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:

• Other than the position of your body, carbon wheels increase your speed more than any other equipment change. This alone can mean minutes of a 25 miles TT time
• They’re usually lighter than the wheels you have on your bike right now. While Aero trumps Light any day the reduction in rotating mass is great in accelerations or when the road gets really steep.
• Carbon dampens road vibration and impacts better than metal. This means a more comfortable ride

CONS:

• The Price. You’re looking at $949-$2499 for a pair of wheels.
• Handling. Some smaller riders claim that really deep dish wheels (where the rim in 60-80mm deep) are hard to handle in cross winds. Others don’t seem to have a problem. If you’re worried, its probably wise to demo a pair we have in the shop.

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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Made by a small artisan shop in Torino (Northwest Italy, at the base of the Alps), the Corsa Pista is a gorgeous hand made, tig welded italian track frame. Its made from Deda double butted steel and the top and down tube are drawn to a .5mm wall thickness. Its still in the sprint and comfortable enough to be made into a fixie for the road.

Like all Torelli frames, there are 11 colors of American Paint that you can get the Corsa Pista painted with as a single color for no extra $$$. Or, you can have custom painted panels (like above) or faded color transitions. There’s also a custom chrome shop if you really want to go over the top. A bike like this is all in the details and we can do any finish work that you may want.

= $1100 (OR $700 off!!!!)

As an end of the season deal, we’re offering the Blue T14 TT frameset (frame, fork, seatpost) plus a pair of Aerus Composites aero bars for $1100. MSRP would be $1800. Its a closeout deal, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.

What can be said about the T14? I really like the seatpost assembly, it allows you to move from a 74 degree seat angle (roadies) to an 80 degree seat angle (triathletes). The tubes are shaped right for aerodynamics, you can carry two waterbottles, and the carbon fork, seatpost, and rear triangle make life a whole lot more comfortable.

Email justin@cyclesmithslc.com to reserve a frameset.

Salsa El Mariachi completes are here! Everyone who has ridden them comes back with a BIG smile on their face. A steel frame rolling on BIG 29″ wheels and BIG tires…nothing much rolls smoother than that! With these BIG wheels and BIG tires it still amazes me how nimble and responsive this bike feels every time I ride it! It makes me feel like a cougar or some kind of wild beast shooting through the trees! It reminds me of why I love to ride. As silly as that sounds one would have to come test ride this bike to see what I mean!

On the technical side: For those who need weening off their single speeds and also those who need weening off their overly geared bike; the Sram X.9 1×9 drive train cures all! Also features an eccentric bottom bracket for easy single speed conversion(can it get any better than that?) Yes…the simplicity, serviceability, and power of BB7 mechanical disc brakes to boot. I can’t really think of a better bike for the variety of trails we have in the area!

This bike spits HOT FIRE! The little things like the matching stem, red Salsa skewers, and embroidered “Salsa” WTB saddle make this a very special steed. The picture does not do this bike justice…it’s that much better in person. Come down to the shop for a test ride…I mean to experience this bike!~

Just when you thought you had your bike collection finalized someone comes out with something awesome! Available to order at Cyclesmith are Rawland Cycles. Specializing in 650b based framesets, Rawland Cycles offers 2 models. The Olaf single and the Sogn geary. Why only two models? Because the 650b can do a little of everything quite well! Use them as your roadie with a slick on your commute throughout the week; then throw some MTB tires on for a weekend trail ride. Framesets are $650 and can be built up in whatever fashion one desires. Learn more at www.rawlandcycles.com

The 650b wheel size isn’t a new one. It’s been around for more than 70 years! 650b is a wee bit bigger than 26″ and just a tad smaller than 29″. Tire sizes and frame selections have always been limited because of 650b’s touring bike heritage. But thanks to Panaracer and Kirk Pacenti, a high volume mtb 650b tire is now available. With that fat tire a few  companies have followed suit with frames and rims. Being a sucker for trying new things and at the same time fitting a new bike into my budget an epiphany hit me. To make a long story short I knew my 1×1 frame was capable of holding the more ample wheel size and tire. So I laced some Chris King single speed hubs to some 650B Velocity Blunt  rims. Just like the 29er Blunt the 650b Blunt rims practically built themselves! I’m expecting the same bombproof durabuility after the promising build.

My first trail ride with my new wheels and tires was an impressive one. The wheels had that same big wheeled 29er rolling sensation. You know, the one that makes you grin ear to ear and say “whoa!” Now I’ve never really noticed the supposed handling drawbacks of 29ers; but there was no discernable difference in handling from when I was rolling 26″ wheels on my 1×1 compared with the 650b’s.  These wheels breathed new life into my trusty old bike.

If you want to see if your old 26″ steed will except 650b’s give me a bit of advance notice at the shop and we can see if they fit with my wheels. Then see if we can build you a set of your own from there!

It may seem a bit premature but it’s actually but only 9 months away! The Single Speed Worlds after a 2 year hiatus are once again state side. If you believe in single speeds…clap your hands! If you don’t,  come on down to the shop and chat with any one of the Cyclesmith crew about the virtues of single speeding offroad. Or on for that matter!

www.sswc08.com   

Oops, its been a while. Let’s give away a

FREE PAIR OF CRAFT GLOVES. Its getting cold out there, you know you need them.

The first person to email me and tell me what this logo is off of gets them!

(The 928, full record, Zipps, and Deda)

(Milano, sweet Italian Cruiser)

(Pista, one gear, always hot)

(Silvia, for the donne)

(Campy on the C2C, an italian bike deserves it)

(even mountain bikes)