Updated Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL thoughts

So I’ve had the wheels a while now and completed a fair few rides on them.

My thoughts are pretty much the same as when I first rode them. I can’t really fault them at all!

The freehub on the rear wheel is now loosening up more and everything just seems to glide along well. I’m still impressed with the comfort over my old FSA wheels, even with the tyres inflated up to 120psi.

I’ve done quite a bit of climbing in the past few rides and I’m really happy with how the wheels respond during these. Power transfer seems very responsive and the wheels are stiffer than my old set, so that helps a little too.

All in all, I highly recommend these wheels. I can’t really make any scientific claims about increases in performance or speed or anything like that, only that the wheels ‘feel’ better while I’m riding along. I’m happy with my purchase and wouldn’t hesitate to buy them if I went back and had to decide again.

Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL First Impressions

…and to some extent I suppose the Michelin Pro3 Race tyres also!

A day-but-one ago, I went out for a quick spin on the new Dura-Ace wheels, as mentioned in my previous posts. It was still quite windy but dry and sunny, so I wanted to give them a test.

I did two short rides of around 8-10 miles (no speedo so couldn’t be accurate on speeds or distance or even time), on a usual little loop that I use for training. Its got a bit of everything in it, a hard first section with a slight incline into a strong headwind, followed by a crosswind, then a fast tailwind down hill followed by rolling terrain and a 11% climb to finish on.

Anyway, I went round the first time using my original FSA RD-220 wheels kitted out with Pro2 Race tyres. Must say that the few weeks without riding meant the loop was a shock to the system, particularly the ride into the wind! I decided I had to ride the wheels first just to remind myself of how they felt. I paid particular attention to how they span up to speed and also the amount of road vibration I could feel across the rough patches.

Now I know I don’t have any stats on speed or time to judge on, but after changing to the Dura-Ace wheels, I must say they felt faster, quite noticably. Perhaps it was psychological but it felt easier. Not so much into the headwind, as the rim depth is similar to the FSAs and I’m not fit enough to notice any aerodynamic changes to be honest.

Spinning up to speed seemed a lot quicker, the wheels felt very, very responsive. I was actually quite impressed by the rapid response to shifts in power, and I’m looking forward to testing this further. I already thought my bike was quite responsive and had a big kick in sprints and accelerating up hills, so I was pleased to see another improvement to this.

The wheels also seemed better in the cross-wind section of the ride somehow. Whether this was with the better power distribution through the hub or a slightly better aero profile I’m not sure, but it felt a little faster.

Finally, the wheels were definitely more comfortable. The carbon layer of the wheels seems to soak up some of the road vibration in the roughest sections. Not a huge improvement over the FSAs, but a welcome one all the same. Slight improvements definitely make huge ones over long distances.

All in all, I must say I am very impressed with the wheels after just a short 10 mile stint. I’ll post any other comments I have after I’ve broken them in a bit more and properly tested them. I’m not a professional reviewer but I know there aren’t many reviews of these wheels out there, so any comments help when making a purchase decision!

Now I just hope my new chain arrives tomorrow. I ermm, broke mine while trying to clean it. Long story…

Fitted Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL wheels

Well I finally got the lockring tool and installed the cassette onto the rear wheel. Which of course means they are now on my bike!

I had a little play around with my bikes page too, and split the three bikes onto separate pages. The idea is that I’ll put all the pictures of each bike onto each page so it looks a bit less cluttered.

For now, here is the most recent pic of my Focus Cayo Expert, complete with the Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL wheels. Try saying that when you’re drunk

Test ride and opinions to follow when this nightmare wind disappears!!

Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL + Michelin Pro3 Race =

New wheels, one step from completion!

All I need now is my cassette for the rear wheel and off I go. Replaced the brake pads as well, just seemed like a good reason to do so. The old ones had picked up a few shards off my original wheels so it was time to change really.

Without further adieu, here are the pics:

Michelin Pro3 Race tyres

Rear Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL wheel with Pro3 Race tyre

Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL with Pro3 Race tyre

Why haven’t I bought MGS yet?

Well, I don’t actually know…

I’m not a big gamer really, I only buy a couple every year it seems. But seriously, I should have this game. Its one of the must-buys.

Ribble Winter/Audax bike

Just taken delivery of my new winter bike! For the price (£399) it seems a very nice bike. I’ve just got flat pedals fitted at the moment as I might use it to commute to work on for a while.

Had a quick spin round the village and feels comfortable enough. Perfect sizing, plenty of clearance around the tyres for the guards etc. Only thing is I’m a lifelong Shimano user, so its going to take a while to get used to the Campag gearing!!

Here’s a picture of it fresh out of the box:

Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL wheels

As promised a while back, I went and took a few photos today. My nice, shiny new wheels:

Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL

Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL

Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL rear wheel

Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850-CL rim close-up

I have a Shimano 105 cassette from another old pair of wheels which I still need to fit, and then I can finally give them a spin. Got some new Michelin Pro3 Race tyres on order as well (red sidewall of course) but they won’t be here for a little while yet.

I’ll post my thoughts and a little review once I’ve tested them out.

New steed incoming

Recently I have been weighing up what I could buy for my bike. Nothing new there then. I narrowed it down to, well, a wide range of things, so I didn’t do so well in narrowing at all! Take your pick from:

• New helmet, probably the Giro Ionos
• New pedals, I think Dura-Ace
• New handlebars
• New pump or C02 inflator kit
• New gloves. Quite like the look of the Specialized Body Geometry gloves
• Assos bibshorts
• New heart rate monitor/computer (Polar CS200) because mine is damaged

And what of all those, what did I end up buying? Nothing. Instead, I forked out for a new bike! Sadly not a nice shiny new Pinarello Prince or something along those lines. I can only dream of owning something like that right now! No, I bought a Ribble Winter/Audax bike.

Last year I didn’t do any riding between October and maybe March this year, partly from my massive fatigue and also because I didn’t have a ‘hack’ bike, something to use a bit less carefully than my nice, shiny Focus. So one of my aims this year was to save up and buy a winter bike. The Ribble winter bikes seem really good for the price. It’ll weigh a fair bit more than my Focus but should be good for training through the Winter at least. Its in the post now, so should soon have it, with pictures to follow!

I’ll need to buy some pedals for it at some point. I’m yet to decide what pedals I am going to put on my main bike, so it’ll depend on that really. Right now I’m looking at either the Dura-Ace SPD-SLs or maybe some Look Keo Carbons. Either way, the cheaper versions of these will end up on the winter bike, 105s or Look Keo Classics maybe.

The rest of my wanted list from up above, that will all slowly come along I think. Maybe the helmet next. I’ve got a Met Stradivarius II right now but I dropped it on the road a while back and some people say helmets have a lifespan of about 3-4 years anyway, which is about the length I’ve had it now.

Anyway enough rambling! Ciao.

I got lazy

Well, the title says it all really. A lot of stuff has happened and its left me off the bike for the past hmm, 2 weeks I suppose. Oh well, hoping to get on the turbo later today, once I put an old tyre on my rear wheel anyway.

In other news, I got some shiny new wheels. Shimano Dura-Ace WH-7850 Carbon Clinchers, if you must know! Sadly I haven’t ridden them yet, and it will probably be a few weeks before I can get back out on the road again, but boy am I looking forward to it! I’ll put up some photos when I get chance, and a little review once I have actually ridden on them.

I think I’ll go dig the turbo out now actually.

Ciao.

A few days, a few rides

Yesterday I completed more 4th ride in 6 days, and I’m pleased to say that I’m slowly feeling my legs returning to some kind of fitness. Slowly, but surely. Like I’ve said before, it is pretty demoralising going from a good level of racing fitness to barely any at all. Still, its all coming back so I shouldn’t keep moaning about it, should I?