
Viva la France….




HED:

Founded by Steve Hed in 1985. Steve began what was to become his vocation in humble fashion, working on an aero wheel in his garage at home. This quickly led to an interest in all things aerodynamic. Now, 20 years later, HED cycling products designs and manufactures 16 different models of composite wheels, exported worldwide and used in events from the Tour de France to the Hawaii Ironman to the pretigious North Oaks triathlon championship. Every single wheel is still handmade. Minnesota.
HED’s strength lies in two areas: the H3 Trispoke and its reasonable prices. You get a really high end wheel for much less than a pair of Zipps. They make great wheels for any cycling pursuit from the track to the road to the triathlon and time trial. A certain american, first name Lance, won many a tour time trial with a HED H3.
There are three categories to the HED lineup. The Stinger series are all carbon, the Jet series uses an aluminum rim and a carbon fairing, and the H3 is a molded all carbon wheel with a carbon or aluminum braking surface.
Stinger:

50: Using a 50mm deep carbon rim, this is our recommendation for a great all around race wheel. Its built with HED’s sonic hubs and Ti spokes. 1407g. $1390.
60: The Stinger 60 is excellent for TT use. The Stinger 60’s aerodynamic advantage is significant while the handling remains relatively unaffected by side winds. The Stinger 60 is an all carbon bladder molded rim which keeps the wheel strong and the weight low. The Stinger 60 is built with sonic hubs, bladed 6/4 ti spokes front, and bladed steel spokes rear. 60mm deep rim and 1435g. $1390.
90: The Stinger 90 is made for ripping time trials. Aero and lightweight. Compared to a flat sided wheel, the toroidal shape keeps airflow more laminar and reduces the turbulent area behind the wheel. Designed with a high surface area, low weight and minimal drag, the Stinger 90 is a very fast wheel. The Stinger 90 is built with sonic hubs, bladed 6/4 ti spokes front, and bladed steel spokes rear. 90mm deep rim and 1668g. $1390.
Jet:

50: At 50mm deep, 1620g pair weight, with an alloy brake surface, the jet 50 meets Hed’s criteria for an ideal aero road wheelset. Wheels are spoked using bladed spokes, 24 stainless spokes on the rear wheel, 18 6/4 ti spokes on the front wheel. With a clincher rim and machined brake track they are suited to any condition and durable enough to use as season-long race wheels, there’s no need to save them for special events. 50mm deep rim and 1620g. $1290.
60: Race light and everyday strong, a true working man’s carbon wheel. The Jet 60 can do it all from Time Trials to Crits- these are a great plug and play wheelset. 60mm deep rim and 1590g. $1290.
90: The most aggressively designed of the Jet wheel series, the Jet 90 is at its best on high speed, non-technical courses. It is an ideal all conditions rear wheel or for races where discs are not allowed. Best for Time Trials, Triathlons, and of course- KONA.
90mm deep rim and 1745g. $1290.
H3:

The H3 tripspoke is the wheel that HED is best known for and for good reason. For Triathlons you can’t ask for a better set up than a trispoke front and rear. That is a set up beat ONLY by a trispoke on the front and a disk on the rear. These wheels are fast, fast, fast. $1490.


If you like all things fast there’s nothing quite like a pair of deep, aero, light, carbon wheels. They’re like putting high octane fuel into a sports car. Plus, they look bad ass! Thinking about buying a pair for the race season next year or just for fun? Here are some of the pros and cons of the black gold revolution in bike wheels:
PROS:
CONS:
Manufacturers:
We carry three brands of carbon wheels in the shop: ZIPP, HED, and Torelli. Each has their own strong points. We’ll highlight each company over the next few days.
ZIPP:

Founded in 1988, ZIPP is the only carbon wheel (and crank, handlebar, stem, and tire) manufacturer to have its production facilities entirely in the United States. This is one of the reasons they are more expensive than the other brands- their attention to detail (dimpled wheels, ceramic bearings, and amazingly strong rims) puts them over the top and they produce a product that is second to none. World Championships, Ironmans, Tour de France Stages, you name it and its been won on a pair of ZIPPs. If having the absolute best and greatest is important to you than this is the way to go. Here’s the breakdown of their wheels:
202: Light (1070g) and surprisingly aero (more so than a lot of other companies 40-50mm deep wheels). If the Little Cottonwood hill climb makes you salivate these are the wheels for you. 32mm deep rim. $2100.
303: A great wheel set that balances light weight (1110g) and aerodynamics, this is a great choice for technical criteriums or long road races. 38mm deep rim. $2100.
404: The perfect all around wheel. Very aero and reasonably light (1250g); choose these wheels for just about anything: Road races, Crits, Time Trials, Triathlons, Cyclocross, etc. 58mm deep rim. $2100.
808: One of the most aerodynamic spoked wheels ever tested (and pictured above). A great choice for Road Races and the perfect Triathlon and Time Trial wheel still light at 1435g. 82mm deep rim. $2300.
1080: This is one deeeep rim. Designed exclusively for Time Trial and Triathlon specialists, the 1080 is faster than some disks and will be easier to handle in cross winds. Also great for courses where a disk is illegal (cough, KONA, cough). 108mm deep rim and 1668g. $2450.
WE HAVE ZIPP DEMO WHEELS!!!
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Cyclesmith now has a pair of Zipp 404 wheels available for demo. Zipp is by far the leader in wheel technology and produces the fastest wheels you can buy. Our’s are set up with ZIPP Tangent tires, also some of the best in the world.
If you’re interested, drop by the shop or email us!



If you’re interested in the head down-tight lycra-go fast scene (like me) check out the review that slowtwitch did on the Elite Razor:
Or, you could just stop by the store, we have one hanging up. Its really pretty.
Cyclesmith is the exclusive Elite dealer for Salt Lake City. They’re a great fit for our shop because they’re small and personal and they make one hell of a bike (road, TT, Tri, Track, you name it!). If you’re interested in a new go fast bike stop by and chat with us or email me at justin@cyclesmithslc.com

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