New ENVE Wheels Introduced: SES 4.5

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Just saw that ENVE released a new wheelset, SES 4.5. They slot in between the 3.4 and 6.7's. I have both the 3.4's and the 6.7's, and have always thought something in between would work really well. 48mm front wheel, 56mm rear wheel.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/02/bikes-and-tech/week-tech-enve-bontrager-wheels-gravel-bikes_361693

[Mr_Gimby]

OOhhhh so pretty. DO want. Can(not) afford. :(

[bluesea]

OOhhhh so pretty. DO want. Can(not) afford. :(

Took the word out of my mouth (the ooo part ;)).

[happycampyer]

I said that Enve should have made a 4.5 back in 2012...

zipp / enve (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showpost.php?p=1137581&postcount=9)

Which models specifically are you comparing? I did a number of test rides recently on the Enve Smart 3.4's (built with DT 240's) and the Zipp Firecrests. They are both excellent wheels. They are very similar in terms of feel in crosswinds, have great braking (in both cases, a improvement over previous generations), and both have a very comfortable ride considering their stiffness. It was a very close call really, and I could have gone either way. I ended up getting the 303's for reasons that might not matter to someone else—I like the flexibility of being able to mix and match (303 front + rear, 303 front + 404 rear). I wish Enve made a 4.5. Unfortunately, since the rims are front- and rear-specific, it isn't possible to create a 4.6 with the rims.

Note that the profile of the front wheel of the 3.4's is only a little deeper profile than the Zipp 202 (35 mm vs. 32 mm) and the rear is the same depth as the 303 (45 mm).

I have a set of the 1.25's built up with the 190 hubs, a bit of a weight weenie project, if you will. They're great hubs, but in most applications I don't think they're worth the extra expense and you're probably better off with the 240's.

[Kentf14]

Too deep ;-)
I'll stick with my 3.4s

[Highpowernut]

25 classic or 3.4 to finish my dream build, chris. King r45.

Maybe I'll get a deal so someone can upgrade :-)