Shimano RS80 Wheelset - A (long winded!) users review
DubaiNeil
Posts: 246
Hi All,
As this post appears to have turned into an essay - please feel free to scroll to the bottom for the summary
After a lot of umming and ahhing over spending some hard earned on some shiny bits for my bike I opted for a set of RS80's. Unfortunately I decided I couldn't justify the extra required for a set of Dura-Ace CL24's - but at least I still have an additional upgrade for the future!
Some background:
I am 42 years young, weigh 75kg's and am 5' 11". I ride in a part of the world that is relatively flat, with generally smooth roads with a distinct lack of potholes. Most of my riding is solo, and generally go for 1 to 3 hour rides when I get to go out (married with 2 young kids!).
There is nothing in the way of organised racing here (unless you like Triathlons), with a Friday morning chain gang being the only real group activity. This I cannot attend due to other commitments (pesky kids!)
Previous cycling history was in MTB (8 years or so before) with French Alps (Morzine), Snowdon, Cheddar Challenge type highlights and lots of messing about in the local woods (in the UK)
I currently ride a Scott S10 alu/carbon mix bike with what appears to be a 'parts bin' mix of Shimano kit (Ultegra STI & brakes/105 chain, cassette/non set compact crankset) - and this is how it came from the dealer new!
The new wheels were an upgrade from the provided Shimano WH-R500 wheelset which were fitted with Continental Ultra Race tyres. The new wheels were fitted with Michelin Pro Race 3 folding tyres.
The wheels/tyres/tubes were ordered from Merlin Cycles.
I have now completed about 300km's on the new wheels.
Findings:
The wheels/tyres/tubes arrived without any damage and reasonably well packaged. It appeared to be Shimano factory packaging with no additions from Merlin. Tyres and tubes were "thrown in" the same box and were not secured/protected from the wheels in any way. Not an issue from my side, as there was no damage done...
Wheels appeared true and straight and quite "loud" in relation to the very subtle (boring?) R500's with the relatively large white graphics and red (!) spoke nipples
Fitting the tyres was an exercise in patience (not a strong suit for me...) and eventually got them on with the help of a little washing up liquid as a lubricant. I couldn't find any talcum powder to use as per other threads in Workshop I damaged one of the tubes (due to impatience) fitting the tyres, so used a spare tube...
I used the same cassette I had on the R500's and the weight of the RS80's (including skewers) was 500g less than the same setup on the R500's
On fitting to the bike the wheels spun true and smooth. A slight adjustment of the rear derailleur was required (a 1/4 turn or two on the cable adjuster on the mech), however the brakes were fine.
Initially (riding solo) there was not a marked difference between the RS80's and the R500's. The RS80's feel smoother, particularly across rough sections of tarmac - and absorbed the road buzz better than the previous wheelset.
There is little or no perceived difference in aero capability between the two wheelsets, and I certainly didn't up my average speed or slash time off my PB for a frequently followed route. Braking appears to be the same as the R500's (using standard Shimano pads) however I don't need to do much braking as I select routes with very few junctions at which I need to slow down - and certainly no scary descents so far!
I wasn't too happy to be honest!
Next up was a semi-regular event at a local motor race circuit, which runs on a 2.5km circuit under flood lights (similar to a Criterium circuit). This is a training (not racing) event with kids on BMX's mixed up with guys on full carbon everything Storck bikes.
The wheels continued their trend of being smoother than the R500's, but no "faster" when riding solo.
I then hooked up with a friend of mine, and then found the primary difference between the wheelsets.
The acceleration capability of the RS80's absolutely blew me away. Without any excessive effort I could drop my friend (who is considerably fitter, but a triathlete rather than a focused cyclist) like a stone! This was without "The Look" being deployed, as I wasn't expecting it!
I have ridden with him a number of times before, and never had this capability before, certainly with such little effective effort.
I was a lot happier!
Summary (all IMHO)
RS80's are not "aero" and will not greatly advance TT or constant pace solo riding
They do look nice
They appear to accelerate fast! (probably due to the lighter rims)
They will probably make good climbing wheels (to be proven, but I hope so!)
So far they appear to be resilient and reliable (early to say for sure)
Hope this helps someone out there!
Neil
As this post appears to have turned into an essay - please feel free to scroll to the bottom for the summary
After a lot of umming and ahhing over spending some hard earned on some shiny bits for my bike I opted for a set of RS80's. Unfortunately I decided I couldn't justify the extra required for a set of Dura-Ace CL24's - but at least I still have an additional upgrade for the future!
Some background:
I am 42 years young, weigh 75kg's and am 5' 11". I ride in a part of the world that is relatively flat, with generally smooth roads with a distinct lack of potholes. Most of my riding is solo, and generally go for 1 to 3 hour rides when I get to go out (married with 2 young kids!).
There is nothing in the way of organised racing here (unless you like Triathlons), with a Friday morning chain gang being the only real group activity. This I cannot attend due to other commitments (pesky kids!)
Previous cycling history was in MTB (8 years or so before) with French Alps (Morzine), Snowdon, Cheddar Challenge type highlights and lots of messing about in the local woods (in the UK)
I currently ride a Scott S10 alu/carbon mix bike with what appears to be a 'parts bin' mix of Shimano kit (Ultegra STI & brakes/105 chain, cassette/non set compact crankset) - and this is how it came from the dealer new!
The new wheels were an upgrade from the provided Shimano WH-R500 wheelset which were fitted with Continental Ultra Race tyres. The new wheels were fitted with Michelin Pro Race 3 folding tyres.
The wheels/tyres/tubes were ordered from Merlin Cycles.
I have now completed about 300km's on the new wheels.
Findings:
The wheels/tyres/tubes arrived without any damage and reasonably well packaged. It appeared to be Shimano factory packaging with no additions from Merlin. Tyres and tubes were "thrown in" the same box and were not secured/protected from the wheels in any way. Not an issue from my side, as there was no damage done...
Wheels appeared true and straight and quite "loud" in relation to the very subtle (boring?) R500's with the relatively large white graphics and red (!) spoke nipples
Fitting the tyres was an exercise in patience (not a strong suit for me...) and eventually got them on with the help of a little washing up liquid as a lubricant. I couldn't find any talcum powder to use as per other threads in Workshop
I damaged one of the tubes (due to impatience) fitting the tyres, so used a spare tube...I used the same cassette I had on the R500's and the weight of the RS80's (including skewers) was 500g less than the same setup on the R500's
On fitting to the bike the wheels spun true and smooth. A slight adjustment of the rear derailleur was required (a 1/4 turn or two on the cable adjuster on the mech), however the brakes were fine.
Initially (riding solo) there was not a marked difference between the RS80's and the R500's. The RS80's feel smoother, particularly across rough sections of tarmac - and absorbed the road buzz better than the previous wheelset.
There is little or no perceived difference in aero capability between the two wheelsets, and I certainly didn't up my average speed or slash time off my PB for a frequently followed route. Braking appears to be the same as the R500's (using standard Shimano pads) however I don't need to do much braking as I select routes with very few junctions at which I need to slow down - and certainly no scary descents so far!
I wasn't too happy to be honest!
Next up was a semi-regular event at a local motor race circuit, which runs on a 2.5km circuit under flood lights (similar to a Criterium circuit). This is a training (not racing) event with kids on BMX's mixed up with guys on full carbon everything Storck bikes.
The wheels continued their trend of being smoother than the R500's, but no "faster" when riding solo.
I then hooked up with a friend of mine, and then found the primary difference between the wheelsets.
The acceleration capability of the RS80's absolutely blew me away. Without any excessive effort I could drop my friend (who is considerably fitter, but a triathlete rather than a focused cyclist) like a stone! This was without "The Look" being deployed, as I wasn't expecting it!
I have ridden with him a number of times before, and never had this capability before, certainly with such little effective effort.
I was a lot happier!
Summary (all IMHO)
RS80's are not "aero" and will not greatly advance TT or constant pace solo riding
They do look nice
They appear to accelerate fast! (probably due to the lighter rims)
They will probably make good climbing wheels (to be proven, but I hope so!)
So far they appear to be resilient and reliable (early to say for sure)
Hope this helps someone out there!
Neil
0
Comments
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Interesting to hear your views.
I have a set of these but haven't ridden on them yet as they are being 'saved' for the summer bike, when, and if better weather ever comes.
I was expecting you were going to slate them for going out of true and breaking spokes but it seems your overall impression is a positive one.
Like you did previously, i currently ride on training wheels which weigh over 2kgs.
I am looking forward to flying up hills!0 -
I think you'll find the RS80s are pretty aero, it's just that the R500s are too!0
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@ Sturmey
My overall impression is positive, and I thought it may be nice to post a review rather than a complaint/issue/problem for once!
@ NapD
I was hoping for a more "aero" wheel, but I suppose with an identical spoke count and similar spoke profile I perhaps should not have expected a large difference. I was thinking of Gigantex 50mm rims [and I even phoned Derek at the Wheelsmith ] but as my riding is social/fitness rather than competitive this seemed like "cheating" to me After all, if I just want to beat my regular route PB through technology and expenditure rather than fitness and effort, I can just use my car!
Neil0
