Wheels - Soul S3.0
Calpol
Posts: 1,039
Hello guys and girls.
I thought I would type up a bit of my recent experience pursuing an upgrade to the wheels on my road bike. Its not intended to have any credence as a review as I have only ridden the new wheels for about 90 miles so its more about the initial impressions, purchasing experience and the decision making process that led to me choosing to buy from Soul.
I would like to acknowledge the input in the forum and related blogs from the likes of Ugo Santalucia, Wheelsmith, thecycleclinic etc. They take the time to post and tirelessly offer advice on matters of the wheel. It served to both inform and torment me.
This post might be a bit longwinded. In fact it might be boring so I will break it into sections so you can selectively read or ignore
About the rider
I am relatively new to road riding, having got into it again in the last three years after a hiatus of nearly 8 years which coincided with the arrival of my children. I am 6' tall and now weight about 74kg. I ride for fitness, to destress and to enjoy being outside. I also ride socially with a local club.
About the bike
My bike is a Wilier Izoard XP from 2011. I bought it from the classifieds on here about a year ago to relegate and old Peugeot steel frame bike from the late 1990's. I adore the Wilier and have ridden it with great pleasure for the last 2000 miles. Its Veloce specced and has Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels. It has been and probably still is more bike than my ability requires but I love riding it, maintaining it and looking at it.
Why buy new wheels?
I am always looking to improve things and seem to always require a project to research and implement. I guess I am a bit of a malcontent. Or maybe I am just a typical bloke. Cycling has become quite a passion but one that I cannot fully indulge the way I would if I were single and with no children. This is an expensive pastime and I have spent a fair few quid on it in the last two years. I added it all up a few months ago and had to try and forget the number because it made me feel a bit sick!
On here and other forums - wheels are often stated as the best upgrade for many bikes over the stock wheels. In fairness Fulcrum 5s are probably a step up from many entry level wheels and they have been very reliable. However I had an itch for something that was both lighter and aesthetically more pleasing to my eye. Your Road Bikes is a dangerous forum to spend time in. It makes you appreciate how good racing bikes look with deep rim wheels. It makes you want the same.
What was I looking for?
My criteria were the following
Lighter and stiffer than Fulcrum 5s - a bit of brake rub is noticeable when climbing out the saddle
Campagnolo compatible
Deeper rims than the Fulcrums - basically sexy looking (totally subjective if not shallow I know)
Budget <£500
Despite the very best and sensible advice from so many experienced riders on here - durability was not something I put particularly high regard on. I fully accept that this may be a pretty foolhardy position to have adopted if I have a spoke go 60 miles from home and the wheel is not rideable. However given my current financial position I do not need a set of wheels to last me 20000 miles. I suspect that in future I will want to progress to some carbon tubs!
What did I consider?
Archetypes rims custom built. - the reason I didn't go this route was for a couple of things. Aesthetically they don't do it for me. I accept that the rims do look high quality but I don't like the anodising wear on the brake track. There is also apparently an issue with the compatibility of the Hope hubs and campagnolo set ups. Ugo advised me to avoid this combination. The hope hubs were a good budget price for me and I liked the variety of drilling's and colours they can be supplied in. I liked the idea of the 23mm wide rim.
Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL - pure bling reasons. to be honest I dont ride at 24mph on the flat very often (although I am getting faster!) so the aero benefit is probably debatable for my riding. The whoosh noise they allegedly make I admit was seductive but to be honest at £700 they were a bit beyond my budget. I also rode a couple of Sportive in very gusty conditions and it was a job to remain stable on my 25mm deep Fulcrums. That basically put me off buying anything north of 40mm deep. For the same reasons I scored off Campagnolo Bullet 50s - plus they have ugly decals
Campagnolo Eurus/ Fulcrum Racing 1
I like Campagnolo. I haven't read anything bad about their wheels. Just about in budget but visually very similar to my existing wheels. Not really too sexy are they? I know they would be stiff and reasonably light but I was kind of hung up on getting a wider rim.
Boyd Vitesse, Zipp 101
i have read a lot of good things about these wheels. c30mm deep and 23mm wide. Sensible amount of spokes. They get good reviews on the Us forums but you can only import them from the US and that started to get a bit expensive. The Zipps also seemed to fit my criteria but they are just so expensive.
I then ended up at Soul wheels http://2013.bikesoul.com/. I read up a lot about this company and its products. They have a decent reputation and essentially are a more commercial operation than some of our resident wheel builders. Sean at Soul is the owner and builds all the wheels himself. He is an engineer and has seemingly spent the last ten years developing his products. They do have a UK distributor but the prices are quite a bit ahead of importing directly from Soul. This is justified by them arguing that there are stocking costs, import taxes and aftersales support to pay for. Fair enough but list price of the wheels I bought is £595. I got mine for a little bit over £400. Racewaredirect are selling some of the previous generation wheels for £380. These are 19mm rims and the S3 has an older hub design. The Soul S2.0s got a decent review on Road.cc a while back.
The S3.0 wheels are 32mm deep and 23mm wide. They have a similar weight and profile to Zipp 101 but are a fraction of the cost. They of course don't have the R&D behind them that Zipp do. However they seemed to be a close match to all my criteria. You can read the specs here http://2013.bikesoul.com/s3-0/
The purchase experience
Its pretty straightforward. I emailed Soul with my enquiry via their website. Specced out what I wanted and within a few hours I had a reply from Sean (the owner) confirming the enquiry, advising lead time and pricing. I elected to order red hubs for a bit more bling! Sean then sent me an invoice and I paid via Paypal. A few days later my wheels were built and despatched. Great service and communications from Sean.
About a week later I get the mail from Parcelforce asking me to pay the customs charge. It was £33. Not too bad I thought. You pay it online and then select a delivery date. I chose a day when Mrs Calpol would be home. Parcelforce dutifully chose to come a day early and made off with the goods again, leaving the ubiquitous " We called when you were out" card. I phoned to rearrange delivery, had a bit of a moan and then impatiently waited. No parcel arrived on the Friday. Tracking said "customer has collected"!. Eventually we traced the package and they put it out on a Saturday delivery. Soul built and shipped my wheels in 4 days, it took a further 3 to get to the UK and then another 10 to get to me!
They arrive in a nice box and well packaged.
Building them up
I had to wait for some 8mm (red)veloplugs to arrive before building them up. I also bought some new tyres and tubes from Chain Reaction. Michelin Pro 4 service course *2 plus tubes for £43 which seems a good deal. They are 23mm and I am used to riding 25mm gatorskins over the winter. The tyres go on pretty easy, I fitted my cassette and then put them on the bike. I also took the opportunity to change brake blocks as I knew I would have to do a bit of resetting to accomodate the 23mm wide rim.
Initial impressions
I think they look pretty good. I like the coloured hubs. They do hover feel/sound a little cheaper than those on the Fulcrums. A bit tinnier if I am honest. Time will tell how durable they are. I won't bother writing how well they spin/freewheel becuase I don't really see the relevance. They are very true out the box and setting the brake blocks was no trouble. My bike also feels noticeably lighter but I haven't weighed how much.
First few rides - impressions
I have been out a couple of times. Proves next to nothing I realise but so far so good.
Whats good -
1.much less flex than fulcrums. Might be total coincidence but I beat all my strava times on local segments. Placebo - who knows.
2. They do seem to hold speed about 19-20mph better. Subjectively I think this was worth a sprocket on the cassette.
3. They allow lower pressure on the 23mm tyre. 90psi on front and <100ps on rear. They ride in fairness felt a bit bumpier that the 25mm gatorskins. If I am honest I will possibly got back to 25mm tyres when the Pro 4s wear out, but they seemed a really good value deal at the time.
What I am not so keen on
1. The rear hub has a much tinnier sound than I am used to. I suspect this is to do with the hub casing material but it makes the shifting sound a bit more metallic! and less hmmmm solid I guess
Summary
The whole process of researching new wheels gave me brain ache. Its a minefield. The sensible and pragmatic choice would be to get some handbuilt ones with a lot of spokes that can easily be replaced. This route would be less risky and can be accomplished at a similar cost. I went for a specification and design that I felt was right for me. I am not necessarily recommending anyone follow this example as only time will tell if I made a good decision.
What I can re-assure people on is the process of dealing with Soul Wheels for the purchase experience. It is very good and I should imagine of less risk than buying chinese wheels from Ebay. Sean the owner is a genuine guy from what I can see and by all accounts stands by his products. His wheels have a good reputation across the internet and offer a competitve alternative to the main manufacturers and handbuilt route (so far). If I don't get flamed too much for this I will do an update a few months in once I have ridden these wheels a bit more.
I thought I would type up a bit of my recent experience pursuing an upgrade to the wheels on my road bike. Its not intended to have any credence as a review as I have only ridden the new wheels for about 90 miles so its more about the initial impressions, purchasing experience and the decision making process that led to me choosing to buy from Soul.
I would like to acknowledge the input in the forum and related blogs from the likes of Ugo Santalucia, Wheelsmith, thecycleclinic etc. They take the time to post and tirelessly offer advice on matters of the wheel. It served to both inform and torment me.
This post might be a bit longwinded. In fact it might be boring so I will break it into sections so you can selectively read or ignore
About the rider
I am relatively new to road riding, having got into it again in the last three years after a hiatus of nearly 8 years which coincided with the arrival of my children. I am 6' tall and now weight about 74kg. I ride for fitness, to destress and to enjoy being outside. I also ride socially with a local club.
About the bike
My bike is a Wilier Izoard XP from 2011. I bought it from the classifieds on here about a year ago to relegate and old Peugeot steel frame bike from the late 1990's. I adore the Wilier and have ridden it with great pleasure for the last 2000 miles. Its Veloce specced and has Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels. It has been and probably still is more bike than my ability requires but I love riding it, maintaining it and looking at it.
Why buy new wheels?
I am always looking to improve things and seem to always require a project to research and implement. I guess I am a bit of a malcontent. Or maybe I am just a typical bloke. Cycling has become quite a passion but one that I cannot fully indulge the way I would if I were single and with no children. This is an expensive pastime and I have spent a fair few quid on it in the last two years. I added it all up a few months ago and had to try and forget the number because it made me feel a bit sick!
On here and other forums - wheels are often stated as the best upgrade for many bikes over the stock wheels. In fairness Fulcrum 5s are probably a step up from many entry level wheels and they have been very reliable. However I had an itch for something that was both lighter and aesthetically more pleasing to my eye. Your Road Bikes is a dangerous forum to spend time in. It makes you appreciate how good racing bikes look with deep rim wheels. It makes you want the same.
What was I looking for?
My criteria were the following
Lighter and stiffer than Fulcrum 5s - a bit of brake rub is noticeable when climbing out the saddle
Campagnolo compatible
Deeper rims than the Fulcrums - basically sexy looking (totally subjective if not shallow I know)
Budget <£500
Despite the very best and sensible advice from so many experienced riders on here - durability was not something I put particularly high regard on. I fully accept that this may be a pretty foolhardy position to have adopted if I have a spoke go 60 miles from home and the wheel is not rideable. However given my current financial position I do not need a set of wheels to last me 20000 miles. I suspect that in future I will want to progress to some carbon tubs!
What did I consider?
Archetypes rims custom built. - the reason I didn't go this route was for a couple of things. Aesthetically they don't do it for me. I accept that the rims do look high quality but I don't like the anodising wear on the brake track. There is also apparently an issue with the compatibility of the Hope hubs and campagnolo set ups. Ugo advised me to avoid this combination. The hope hubs were a good budget price for me and I liked the variety of drilling's and colours they can be supplied in. I liked the idea of the 23mm wide rim.
Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL - pure bling reasons. to be honest I dont ride at 24mph on the flat very often (although I am getting faster!) so the aero benefit is probably debatable for my riding. The whoosh noise they allegedly make I admit was seductive but to be honest at £700 they were a bit beyond my budget. I also rode a couple of Sportive in very gusty conditions and it was a job to remain stable on my 25mm deep Fulcrums. That basically put me off buying anything north of 40mm deep. For the same reasons I scored off Campagnolo Bullet 50s - plus they have ugly decals
Campagnolo Eurus/ Fulcrum Racing 1
I like Campagnolo. I haven't read anything bad about their wheels. Just about in budget but visually very similar to my existing wheels. Not really too sexy are they? I know they would be stiff and reasonably light but I was kind of hung up on getting a wider rim.
Boyd Vitesse, Zipp 101
i have read a lot of good things about these wheels. c30mm deep and 23mm wide. Sensible amount of spokes. They get good reviews on the Us forums but you can only import them from the US and that started to get a bit expensive. The Zipps also seemed to fit my criteria but they are just so expensive.
I then ended up at Soul wheels http://2013.bikesoul.com/. I read up a lot about this company and its products. They have a decent reputation and essentially are a more commercial operation than some of our resident wheel builders. Sean at Soul is the owner and builds all the wheels himself. He is an engineer and has seemingly spent the last ten years developing his products. They do have a UK distributor but the prices are quite a bit ahead of importing directly from Soul. This is justified by them arguing that there are stocking costs, import taxes and aftersales support to pay for. Fair enough but list price of the wheels I bought is £595. I got mine for a little bit over £400. Racewaredirect are selling some of the previous generation wheels for £380. These are 19mm rims and the S3 has an older hub design. The Soul S2.0s got a decent review on Road.cc a while back.
The S3.0 wheels are 32mm deep and 23mm wide. They have a similar weight and profile to Zipp 101 but are a fraction of the cost. They of course don't have the R&D behind them that Zipp do. However they seemed to be a close match to all my criteria. You can read the specs here http://2013.bikesoul.com/s3-0/
The purchase experience
Its pretty straightforward. I emailed Soul with my enquiry via their website. Specced out what I wanted and within a few hours I had a reply from Sean (the owner) confirming the enquiry, advising lead time and pricing. I elected to order red hubs for a bit more bling! Sean then sent me an invoice and I paid via Paypal. A few days later my wheels were built and despatched. Great service and communications from Sean.
About a week later I get the mail from Parcelforce asking me to pay the customs charge. It was £33. Not too bad I thought. You pay it online and then select a delivery date. I chose a day when Mrs Calpol would be home. Parcelforce dutifully chose to come a day early and made off with the goods again, leaving the ubiquitous " We called when you were out" card. I phoned to rearrange delivery, had a bit of a moan and then impatiently waited. No parcel arrived on the Friday. Tracking said "customer has collected"!. Eventually we traced the package and they put it out on a Saturday delivery. Soul built and shipped my wheels in 4 days, it took a further 3 to get to the UK and then another 10 to get to me!
They arrive in a nice box and well packaged.
Building them up
I had to wait for some 8mm (red)veloplugs to arrive before building them up. I also bought some new tyres and tubes from Chain Reaction. Michelin Pro 4 service course *2 plus tubes for £43 which seems a good deal. They are 23mm and I am used to riding 25mm gatorskins over the winter. The tyres go on pretty easy, I fitted my cassette and then put them on the bike. I also took the opportunity to change brake blocks as I knew I would have to do a bit of resetting to accomodate the 23mm wide rim.
Initial impressions
I think they look pretty good. I like the coloured hubs. They do hover feel/sound a little cheaper than those on the Fulcrums. A bit tinnier if I am honest. Time will tell how durable they are. I won't bother writing how well they spin/freewheel becuase I don't really see the relevance. They are very true out the box and setting the brake blocks was no trouble. My bike also feels noticeably lighter but I haven't weighed how much.
First few rides - impressions
I have been out a couple of times. Proves next to nothing I realise but so far so good.
Whats good -
1.much less flex than fulcrums. Might be total coincidence but I beat all my strava times on local segments. Placebo - who knows.
2. They do seem to hold speed about 19-20mph better. Subjectively I think this was worth a sprocket on the cassette.
3. They allow lower pressure on the 23mm tyre. 90psi on front and <100ps on rear. They ride in fairness felt a bit bumpier that the 25mm gatorskins. If I am honest I will possibly got back to 25mm tyres when the Pro 4s wear out, but they seemed a really good value deal at the time.
What I am not so keen on
1. The rear hub has a much tinnier sound than I am used to. I suspect this is to do with the hub casing material but it makes the shifting sound a bit more metallic! and less hmmmm solid I guess
Summary
The whole process of researching new wheels gave me brain ache. Its a minefield. The sensible and pragmatic choice would be to get some handbuilt ones with a lot of spokes that can easily be replaced. This route would be less risky and can be accomplished at a similar cost. I went for a specification and design that I felt was right for me. I am not necessarily recommending anyone follow this example as only time will tell if I made a good decision.
What I can re-assure people on is the process of dealing with Soul Wheels for the purchase experience. It is very good and I should imagine of less risk than buying chinese wheels from Ebay. Sean the owner is a genuine guy from what I can see and by all accounts stands by his products. His wheels have a good reputation across the internet and offer a competitve alternative to the main manufacturers and handbuilt route (so far). If I don't get flamed too much for this I will do an update a few months in once I have ridden these wheels a bit more.
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Comments
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One of your reasons for new wheels was to get something lighter, yet you didnt bother to weigh them?0
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Thanks for the detailed review.
These look like nice wheels to me. Zipp 101 style but much cheaper.0 -
Good review!
They are also smart looking wheels. I have read quite a bit around them of recent.0 -
cracking write up and very nice wheels..enjoy.Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori0
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Forumites
I have had a couple of people PM me asking about these wheels. The first post was only really an initial impression so after a month and 700 miles. Here is a quick update.
I can report no negative effects with these wheels. they stood up well to some pretty ropey surfaces when I rode Le-Terrirer earlier in June. I punctured halway up Roeburndale but that was a terrible surface and I didn't have the toughest tyres on. Incidentally I am really impressed by the Michelin Pro 4 service Course. On the 23mm rim they look and measure up more like 25mm tyres and I havent really noticed any difference in comfort. Those tyres really feel and sound great on good tarmac (not that there is much of that round here).
If you are moving from say a 2kg wheelset to something nearer 1.5kg you will really notice the difference when climbing any hills. This is the most evident benefit I notice with the Soul s3.0. I actually didn't think that c400g difference would make that much difference but it does. With regard to wheel stiffness. It seems fine - I set my brake block quite close but haven't noticed any issues under load. The wheels/tyres certainly feel much more responsive if you push put any big efforts in. They seem to be very true with no discernible deflection since fitting them the first time. The only negative I can find is that the alloy body construction of the hubs means that you get more of a "pinging" occasionally when you change down or up when say exiting a bend - At first I thought this might have been spokes relaxing but its definitely just a vibration being amplified by the hub body. Maybe the hubs are bit cheap?
All in all i am still pleased with the upgrade. Not sure I will want to put the Fulcrums back on in the winter months. Perhaps thats where a winter bike comes in
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Such a useful review on these wheels ! Funny thing is I also have got a Wilier bike with Fulcrum's R5 wheels and I have been thinking about an upgrade for a while. I have just found the SOUL wheels on the net when I found this review. Very nice and thank you for sharing your experience !0
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No problems - glad it was of some help.gaborsirokmany wrote:Such a useful review on these wheels ! Funny thing is I also have got a Wilier bike with Fulcrum's R5 wheels and I have been thinking about an upgrade for a while. I have just found the SOUL wheels on the net when I found this review. Very nice and thank you for sharing your experience !0 -
Hi, Just thought i would add my say about the soul s3.0. So wanted to upgrade my wheels so as i am relatively new to cycling i was thrown into this world of wheels!! When i was a child a wheel was a wheel and struggled to get over the prices of some wheel sets out there!! So i have a cannon dale six carbon so thought i needed something decent on it so went down the line of looking at carbon wheels along with looking at the bank balance!! So after some soul searching i realised i am not in the tour de France so why spend more than needed!! after searching the second hand market i found two that were in the running, Shimano rs80 carbon and the soul s3.0. Now everyone will say the Shimano is a better wheel and i am sure they are good for someone who weights next to nothing but at 100 + kilos i needed something with a bit more! So not wanting to kill my bank balance i went out and brought a second hand set of the soul S3.0, At 200 sgd i could always throw them away or resale if no good! Now i am an englishman living in Singapore so when i brought the wheels i took them straight round to the guy who makes them in Singapore for new decals, this is when i knew i had made the right choice, he could not be more pleasant and helpful. So back to the wheels put them on my bike and they looked good and the smooth hubs just run and run!! so out for my first ride! i found them flexible when riding which was different from the stiffness of my mavics i had taken off and this put me of almost but after about two hours on them i never even noticed it and when i did i found it a benefit it some way! the one thing i noticed about the wheels is they hold very well around the 30kmh range, smooth, quiet and was really pleased with them. So if you are looking at soul wheels in my mind you cannot go far wrong, they upped my game by 2-3 km average and are as smooth as you like, i now do 250km a week on them and cannot fault them at all, yes there is a bit of flex but really put that down to me being a bit fat nothing else!! so cheap wheels, look good and as smooth as hell, what more do you want for your next set of wheels after all i go past guys with full carbons top of the range bikes smoking a fag so do you really need to spend that money at our level!! no!! you can pick these wheels up cheap second hand but they are not expensive brand new and knowing a man is hand building them adds to there pleasure.0
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markpeckham wrote:Hi, Just thought i would add my say about the soul s3.0. So wanted to upgrade my wheels so as i am relatively new to cycling i was thrown into this world of wheels!! When i was a child a wheel was a wheel and struggled to get over the prices of some wheel sets out there!! So i have a cannon dale six carbon so thought i needed something decent on it so went down the line of looking at carbon wheels along with looking at the bank balance!! So after some soul searching i realised i am not in the tour de France so why spend more than needed!! after searching the second hand market i found two that were in the running, Shimano rs80 carbon and the soul s3.0. Now everyone will say the Shimano is a better wheel and i am sure they are good for someone who weights next to nothing but at 100 + kilos i needed something with a bit more! So not wanting to kill my bank balance i went out and brought a second hand set of the soul S3.0, At 200 sgd i could always throw them away or resale if no good! Now i am an englishman living in Singapore so when i brought the wheels i took them straight round to the guy who makes them in Singapore for new decals, this is when i knew i had made the right choice, he could not be more pleasant and helpful. So back to the wheels put them on my bike and they looked good and the smooth hubs just run and run!! so out for my first ride! i found them flexible when riding which was different from the stiffness of my mavics i had taken off and this put me of almost but after about two hours on them i never even noticed it and when i did i found it a benefit it some way! the one thing i noticed about the wheels is they hold very well around the 30kmh range, smooth, quiet and was really pleased with them. So if you are looking at soul wheels in my mind you cannot go far wrong, they upped my game by 2-3 km average and are as smooth as you like, i now do 250km a week on them and cannot fault them at all, yes there is a bit of flex but really put that down to me being a bit fat nothing else!! so cheap wheels, look good and as smooth as hell, what more do you want for your next set of wheels after all i go past guys with full carbons top of the range bikes smoking a fag so do you really need to spend that money at our level!! no!! you can pick these wheels up cheap second hand but they are not expensive brand new and knowing a man is hand building them adds to there pleasure.
Thanks for sharing...
left the forum March 20230 -
Here's my experience with Soul S2 wheels: I am 6'1" and weigh 185 lbs and consider myself to be an advanced rider. I purchased a set last fall through Soul directly after looking to replace a heavily used set of Ksyrium Elites'. This spring after having about 300 miles on the S2's, I broke 2 spokes on the real wheel while climbing up a hill. Nothing out of the unordinary, just climbing up a hill, and 2 spokes snapped.
I contacted Soul to let them know the issue and they stated that they had a bad batch of spokes and suggested shipping the wheel back to replace the spokes and it would be covered under warranty. I was happy about this however, learned that shipping was the responsibility of the customer. After spending $60 to ship via USPS (UPS quoted $370 to ship the wheel back to Singapore) I received the rebuilt wheel in about 5-6 weeks.
After receiving the rebuilt rear wheel with new spokes, and putting about 200 miles on them, the wheel became untrue. I checked the wheel and I had 2 very loose spokes. I retightened the spokes and trued the wheel my self seeing that I didn't want to continue putting money into a new wheel set that shouldn't have these kind of problems.
A week later, a spoke on the front wheel broke and I found my self again, sending an email to Soul. This time I stated my dissatisfaction with another broken spoke and spokes becoming loose on a wheel with less than 200 miles and asked what my options where in resolving the issues. Soul immediately responded and apologized and said they would send out a new wheel set, free of charge.
I was happy with their response in trying to resolve an issue with a dissatisfied customer. I will say they have been quick to respond to emails. I was told that they were busy and the rims had to be reordered but they would get the new wheel set to me as soon as possible.
It has now been 5 weeks and I still do not have the replacement wheels. As good as their responses have been, I can't say that I am a satisfied customer. luckily the Ksyriums are still holding up and I've never had to replace spokes or true the wheels - they are bullet proof (heavier than S2's but bullet proof).
I hope my issues will be resolved by Soul soon and that I receive a new set where I won't have the issues I have experienced but for now, while the S2's are light and less costly than other Mfgr's in their class, they offer no value if they are not reliable on the 1st build or quality issues can't be resolved quickly.0 -
In1line wrote:Here's my experience with Soul S2 wheels: I am 6'1" and weigh 185 lbs and consider myself to be an advanced rider. I purchased a set last fall through Soul directly after looking to replace a heavily used set of Ksyrium Elites'. This spring after having about 300 miles on the S2's, I broke 2 spokes on the real wheel while climbing up a hill. Nothing out of the unordinary, just climbing up a hill, and 2 spokes snapped.
I contacted Soul to let them know the issue and they stated that they had a bad batch of spokes and suggested shipping the wheel back to replace the spokes and it would be covered under warranty. I was happy about this however, learned that shipping was the responsibility of the customer. After spending $60 to ship via USPS (UPS quoted $370 to ship the wheel back to Singapore) I received the rebuilt wheel in about 5-6 weeks.
After receiving the rebuilt rear wheel with new spokes, and putting about 200 miles on them, the wheel became untrue. I checked the wheel and I had 2 very loose spokes. I retightened the spokes and trued the wheel my self seeing that I didn't want to continue putting money into a new wheel set that shouldn't have these kind of problems.
A week later, a spoke on the front wheel broke and I found my self again, sending an email to Soul. This time I stated my dissatisfaction with another broken spoke and spokes becoming looses on a wheel with less than 200 miles and asked what my options where in resolving the issues. Soul immediately responded and apologized and said they would send out a new wheel set, free of charge.
I was happy with their response in trying to resolve an issue with a dissatisfied customer. I will say they have been quick to respond to emails. I was told that they were busy and the rims had to be reordered but they would get the new wheel set to me as soon as possible.
It has now been 5 weeks and I still do not have the replacement wheels. As good as there responses have been, I can't say that I am a satisfied customer. luckily the Ksyriums are still holding up and I've never had to replace spokes or true the wheels - they are bullet proof (heavier than S2's but bullet proof).
I hope my issues will be resolved by Soul soon and that I receive a new set where I won't have the issues I have experienced but for now, while the S2's are light and less costly than other Mfgr's in their class, they offer no value if they are not reliable on the 1st build or quality issues can't be resolved quickly.
You are approaching it the wrong way. Sending a wheel to the other side of the planet to replace a spoke is bonkers and waving a warranty claim for such a small incident is a bit OTT. A Sapim bladed spoke as used by Soul costs 3-4 USD and you can replace it yourself in 5 minutes. What a better opportunity to learn a bit of DIY? Here's what you need
http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... hich-toolsleft the forum March 20230 -
Update on my wheels - I received the new S2 wheel set free of charge from Soul 2 days after this post. I've logged about 200+ miles on them with no issues and the wheels are perfectly true. If I have any other issues i will give an update however, I'm sure Soul corrected the problem and moreover, sent a new wheel set free of charge without issue. Soul came through on their word and that is commendable.
To the previous post, I would have replaced a couple of spokes if the circumstances were different but the quality of the build and spokes on the wheel set were in question. Rebuilding 2 wheels myself with 42 new spokes on a new wheel set at $3-4 per spoke would be bonkers. I spent $60 and Soul stood behind their word and wheels. Great link though on the wheel building - thx0
