unbelievably

I was interest in the Eastons, but figured that the weight reduction
over the Mavics was due to their alloy cassette bodies.

Opinions on either...

Or,
something similar.

Nessism

The Ascent's scare me; common Velocity Aerohead rim with very few spokes 18/24. At the very least get the Orion version - same hub/rim but more spokes. And yes, aluminum freehub bodies are stupid for Shimano wheels excepting the new deep spline 10 speed freehubs (my opinion of course). I'd much rather get the Mavics - get the SL2 model though since it's a better value. Or better yet, get some handbuilts and save a bunch of money.

Lectron

18/24 on Aerohead. Naaaaaa. Doesn't necessarily strike me as a very good idea. And there's a reason why they have the Orion. I never go below 24/28 on the Aerohead. Really don't see any reason to. Together with some decent hubs, for instance Mike's Serenity pared with XE14 spokes, the weight would be sub 1450 grams. Should still be light enough for most....

brianallan

depends on rider weight and i'm not exactly the lightest at 155lbs. My Shimano front is 16 spokes and seemingly bomb proof. Just took it cross riding : )