EA90 RT - Any good?

wotnoshoeseh

All,

I took the plunge and pressed the buy button on a set of Easton EA90 RT's.
While they are tubeless ready wheels, I will run these with standard clinchers.

I would be interested to know if anyone has a set of these and, if so, what do they think of them.

I read on the Easton website that the wheels do not have a weight limit but then I read elsewhere about people having issues with them. At ~92-95 kg, does anyone think I will have issues with them?
As they were originally a 680 quid wheelset, I'm thinking they will be Mavic Ksyrium Elite and higher type quality, and will be a considerable upgrade from my Mavic Ksyrium Equipes.

All thoughts and comments gratefully received.

Thanks,
D.

robbo2011

If my experience of EA90s is anything to go by, get ready for broken spokes. And don't get the freehub wet because the bearing is crap and it will seize.

Sorry.

wotnoshoeseh

I did read reviews of older ones 2008-2009 models having issues but I think the root cause was a bad batch of spokes from Sapim.
Are there still issues with these wheels - I'm looking at 2013 model year wheels.
Any input gratefully received.

Thanks,
D

ugo.santalucia

wotnoshoeseh wrote:

I did read reviews of older ones 2008-2009 models having issues but I think the root cause was a bad batch of spokes from Sapim.
Are there still issues with these wheels - I'm looking at 2013 model year wheels.
Any input gratefully received.

Thanks,
D

Bad spokes from Sapim? Did Sapim ever say that?
Sure it's got nothing to do with the fact that the flange design force them to be bent at an angle, just close to the centre of the hub, where the forces are higher and typically fatigue is greater?
I think there are a number of things wrong with the EA 90, at least the SL and SLX I have seen. The use of round straight pull spokes in combination with alloy nipples, for instance. I foun it was impossible to true the wheel as the spoke turned in the flange with no way to hold it.
Then the bend inside the flange as above.

Also, they are hardly ideal for someone your size, let's face it

wotnoshoeseh

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Bad spokes from Sapim? Did Sapim ever say that?

I don't know if Sapim ever made a tacit submission to that. It seems to be what people are quoting on the other websites.

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Sure it's got nothing to do with the fact that the flange design force them to be bent at an angle, just close to the centre of the hub, where the forces are higher and typically fatigue is greater?
I think there are a number of things wrong with the EA 90, at least the SL and SLX I have seen. The use of round straight pull spokes in combination with alloy nipples, for instance. I foun it was impossible to true the wheel as the spoke turned in the flange with no way to hold it.
Then the bend inside the flange as above.

Thanks for the analysis ugo. I realise from following this website you have a shedload more experience on this subject than many others.
Is there anything else that you might recommend, in the £250 - £300 bracket? I'm currently running Ksyrium Equipe and have had no issues with those wheels. I was hoping for an upgrade with these Eastons as they were heavily reduced.

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Also, they are hardly ideal for someone your size, let's face it

As above thanks for the analysis

ugo.santalucia

I can only advise you to do your reading, there are planty of threads dealing with wheelsets for heavier riders. I have received quite a lot of grief for turning threads about branded wheels into discussions about handbuilts, so, fair criticism or not, I am trying to avoid doing that... :?

banditvic

I have a few sets of Eastons the spokes seem to fail after a big hit but not straight away, the ones I have broken all go at the end of the thread. After putting all new spokes in has been ok for the last year on a SLX rim.

wotnoshoeseh

banditvic wrote:

I have a few sets of Eastons the spokes seem to fail after a big hit but not straight away, the ones I have broken all go at the end of the thread. After putting all new spokes in has been ok for the last year on a SLX rim.

Is this not an odd failure? I'd expect there to be more stress at the J of the bend and therefore a more susceptible area for failure.

Ugo, your thoughts, if you don't mind.

I subscribe to the thought of hand builts and I did build my own A23 on 105 hubs, but I've had a couple of spoke breakages. I'm going to rebuild eventually with new spokes and more closely follow the Roger Musson directions, particularly for completing the wheel, but I was looking for something to tide me over in the meantime.

ugo.santalucia

wotnoshoeseh wrote:

Is this not an odd failure? I'd expect there to be more stress at the J of the bend and therefore a more susceptible area for failure.

Ugo, your thoughts, if you don't mind.

They are not J bend spokes. Spokes breaking at the thread are not unusual either... only a spoke snapping in half is unusual

ck101

I bought these also yesterday. I'm a bit lighter at 80kg and plan to get some more off in the new year.

The way I look at it is they are light enough, covered for warranty for 2 years, use standard spokes, are tubeless, look great and are lastly they are seriously discounted.

I have read the reports above of broken spokes, as expected there are also some great reviews for them also.

I was about to buy some Dura Ace C24's, 35's or Zipp's. A Dura Ace C24 set is 1364 g without tubes which would add 200 g or so, comparable to the tubeless Easton.

I could buy two sets of Eastons for the same price and with the tubeless design there won't be much in the weight difference.

I do appreciate Ugo's experience but with the two year warranty I'm not too concerned.

wotnoshoeseh

Still unsure as to whether to return them or not. They've been sitting here on my kitchen floor still in the box for almost 2 days now!! Normally it would be new stuff - let's get it fitted!!