New road wheels

I've been getting by on some pretty busted wheels and this year finally got some replacements for both the road and cx bikes. The road bike was the first to get something as I was riding it a lot this spring and the mavic ksyriums were starting to show their age. The rear freehub still had play after first going to oversized bushings and then a bearing, and the hub bearings themselves were starting to knock. On the plus side, they were still perfectly true after probably over 10k miles of hard use ranging from dirt roads on road tires to racing cx to riding singletrack. Aside from the rear freehub issues common with mavics I don't have any major complaints.

For the road bike I wanted something more aerodynamic, and for the cx bike I wanted something wider and tubeless. While working on missoula xc stuff at the mtb missoula and cycling house office I asked Shaun if he had anything around. And yes, he did have some Heds jet 6s in the basement that he let me have for practically nothing.

They're a little older, and I had to get an axle and freehub and have them dished for 11 speed, but they're straight and wooshy. I took the giant stickers off immediately to keep the all black subtle look going but did get those snazzy tan wall vittoria corsa controls. I liked the open paves a lot and these are the new version of those. They're smooth and fast but jury is still out on durability and flat protection. I basically never got a flat with the open paves and have a couple on these already. But when you run over a staple it's going through just about anything. These are the "C2" rim and so are 23mm external, 18mm internal width. It makes the 25mm vittoria measure a touch over 27 and that's the most tire that will fit between the chainstays on this bike.

They're 60mm deep, and do seem to go faster out on the flat. Going 22-24mph just seems easier than before, although I was on the mavics with maxxis refuses last fall and for the early season this year so just going to a much faster tire is part of it. Plus getting that fitness back. I do plan to tape over all the holes for the fairings as I hear that helps. You do notice that depth in windier conditions but it's got to be pretty gusty and a crosswind for it to be much of an issue. Also, it's a different feeling from being pushed around with narrower wheels. I'd call it less abrupt, and more of like, gentle nudging.