Smart. And you already have a head start on your fund for the first set of Carbon Aero Tubulars.

and Huey,
There's nothing wrong with making decisions based on Want instead of Need, as long as you're self-aware why you're doing it.

Murphy's Law is a *****. It's a bigger ***** when you're 60 miles from home and it's starting to rain.

I might. But I feel at peace with my decision. Obviously I have put a lot of thought into this. Made lists of pros and cons. Even if I did start to question my decision, I have told her this is it and please don't allow me to change my mind, please proceed with the '2 build as planned.

30 pages to come to the wrong conclusion?

JK. Those will be nice wheels. I have something very similar and really like them. Of course, I'm sure I'd be at least 2mph faster on ENVEs

No need to sweat the decision, or worry about buyer's remorse. You can always buy another set next year :-)

Now use that money you're saving (are they costing less than what you had saved up?) to buy your wife something nice.

I go through 4 aluminum rims every 3 seasons. I'm not using ENVE's. Boyd has similar rims for cheaper. My expectation of rim longevity based on what I have observed so far and with my fair-weather usage is 80 000 - 100 000 km. The OP doesn't race, nor does he ride in the snow, slush or rain. I still think he should have a backup set of wheels, but I don't live his life.

Can't find it in the thread, but OP, did you find about how much each demo set weighed? I am looking at have some h + son archetypes built up and I am curious to see what your demo set weighed...

Enve.


Just can't stop thinking about them.



Hence the name.



you'll always want them.



they're faster, stiffer, lighter, look cool.

Bianchi - what I don't understand is that you tested a number of wheel sets, fell in love with the Enve wheels and decided on Hed C2 wheels which you have not yet tested. Unless I am missing something here, I don't get this?

^^^ His builder made a recommendation based on the feedback from the test process that she felt was appropriate and fell withing his budget.

The Enve wheels were beyond what he was willing to spend even though he covet them.

Pretty clear, non?

He wasn't given, nor did he want, weight info. Archetypes are roughly the same weight as the HED C2s - go to Wheelbuilder.com and spec out a wheelset if you're curious.

The h plus son was around 1590. The A23 around 1550. My C2 will be around 1400.

which hubs are you going with on the build??

Chris king r45

Doesn't sound right. The H+ had hubs that were about 100g lighter than the A23 build, and had fewer spokes. The rim weight is pretty close, but as they were built, the A23s should have been a little heavier. The C2 rims, again, are at about the same weight as the H+, and you'll be using the same hubs - is there really almost 200g savings in the spokes? I don't think that +/- 100g matters much either way with these builds, but don't think these weights sound consistent.

She didn't weigh them in front of me, I'm just going off of what she told me. So, It could be wrong. By going with the Super bladed sapim I will save about 70g. I'm also doing velo plugs which neither demo had which is roughly 30g savings.

She told me the velocity wheel was lighter. Dont know if that was to throw me off while riding them. They used different hubs, but that weight is in the center where you wouldn't feel much difference in weight. I'll ask her today.

Trust me, it was a very difficult decision. One that I feel good about, but I have still gone back and forth after deciding. It comes down to future issues. I cant control what happens with this or that or if i get taken out by a fellow cyclist or hitting a pot hole that I didn't see in time. Having to replace a wheel would be devastating financially. IF financial wasn't an issue at all, I would buy both. If I knew i could buy an aluminum set within the next 2 months because my income would support that, I would have jumped all over them. Fact is, I cant afford to do that. I need an all around durable wheel. There is NO question how sexy the enve wheels are and that I loved them though.

At the end of the day, The C2 is also a top notch wheel with top notch parts I am using to build. This may be wrong, but I didn't feel that one was a better wheel than the other. I felt they were 2 different wheelsets both top quality but everything about them was different and I had to make a choice on what was financially realistic. I believe that I will be very happy with the C2's AS LONG as I allow myself to be and not hold onto the enve's in my head wishing that I would have gotten them. Maybe some day I can have both. After I buy these, I can start saving up again and maybe next year I can purchase them. By then, this set (If still around) will be cheaper and I will have saved up enough. They are a demo wheel and not normally for sale at all times, so I would imagine her to hang on to them for a while. I built a good relationship with Jude and I think she would take care of me with a future wheelset.

Not sure what you mean by the velo plugs will save you 30 g. Most popular rim tapes only weigh 34 g altogether, so it will be hard to save 30. Maybe the plugs are that light, but I don't think so. I tried them and found the rough edges cut my tubes. Had to abandon them. A good example of going one step of lightening too far. Just my experience. Otherwise I really liked them. Tremendously convenient for getting at one spoke.

Just my opinion, you made a reasonable and rationalized decision. The wheels will undoubtedly be fine, much better than plain old utilitarian. Don't delude yourself, however, that you'll be satisfied enough not to "want" something more, especially new and flashy. If I was going to save for a future wheel purchase, it wouldn't be to buy a demo wheel set, it would be next year's big thing, and I'd be thinking SES 3.4 with nice light hubs, although even newer better more expensive wheels will surely hit the market before then.

I'm trying to remember a couple things Here. I don't recall what brand tape she was going to use but she weighed the difference.I think the tape was around 50g (obviously heavier than what you are used to using and again I don't remember what brand it was) and the veloplugs were 24g I believe. Again I am trying to remember so I might be off by a couple grams.

when are you expecting delivery of the new set?? what color hubs did you go with??

Not sure if it will be today or tomorrow. Hub color...let's just say there will be a lot of people disappointed. Considering it was nearly half and half, that should still leave you guessing lol

She's right (or very close). Veloplugs only weight about 8 grams for 52. Cloth rim tape is 15-20 grams per roll so a total savings of 25-30 is possible.

FWIW, I have them on one set of Kinlin rimmed wheels. They don't fit as tightly as I would like and to avoid loosing one if flat on the road I have a strip of scotch tape over them.

Yeah, I think my experience is with Ritchey yellow tape and the old time Velox cloth. Oh wait, you know what? I wasn't thinking about wider rims. That would make the tape heavier, but not affect the plugs. So with wider rims the plugs are an even better idea. That must be the answer. Good call.

Just use Stan's tape. It's as light as the velo plugs without the hassle. Plus you are now tubeless ready if you wish to try it at some point.