WHOOOSSHHH...

BOYD's are nice....

Grasschopper

The difference between most of the brands/builders mentioned here and Soul is that they all use off the shelf hubs, spokes and rims where Soul has their own hubs and rims. The 30mm Boyd wheels are Kinlin XR-300s...the carbon rims are Gigantex. I haven't had any myself but the build quality is supposed to be good which is what is important. Sean's 30mm rims are custom for him and 23mm wide, I believe all of Sean's wheels for 2012 will have the new wider width following the recent trend. To be honest I have heard an increasing number of quality issues with Soul wheels and it makes me wonder if Sean grew or is growing too fast. I've communicated with Sean a bunch and know that if I were to have an issue with any of the wheels I've bought from him he will do what is needed to make it right. But yea he is on the other side of the planet (from me here in the US).

I think it depends on what you are looking for in a wheel.

pdedes

specifically, i detensioned every nds spoke, loc-tited, and retensioned.

pdedes

that would be incorrect.

coachboyd

We also now use a 3 parts system to make sure that there is no retensioning ever needed. We start off with spoke prep on all the spokes before ever building, then we thoroughly stress relieve each wheelset to make sure the spokes won't elongate at all when you ride, then after we are using green 290 loctite which I have found holds tight but doesn't harden. This means if you need to ever true up your rear wheel it's possible to turn the nipples but they will stay in place. We had tried spoke freeze before but sometimes the bond was so tight that we would end up stripping nipples to make small adjustments down the road, and nipples definitely don't need that much bond to them.
We only add the green loctite to the NDS rear as that has the lowest spoke tension on the whole wheelset. The fronts and drive side rears have more than enough tension to where they will never loosen up, but because our non drive side flange is pushed so far out the tension will be lower (even though it makes for a much stiffer rear wheel).

abstractform20

ive never used either product, but the I would go with Boyd over Soul or Williams.

the Sapim CX ray spokes are probably the best out there, communication is good, and ive never seen complaints

against Boyd's quality or communication.

Miller2

Yea...I'll be on a set of Boyds before spring.....

on the path

Now that Boyds (Vitesse) are heading towards $600 shipped ($550 retail as of March 1st), doesn't that make the Souls more attractive, even acknowledging possible difference in quality/performance?

ColinL

not to me it wouldn't.

Sir Real

So order the new Vitesse before March 1 and still get them at the $500 ($520 for 24/28). I did.

Nexx11

Done! Though now I'm having an internal debate if I should keep 20/24 or see if I should change to 24/28....175lbs

canam73

Are there circumstances under which you think you would notice the extra 25g or air resistance caused by the 4 spokes per wheel? I'm sure Boyd pads his limit a bit, but why push it at all?

Andy STi

Love my Boyd 38mm tubulars. Worked great for cross this last season. Need to throw some road tires on now.

blcknspo0ln

Also keep in mind that Boyd now has a new version of the Vitesse clincher out. According the website it is a wider, but more shallow rim. Claim is that they are more aero in this setup vs. the older ones. Completely aesthetic, but I like the laser etching that is now on the rims as well.

I'm going 20/24, even on a 170lb riding weight.

Nexx11

Right he states lb limit is 215 for standard, and recommends if above 180 then use 24/28.

Looking for these to be long term, to answer canam73: I really can't think of any, I'm no pro by any stretch of the imagination!

on the path

Wasn't actually asking how or when I should spend my money, but thanks...

Best I can tell is, of what Soul offers, the S3.0 is most similar to the Vitesse. Prices total at $380 vs. $575 (post 2/29), respectively. Everything I've read about the Boyds has been impressive. I also understand that Soul wheels are no slouch, and have proprietary hubs and come with excellent customer service.

The Boyds cost almost 50% more than the Souls. The questions would be, are the Boyds 50% better, and which is the better value?

Nexx11

Wouldn't the 3.0SL would be a better comparison, ($500) thought I read those wheels were coming in at the mid-1400 weight.

on the path

Price-wise, yes, but strength-wise, no. Soul says that "durability is lower" with the SL. The Xpert weighs in at 1540g/set which is closer to the Vitesse w/higher spoke count, purported to be the stronger option.

Nachoman

Personally, I've always considered both the Boyd 38mm carbon clincher and the Soul C4.0 carbon clincher.