^ Nice photoshop work!!

If the wheelset uses quality Hubs spokes and rims and gives the rider many years of use and they perform as needed why not spend the money? People drop $1,500 on lesser quality and heavier carbon wheels all the time.

And his Boyds can't do that?

If you want to talk about diminishing returns, let's talk about hubs.

nobody ever said that this wheelset is a NEED of mine. Shoot, 95% of the people on this forum or anyone that rides recreationally or even race for that matter doesn't need what they buy. But they do, because they think it will make them faster, make their bike look better, help them climb. there are tons of reasons and none of them are needs.

They do look fine. The thing I don't like about the way mine look is I got the cheap version from Handspun (QBP), and they come with silver nipples. Not worth redoing over that, though; they'll just get rotated to my new beater when that's built up and a new set will go on my nice bike.

If I were to build mine again I would like to find a way to add 1 yellow and 1 red spoke to complete the belgium theme started on the rim.

Mine do have that... a black/ yellow/ red trio next to the valve stem. I'd still rather have pure black.

Good thread. I like those CK hubs FWIW. Over the years I've been riding I've come to appreciate the value in buying quality components where I can. I'd definitely be interested in those CK hubs. I'm sure the C2's would outperform the Enve's in the wet.

I PERSONALLY think the red yellow nipple would look out of place.

Could always go with one red and one yellow hub to finish the Belgian theme. Would rather lock you into that, though, for some expensive hubs.

Nah. I think that would look horrible. I need to have balance and symmetry.

Oh, I agree. I don't get the need for running a Belgian theme.

That said, another idea would be red or mango hubs, with nipples the opposite.

Mango or gold hubs did cross my mind

but...you have to think what colors really go with your black and white cannondale?

He's gonna need a new wardrobe, too.

TOTALLY!!! Its been time for a new kit anyway, but I'm holding off so I could save for wheels.

i don't think i've ever known a cyclist who cared so much mostly about the looks of the bike until i came to BF.

to each his own i guess, as long as it makes you happy/you can afford it, and you show us some pics!!!

I have always been like this though. No matter what sport I played growing up, I always had to have the stuff the pro's used. Not just have what they have, but look like it too (except I cant drop to 130lbs to look like a world champion cyclist). It has been a personal battle of mine all my life and over the past 3 or 4 years have started to realize that has got in the way of most the activities I took part in. The wheel situation is just one of many perfect examples in my life. I dont NEED the enve wheels and in fact, the HED C2 set up will most likely be more beneficial for me in many ways, but I cant help the fact that i look at the enve's on my bike now and think, "thats how my bike should look!". I physically feel a satisfaction when I look at it right now because of the wheels and all the other things I have done. It looks more pro and sexier. In the past I have always adjusted my performance to fit the "look" instead of getting what would work best for my me.

I'm still fighting it.

Even though the (C2 + CK + CX-Ray) combo would be better for you (IMO -- all things considered), I think down the road you'll wish you had bought the ENVE wheels.

Just a hunch. I may be way off base, but I don't think I am.

Bbb

IOW, buy once, not twice. Generally good advice, but it depends on how deep those ENVEs have their hooks in him.

Buy 'em - ride 'em and be done with it. The ck hubs and c2 rims will be great - I race them and ride em daily. Take the extra $ you would spend on enves and get a coach. Ride and ride some more and don't fret over it.

Done! You are getting psyched out - if you weren't allowed to see brands, labels etc. you may think differently- wi hubs are awesome and cks come at a premium. Focus on riding - your vitesse wheels are fine.

A large part of me agrees but there are 2 big arguing factors here.

1-I don't have the funds to buy them and I don't know when I will. I can afford the C2.

2-I feel like the enve wheelset goes against everything I just learned over the past month in this experience. BUT, I do realize that this enve eelset does fit in nicely with nearly everything I want in a wheel.

At the end of the day, I just don't think I can afford them. Trying to come up with another $600 would be very very difficult. Its like when my wife and I were home shopping. We new what our budget was and what we were approved for yet we found ourselves getting sucked into looking at homes that were just out of our reach. Yes, we would have loved those homes but at the end of the day if you can't afford it, you can't afford it and need to find something else that will fit your needs with what you can afford.

I think I just answered my own concerns there lol

A gorgeous bike is critical. I've met quite a few cyclists out in meatspace who do care.

I may be sorry I started this line of response, but here goes. First OP, I totally respect your riding prowess. From what you say, you ride at a level I never have even dreamed of. My best day ever was 50 miles at 20.5/mile on a completely flat road. A few years later that is just a fond memory. But this goes way beyond riding...

I just don't understand how you can think of paying a small fortune for goods that cost so little to produce. Do the ENVE people not totally insult you? Do they not make you angry? Their rims altogether probably cost under $50/pair to make, and you would pay WHAT for them? Same for Chris King, who has for years hidden his profit margins behind a smoke screen of techno-bull and tough back-to-basics talk. He is the grand denyer, saying nothing new can be any good, because he chooses to charge way too much for the old-fashioned. I feel the same way about Sapim ($3.00 for a little strip of stainless steel, FGS), but since there is no functionally equivalent alternative at a cheaper price, there is no choice there.

I read what you said about always wanting to look like a pro in any kind of sport you pursued. Fair enough, I can understand that, but you are forgetting one thing. The pros get this stuff for free. They don't ride it because it is best or prettiest, but because it is given to them. You're the patsy that pays for all that.

When it comes down to it, what irks me the most is that you are considering forsaking the best riding solution for the flashiest. Man that is hard to accept. After having the great good luck to fall into this relationship with Jude and get this free-for-nothing demo test, you are ignoring the results for a little sparkle. And your good friends on the "41" are egging you on. "Just buy it man. You're gonna have the sweetest ride on the road. So what if your kids can't go to college?" (Hey, please forgive that. It was a cheap shot but a little too hard to pass up. I think you know what I DO mean.)

If it were me, I would learn to build wheels. I would invest some money in the necessary equipment (truing stand, tensiometer, aero spoke gripper, etc.). I would go to BHS and get their highly functional, very inexpensive wheel components, and I would build the pair of wheels that are really going to improve my riding and the enjoyment of it. Probably their deep, 23 mm wide aluminum rims for under $60 apiece. And then I would deposit the extra $1,500 in my kids' college fund. Oh, and I would be LOL every time I aired up my tires and took a good look at my wheels that I had built, every time I dropped my friends on a ride, and certainly every time one of them told me what he paid for his new wheels.

I hope I haven't offended you. You did ask to be dissuaded from the ENVEs. I know I took it a step or two further, but I am just being honest with you according to my beliefs. Parting shot: let the other guys be the patsies; you be the smart one.

Robert

Your ass - you're talking out of it.


WhyFi