Thinking of upgrade to Boyd
 

Hey guys

Just damaged my OEM Shimano R500 wheels and was thinking of using the opportunity to upgrade to some Boyd Vitesse clinchers.

I was looking though and was wondering if an extra $500 over another R500 set is worth the savings of around .3 pounds per wheel. Are there any advantages to the Boyds that I am overlooking?

Cxray spokes, hand built, superior service

Wider rim, off-the-shelf parts...

If you don't want to spring for the fancy spokes, but still want the same rim and quality, November makes the FSW23 which is quite comparable and sells for $525.

Consider Neuvation R28SWCX: 26mm deep, 22mm wide welded rim, CXray spokes, 1470 gm, $495.

http://www.neuvationcycling.com/prod...l-set-1658.htm[h=2][/h]

OP I don't know your background but you may need to do some research to understand some of the replies here.

CX Ray spokes. So what? You need to know what makes them so good and what it allows the builder to do with the wheel that makes those spokes an upgrade over what you have.

Hand built. So what? 100 lb spoke tension is 100 lb spoke tension, whether its hand built or machine built, right? But there are a lot of advantages that aren't being spelled out here as to why the are better. I am a Boyd owner and certainly recommend them and I've done a bunch of that research myself, but I am not even close to as knowledgeable as some others here so I am going to refrain from doing any explanations. There is a ton of information out there. Get googling or searching BF

My Boyd's have been very good to me over the last 5000 miles. Customer service cant be beat.

My experience with the boyds I had were great.

While you are right that there are numerous advantages some of them are easy to understand. For instance, a good handbuilder includes multiple rounds of stress relieving while bringing the spokes up to tension in a controlled and systematic order. This creates a wheel that is stable and will stay true and at that tension for a long period.

Machine built wheels (or poorly made handbuilts) typically don't get that treatment and while they may start out true and stiff it won't last. 'Pinging' noises while riding, loosing their true, becoming "soft" and breaking spokes are all symptoms of this.

This is probably the biggest advantage of wheels like Boyds, Psimets and the like. If somebody were to take the time with a new set of machine OEM wheels and de-tension and then bring it back up while stress relieving you would here far fewer complaints about them.

This is interesting test data about the aero advantages of CX Rays vs Lasers: LINK

I read every single bit of their blog about the Rail, and have a set pre-ordered. :)

Yeah, don't need CX-Rays on my training wheels. FSW23s are what I'd get if I needed them, but I have a nice set of Belgiums done by Handspun. Will likely get new hubs and spokes in them this year to make them all black and match the hubs in my Rails for easier wheel changes.

I'm thinking about doing the same. I'm thinking of getting a set of Roleurs though. The Vitesse wheels are a bit out of my price range and I only race 7 or 8 times per year. Based on that, the Roleurs seem to be a perfect wheelset for me.

I have a set of the Roluers and love them, they are the 19mm rim and not the 23mm but to me they ride just fine and are a great looking wheel.

Love mine. I actually initially got mine to back up some Zipp's, but these were way faster. Climbing and on the flats. I'm talking about the very next rides after I swapped em, I was was way faster. I can't speak for whatever else is out there, and may be comparable, but these wheels are smokin fast. Zipp's now collect dust and waiting to be sold.

Research is always terrible with me. Thanks everyone for the replies. Unfortunately I ran across the Mavic Ksyrium SL S wheels.... I don't think I'll be able to say no.

If the spokes are proprietary, I always say no.