slvoid

So.. once again, I'm looking to upgrade from my mavic cosmos, which are about 1850 grams, 19mm depth. Cruising speed is anywhere between 20mph to 24mph, 24-28mph if the terrain agrees with me, and a few rollers.

Rolf Prima Vigor
34mm section, 14/16 bladed spokes, 1450 grams (165g lighter), aluminium.


Real Design Supersonic 40 (LBS is authorized reseller)
40mm section, 20/24 round spokes, 1615 grams (165g heavier), carbon.
They look pretty much exactly like these.
EDIT: The fork on my litespeed is a real design too, so at least it'll match (if you're voting on looks ).

toshi

Here are Vigors for $699. I've never dealt with BicycleDoctor but it's worth a call despite their spelling of Shimano!

mike9903

I love the look of Rolf wheels. . . . . . .

Talewinds

I have dealt with them. It was a great great experience. No worries.

.:Jimbo:.

I've always loved the look on the rofls, but i fear too much flex, and after knocking my 36 spoke wheel out of true on several ocasions here on city streets, i'd be tempted for something a bit more substantial then the rofls for here in the city. Also, matching manufacturers on bike parts is a plus too.

After viewing your last few threads, did you gain weight over the holidays, and feel that lighten the bike is the way to make up for it?

slvoid

I don't think my massive 1 piece barmac handle bar is going to lighten the bike any more. What I do want to do is be able to cruise faster. I'm tempted to get the rolf's to lighten up the wheels as well but I'm not sure if I want to do it at the cost of durability.

Grasschopper

Wasn't there just a recent discussion of the Real Design wheels? Like a month ago or something and the word on them isn't good...I would go for the Rolfs if I was choosing between these wheels.

cslone

This is no way scientific, but every Real Design wheel I've ever touched(4-5 pairs of various models) has has a grinding feeling in the bearings and the owners have been moderately pleased with them at best.

Cyclologist

My advisor runs those exact Rolf wheels on his Kestrel. Those where the first wheels anyone had ever told me have never needed to be trued, ever, and are still perfect. He doesn't take it easy with his bike either.

daytonian

Rolfage

Thomill

Another vote for Rolf. I have these as well as the Elan Aeros and am very pleased with both.

Take care,
T

DUHI4GOT

I don't know much about wheels, but I would guess since you're choosing between these two they're both good. With that said, I would go for the Rolf simply because I like the looks. Alternatively, if it's a tough decission, go for the less expensive one.

grahny

rolf... and they come with Ti skewers too, so there is moderate bling factor

R900

It's like "Battle of the Bands", who's up against the winner?

Grasschopper

Campy Eurus/Zonda calls winner.

Jarpmann

rolf all the way. they are uber sexy.

slvoid

Hmm... I called up Rolf twice, really friendly guys BTW, and ended up on the phone with one of the owners for about 30 minutes and another guy for 45 minutes. They said in the U.Wash wind tunnel they measured their wheel at 30mph to have .29 lbs of drag at 0 degrees??? The zipp 404's have .42, how is that possible?

badkarma

Were both experiments carried out the same? i.e. were both wheels spinning at an angular rate equivalent to 30mph, with a 30mph headwind? It's funny, stats and numbers can often be manipulated to get a desired result.

slvoid

Yeah it's kind of weird. Since the guy at Rolf said he's had the results for a while but they've never published it. Zipp's numbers are all over their website and used in marketting and they're still significantly higher.

toshi

Interesting.. wonder why they haven't published anything. Now and then, you hear people mention (and cite tests) that all things being equal, paired spokes are as aerodynamic, or slightly less so, than their conventionally-spoked counterparts. I think the wheels used in those arguments are typically Bontrager, but my memory is a little foggy.

One piece of advice on Vigors: if you purchase them in OEM form (i.e. from someone who just bought an Orbea) know that the freehub body is steel, not Ti as in the retail versions. If you are gram counting, the OEM variants weigh up to 70 grams more with a non-Ti body. Since this is at the center of the wheel you may not care, but just for kicks.

Yes, I spent a lot of time researching Vigors and I have spoken to TJ over the phone a couple times.

2manybikes

They probably changed some parameter their not telling you about. The zipps were also at 30 mph? What were they on a bike or a stand ? Spinning or not spinning?

Kind of like "this LED is as bright as a 10 watt halogen light." Well.....kinda, but not really. The Rolfs do look aero? A few of those wheels are ridden around here. They have a good reputation. Are you going to commute in the city with them? I get the feeling you won't often. They should be a touch better in a side wind with a shorter section. That might be nice near the water where it's a little windy. There is a shop up here that would let me test ride a wheel set. Did you ask? I would not blame them for not doing that in the city. Did you pick up the real designs and spin them? I suggest finding a local place where you can get a spoke or a repair for the Rolf's.

Saving 400 grams on a new wheel, wow !! Like "the Donald" says...... " It will be huge, really huge!"

Dubbayoo

I would think durability would be in the Rolf camp since the rims are alloy, not carbon.

slvoid

Well the real design's are also aluminium, they just have a carbon section attached.

55/Rad

Maybe you can tell us why ROLF wants $170 for the Campy hub kit?

SpongeDad

Are you going to sell the cosmos? I'm on Mavic SLs now, which I like just fine, but if I bought wheels for faster cruising, i think I'd go deeper and get some 404s and hang onto to the Mavics for training and windy days. Or I'd go the other way and get some really light Elans. The Vigors may be better (or not) than the SL, but I couldn't see owning both.