Hey there... I'll prefix this with stating I am a fan of the channel and I enjoy your videos very much. For reference I'm 6'0" and around 170 lbs with a 270W FTP, so I am not pushing huge numbers here. I have two say that I tried two sets of these wheels. I have a pair with around 2,500 km on them, that I got with a code from your previous video, and a friend of mine picked a pair up too, although he stopped riding them after a few hundred kilometres (because of the issues I will describe below). The first issue is that they are very sensitive to crosswinds. The rims are 65mm tall and the blades probably exacerbate this issue, so I kind of expected this, but I have a few other pairs of aero wheels with relatively tall rim profiles and the Elites are definitely orders of magnitude worse. The second issue borders on them being unsafe to ride... These wheels are unbelievably flimsy laterally. This is by no means a scientific test, but on my road bike with tire clearance for 36c tires I can push the rim over to the side with my index finger, so that my 28c tire touches the fork leg. I tried the two sets that we have and both are like this. You can feel this when climbing out of the saddle and sprinting, but it gets really properly scary when descending at speed. Anything over 60-70 km/h is suicidal. Even on straight sections the front wheel wobbles from side to side and it effectively feels like it is floating. Leaning the bike into a corner at speed is equally scary because it will not hold a line. The also have a tendency to wobble with a light cross-tail-wind when you take your hands off the bars. They will do this at relatively low speeds too, below 30km/h. They do look cool and kids love them, but if you combine these issues, these are incredibly unpredictable and borderline dangerous to ride.
I pinned your comment, thanks for the thorough breakdown. I haven't experienced crosswind instability and unfortunately I live an area that's super flat. No descending to speak on. However, I also wouldn't use these for climbing anyway. You bring up a lot of valid points which essentially are in line with the theme of my video. These Velo Six wheels are best suited for flat terrain cruising at speed. Not for crits and descending. I wonder if your experience is also why the UCI bans this style of wheels for road. Lastly, have you reached out Elite Wheels? I'm curious what their take is.
I will drop them a line and see what they say... I haven't really seen any of the reviewers complain about this and they do advertise them as "more laterally stiff than traditional spoked wheelsets". Also... GCN posted a review. I skimmed through the comments and everyone who has them loves them, but I did see a user who goes by @Aero-Guero mention something about lateral stiffness on your original review.
Are you talking about the 'velo six' wheels or the 'drive' wheels? I don't think the velo six comes in 65mm depth. I was interested in getting the velo six but now am having second thoughts from your experience. I like to ride crit style, hovering around zone 3 and 2 on my rides in the flats with descending on canyon roads on the weekends. Perhaps I should consider the drive wheels instead? Thanks,
To clarify, the Velo Six discount code is ONLY valid from June 18 through June 28. My everyday promo code is still valid on other Elite wheels. Regardless of the current summer sale. I do make a small commission FYI.
Mr. Lino As far as cheap frames go. What is your best suggestion for a few young Nigerian cyclists I coach. Their budget isn't high and take in regard that spares are less easy to find in their area. Thanks in advance, Bert Demeulemeester From Belgium
@@PatrickLino just the frame and stem shouldn't exceed 700€. Bottom bracket being a more conventional type that is actually somewhat repairable and easily switchable with limited tools is also a requirement.
My man, as someone that is moving from Chicago to Tucson, I do admit I will miss lakefront riding, but definitely not the 8 months of brutal weather. Enjoy the ride.
I purchased these wheels last month because I watched your other video. (Using your code) For the price, I wasn’t disappointed. Compared with my DT ARC 62mm, they feel a little stiffer, but also a bit more sensitive in the wind. (Netherlands). Sometimes you can hear a slight chopper noise coming from the wheels tru the wind. Last week, about 15 guys came towards me and every one turned their heads because of the wheel set. I weigh around 90kgs, and it is nice to know the wheels can hold that easily. Wouldn’t recommend this as your only wheel set, but if you want something else, go for it!
One advantage for that wheelset is the fact that they won't go out of true. So, if someone just wants a reliable set of wheels, it should fit the bill.
I have the tri spoke front and carbon disc from FFWD, the tri spoke is great for cheating the cross wind compare to my Enve 7.8 or Zipp 808, but I find the tri-spoke are slower by 10 to 15 secs on a hour tri run. The five to 6 spoke are more common on the indoor track racing. A few years back a brand called BIKE Ahead came up with something with similar style, but they were charging in excess of $5k usd for them, not including import duties. So these are a nice alternative that does not break the bank too much and on a flat course, they will be more than capable, definitely not on climbs as they do have some flex to them. Also because it is all 1 pcs construction, and damage, accident or out true, there will be no repairs available, you will have to buy a brand new replacement.
@@aliastanner-vy6yx there is often good carbon repair options available, my track disc wheel was repaired by the guy that had it before me and it never gave me any issues. Carbon is a lot more repairable than people think.
The concept of holding speed is pretty anecdotal without doing actual tests with tangible data driven results. What we are really referring to is "drag". Or lack there of. However, there are several variables to affect drag irrespective of the wheels themselves.
"Hold its speed well" is historically a VERY overused phrase by the crowd of "journalists" who traditionally do wheel reviews but are actually just doing paid commercials. It's a phrase that sounds great and invokes a great sense of equipment that makes your ride effortless, but ultimately doesn't mean anything. In actuality, the only 2 factors that make a wheel "hold its speed well" are higher moment of inertia and lower aerodynamic drag. But it's mostly just a measure of being a heavy wheel. The wheel that holds its speed, largely just means its heavy 😂
@@PatrickLino I sheared off one of my platform pedals on a gravel ride just the other day - and am on my second wheel rebuild for that bike in 18 months :D
The wheels are stiff both torsionally and radially. But not so much laterally (side flex). You don't want that kind of flex when descending. And at 1600 grams for the wheels you'll want something lighter if you live in an hilly area. Take a look at Elite Drive wheels.
I love these wheels. Can't say much bad about em. They are a little worse in crosswinds than I initially thought, but they're a blast to ride. I guess it's not technically correct in 2024 to say they "hold speed", but they stay at high speeds well.😂😂
@PatrickLino EXACTLY 💯. They don't spin up fast so you're not gonna out accelerate someone of equal power out of a corner, but once you get up in the numbers, it feels like they're just sailing. Not like my AR80's or my old Zipp 808's, but they feel...stable and easy to use when you're at speed.
Great review. Look great on a flatter course or in a road bike TT situation. I agree on the price point for the Chinese wheels. Keeps the interest high for the Western consumer, and the sales keep rolling in for the manufacturers at least from the west.
Quick note about racing, these kind of wheels arent legal for UCI racing so you wont see them there, and this impacts popularity overall as everyone wants to look like their heros 😂 Its definitely a cool way for a non-racing cyclist to make their bike stand out though
@@PatrickLino you can't break a spoke if it's not there... I mean really the whole undertaking of putting holes in the rim, either by drilling straight through the fibers or else molding them in is a huge concentration of stress. Way more rims get binned from fatigue failure and cracking around the spoke holes. And if you do break a spoke, that stress is more likely to damage the other spoke holes of the rim. A full monocoque wheel can be engineered to spread those forces out and create a much longer lasting structure. And in the case of a disc wheel, you can punch full holes in them and keep riding no problem because of the redundancy in the structure, just do a carbon repair and you'll be fine.
