Yikes-$6400 wheels

[oldpotatoe]

Funny the 3 'racers' they chose to mention that used these..

"Are they worth it?"...

You certainly aren't a nancy if you own these..maybe 'Klaus':)

http://velonews.competitor.com/apparel-review/2016/08/reviewed-lightweights-swanky-carbon-gipfelsturm-tubulars_417858

[oldfatslow]

About 12 years ago in a bike shop I stumbled into in Boston I saw a set of Lightweight wheels. I asked the clerk if I could look at the wheel. He handed it to me, a rear, and when it hit my hand my brain said "this isn't real". It was so light that it short-circuited my brains idea of what a rear wheel should weigh. I even asked him "Is this a mock-up model and not a real wheel?" he laughed and said "nope, it's just unbelievably light".

[54ny77]

Should've named 'em "Grabuhrasse."

[livingminimal]

these wheels, and their subsequent reviews, are why the eye-rolling emoji was introduced.

[earlfoss]

The Lightweight company makes some amazing products. I noticed that there were a few pros at the Olympics this year who were using Lightweight wheels in the road race.

If you can afford to play, go for it!

[ultraman6970]

Wonder how they achieve tension in those spokes, clearly are glued.

[54ny77]

Avermet: Dura Ace
Fuglsang: Corima
Majka: Roval

Lightweight: nada!

:D

The Lightweight company makes some amazing products. I noticed that there were a few pros at the Olympics this year who were using Lightweight wheels in the road race.

If you can afford to play, go for it!

[ultraman6970]

Well that you have those wheels doesnt mean they will make you win the olympics, in a matter of fact GVA suffered to stay close to the front the last two laps of the race, lucky for him the two "winners" crashed and the bronze medal did not have the legs to win.

besides equipment, you have to be good at cycling and add luck aswell, some riders are never lucky.

[livingminimal]

Wonder how they achieve tension in those spokes, clearly are glued.

Pre-tensioned, as discussed in the article

[earlfoss]

It's a no-brainer that the wheels won't be the sole cause of success on the bike.

It's more remarkable that pros were riding the Lightweights because they race for trade teams that have equipment supplied by sponsors, and yet at the Olympics they chose to race on Lightweight wheels. The company generally doesn't sponsor riders, so the wheels you see on TV were likely bought either by the rider or their national org at full price.

[bigbill]

You'd think at $6400 that Lightweight would have their own power tap type hub. Or a motor.

[malcolm]

Hey if you can afford it and it floats your boat why not. I don't have the chops to own those but hey I've got enves on my mtn bike and I don't have the chops for those either.

[wildboar]

Imagine the heft of an empty pizza box.

[enr1co]

Of all the pros that use these, the writer chose to name drop these "winners":rolleyes:

"But Lightweight has built its reputation on exclusivity, opulence, and status. Like a sports car, you don’t buy Lightweight wheels just for the ride. You buy them because legends like Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich rode them to Tour de France victories. You ride them because unlike almost any other cycling product out there, top pros like Lance Armstrong actually bought these wheels when other companies were begging (and willing to pay) him to ride their wheels."

[batman1425]

Wonder how they achieve tension in those spokes, clearly are glued.

how I've seen it done for the Reynolds RZR and madfiber wheels - they build the spokes and hub flange for each side of the wheel separately then slide the 1/2 hub+ flange setups over a central tube and glue the spokes to the rim. Once dry - spread the two 1/2 hub flanges apart to tension, then glue them in place.

[berserk87]

these wheels, and their subsequent reviews, are why the eye-rolling emoji was introduced.

Post of the day, my friend. Your $1 check is in the mail.

[jensenn]

stumbled on a guy with a flat on my ride today. he had some tubular lightweight wheels and his new tire had a different valve and his extender didn't it into the wheel. i had asked him how come and he answered with the biggest attitude. I rolled my eyes and rolled away.

spend thousands of dollars on wheels but can't buy the proper valve extender.

[reggiebaseball]

If you have any thing other than praise for Lightweights, it basically means you have not ridden them.

Wheelbuilders hate them, they seem to prefer Enve wheels that are WAY inferior and WAY overpriced in comparison,

You should really hate on things that gain you NO difference in ride (like Speedvagen's fancy paint, or Dario's)

but hating on Lightweights,

I have ridden everything raved about on these forums in the past ten years, with a very few exceptions.

And Lightweights are the biggest delta in ride change v all other products (cycling VORP if you will), of any cycling product ever made IMO, even on a $ per basis.

Now when you factor in that a cagey old fart like myself has managed to buy more than four sets of them in the past three years for under $6k total (including a set of Obermayers, 920 grams, thank you Ryun --I think)

Make fun of $9000 trek bikes with bars in the wrong places, you know what I mean? Or how about anybody using a Tri bike, just hassle them.

[oldfatslow]

If you have anything other than praise for Lightweights, it basically means you have not ridden them.


Per my initial post on this thread, when I held one in my hand for the 1st time it didn't compute as it was so light. I thought it was a mock-up display not an actual wheel. Amazing.

When the pro's "relabel" stuff so they can ride it you know it's good. I remember Jan "I like the strudel" Ullrich and few other tour guys riding these with Mavic labels pasted on them.

I was never good enough to warrant tubulars much less these wheels but I get it. They are 100% badass.

[regularguy412]

And this is what happens when you somehow manage to get a Lightweight sideways:

Marcus Burghardt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7f6Ac3FHI

Mark Cavendish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNAYR3KPIg
((watch about half way thru this vid and you can see Cav's wheel fold up))

Mike in AR:beer:

[reggiebaseball]

And this is what happens when you somehow manage to get a Lightweight sideways:

Marcus Burghardt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7f6Ac3FHI

Mark Cavendish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNAYR3KPIg
((watch about half way thru this vid and you can see Cav's wheel fold up))

Mike in AR:beer:

If you put out Cav's power numbers, I will personally buy you Lightweights for life, go taco them at will and send me the bill.

[saab2000]

And this is what happens when you somehow manage to get a Lightweight sideways:

Marcus Burghardt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7f6Ac3FHI

Mark Cavendish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNAYR3KPIg
((watch about half way thru this vid and you can see Cav's wheel fold up))

Mike in AR:beer:

In the case of Cavendish, I don't believe those to be LW wheels.

On my old group ride in VA Beach there was a guy who would sometimes show up with Lightweights. They were the clincher version which sort of made me thing, "What's the point?" but he liked them. He too was kind of standoffish, as though he had something to defend when I asked him if he liked them.

He wasn't particularly fast, but at least he was a dangerous rider you had to keep your eyes on. They may be incredible wheels. I have no idea. But they don't make you faster in Virginia Beach and they don't make you a better rider.

That said, if you want them and can afford them, have at it. Forums like this exist to celebrate and enjoy the finest bike equipment we can have.

[ergott]

Wheelbuilders hate them, they seem to prefer Enve wheels that are WAY inferior and WAY overpriced in comparison,


Local rider I build for has at owned 6 sets of LWs including one of only a handful of f/r track discs they have made. Why so many? He usually has at least 3-4 road bikes going at a time. He's been slowly selling the LWs off.

He does the majority of his racing on Zipp rims laced to R45 hubs. The aerodynamics are superior, the braking is more reliable, and he likes the handling better. I've built Enve for him but, he prefers the Zipp rims but not by much.

Perhaps you can tell him why the wheels he likes better are way inferior or perhaps it's simply nice to have options. I don't have anything bad to say about LW wheels, but that doesn't mean they have made all other wheels obsolete for many reasons.

[ergott]

A

Mark Cavendish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNAYR3KPIg
((watch about half way thru this vid and you can see Cav's wheel fold up))

Mike in AR:beer:

Those were Zipps.

[bcroslin]

To put this in perspective, those wheels cost about the same as 2 semesters of in-state tuition for my daughter.

silly.

[Bob Ross]

stumbled on a guy with a flat on my ride today. he had some tubular lightweight wheels and his new tire had a different valve and his extender didn't it into the wheel. i had asked him how come and he answered with the biggest attitude. I rolled my eyes and rolled away.

spend thousands of dollars on wheels but can't buy the proper valve extender.



^^^That guy was on my ride two weeks ago!

[54ny77]

Both get you from point A to point B. Choose wisely.

:banana:

http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/3468x1952+0+143/resize/800x450!/format/jpg/quality/85/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/midas/3d99c2b45ff2911ae28926d8df2a0174/202229269/5d46e92be8fb45789e0e81eca6a3dcf2.jpeg

http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2014/12/2015-Chevrolet-Corvette-Z06-coupe-front-side-view-gray.jpg

[Hermes_Alex]

I've always been really impressed by Lightweight's product, as someone who's built wheels professionally for a long time. The kind of properties you get from carbon fiber spokes are a real source of envy for me, and I've always admired Lightweight for their ingenuity in making it happen, even in the late 90s! There's definite room for improvement there, but if cost is no object, it's a remarkable way to build a wheel.

[oldpotatoe]

To put this in perspective, those wheels cost about the same as 2 semesters of in-state tuition for my daughter.

silly.

Or 1/3 share in a variety of small aircraft, like a nice Taylorcraft or Citabria.

[beeatnik]

I prefer Boras (or even CCUs) and most of the cats I know who own LWs exclusively ride Boras or ENVE Smartz when they're trying to go berry berry fast. And I'm talking about cats who are willing to spend 10 large to save a few grams on their bikas. YMDF

If you have any thing other than praise for Lightweights, it basically means you have not ridden them.

Wheelbuilders hate them, they seem to prefer Enve wheels that are WAY inferior and WAY overpriced in comparison,

You should really hate on things that gain you NO difference in ride (like Speedvagen's fancy paint, or Dario's)

but hating on Lightweights,

I have ridden everything raved about on these forums in the past ten years, with a very few exceptions.

And Lightweights are the biggest delta in ride change v all other products (cycling VORP if you will), of any cycling product ever made IMO, even on a $ per basis.

Now when you factor in that a cagey old fart like myself has managed to buy more than four sets of them in the past three years for under $6k total (including a set of Obermayers, 920 grams, thank you Ryun --I think)

Make fun of $9000 trek bikes with bars in the wrong places, you know what I mean? Or how about anybody using a Tri bike, just hassle them.

[Gaucho410]

In all the time I spent looking at them, you are right in saying that they do have an aerodynamics problem. They still have the same big, fat spokes, and aside from the Fernweg, the same v-section carbon rim that basically no one uses anymore. Would be cool to see them address those two points.

[oldpotatoe]

In all the time I spent looking at them, you are right in saying that they do have an aerodynamics problem. They still have the same big, fat spokes, and aside from the Fernweg, the same v-section carbon rim that basically no one uses anymore. Would be cool to see them address those two points.

I suspect the $ invested to start and continue production of these is big. I doubt they make a bunch on these in spite of the $6400 price tag. To change the molds/design may be a bridge too far.

[PoppaWheelie]

In all the time I spent looking at them, you are right in saying that they do have an aerodynamics problem. They still have the same big, fat spokes, and aside from the Fernweg, the same v-section carbon rim that basically no one uses anymore. Would be cool to see them address those two points.

This. These are essentially the same profile as the Ventoux wheels that have been out for a while. I'm sure there have been incremental improvements and these are not, I assume, the same wheels...but they have a similar rim profile and spoke size by the looks of it. I've been riding Ventouxs for years...I LOVE them, but my Enve 3.4's are way, way more efficient in cross winds, despite the higher profile. I don't go fast enough to notice a forward aero difference. Where the LW's are brilliant is going uphill...very much a game-changer and worth the trouble of gluing tires.