June 15th, 2009 by 
thien
Design
In addition to the sheer challenge of creating a carbon clincher, four things struck me as “cool” about these wheels
- Lowered braking surface. Braking is a challenge with full carbon wheels. This is because the carbon surface is smoother and requires more friction to stop. More friction translates to heat build up–a lot of heat. I imagine this makes it difficult to create a safe wheel that won’t blow a tire under severe/prolonged braking. Vuelta designed the rim to have it’s braking surface 6mm lower than normal. It’s odd when you first look at the rim because the upraised surface that doesn’t start at the bead of the tire. But evidently, this design disperses heat more effectively. To accommodate this unusual design, Vuelta includes a set of proprietary brake pad holders and cork brake pads which grip the wheel 6mm lower.
- Built in washer for presta valve. This is a minor though noticeable touch. The wheels came with plastic inserts that hold the presta valve in place. This is to prevent vibration and noise.
- Greasable Cassette Body. The cassette body features a grease port that is accessible through a 1.5mm allen wrench. With this port, it should be extremely easy to purge the hub of contaminated grease with a fresh supply. Very slick.
- Excellent quick releases. The quick releases have a marvelously designed lever arm that feels comfortable in your hand. They have a lot of leverage and are very easy to open and close. Nice touch.
These four design elements were impressive. The hubs were also well finished and the bearings were very smooth though “sticky” because of their newness. The rim seam was impossible to see on the side of the rim though barely visible inside the rim. The rims were slightly heavier at the seam and the rim would settle at this point opposite of the valve hole when turned. Installing the Vittoria Open Corsa Evo KS tires was typical for Vittorias-difficult and required a plastic tire iron.
In terms of “bling factor”, these wheels look fantastic. The red decals over black complimented my R3 and they screamed speed.
June 15th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
some caution for the full carbon clincher wheels owner out there: do not mix your carbon brake pads with alloy wheels! your carbon pads will pick up metal bits and embedded into the pads and when will damage your carbon rims when you switch back to carbon again. Do not mix your carbon brake pads with alloy rims! when you switch out carbon wheels, bring the pads with you.
June 15th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Thanks for the headsup, Kwan. I’ve heard that before from other people–and should have made a point of it.
Great feedback.
June 16th, 2009 at 4:46 am
Too bad that “Kwan” is incorrect. Swiss Stops yellows go both ways and don’t pick up alu bits in them. If you spend $1000+ on carbon wheels, spend the $50-75 on the pads.
I ride yellows as do @ a dozen of my team-mates and ride group. Zero issues.
June 16th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Thanks for the update MM, sounds like SS yellows is an exception.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
In case anyone is wondering, the rims are made by Gigantex
June 16th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
They also look like Joytech hubs, so this looks like another generic Gigantex/Joytech wheelset to me, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Also, there’s a misprint on the weight: the rear ain’t 1730g; and there may also be a mix-up between the actual and claimed weight, because I’d be surprised if the claimed weight is 2060g, and actual is 1730g. Just sayin’
June 17th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Thanks for catching the typos!!!
Here’s what it should have said.
# Claimed: weight — Front: 703 grams, Rear: 958 grams, total 1661grams
# Actual — Front: 740 grams, Rear: 990 grams, total 1730; +69 grams
June 18th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I’m surprized at the comment that the bearing felt sticky. A have a set of the new Vuelta Corsa Super lites. the bearing are super smooth and the seem to spin indifinitely.
I too picked up speed on the downhill, coasting from 19 to 22.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:25 am
How are these with mounting tires on and off? I have a set of Token wheels which are the exact same wheel and it’s pretty much impossible to get a tire on and off the rim….flat out on a ride and your going to spend 1/2+ hour trying to change a tube. Are these any better?
June 24th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Mounting tires isn’t super easy, especially Vittorias. Best if you have 2 (plastic) tire irons required.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Not sure that the lower braking point will increase power - the longer lever arm of the break pad will decrease the force at the pad for the same force through the cable and the shorter lever arm from the hub will reduce the force at the road. That’s a loss in both cases.
July 30th, 2009 at 12:37 am
Has any of you tried the Campagnolo Boras? To me, they are super sexy and ultra expensive. I sure like to hear your comments. Thank you.