pro lite bracciano?

jacksun22

Has anyone got any experience of riding these? I was thinking of getting a pair after hearing a few good things on the web, but after reading the poor review in this weeks cycling weekly, i have been put off.

letap73

Then what about cero wheels which did well in that test?

jacksun22

Was thinking of getting them, but they have now sold out due to the amazing review.

mroli

I've never had any problems with my Pro-lite Bracs - I'm 11 stone and race on them (and due to slackness have ridden them through a couple of winters). I have heard that maybe they aren't at the same quality that they were a couple of years ago - but my experience of them have been great. I do take the cycling weekly reviews with a pinch of salt (and those in cycling plus too) - certain brands NEVER seem to do badly, others are never reviewed. If you search the road buying forum, you'll find lots of comments on wheel topics - a fav query for people - if you want people to comment on their suitability, give people your budget, your size, what you want to ride them for and any other relevant info.

letap73

PM UGO - for advice with regards to handbuilts - he builds wheels (http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/)
If you want factory built wheels circa £300 - check out Merlins cycles

These look good for factory wheels:

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant ... elset.html

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/giant ... elset.html

bigpikle

were these the standard Bracc's or the new carbon aero version that did badly in the test? What did they say about them?

prawny

Ugos wheels are shoot hot. I was going to get a set of braccianos but my Rhigos came with comos and the rear was completely seized after 6 months

jacksun22

Thanks for the replies. Well im after the impossible i suppose, lightweight, stiff and fast. Clinchers, and not carbon. Something upto £450 i can use for sportives and the odd race in flat east anglia.
Cycling Weekly said the Prolites were basically too light, not enough stifness. I also looked at the Prolite Gavia, but was put off the fact some people have had to file their forks down to get the massive hub to fit. Im looking to upgrade, not degrade my frame!!

mroli

For that sort of money, I'd speak to Paolo/Ugo

bigpikle

or Derek at Wheelsmith, who builds some very nice wheels

GGBiker

That's funny, cycling plus gave them 4 stars last year and they have had good reviews all over the place for a few years. Cycling mag reviews are clearly biased and advertising driven, once a product is a couple of years old it will only score a low to mid in a review, higher scores are reserved for the new shiny product which is obviously so much better.

I have a pair of braccianos and they are light and fast, saw a huge improvement in my overall speed and especially climbing speeds with these on my Wilier Izoard vs the fulcrum racing 7 that came stock.

dodgy

I'm amazed that anyone allows a publication like CW to sway their views. At least Tour-QTR published repeatable metrics with their tests.

ugo.santalucia

GGBiker wrote:

That's funny, cycling plus gave them 4 stars last year and they have had good reviews all over the place for a few years. Cycling mag reviews are clearly biased and advertising driven, once a product is a couple of years old it will only score a low to mid in a review, higher scores are reserved for the new shiny product which is obviously so much better.

I have a pair of braccianos and they are light and fast, saw a huge improvement in my overall speed and especially climbing speeds with these on my Wilier Izoard vs the fulcrum racing 7 that came stock.

I think you have hit the nail on the head. Reviews are made by incompetent who are basically told what to say by a manufacturer or distributor. Typically these so called experts know three words: light, stiff and smooth and randomly apply them in their articles

ADIHEAD

I bought a set from Ribble for £175 two years ago. Whilst I'm happy with the purchase I wouldn't pay any more than that for them. The flex and the bearings are of poor quality - 2 sets of fronts and rears vs none on a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites that are 4 years old and have done twice the mileage. They have held true and with the latest aftermarket bearings they're now running fine. The freehub also gets damaged by the cassette splines and mine will need replacing the next time I take the cassette off as only just managed to get it back on last time! So if you were thinking of paying full retail then I wouldn't bother and perhaps get some handbuilts instead. If you can get a severely discounted pair as I did then that's a different matter.

I'd agree they will be better than Fulcrum 7's and probably 5's also for speed. They climb and ride ok whilst seated, just flex when you stand. Indeed I get on ok with them but they haven't been fit and forget like my Mavic and Dura ace wheels!

Hope this helps?

ADIHEAD

I don't think calling reviewers 'incompetents' is very constructive. I think they write about what they have at the time but often don't get to use products for long enough to discover certain weaknesses. I'm sure there's also an element of certain 'flaws' becoming flavour of the month etc. For example, in last month's cycling plus there seemed to be a new emphasis on freehubs reacting slowly, in both wheel reviews and on a complete bike review. This is a newly mentioned complaint, which then seems to get overused thoughout the issue. Cycling plus always used to rave about Michelin pro3race's, even saying they were tough when users were getting a lot of punctures. Now the pro4race is out they admit the pro3races weren't tough enough! So there's lots of inconsistencies, not sure it's just a case of doing as they're told though, just think they wrote pieces without testing them for long enough to get the full picture.

When I bought my Bracciano's they had just won a group test and received 5 stars. Now, quite correctly I believe they're getting rated as a 3 star product. Why did they get 5 stars originally? Had Hotlines/Prolite just placed a lucrative advertising run? Well Prolite are still advertising in issues when the products are getting average reviews? The Prolite chainset and I seem to remember their carbon aero wheels got very average reviews last year and the adverts are still there. I think there was just something about the product that initially impressed and now they've used them a bit more, we're getting more balanced opinions.

dodgy

ADIHEAD wrote:

The flex and the bearings are of poor quality - 2 sets of fronts and rears vs none on a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites that are 4 years old and have done twice the mileage.

I'd agree with your points, I bought them same time and price from Ribble, too. By the way, did you change the bearings yourself? I tried hammering mine out but they were going nowhere! Besides, the rim is pretty worn now (winter bike use) and I reckon there's not much point spending money on them.

For my next winter wheels (yes, I know Braccianos are an unconventional winter bike choice - but I got them cheap at the time) I'm going cup and cone bearings.

ADIHEAD

No I didn't try myself and my LBS only charge £8 to fit so not worth messing with when you lead a busy life! I think a lot of cartridge bearings are fine to be honest. As I say, my Mavics have lasted 4 years on the original set. Cup and cone are fine if you don't mind servicing yourself though and are prepared to check them over regularly. Personally I prefer fit and forget for the winter but each to their own:-)

ugo.santalucia

ADIHEAD wrote:

I don't think calling reviewers 'incompetents' is very constructive. I think they write about what they have at the time but often don't get to use products for long enough to discover certain weaknesses. I'm sure there's also an element of certain 'flaws' becoming flavour of the month etc. For example, in last month's cycling plus there seemed to be a new emphasis on freehubs reacting slowly, in both wheel reviews and on a complete bike review. This is a newly mentioned complaint, which then seems to get overused thoughout the issue. Cycling plus always used to rave about Michelin pro3race's, even saying they were tough when users were getting a lot of punctures. Now the pro4race is out they admit the pro3races weren't tough enough! So there's lots of inconsistencies, not sure it's just a case of doing as they're told though, just think they wrote pieces without testing them for long enough to get the full picture.

When I bought my Bracciano's they had just won a group test and received 5 stars. Now, quite correctly I believe they're getting rated as a 3 star product. Why did they get 5 stars originally? Had Hotlines/Prolite just placed a lucrative advertising run? Well Prolite are still advertising in issues when the products are getting average reviews? The Prolite chainset and I seem to remember their carbon aero wheels got very average reviews last year and the adverts are still there. I think there was just something about the product that initially impressed and now they've used them a bit more, we're getting more balanced opinions.

We are saying the same thing. They are incompetent because anyone competent would know that the slow engagement issue is a NON issue. Have you honestly ever felt your freehub did not engage fast enough?
How fast does it need to be?
Reviews are ludicrous and never point out the real weaknesses, never a mention to rebadged components... Never a mention that the actual cost of the parts is less than 50 dollars.
They actually know four words: forgot they know aero too... Not sure they can spell the entire aerodynamic word though... Luckily they have spell check...

ADIHEAD

Point taken. Just I'd use the term 'sensationalist journalism'!

unixnerd

I've had a set for about two years and can't say enough good things about them. Done a lot of miles including the dreaded Drumochter A9 cycle path with zero issues. Never had to retrue them. Never seen any flex issues either but I'm 10 stone and not the most powerful rider in the world. Pro-Lite UK are friendly and quick to reply too.

I paid 180 for mine, they've gone up a good bit since then.

Garry H

I'd also never heard of "slow engagement" being a problem for anybody until relatively recently. I'm pretty sure that this coincided with the Chris King R45 Hubs being advertised as having quicker engagement than anything else. Not criticising CK at all (I'd love a set built on a pair), but wasn't this just a solution looking for a problem?

FransJacques

ugo.santalucia wrote:

ADIHEAD wrote:

I don't think calling reviewers 'incompetents' is very constructive. I think they write about what they have at the time but often don't get to use products for long enough to discover certain weaknesses. I'm sure there's also an element of certain 'flaws' becoming flavour of the month etc. For example, in last month's cycling plus there seemed to be a new emphasis on freehubs reacting slowly, in both wheel reviews and on a complete bike review. This is a newly mentioned complaint, which then seems to get overused thoughout the issue. Cycling plus always used to rave about Michelin pro3race's, even saying they were tough when users were getting a lot of punctures. Now the pro4race is out they admit the pro3races weren't tough enough! So there's lots of inconsistencies, not sure it's just a case of doing as they're told though, just think they wrote pieces without testing them for long enough to get the full picture.

When I bought my Bracciano's they had just won a group test and received 5 stars. Now, quite correctly I believe they're getting rated as a 3 star product. Why did they get 5 stars originally? Had Hotlines/Prolite just placed a lucrative advertising run? Well Prolite are still advertising in issues when the products are getting average reviews? The Prolite chainset and I seem to remember their carbon aero wheels got very average reviews last year and the adverts are still there. I think there was just something about the product that initially impressed and now they've used them a bit more, we're getting more balanced opinions.

We are saying the same thing. They are incompetent because anyone competent would know that the slow engagement issue is a NON issue. Have you honestly ever felt your freehub did not engage fast enough?
How fast does it need to be?
Reviews are ludicrous and never point out the real weaknesses, never a mention to rebadged components... Never a mention that the actual cost of the parts is less than 50 dollars.
They actually know four words: forgot they know aero too... Not sure they can spell the entire aerodynamic word though... Luckily they have spell check...

I made a comment to the BR editor re: their review of the HED Jet disc rims. They harp on about engagement. I ride 15 sportives, race 25 road and CX races a year, plus commute 26 kms a day on 200 days (8000 kms total) and have never felt that I've been robbed by slow engagement. I must have 8 or 9 pairs of wheels and they all differ a bit in terms of engagement but I'd never rank one above the other just for their engagement.

Back to the Bracciano's they old tech: super narrow rim, not at all aero and best retired. There are so many more interesting options out there...

ADIHEAD

Yes I agree the Bracciano is a good sub £200 wheel but not an exciting alternative to others at it's retail price. The only issue I've ever had with freehub engagement is the Dura ace 7850 hub occasionally slipping before engaging. A known problem and very occasional. It's like they've learnt a new phenomenon and it's given them another, if irrelevant reviewing perspective!

GGBiker

Seriously though, most people who have bought these probably paid somewhere between £200-£250 for these (I paid £240, they come up on special offer/discount every couple of months).

What are the alternatives at this price that can compete with this wheel?
Even up to £350 what would people be recommending?

The other thing to point out is that they are as hand built as any wheel is.

ADIHEAD

To answer your question GGBiker, I'd rather have a set of Ultegra's for £230 on Ribble, or RS80's for around £350. Hand builts I'd try Strada Velocity A23's for £300, or a set of Harry Rowland built wheels for £250 to £300. Basically they're good value up to the price you paid. Only average for £350 though.

dodgy

GGBiker wrote:

Seriously though, most people who have bought these probably paid somewhere between £200-£250 for these (I paid £240, they come up on special offer/discount every couple of months).

What are the alternatives at this price that can compete with this wheel?
Even up to £350 what would people be recommending?

The other thing to point out is that they are as hand built as any wheel is.

RS80

prawny

GGBiker wrote:

Seriously though, most people who have bought these probably paid somewhere between £200-£250 for these (I paid £240, they come up on special offer/discount every couple of months).

What are the alternatives at this price that can compete with this wheel?
Even up to £350 what would people be recommending?

The other thing to point out is that they are as hand built as any wheel is.

Something hand built by a man, preferably in a shed.