Easton EA50 Aero wheels - are worthwhile at £80?

RFDD

A friend in the cycling industry has offered me a pair of ex-showroom Easton EA50 Aero wheels for £80. The reviews for this wheel are not great but given the RRP of £320 they seem a bargain at £80.

I'm still riding the stock wheels on my road bike (Mavic CXP 22), which are nothing special but seem quite durable. The EA50 are pretty heavy at 1785g, so I doubt there is much difference between the wheelsets in weight.

Given the less than good reviews on the EA50, is it worth upgrading for sake of £80 or will the difference in ride be barely noticeable?

Thanks in advance

ugo.santalucia

For that money they are certainly worth it... 1780 grams is not heavy and yours are likely to be over 2 Kg.
I find Easton wheels have a few issues, but for 80 pounds you generally get a lot worse than those

RFDD

Thanks for your reply.

In terms of performance, will there be much noticeable difference?

Cheers

Squillinossett

I used to run EA90SL's.

I know alot of people have issues with easton, but I never had one. Im also 95kg, and never broke a spoke. Wheels ran true until I wrote them off in an accident.

If you don't buy them, ill have them off your friend for winter wheels! at that price.

ugo.santalucia

RFDD wrote:

Thanks for your reply.

In terms of performance, will there be much noticeable difference?

Cheers

Depends how bad yours are... a well built set of wheels weighin 2 Kg with good hubs will climb just as fast as a set of 1500 grams wheels... I suspect the hubs on your CXP 22 are the bottom of the bottom end, which often does make the difference, especially when they are no longer new.
Any upgrade above a good quality set of wheels is likely to be a disappointment in terms of performance.
E.g. if you have Ksyrium elite and "upgrade" to SLR or R-SYS you are likely to gain 1 second up a 1 mile long climb... is that an upgrade?

RFDD

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Depends how bad yours are..

The hubs on my CXP 22 wheels are Formula RB51 Sealed Bearing on the front and Formula RB52S on the rear. I can barely find any information on these hubs to indicate whether they are okay or not, so i'm guessing they are pretty basic? Overall, these wheels have only done 500 miles so far.

pkripper

I've a set of the EA50s, and they're a good, functional wheel, and for £80 then there's no reason to turn them down - you could ride them for a year and still sell them for more. To me, the slightly aero profile isn't really noticeable, and they do flex more than my ksyriums, but they're a different ballpark. Oh, and tyres are a bitch to put on!

Some reviews suggest issues with spokes breaking and hub probs, but mine had a year of use (incl. mostly dry commuting) and remained straight and true with no issues whatsoever. In fact, that reminds me, i do need to put them up for sale!

Your current wheels probably won't feel quite as lively, and the build may not be as consistent, but they'll not be too bad - the rims are decent. Certainly don't expect a night and day difference, as there won't be one.

supermurph09

I have those on my Cube and whilst I am looking at upgrading its not because I think they are rubbish. Ridden over 1200 miles no problems.