Thoughts on Rolf Vigor wheels?

[Bart001]

(These are for Campy, by the way.)

Now that I'm back on the road with my Legend Ti, I'm thinking about replacing my "old school" silver Mavic op 32-spoke wheels with something nicer. My LBS is a Rolf dealer and seems to have good connections with them (which I like, should an issue arise).

At 185#, I'm just at the upper limit for weight that Rolf recommends for the Vigor wheels. But I really should be 179, and will be soon, hopefully.

In that price range, are these some of the right wheels to be thinking about? Is there a sweet spot for price/performance that I could hit by spending more?

At 48 yrs old, I'm not fast or a huge climber. But I don't mind spending some $ and getting something a little "nicer" than I have now, especially considering that I have such a nice frame!.

[Steelhead]

They look cool. They sound cool. I'm not really a fan of paired spoke design - what happens when you are away from your Rolf dealer and a spoke pops......then what do you do? I'd get yourself a nice set of handbuilts, IMO or some of the Campy wheelsets. :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . who had Rolfs on his Klein before he got Neuvations. He popped at least two different spokes when he was up around 210 lbs. The spokes didn't actually break--it seemed that the flexing action of riding backed the spoke nipple off the spoke and the spoke would flop free and the nipple would fall down in the rim. We had at least one memorable session roadside where w had to take the whole wheel apart, empty out the loose nipple, then get it back in there in a position to screw the spoke back into it. Then Eric put it back on the bike and had to true the wheel as best he could using the brake pads as centering guides. In hindsight it's funny, but at the time it was a major PITA! . . .

BBD

[ti_boi]

I rode with the ROLF wheels myself for a couple of years.....paired spokes...they don't feel as stiff or as solid as the multispokular mavics that I use now....but I never broke any spokes and they were quiet and fassssst!

[C5 Snowboarder]

How about the Mavic Ksyrium SL-- they seem to be bullet proof for the heavy guys like us.

[myette10]

I've had my vigors for 4 years and they have been on several bikes. I feel that they are pretty stiff (about like ksyrium elites, more so than race x lites), they spin up super smooth and are very fast. I'm 180lbs or so and a relatively powerful rider and haven't had a spoke problem at all. Except that time I was sprinting for a town line and my foot came out of the pedal and my cleated foot went into the front wheel, snapping a spoke in half. They went severely out of true but I happened to be 2 miles from the shop I bought them at. They had me back on the road in perfect shape in about 20 minutes. Super high spoke tension on those babies...

[jahah]

I have had a pair of Vigors for four years. They are very stiff and are not suitable to a stiff or aluminum frame. I now have them on my Colnago C-40. The color scheme is perfect for the Rabobank C-40. They compliment the carbon frame very well. However, the crosswind comming off the Ocean makes handling a little tough. All in all, I like the wheels. They are fast and great for climbing. I have had no spoke problems, but I weigh in at 160lbs so there shouldn't be a problem. I use Kysrium SLs on my legend TI. This is a really good match that you may want to consider.

Jim

[CalfeeFly]

First some of those making derogatory comments could be talking about the wheels when Trek made them. The current wheels are made by Rolf and partners in Eugene Oregon using White Industries made hubs and Sapim spokes...at least on my model and those when I bought them 2 years ago. I have the Elan which is lighter than the Vigor. My weight has been between 200 and 225 during that time and they have not gone out of true in my normal riding. One reason they stay true is the high tension. Until the last call I made to them one of the partners always answered the phones and my questions. (My last call a female answered and must have talked with them as my questions were unique.) Concerned about my weight and the lightest wheel they made at the time I was told that with their tension levels the wheel would likely fail as in a crash before the true is lost. After Pittsburgh streets and potholes I believe it. I have been very happy with them.

I would call them yourself and talk withone of the owners. I'm sure they are still there and they always liked to talk about their product.

Good luck.

[Lanny R. Levenson]

I was wondering how the Rolf Vigor or Carbon TDF38 compare to the Zipp 404 as an everyday wheel? I have't tryed either wheel set but would think the 58mm rim would be more of a problem in any wind. I'm presently riding Velocity rims with DT240 hubs on a Legend Ti. I would like something lighter for climbing and faster on the flats.

[vaxn8r]

(These are for Campy, by the way.)

Now that I'm back on the road with my Legend Ti, I'm thinking about replacing my "old school" silver Mavic op 32-spoke wheels with something nicer. My LBS is a Rolf dealer and seems to have good connections with them (which I like, should an issue arise).

At 185#, I'm just at the upper limit for weight that Rolf recommends for the Vigor wheels. But I really should be 179, and will be soon, hopefully.

In that price range, are these some of the right wheels to be thinking about? Is there a sweet spot for price/performance that I could hit by spending more?

At 48 yrs old, I'm not fast or a huge climber. But I don't mind spending some $ and getting something a little "nicer" than I have now, especially considering that I have such a nice frame!.

They are one of, if not the, most popular race wheel around here. No surprise since they are based in Eugene. People who own them love them. The number one comment I hear is "they're fast".

I have Elans which is a much different wheelset in terms of feel. They are high tension but I had a rear wheel problem on mine with recurrent breakage of spokes. Later I found the rim had cracked. I suspect the rim was bad to begin with and that was causing the other problem...who knows? But I was easily able to finish my rides even with the broken spoke. Not that I wasn't annoyed but it wasn't an issue getting home. To their credit they had my wheels back in a couple of hours each time. No questions asked. They just took care of it. I've had no further problems with them.

I'll be getting a set of tandem Vigors in a few weeks. Can't wait.