Wide Rims Convert Clincher Ride into that of Tubulars?

[bobscott]

Hed claims that their new Ardennes clincher wheels ride and even sound like tubies.
see:
http://www.hedcycling.com/wheels/ardennes.php

The 23 mm wide rims are 4mm (20%) wider than the usual 19 mm road clincher rims and this is claimed to make a world of difference.

Their arguments make some sense but this sounds pretty overblown to me...anyone tried them?
bobscott

[KJMUNC]

Dunno, but I question why classic inspired wheels only have 18/24 spokes. Seems a little light to me, but Steve probably knows a thing or two about wheels (and bicycle marketing) that I don't. ;)

[bobscott]

Just saw that this was discussed before.
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=41715&highlight=hed
Any new/more thoughts?
bobscott

[Vancouverdave]

It should steer some users from 23c tires to 25c. The tread contact patch might be bigger, but the profile of the sidewalls might have too little curve for the best shock absorbtion. When a clincher tire is too narrow for the rim it's on, expect more pinch flats, more damage to tire sidewalls, and maybe more small dents in the rims themselves.

[Tobias]

Their arguments make some sense but this sounds pretty overblown to me...anyone tried them?
bobscottMakes sense that if the tire beads are spread apart further by a wider rim that the curvature of the tread at the point of contact with the road will be more like that of a fatter tire. If so it is reasonable to expect that the ride may be slightly better over small pavement irregularities.

On the other had I’d expect the lower profile to ride harsher over larger bumps. It also wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t have more pinch flats.

Often tandems and touring bikes use wider rims for strength and for larger-tire capability. Maybe someone out there has already been running 23s on wider rims for some time.

[chrisroph]

there is only one way to get the ride of tubulars

[ss-jimbo]

Does HED sell rims or only wheels? I might be interested in a pair of these rims on my own set of hubs.

[Tobias]

Does HED sell rims or only wheels? I might be interested in a pair of these rims on my own set of hubs.If your main interest is trying wider rims and don't care too much about weight, VelocityUSA makes a couple of rims (Dyad and Synergy) in the 23 to 24 mm width range. They also make the Blunt for 29ers which is 29 mm wide; though I doubt it would fit many road frames/forks.

[rpm]

I've had my 190 lbs on them as everyday wheels for a month. I'm running them with Conti 4000 25's. Comparing them to my 32 spoke open pro handbuilts, they put more rubber on the road because of the wider rims, they are just as smooth, laterally stiffer and defininitely lighter and easier to accelerate.

Ask me again in 6 months how they've held up and whether I think they're worth the money.