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Recent Reviews
Bought these wheels to build my Spot Ryve XC bike. Wheels are a nice combination of price and weight, although they did come in at 40 grams over the published weight. The wheels look good and are relatively stiff. One minor issue is the rear hub centerlock spline was slightly oversize, causing me to have to file a little on the disc rotor splines. Talked thru this issue with Western Bike Works and they were very helpful with options to address this.
Purchased these Sept '22 for easier tubeless mounting and road to gravel and back tire switch without killing myself. Also hoped for legendary Zipp performance when riding. Damn, these wheel do both. Compared to my hooked Reynolds Attack wheels I used for gravel, the 303 Firecrest hookless mounting is a dream! I change from tubeless Pirelli hookless compatible road tires to Panaracer gravel whenever I want. No problems running hookles on gravel at 40 psi. And out yesterday on a gravel ride, I just love how they climb and track through the gravel. Fun, snappy, a real pleasure. Did I buy a magically delivered 4 mph in speed? Not really, but they do everything a gravel wheel needs to do and then some. I love these wheels, they're a value, and so happy with them I want to share my expereince.
with any have used on ravel rides summer, road out of gravel season.
They call this 36mm size a climbing wheel, but with big Midwest crosswinds here, these wheels are the perfect choice for all around riding too. Light and fast on the transitions and rock solid. I ride 130 to 170 miles a week, and these wheels have livened up my solo workouts and group rides. I also use them on gravel running 32mm Continental 5000 TR tires at 50psi. These wheels are the perfect blend of size, quality and appearance (the subtle graphics really pop with transparent tires). I expect to be riding these wheels for many years.
This is my second set of HED Ardennes, and I love them! I had the Ardennes Plus SL, but when those did not survive a collision with a car, I replaced with these RA Black versions. Firstly, they look really great with the blacked out braking surface. Secondly, they really do have exceptional stopping power - startled me at first. You do have to get used to the whistling of the machined surface when braking, so if you can give up your dreams of stealthy stopping, you'll be impressed with the stopping ability of these wheels. As with other Ardennes Plus wheels, they ride really, really nice. These are some really great all around wheels! I do wish HED had finished these differently as the slightly textured finish attracts more dirt. I would like to give these five stars because the wheels themselves deserve it, but I received my set with the front wheel out of true, right out of the box. If I had not waited three months for the wheels, I would have sent them back for another pair. I need to ask WBW if they can true the up for me.