Hed Ardennes

[LegendRider]

Hed is introducing a new clincher wheelset, the Ardennes. They make the following claims:

The road contact patch is bigger, so cornering grip is improved. On the C2 the tire profile is wider and the sidewall is shorter, so the carcass is stiffer and rolling resistance is lower. In short, on a C2 clinchers ride like tubulars. They stick like day old oatmeal in the corners, and there is no tire squirm, even when you're out of the saddle drilling it up a hill. The increased air volume noticeably improves the ride. Clinchers even sound like tubulars on a C2.

Is this plausible from simply widening the rim?

[rpm]

Yes. I have a pair of Ardennes wheels. I measured the width of my Conti 4000's on the Ardennes, and compared it to the same tire mounted on an Open Pro, and it's wider on the Heds. Hed claims the contact patch is 15% larger, which seems plausible. As for how they ride, I don't know, because there's too much #@! snow and ice here to take them out!

[tv_vt]

did they set you back? Don't see any pricing info on the HED website. What spoke numbers did you get? I think you can get extra spokes on some models.

Thx.

TV

[dauwhe]

So I could just use a slightly wider rim (Velocity Synergy) with a narrow tire and get the same effect?

Their reasoning sounds like the explanation for why wide tires have less rolling resistance than narrow tires (short/wide contact patch requires less deformation of the tire than long/narrow contact patch).

Dave

[fierte_poser]

Hed is introducing a new clincher wheelset, the Ardennes. They make the following claims:

The road contact patch is bigger, so cornering grip is improved. On the C2 the tire profile is wider and the sidewall is shorter, so the carcass is stiffer and rolling resistance is lower. In short, on a C2 clinchers ride like tubulars. They stick like day old oatmeal in the corners, and there is no tire squirm, even when you're out of the saddle drilling it up a hill. The increased air volume noticeably improves the ride. Clinchers even sound like tubulars on a C2.

Is this plausible from simply widening the rim?

Starting with the initial CAD renderings of the C2 rim, we knew that we were making a genuinely different wheel, but we had to wait until the rims were extruded and wheels built to realize just how superior the Ardennes really are. In a single ride, all was revealed. The C2 extrusion improves everything about clinchers

So this has got to be some of the best [worst?] marketing ever. Apparently, neither the Mavic nor the Campagnolo R&D staffs (nor any other clincher wheel builder on the planet) have *ever* considered that simply making a wider rim would "improve everything about clinchers". :rolleyes:

[rpm]

did they set you back? Don't see any pricing info on the HED website. What spoke numbers did you get? I think you can get extra spokes on some models.

Thx.

TV

They retail for $995, so they are more expensive than Bastognes. I got the standard spoke configuration. At 190 lbs, I might have gone for 28 spoke rims, but they didn't have them yet. Part of their appeal for me is that Hed is a local company and I'll know they'll take care of any problems I might have with them.

[pdxmech13]

So this has got to be some of the best [worst?] marketing ever. Apparently, neither the Mavic nor the Campagnolo R&D staffs (nor any other clincher wheel builder on the planet) have *ever* considered that simply making a wider rim would "improve everything about clinchers".
Today 08:53 AM

Companies have been pushing this for sometime know.....at least four years that I know of.

[abqhudson]

Is anybody riding these? Ride report? Thanks.

[caleb]

They retail for $995

I've held them, and they're nice.

But, $995 for metal clinchers?!?

I can get King hubs laced to any metal rim I want for 2/3 that price. Using Record or DA hubs will run you 1/2 or less. Those better be some really, really special rims.

That said, I'd definately choose them over Ksyriums, and I'm sure that's what they're shooting for. I just happen to think it's a wheel category that has no business existing and only maintains itself through marketing. They're not training wheels, and they're not really race wheels. What are they?

If I was going to drop that kind of cash on wheels, I'd just get a set of Jets.

[Waldo]

Any more updates after a few more miles on these wheels?

[rpm]

Any more updates after a few more miles on these wheels?

They're really, really nice. With Conti 25's, they're so smoooooth, while lighter, stiffer, and more aero than 32 spoke handbuilts. I'm a timid bike handler, but I'm taking corners faster on them than on my old wheels. No problems with them so far. With 23's they're supposed to be more aero than other medium section wheels because the tires don't bulge out.

[jharsha]

What's the noise level on the freehub. I hate noisy freehubs but have been thing about a set of these.

Thanks

Jim

[rpm]

What's the noise level on the freehub. I hate noisy freehubs but have been thing about a set of these.

Thanks

Jim

The noise level is high. You're not going to sneak up on anybody if you're coasting.

[torquer]

The road contact patch is bigger, so cornering grip is improved. On the C2 the tire profile is wider and the sidewall is shorter, so the carcass is stiffer and rolling resistance is lower. In short, on a C2 clinchers ride like tubulars.

Is this plausible from simply widening the rim?

A big part of tubulars' appeal is there circular cross-section, which supposedly gives you a more predictable transition into corners. Mounting a clincher on wider rims will produce an oval cross-section.

Aside from the greater likelihood of pinch flats and rim damage, anyone notice any difference in cornering feel?

And doesn't a stiffer carcass increase rolling resistance?

[Bruce K]

I have talked with the folks at HED about these wheels. The concept is slightly better aero and lower rolling resistance due to the altered profile of the tire. I am not sure that the sidewall gets any shorter but just that the tires gets to be a little rounder.

I will probably be getting a set later this summer to use as cross wheels as the thinking is wider rim section = an ability to run lower pressures without pinch flats. They feel this will get clinchers closer to tubualrs ain ride quality for cross.

I have HED wheels on all but one of my bikes and have had great success with them on top of excellent customer service on the one problem that I had.

And no, they are definitely not the quietest freehub you will find but they don't bother me at all.

BK

[Stevoreno]

I have a set of the Ardennes on my Fierte IT - mounted them 3 weeks ago and have a couple hundred miles on them. My early impression is solid - very smooth and easy to spin up. The cornering is very impressive - the first hard corners I was surprised because it felt like the wheel was 'pushing back'. My original wheelset was the Neuvation SL2 - I feel more confident on the Heds.

I did have a small glitch - after my last Saturday ride of 50 miles, I came back out to the bike a half hour later and both tires were flat - 23mm Vittoria EVOs with Michelin latex tubes - I dismounted the tires and found a rub mark from spoke holes on both tubes. I was using 17mm FSA plastic rim strips - they had shifted enough to uncover the spoke holes in a couple spots. I emailed HED and they suggested Velox 22mm adhesive cloth tape for the wider rim width. I remounted with the 22mm Velox and it went back together very easy - the tape didn't get into the bead area at all - not sure if it will be so easy with new unmounted tires, but... I sure lucked out with the flats happening in my garage...

I did have to adjust the brakes for the wider rim when I first got the wheels and I also found out that I don't have to open the brake release to get the wheels off. Without the 'lawyer tabs' on the F3 fork, it takes 2 seconds to get the front wheel off.