The performance a high-quality wheelset should perform

The more experience you get, the more you can feel the difference between wheelsets. The track of wheel sets is already very complicated, but seemingly simple wheel sets are not simple at all. Too much "rush for quick success" will often "focus on one thing and lose the other". Therefore, some wheel sets are very good from a single dimension, but overall they have problems. Clearly insufficient. For example, if you pursue lightness too much, you lose rigidity and feedback; if you pursue aerodynamics too much, you lose stability. So, what should be the performance of a high-quality wheelset? Is there a “perfect” wheelset? First of all, there is no perfect wheel set, but we can summarize the performance that a high-quality wheel set should have.

Let’s start with some misunderstandings

Carbon spokes are good

First of all, everyone must understand that carbon spokes are not a generation difference, and they cannot even determine the feedback of the wheel set. Some of the physical properties of carbon spokes are better than those of steel spokes, including being lighter and having higher tensile strength. It is easy for us to think that a wheel set using carbon spokes will have stronger pedaling stiffness and faster feedback. In fact, this is not the case. An excellently designed wheel set, whether it is a carbon spoke or a steel spoke, does not rely on higher pedaling stiffness to win, but on the Rider output gives optimal feedback. The reason is simple. The lateral stiffness of the wheel set is mainly determined by the rim. Even if the carbon spokes have higher tensile strength, the rim can withstand a limited amount of tension. The one-piece designed carbon spoke wheel set will not have a significant advantage in performance. At most, it will provide different (very pleasant) pedaling feedback. The advantage of carbon spokes is that they are light, but steel spokes are more aerodynamic. How to use them depends on the brand's strategy.

The carbon spokes are very light, straight-pull and 2:1 braided, and are very balanced.

So what should be the performance of a high-quality wheelset?

You need to start with the wheel design, mainly the rim, then the spokes and braid, hub structure and geometry. In fact, there is no single standard for pedaling feedback, just like frame feedback (tonality). Some frames are light to ride, and some are stable to ride. Their goal is to make you faster. The same goes for wheelsets, just like Shimano Dura-Ace wheelsets and Zipp NSW wheelsets have different riding feedback. But Mr. BX doesn’t mean that only international big-name wheelsets have good feedback. Among the wheelsets he has ridden, carbon spoke SCOM Ultra 49/67 and Vortex N4 have excellent feedback.

Aerodynamics and stability are a double-edged sword, and having both edges sharp is the core competitiveness of a wheel brand. In the age of aerodynamics, even low-frame wheelsets are pursuing aerodynamics, while high-frame wheelsets must not only be aerodynamic but also stable. Mr. BX has compared Zipp 454 NSW and 404 Firecrest. Obviously Zipp’s black technology is still useful. 454 NSW is obviously more stable. Also in windy weather, 454 NSW gives people more confidence.

The stability of high-frame aero wheels is not a simple matter, as can be seen from the TOUR test. The Zipp 454 NSW achieves "very good aerodynamic performance" and "moderate cross-wind stability" through a 53-58 bionic rim design.

Bontrager Aeolus RSL 62 front wheel 1:1 bilateral 2x braiding

Rear wheel 1:1 bilateral 2x braiding

Mr. BX just received the Bontrager Aeolus RSL 62. It is the most aerodynamic and stable among the 60-frame high-frame wheelsets. It achieves a balance between speed and control. It feels like a high-frame aerodynamic wheelset that is very suitable for daily use. Bontrager Aeolus RSL 62 uses the "ordinary" 1:1 bilateral 2X braiding method, and the spokes still overlap, but BX is very interested in its riding feedback and can't wait to try it. Does the Aeolus RSL 62 have any shortcomings? You would say its weight. The actual scale without tubeless tire pads is 1550 grams. The weight of the original plastic tubeless tire pads shocked Mr. BX. One piece is as high as 60 grams, so he decisively discarded it.

There is no perfect wheel set, but a high-quality wheel set must be balanced, not just win in one or two dimensions.

To give an example, Zipp 454 NSW is considered a top wheel set. Its performance is unquestionable and it is a Grand Tour wheel set. But Zipp 454 NSW uses elbow spokes, the most "ordinary" 1:1 bilateral 2x braiding method, which doesn't look like the top-end spokes at all, but this does not affect its pedaling feedback at all. Different from the wheelset that Mr. BX has ridden before, the Zipp 454 NSW has a "solid" feeling when riding. How can I put it this way? This is not just one step on, but continuous and a bit "bottomless" feeling, but it requires the driver's ability to match it. Compared with "solid", some wheelsets that I have ridden on BX will feel "weak". When you accelerate, you will feel that you have reached the top with just a few kicks. Generally, the riding is not bad, but it is a bit difficult to push the limit. BX has just started riding the Zipp 454 NSW, so this article is not a test, just about the initial experience.