Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.chadteck
10-30-10, 04:15 PM
I'm keeping my eye on auctions for a used set of one of these two wheelsets. I'm not sure which I favor at this point and price doesn't seem to be a deciding factor because they seem to sell for about the same price on eBay.
From research, this is my evaluation:
Weight: Same.
Aerodynamics: It seems the Stingers have an advantage for my primary intended use ( RRs and crits). My understanding is that the Stingers have better aero characteristics over a wider range of yaw angles (probably more likely on RR or crit course than TT). I haven't seen any data for the SDV's but my assumption would be that they are faster in a 0 yaw angle situation (I know it rarely happens), particularly at higher speeds when drag is more significant than rolling resistance. I'm assuming this because they are deeper, narrower and have less spokes.
Durability/strength: The consensus seems to be that Reynolds make some of the strongest carbon rims available, so I assume they get the win here. They also use DT Swiss hubs which I have only heard good things about. I'm sure the Hed hubs are fine, but from what I've read, they aren't quite on the level of DT Swiss.
Braking: Based on what I've read, Reynolds seem to have the edge here as well. Does Hed make any claims regarding their braking surface or braking performance?
Summary/other: It seems the Stingers win for performance, but the Reynolds for durability/features. Wheel swap shouldn't require as much brake adjustments with the Reynolds (not a huge deal). 23mm tubular tires don't look to be as common as 19-22mm tubulars - is this a consideration? I like that the Stingers are supposedly handle better in crosswinds.
I mentioned it briefly, but to expand: my intended use would be primarily road races and crits with the occasional TT.
Thoughts? Which would (or did) you buy and why?
From research, this is my evaluation:
Weight: Same.
Aerodynamics: It seems the Stingers have an advantage for my primary intended use ( RRs and crits). My understanding is that the Stingers have better aero characteristics over a wider range of yaw angles (probably more likely on RR or crit course than TT). I haven't seen any data for the SDV's but my assumption would be that they are faster in a 0 yaw angle situation (I know it rarely happens), particularly at higher speeds when drag is more significant than rolling resistance. I'm assuming this because they are deeper, narrower and have less spokes.
Durability/strength: The consensus seems to be that Reynolds make some of the strongest carbon rims available, so I assume they get the win here. They also use DT Swiss hubs which I have only heard good things about. I'm sure the Hed hubs are fine, but from what I've read, they aren't quite on the level of DT Swiss.
Braking: Based on what I've read, Reynolds seem to have the edge here as well. Does Hed make any claims regarding their braking surface or braking performance?
Summary/other: It seems the Stingers win for performance, but the Reynolds for durability/features. Wheel swap shouldn't require as much brake adjustments with the Reynolds (not a huge deal). 23mm tubular tires don't look to be as common as 19-22mm tubulars - is this a consideration? I like that the Stingers are supposedly handle better in crosswinds.
I mentioned it briefly, but to expand: my intended use would be primarily road races and crits with the occasional TT.
Thoughts? Which would (or did) you buy and why?