To Plus or not to Plus (HED rim question)

[fa63]

I have a nice set of new Ultegra 6800 hubs that I would like to build into a wheelset. I have been looking at HED's rim offerings, and I am torn between the standard 23 mm wide C2 rims and the wider + offering. Is there any advantage to going wider than 23 mm? I will be running 25 mm tires, if that matters.

Thanks in advance.

[eBAUMANN]

i think either would work fine...the real question is to HED or not to HED.

if you must have 25mm rims, go belgium+.

if not, pacenti and h+son obviously have some pretty nice offerings for far less $$ at the 23mm width.

for me, 25mm really shines with wider 28c+ tires, but would obviously yield a pretty nice ride at 25c as well, particularly if used with a open tubular style tire (yields the smoothest arc from bead to bead - other tires will have extra rubber built up on the center for durability, can create a weird profile on a wide rim).

[Neil]

Flo30?

[OldCrank]

I'm riding Ardennes +. Same rim as the Belgium AFAIK

I like the wider rim- got stock 23s on there now, but it's more like riding a 25.
Nice ride.

Will try 25s in the spring.

I'd say go for the Plus Size. I like wide rides and I cannot lie.

[fa63]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I should have mentioned that money is not much of an issue, so the higher price of the HED rims is OK. It just seemed to me that HED rims seem to have relatively fewer complaints against them compared to the others, in terms of quality and durability.

I was also reading that the Plus rims are easier to fit tires onto, compared to the regular C2 rims. Any truth to this?

[Lovetoclimb]

If you do not plan on using the wheels for bigger tires (28+) or tubeless applications I say save the money and get the regular Belgiums.

[jmal]

I had a set of C2 rims and never had any difficulty fitting tires, specifically Rubino Pros and Conti GP Four Season. The 23mm width with a 25 tire gives a nice profile. I can't imagine gaining anything with the plus unless you plan on riding 28s or larger. I wish I still had them. It might be purely psychological, but they seemed faster than any of my other wheels, including other wide rims. Assuming they are still made when I buy another set of wheels, they will be my first choice.

[11.4]

You can ride a HED rim wider than the width of the tire. The tire just spreads to take advantage of the rim width. I'll ride 22 mm Veloflex Records with HED 23's, for example. However, I don't know that you actually get a better ride with the wider rim until you're on a much bigger tire. As the tire gets wider in a wider rim, it loses a little bit of height. So you get a good contact patch but less height before you pinch flat.

One other thing is that you may have to adjust brake shoes when you switch from one rim width to another. That's a pain. The 23 mm rims are already wide. What are you going to do when there's a HED 27?

[PacNW2Ford]

One thing to look out for is the 25mm plus rims can cause brake shoe clearance issues between the fork legs. I have a Mike Lopez fork (similar to a Serotta F3) and would have had to space the brake caliper out from the fork to gain enough room.

[Tony]

If you don't have brake shoe clearance issues go wider, you wont regret it!

[pff]

go for the plus. I like it much better for the same width tire. That said you gotta be careful about tire clearance. I put 28s on the 23mm rim and they measured to 30.5. I put 23s on the 25mm rim and they measured to 27.25. If you put 28s on the 25mm rim you'd better have disc brakes or cantilevers.

So in summary, I use 23 tires on 25mm rims and get a nice smooth ride. I think putting 25 tires on 23mm rims would yield the same approximate effective width, but the shame of 23s on 25s is supposed to be better.

[rustychisel]

A naysayer.

Who are you and what sort of riding do you do? Don't go wider because the sheep all say so, do it because it's applicable to your situation. This is a current trend so it's likely to be reversed at some time in the future. Maybe.

A 20mm rim will still support a 25mm tyre, and read what 11.4 had to say: a wider rim will support a thinner tyre, though why you'd want to do that I don't know*

* back in the late 1970s we could get 1in or 1 1/4in rims, I had a set of both wheel width, both with Wolber 1in tyres. They fit across the 1 1/4 rims fine but were pretty low profile.

[gone]

I could be wrong (and my wife tells me I often am) but I think a difference between the regular C2 and the plus is HED says the plus is "tubeless ready" where the C2 is not. You didn't say you were going to run tubeless but should you decide to in the future that might be sufficient to justify the price difference.

[herb5998]

I've got the Belgium plus, super solid, running rubles 25s, great feel, may try larger tires in the spring, if they fit my frame.


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[Kirk007]

The regular C2s are now tubeless ready. Will you be switching wheels? Moving from a 19mm Rim to a 25 is a lot with side pull calipers - I have to do some tweaking just going back and forth with the 23s.

[Fatty]

https://www.dtswiss.com/CmsPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=79a7bf20-cf56-4431-bda5-1df3a50f3eec

I will be trying a set of these out when the 28/32 become available.
Figure you can't go wrong with DT Swiss.

[fa63]

Thanks again for all the responses. Just to answer some of the questions:

- I am a casual rider, I ride 100-120 miles in a good week. Most rides are moderately hilly with no really long climbs, they usually end up being around 16-18 mph on average.

- I am pretty fat (225 lbs), and I like to run 28s @ ~100 psi when the frame allows it. On this particular frame, I am limited to a max of around 26-27 (real size).

- I won't be switching wheels, so that is not an issue.

- I won't be running tubeless.

Based on the feedback so far, it sounds like the Plus rims may stretch most 25 mm tires beyond what might work with the frame. But I wouldn't mind running 23s if they will end up being slightly over 25 mm in the end. Or I can use the regular rims with most 25 mm tires. My favorite tires (Veloflex Corsa) are slightly undersized anyways.

Thanks again.

[panache_mode]

https://www.dtswiss.com/CmsPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=79a7bf20-cf56-4431-bda5-1df3a50f3eec



I will be trying a set of these out when the 28/32 become available.

Figure you can't go wrong with DT Swiss.



Did these ever get built up?


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[Tony T]

… But I wouldn't mind running 23s if they will end up being slightly over 25 mm in the end. Or I can use the regular rims with most 25 mm tires. My favorite tires (Veloflex Corsa) are slightly undersized anyways.

- I am pretty fat (225 lbs), and I like to run 28s @ ~100 psi when the frame allows it. On this particular frame, I am limited to a max of around 26-27 (real size).



By "regular", if you mean can you use 25mm on the HED Belgium 23mm rim, then yes (I have 28mm on my HED Ardennes 23mm's)

Also, you should be able to go with lower pressure than 100psi with 28's

.

[Fatty]

Did these ever get built up?


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I did not and abandoned that plan. Probably will sell my King R45 hubs.

[Luwabra]

I've had both the Ardennes c2 and the Belgium+ I personally think that if your not running tires larger than 25 or 28 and not tubeless I'd get the cheaper ones. I don't think the benefits will be all that noticeable. I run tubeless 32's up to 38's and therefore I'm a fan of my Belgium+ both sets are great your not goi g to be disappointed