’m generally impressed with the Boyd rims. The newer ones are reasonably wide

They're plenty wide. I'm running 70-80 PSI (depends on how lazy I am pumping up my tires) on 26mm Schwalbes.

[weiwentg]

Originally Posted by Canadian

I saw this thread and just wanted to say if anyone had questions about our products that I'd be happy to answer them.

Take care,

Chris,

I will bite. I read some of your lit on the toroidal shape of your 30mm rims. How much of an advantage does the toroidal profile give you over a straight up U-section rim of similar depth? For the record, Boyd’s Altamont are a u shape, as are a lot of 25-30mm rims others could probably name.