True enough (and if you commuted in Seattle, you could cut your rim lifespan estimate by half), but the OP is learning about and sharing what he's learning about different rim shapes, different spoke counts, different hubs, etc. If he fell in love with wheelset "W" that had hubset "X" and rim "Y" laced with spoke "Z," then he'd wind up with a hubset that is a good basis for maybe 10 or 12 or more years of great riding, with the rims and spokes to be replaced as needed. Some people eat the same ketchup soup for dinner every night of their lives, not really knowing whether they like it or not, and never learning that there are other soups they might like better. Other people switch from soup to soup, never homing in on what it really is that they love about a particular soup and getting to enjoy those aspects at every meal.

The wheelbuilder has challenged his preconceived notions in a thoughtful, systematic, and intelligent way. Also, the choice of pink, while I don't think it is specific to this OP (it seems like they do this demo thing with at least some regularity, and there is far too much money and time in this deal for it to be specific to one person), takes the whole "love at first sight/these look best on my bike" deal out of the equation. When I build test sets, unless I am investigating aesthetics (wheels I am riding right now are an aesthetics test among other things), I generally build them to be odd looking for the same reason, and also to readily identify them as non-production. The set I built prior to the set I'm mainly using now are red rims on red hubs with silver spokes and blue nipples. They're hideous, but they very well served their purpose of helping me objectively learn something applicable about how a certain build works.

Thanks to the OP, and thanks to Sugar who is providing the wheels. Also, I don't think anyone should read anything negative about Boyd in the thread and certainly not in my post. Boyd builds great wheels, period. There are things I would say now about certain aspects in order to buttress my statement regarding that, but they could taint the OP's perspective, so I won't.

Already corrected -yes, he has the OLD Vitesse - pay attention.

That is very... interesting.

I know. I was wondering if it was reverse physiology because with them being a 32/32 I was curious if they could really be lighter.

How do they feel?

I will say that going from 24/28 to 32/32 isn't going to add much weight but there are other factors at play here.

About the same. With her telling me they were lighter it did have an effect mentally. I couldn't really tell if they were lighter or heavier. My first impression of my short ride yesterday was that they were a little bit lighter but it might have just been mental.

Because I ride as much as I do, I do have the opportunity to check out different equipment through scheduled and unscheduled replacement.

I forgot to mention that the brake surface on the velocity is much better than the h plus sons. That was something I felt was lacking very much on the h plus son wheels. I didn't know if it was because it was a wider wheel or my planet x brakes, but my braking was much better (I'd say a good 40% better on the velocity. Obviously that is subjective).

What do you guys think:

Going forward should I try not to compare wheels against each other, such as these velocity vs the h plus son?
Should I focus simply on each wheel individually or does comparing them give you/myself better feedback?

I think it's because the H+Son rim is anodized AFTER the brake track is machined. Once more of that ano wears off (you can see it is *mostly* gone in your photos), it should improve a bit.

Depends on what the point of the exercise is. If it's to find you some new wheels, compare the first two to each other, forget about the loser, but compare the winner to the next, and so on. Weighing the various merits of 4 or 5 sets simultaneously will lead to nothing but analysis paralysis.

....

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

Welcome.

If it were me, I would take a ride on your Vitesses between each wheelset.

People stink at comparing more than 3 items. We have a trait, call it comparative enhancement, that means we mentally enlarge small differences between things to make choices easier. If the first set is even slightly stiffer than the originals, you will mentally enhance it to be a worthy attribute, or mentally reduce it if they are not as stiff. When you next test something, you are comparing it to your enhanced impression of the second item, and have no string of context to the original item.

If testing 5 wheel sets against your Vitesses, I would treat them as five individual comparisons. Only when done roll them against each other.

+1

Good post - and I agree that a comparison against a "control set" is the only thing that makes sense.

TEST RIDE #2

what a great ride today!!!! Such a different experience than Thursday. My Thursday ride started with a psi of 90/95. I let out a little bit but it was still very harsh and wheel felt very VERY stiff.

Today I did a 35 mile ride and it was cold(28deg). I set my tires at 80/85. My body felt great today as well and maybe that contributed towards this ride. You know those days when you go out and your body just feels like a machine? That was today for me. 35.7 miles, 875ft of elevation, max speed 47.7max, 25.4 average speed (that's like a personal best for me!) Tire pressure made a HUGE difference.

Stiffness:last Thursday when I went out for the first time on these wheels I complained that they felt way to stiff. So stiff in fact that it was a very uncomfortable ride. This ride was much better. I think part of the stiffness I was feeling was from the tires being to firm.
Flats:felt butter smooth and I felt I was able to maintain speed nicely.
Hubs: I really like the hubs. Smooth and strong engagement. I very much prefer the sound of the DT swiss over the CK hubs.
Sprinting:wheels felt nice and stiff but not too stiff this time out. I liked how they felt while sprint on flats and even up hills. Did not feel the lateral stiffness that I thought I was experiencing on Thursday.
Hill climbing: wheels felt strong and smooth. I didn't feel that there was a weight concern at all with any of the hills. I rode with a group of friends and there was a lot of conversation so maybe my mind was not so focused on the weight difference this ride.
Descending: wheels felt alright but I did not feel confident. Maybe because I haven't ridden on them enough to gain that confidence though. I still felt that I was pushed around a little bit from minor winds when j was descending.
Braking surface: really strong

Things to consider on this test ride compared to all of my previous testing:
-i felt amazing today. I plan on going back out this afternoon when my wife and kids go down for a nap.
-i rode in a group today vs solo. I really enjoy riding much more with other people. I push myself much more and generally don't focus as muchmuch on details of my bike and more on conversation and my pace.

I did catch a bit of crap for the pink wheels at first but was told at mid ride or at the end that they actually really dug the colored wheels. Still not a choice I will go with when I do upgrade to a better set but at least I don't hate them. ;-)

Hope to get back out again this afternoon with some real climbing challenges!

TEST RIDE #3

Rode 35 miles in the rain today. I NEVER ride in the rain, but lately I have been enjoying my rides so much, I didn't care. i figured that I have the gear, so why not. Tire pressure set again at 80f/85R which seems to be the magic PSI for me. Never would have thought, since last year I was running 115f/120r and prefered the hard tire. I fought it and fought it, but after trying the lower pressure, I love it (This even with my boyds).

-Climbing felt good with the wheels. I usually climb out of the saddle. I dont care if it is 2 miles long, I will generally be out of the saddle the entire time. Maybe sit for a minute just to hit the legs in a different spot and then back up again. Since it was raining, I wasn't able to really put the force down while out of the saddle. (again keep in mind that I'm not a wet weather rider) First couple hills I stood and had a couple butt puckering moments as my tire slipped out and my life flashed before my eyes. quickly realized that since there was no weight over the back wheel, I would need to sit the majority of the time. The weight of the wheel never really crossed my mind as being heavier than my boyds. This could very well be that I haven't ridden my boyds in nearly 3 weeks since being on the demo sets and now I'm just acclimating to the the weight?

-Descending-one huge thing that sticks out to me about these wheels (Not comparing to any others) is that I don't feel confident with them. They feel kind of...."sloppy?". I dont know if thats the word I'm looking for. I feel that the wheels get pushed around a lot even with no side wind.

-Flats, no complaints there. smooth and easy to maintain speeds.

-Hubs-REALLY like the hubs. Though Jude told me that DT Swiss has limited options for spoke count. I didn't look them up in fear that I would try to dig up some numbers of weight so I will discuss that with her more. If you do know the spoke options for dt swiss 350, feel free to tell me, just please nothing more.


Now, Time to go wash my bike

Ah!! someone is still reading. I thought maybe I was alone in the thread or something lol. two test rides with info and not a single post after. I always clean my bike after a ride, ALWAYS. But since I'm not a wet weather rider, I wasn't expecting such a mess

Still people reading!

Still reading man! Love people that use their bikes on not-so-good conditions even though they're as nice as yours is. I use mine even on salty roads. As easy as a clean-up and lube afterwards. Thanks again for your feedback on these wheel-sets. Really nice thread....

If that is true (and is in mph), time to hit the races.

Maybe the demo wheels came with free EPO.

Lol it was true BUT like I mentioned, it was just one of those amazing days. Though I do have to say that I have been riding a lot more since testing these wheels. Which in turn has really helped with making my rides easier. I feel so much stronger and my recovery much faster. With 2 kids under 5 its not always easy to get out as much as I'd like but testing these wheels and only having them for limited time has put me in a situation to get out more and take advantage. I'm really enjoying my riding right now. Plus I lowered my seat post a smidge (hot or not no no lol) as well as tilt up my saddle just a hair, my position has dramatically gotten more comfortable.

Still reading, although getting anxious for the big fight scene at the end of the story...where the hero beats up all the loser bad guys, and limps home the victor to ride another day....