My bike is a lot more white than that though. That's a stealth all black, can't really compare the two.

Went on a 30 mile ride this morning. 34 degrees, rained last night so the roads were still wet. Rode with a friend that ALWAYS beats me to the top of every hill of our Sat morning route. UNTIL today!!!

I love these enve wheels! Gonna be hard to give them back. I beat my buddy by a GOOD 150ft to the top of every hill. I have been riding a lot more recently so my conditioning is better than it has been been in the last 3 or 4 months, BUT the wheels just feel amazing. Its going to be interesting to see how the new wheels feel. If I dont like them, I have decided I'm not going to come up with a plan B. I'm going to sell them and then buy 3 sets of enve's!!!!!

In that video above about Team United Healthcare, why did it sound like the guy said "Enwe" wheels? lol

I'm back with another fork in the road:

-I have a $500 deposit down on my C2 build which she is starting on tuesday.
-I sold my boyds last week, so I have no wheels other than the Enve's I'm demoing right now.
-I love nearly everything about the enve's and still have yet to ride the C2 wheel to see what it actually looks and feels like.

If I had it to do all over, I would not have jumped the gun on selling my boyds already. Big mistake i know, BUT I was able to get $350 out of them on the spot and I didn't think i would get that much if I had waited to sell them later. I rode yesterday on the enve's and just could stop thinking about how much I loved them. I killed my ride, but I'm trying to tell myself that it isn't the wheels. Thats like saying MJ was only as good as he was because of his shoes. I told Jude it was going to be VERY difficult to hand them back over to her even though I'm excited about my C2 build. She came back with an even better offer on the Enve's. I dont want to publicly say just how much because I know for a fact that it isn't something she would offer to other customers at this point. (Lets just say it is under $1700. Thats with the new tubes, new tires, R45 hubs.) My heart sunk because It is still such an AMAZING offer, but Still short of cash about $300-$400.

I'm most likely never going to have several or even a secondary wheelset to swap out according to the ride I'm doing that particular day. So I need that all around wheel. Right now the only thing that I feel the Enve wheel is lacking is the comfort the 23mm wide rim had. Other than that, the Enve wheel seems to be perfect in every way. BUT, I am also thinking about replacement if something happens. If I crash and need to replace a rim, its damn near $900 just for the freaking rim! I would be screwed and out of cycling for a long time to afford the replacement. Where as the C2 will be much cheaper to replace a rim. I'm assuming that the C2 will be more bomb proof and durable over long term?

I think one of the things that really holds me back from loving the C2 build is that I haven't even seen the wheel built up or ridden it. I know that everyone has said it will be a great wheel. I'm not doubting that at all, but since I have ridden the H plus son, the A23 and the enve, I can at least say that i have first hand experience with it. As of now, I'm about to purchase a wheel blind and that sits uneasy right now.

Do I stick with the C2 build or try to work something out with jude on the Enve's!!!??? I wish this wasn't so difficult. I would say that the enve wheel ruined my experiment but at the end of the day, it feels great in almost every application of my rides. Its not like a 60mm-80mm wheel that I could at least say, it isn't fun to ride because of this...this and this. I'm stressing myself out here!!

No one else here can help you with a decision that is financial. You know which wheels you prefer, if you can't afford them then move on. This is a discussion for home, not the internet.

One other thought - I'd prioritize a second, cheap set of wheels ahead of a single blingy set. It's always good to have a spare, or bad weather set.

Just pull for then enves I say. There isn't anything extraordinary about your c2 build, no offense. The enves are 21 wide vs 23. That's a millimeter on each side. I bet you couldn't accurately show me a millimeter with your fingers.

If you crash, you have a lot more to worry about than a rim. You know, like your frame. With the way you fund your cycling, any crash would put you out of commission for a while, regardless of what breaks.

well said.

Buy once, cry once.
Buy nice, don't buy twice.
Etc.

Nick, let's stop and think a minute about how Jude got all these "demo" wheel sets. First let me say I have no idea. But let me float a straw man. Suppose it was by taking back wheels from folks that for one reason or another weren't happy with the builds she did for them. I honestly think she will do whatever it takes to make you happy, even to taking the whole set back if necessary. Especially if you want to exchange them + a little more cash for the ENVEs. It will only take her a couple of hours to build your C2/CK45 wheels, so you could have them by Tuesday afternoon., Wednesday at the latest. It is unlikely she will sell the ENVEs to anyone else before then. How about this proposal: Let her build the wheels you ordered. Try them out. If they don't rock your world, take them back and make a deal on the ENVEs.

Listen, please don't take offense, but this thread has been so much fun, I will make another proposal. If after riding them you HONESTLY don't like the wheels you ordered, and want the ENVEs, I will PayPal Jude $10 toward the ENVEs on your behalf to help make up the difference. No kidding. Any one else out there feel the same? If Nick really doesn't like the wheels he ordered, let's all chip in and put him in the ENVEs. Just out of appreciation for this fine thread. Thirty or forty of us ought to do the trick. If I am off base here, just say so. No harm, no foul.

Robert

Agreed, knock on wood but we're recreational riders, when was the last time you had a crash that put you that far out of commission?

If all those demo wheelsets are from unhappy customers, they sure do like the color pink, don't they rpen?

Apparently some do and some don't. But yeah, I hear there is a whole category of folks are that especially partial to that color.

Just a straw man like I said. Completely vulnerable to dispute. So that makes it your turn to think of an alternative explanation.

Robert

Good points.

Are there any more maintanance that carbon wheels need that alum wheels dont? Will the C2 be a more durable wheel in the long run?

I would absolutely NOT own carbon as my ONLY set of wheels. End of story. Whether by budget or simply space restrictions, I'd much rather be able to trash cheaper aluminum wheels during the long wet winter.

He also said "Chris Cring hubs". I think he is either trying to be fancy, confused about where these parts come from (they aren't european), or has a speech impediment.

What's wrong with picking up a junk set of wheels off CL for the bad weather day (which op doesn't ride in anyway)?

I'd go with the C2 build now and save your pennies for some Enve 3.4s down the road, rather than buying the narrower 45s.

Look, no offense to Nick, but if we're gonna be tossing money into the ether, I'd sure as hell rather put it towards inner city cycling development charities than some family man from the burbs who already has a tricked out carbon bike.

As Rpen said, there is nothing Extraordinarily special about the C2 wheels other than they are build strong with top shelf parts. Even though I feel the C2 may be a better/smarter choice, my heart says this might be my one chance to have THAT one wheelset that you never thought you could.

I told jude to hold off on the build so I can come in and talk to her further.

Why not? He can always purchase a cheap wheel when and if he should ever need one. Its not like they are going to stop making wheels.

The hook has been firmly set, lets see if Jude can reel him in. lol.

Maybe I've missed something, but part of the OP's original point was that he was trying to work within a fixed budget and didn't frequently come into disposable cash for bike stuff. The Enve's sound like they're over that limit, so adding more wheel purchases on top of that, even if they're CL cheapies doesn't seem to help.

I did say I was working within a budget. Since I started this thread/experiment I have kept saving. I counted up every penny and I'm a little over $1500 so I'm not super short like I thought, which makes this decision even more difficult for me.

Is01- the hook is deep in the throat!! Not sure I can get loose right now lol

I'd hate to be only somewhat excited about $1k wheels (spoiled by the carbon). Give yourself permission to buy the wheels you really want. To make things fair, your wife should get the green light to buy that purse or pair of boots she's been wanting with 'family funds' - then you both go back to the disciplined budget.

If you hit the one pothole/rock/debris the paceline doesn't point out " and need to replace a rim, its damn near $900 just for the freaking rim!"

For S-n-G, how bout if it cracks both rims?

enve's crash replacement policy is pretty good:
https://www.enve.com/warranty.aspx
buut, half price is still real money.
Got sponsors? No?

The choice is very simple for you, but you're selling yourself, hard.
How long are you willing to go without a rideable bike?
How many backup wheelsets are in your race kit?