Sunday, April 25, 2010

Reynolds Assault Wheels One Month Later

I've had my Reynolds Assault wheels for a little more than a month. I've put more than 600 miles on them so far, so here's an updated review.

Initially, the braking performance of the wheels and brake pads was terrible. A panic stop from high speed was impossible. Slowing on a steep downhill required an all out squeeze of the brake levers. Also braking could cause a very loud screech under certain circumstances. Both problems are gone. It seems like it just took a while to remove the slick coating on the surface of the rim that contacts the brakes. The carbon-specific brake pads seem to have a short life span. I'll probably replace the pads in the next couple of weeks.

I haven't abused the wheels too much, but I haven't babied them, either. I've bombed over the brick roads in Chagrin, and tackled rough pavement in southern Geauga county, but the wheels are still true. They seem to be quite strong.

In gusty cross winds, the deep rims can catch the wind and knock the front end around a little. It's particularly noticeable on high speed downhills, but even then, it's no big deal. I doubt I'd choose to ride traditional rims due to windy conditions.

When I'm out of the saddle sprinting, or jamming over small hills, the wheels seem more efficient. I don't really know how to actually measure that--it's just a feeling.

At some point, I'll actually measure the aerodynamic performance of the wheel compared to traditional wheels. It feels like the wheels provide some small advantage when rolling at speeds over 20 mph, but I could also just be in better shape than last year. I think it will be interesting to get some data--on the other hand, I doubt I'll soon get a day where there's no wind, and I've got enough free time to do it.

3 comments:

Luke said...

Biggest concern I had was stiffness - under really hard efforts, do you get a lot of flex, or brake rub?

ds said...

I just got the same wheels. I have yet to race on them and have only ridden them twice.

I bought the yellow Swiss Stop pads for them because they also work on aluminum wheels. The braking is excellent, as far as I'm concerned.

Kevin Kimmich said...

I haven't noticed any more (or frankly any less) flex or brake rub under high power efforts than with other wheels I've owned. Subjectively, they seem to perform well when sprinting.

I think I'll try the Swiss Stop pads, next. The pads that came with the wheels seem to work fine, now. The first couple of weeks I had the wheels, wow, they seemed to be as bad as cantilever brakes on my 'cross bike.

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