I understand that, but those interested enough have already done the math and the OP doesn't want this knowledge clouding his judgement.

I think you are right to say you don't know now. Wouldn't a conclusion about still wanting lighter weight be premature. You haven't tested the light wheels Jude is likely planning for you. You may find that lighter just can't perform as well as heavier, or maybe it can. Too early to say. I think you really have to leave such questions put by contributors to the forum unanswered for now in the spirit of the experiment. BTW, just so you know, I am a wheel weight weenie. I build for myself and ride 1,250 gram wheels exclusively. So I am not saying go heavier, but rather wait until it is over. I want to know the final conclusion too! But while you are thinking all this over, would you still be partial to light wheels if you learned you could actually feel an unacttractive difference in them? Hmmm.

Robert

I'm actually buying parts to build an H Plus Archetype setup so your thoughts are really appreciated. Looking forward to other test reports; awesome thread....

As of now, I would still be partial to lightweight wheels because I have ingrained it into my head that I have to get my bike as light as possible as long as it isn't creating sub par results. I have learned that my boyds have more flex than I thought, but I still love them. They are still a good wheelset in my mind. I will have to see how these other demo wheels feel and what I learn from them. I will still want to have lightweight wheels but I will have to find that medium where I have the performance I want along with a weight that gives me peace of mind. The problem I see right now is that my knowledge is being turned upside down, so I dont know exactly what my expectations should be. If my next demo set is lighter than my 1st demo set AND gives me the performance benefits I have felt with my first set, it will give me a better idea of what to aim towards.

I'm finding that I am already fighting myself with not looking these wheel up to find out the weight. No need to talk me out of it, because I wont. I will respect the process. But it is difficult, especially since my gut was telling me that they felt so much heavier than a couple of you were thinking. (Which I can now see that maybe to much conversation about this could derail my thoughts). I'm hoping to get in 2 or 3 more good rides on these wheels. My hopes are that I will have gotten used to the small difference in weight and it would not play such a deciding factor in my overall thoughts in this wheel. We will see.

Great thread. Sub'd.

+1

Also nice to see a wheelbuilder (male or female) conducting blind tests in this way.

That actually made me "LOL" :lol:

And I am guilty of blindly absorbing that misinformation :o

....except you're not going to know the weight of the next wheelset, either. :)

good point. hopefully they will feel lighter and in the end be lighter. ;)

That's a nice statement, but it seems to me that the Boyd wheels are indavertantly becoming a point of focus and are being portrayed in an unfair light. He builds to meet a certain pricepoint based on a generalize consumer demand. Any wheel with those constraints is going to be a comprimise.

You have to understand that the CK hubs alone on the test wheelset cost more that a complete Boyd wheelset. I am judging by the responses that a lot of unfair comparisons are being made and skewed conclusions (already) are being drawn in the minds of many reading this thread.

IMO this report has already become far from objective for many who follow along.

I'd disagree. The OP is the only one working "blind."

Of course - how could be it anything but subjective?

True, I guess I was hoping for a little more objectivity from the field. I certainly didn't mean to call out the OP. I agree with BDop in that this thread has so much potential.

OK, back to your regularly scheduled program...

I'm just giving feedback as I see or view it. Maybe people have expectations of certain info that maybe I'm not providing? If there is anything else anyone wants to know, please let me know and I will do my best to oblige.

Personally I'm looking forward to hearing what she puts you on next. I wonder if she'll use some carbon. 38-42mm would probably get you the low weight and the stiffness you "might" be looking for. Such a cool concept this demo program

OP, I think you have a great opportunity here, but I agree with a previous poster that you would be better off not commenting on this thread. I suggest you write this up and then post each wheel review when you are done.

I say this as I know the approximate weight and cost of the wheels you are currently riding and my first inclination is to respond to your comments on the weight and price.

I wouldn't be surprised if the pro teams already do this with their wheel manufacturer. Those manufacturers already use the pro teams to come up with the next best thing.

I meant the demo program with her customers is a cool one :) yep I know that most teams do this, I have a pair myself and am hoping that Bianchi gets to try a ton of options!

There is a possibility in this case that next best thing could in reality turn out to be the old best thing...

the rotational mass/weight should be fairly evident if you've been riding 1490 gm Boyds. What do these feel like in the descents? I know they're not aero, but the handling? Do they feel like they stay under ya or are they running away easily (out of control sorta)? Awesome thread too!!! thank for posting all this!!

Descending feels better on these demo wheels. Even though they are not as "aero" (Not sure you can classify 30mm boyds as aero) as the boyds, they are a wider rim (23mm combined with a lower PSI 23mm tire). I dont know if it is the width or the weight that feels like it handles better. The bike (Specifically in the bars) feels more secure while descending and even more so when cornering while descending.

I just got back from another ride. shorter because I was limited on time today, but more climbing. I do believe that the wheelset is heavier than my boyds (Still dont know by how much) because I can feel it just from picking my bike up. The climbing I did today was a lot of consistent elevations and I found myself not really noticing the weight unless I was thinking about the weight. Lets face it, when you climb, it doesn't matter how light your wheels are, your legs are going to get tired and burn and get tired. I feel that I notice the weight more so when my legs are REALLY burning on a steep climb. Again, its not like my legs dont feel severe fatigue with my boyds after some serious climbing.

Today, the free hub sound REALLY annoyed me. I'd rather have a loud "clicking" sound over a "buzzing bee" sound. Though, the pink hubs are starting to grow on me :p

I took the time of getting some proper picts of my bike with these wheels.

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...4_151944-1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...4_151956-1.jpg
http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u...304_152040.jpg

The wheels aren't bad but most importantly, you have the BF required white garage door

I think the rims look great. I'm getting a pair.

+1

I think those wheels look awesome on your bike dude.

She didn't give me unattractive wheels for any kind of reason. If you don't like how they look then that's on you or anyone who doesn't like them. I'm not saying I love them aesthetically but I don't think they look bad either. The color of the hub just happened to be the color she had available to use for a demo set, it was not to break me of anything.

Also not saying I love the pink hubs but they have grown on me more than I was expecting them to, considering I was embarrassed to have them on my bike that first day I rode them.

I'm not commenting on the hub color - I'd opt for black, or (possibly) blue for my bike, but I do think that the rims look great. I would definitely have to take the decals off of HED C2s or Velocity A23s, but the branding on these is subtle enough.

I like the colored hubs. They break up the black and white a bit without looking to out of place.