454, 4.5 or RSL

[cleanneon98]

Nice, I meant the Bontrager Pro vs RSL. I went RSL mostly for the weight and look, I love seeing the layup the way they do it and not a fan of the matte finish on the Pro. They do say the shapes are the same though

[wheelbuilder]

Yeah, it's the identical mold so everything externally is the same, including aero but they are insanely heavy, the build quality was not the best, and there were a few warranty issues IIRC.

[cleanneon98]

Thanks for clearing that up. My experience with the Pro51 was limited to a few hundred miles but I did save almost 200g going to the RSL which isn't nothing

[cleanneon98]

https://youtu.be/8UFtATSj8dw?si=ORM7zoYn7OLaDPsy

This guy is not quite a fan of RSL wheels (around the 6:00 mark), but whenever someone has to resort to the "dentists will say" line they lose credibility in my eyes

[UrgentDelay]

I'm facing a quite similar choice, it looks like we also have close requirements. On my shortlist are, depending on the rear tire clearance:
- ENVE 4.5, 25 IW
- HUNT SUB50 LIMITLESS, 23 IW
- Rapide CLX II, 21 IW

I ruled out Aeolus RSL 51 TLR, because HUNTs seem to be strictly better. There is also CRW 5060, but I'm a bit reluctant to go into carbon spokes, as the reviewers often claim they impact comfort.
About ZIPPS - they did not test well in the HUNTs tests and are overpriced IMO: https://eu.huntbikewheels.com/products/ ... c-wheelset

I've compiled a whole wheelset database, take a look: viewtopic.php?f=132&t=174928
Concerning the tire clearance, I have this going on, contribute if you may: viewtopic.php?f=132&t=174930

I would go with ENVE 4.5s if they fit, but they seem to be a little dated now. I'm considering waiting for their next release, currently on Vision SC 55.

[cleanneon98]

I wouldn't trust manufacturers to give you honest results, they will always frame their testing to make their product look superior to the competition. If ENVE tests better than Hunt, Hunt won't show you. If ZIPP tests better than ENVE, ENVE won't show you, etc. etc.

I've only ever ridden Bontrager road and MTB, Roval MTB, and Boyd road and they were all fine. Bontrager replaced a 5 year old extremely out of warranty/crash replacement MTB wheel for me with little fuss when I smashed it on a giant rock, and Boyd was great to deal with too. Not sure if you're lookin new or used but I got my RSL51 for $1200 used, less than half price of new.

[UrgentDelay]

I wouldn't trust manufacturers to give you honest results, they will always frame their testing to make their product look superior to the competition. If ENVE tests better than Hunt, Hunt won't show you. If ZIPP tests better than ENVE, ENVE won't show you, etc. etc.

True, yet still they showed that Roval Rapide CLA IIs are consistently more aero at all yaw angles. Two things that chrt does not incorporate: rolling resistance (the wider, the better - ENVE 4.5 win), acceleration: the lighter the better, so HUNTs again.

ATM I can get new 4.5s at 2.7k USD, CLX IIs at 1.9k USD, RSL 51 at 2.6k USD and HUNTs are 1.8k USD with the mailing list discount. There are also those carbon-spoked CRW 5060s for 1.7k USD. Do you have any info on ENVEs usual release cycle? 4.5s SES will be 2 yo soon.

Also, do you have any opinion on hookless in this segment? I'm leaning towards yes, as I ride tubeless exclusively.

[SaladhOlivier]

RSL51 are really good wheels, very predictable in winds even under a lightweight rider.

[cleanneon98]

I don't have that info. Keep in mind they do show the rapid is faster BUT the way the chart is made it implies that they are less stable because they are deeper and that's not always the case. The way they are framing it is some wheels are slower and some are less stable, and I'm curious why there are no Bontrager wheels in comparison (they are OEM wheels for Trek just like Rapide are for Spesh)

Not trying to shit on Hunt, I don't have any experience with them but I never take these comparisons at face value. The Hunt price is compelling for sure.

Based on everything I read about road hookless it would actually be a con for me and not a selling feature, to the point I wouldn't even consider hookless wheels regardless of cost savings. I'd consider them for MTB due to a potentially stronger lip for impacts but that's at much lower pressures than road. The Roval MTB wheels I had on my MTB were hookless and they were fine.

I know this is just one man's opinion at 32:00 but I do find Peak Torque to be credible: https://youtu.be/WkqSgTu2SR8?si=0qTcAKfGo5XFTHlf