DT Swiss PR 1400 Dicut Oxic

rbarcan

Thinking of replacing my Campag Neutron clinchers with Conti 4000s 25s and going tubeless for upcoming week in Picos de Europa.

I tried road tubeless a few years back and liked the feeling of security at not risking pinch flats .... or blowouts on long descents. (I have experienced former and, although clearly rare, have witnessed latter - not nice!)

DT Swiss PR 1400 Dicut Oxic with Schwalbe One Pros have been suggested. Not cheap, but tempted... Anyone with any experience?

pauly69

I have that exact combo. Love 'em, IMO they ride much nicer than the DA9000 C24's I have (which are shod with 4000s II's 25mm). Great braking, a little pad hungry but pads are only about 20 quid for a full set.

Most importantly, they look cool too - and really that's all that matters right?

robbo2011

I have to say, I am toying with buying a set for my next wheels. A guy I ride with has some and he really likes them. They look cool, too.

superkenners

What about the RR21s? They are in fact lighter too.

pauly69

...certainly a less expensive option. I think the small weight difference is mainly due to the RR21's use of two different spokes, I forget the names - something like aero lite and aero comp on the RR21 vs all aero comp on the PR1400's.

I think the RR21's can be had for about £450, I paid about £640 for the PR1400's mainly for the all black look

bendertherobot

Chap on one review says that he already had lines on his tracks as a result of using levers to fit tyres. I've always fancied this type of look as long as it always stayed that way, which it wont.

Have RR21 coming on my new Canyon, quite excited by them.

grenw

Got RR21s on my Canyon with 28mm GP4000s.

A breeze to get tyres on and off - tubes not tubeless. One lever off in a few seconds and hands only needed to put them back on. Possibly the easiest tube swap of any combo I've ever had to make road or mtb.

robbo2011

bendertherobot wrote:

Chap on one review says that he already had lines on his tracks as a result of using levers to fit tyres. I've always fancied this type of look as long as it always stayed that way, which it wont.

Have RR21 coming on my new Canyon, quite excited by them.

Hmm, the ceramic coating is touted as being extremely durable and harder than sand and grit and as such should not wear off. Extremely disappointing if it is wearing off for some users.

bendertherobot

robbo2011 wrote:

bendertherobot wrote:

Chap on one review says that he already had lines on his tracks as a result of using levers to fit tyres. I've always fancied this type of look as long as it always stayed that way, which it wont.

Have RR21 coming on my new Canyon, quite excited by them.

Hmm, the ceramic coating is touted as being extremely durable and harder than sand and grit and as such should not wear off. Extremely disappointing if it is wearing off for some users.

Only one as far as I can see. Reviews on braking and noise are very positive.

pauly69

Certainly had no probs with mine yet

paulmon

I have these and the coating is tough but brittle. I haven't had issues with tyre levers (bontrager) in fact the wheels are that hard the tyre levers lose material before the wheel does. However I dropped an allen key onto the wheel and two small dots of the coating came off.

The wheels/pads take some bedding in. On my first ride I ate through the pads and suffered horrible brake fade and my wheels, tyres and brake calipers had pad material all over them. Subsequent rides have been much better and DT Swiss confirmed the high pad wear is to be expected. The braking performance now they are bedded in is superb and they don't make the horrible noise you get with Mavics. The biggest selling point for me is that all the components are easily replaced. Spokes and hubs are freely available and don't cost the earth.

The full wheel set weighs 2.4KG with 25mm GP4000 II, Dur-Ace 11-30 Cassette and latex tubes which is slightly lighter than the Dura Ace 9000 I had. The difference comes from the skewers and rim tape.

superkenners

Look very nice. Any reason why you don't run them tubeless?

paulmon

So just got back from a week in the Alps during which we encountered some horrific weather. It rained heavily coming down the 20K descent of Gavia. The temps were low single figures and the road surface was horrible for the first 10K. This resulted in me being on the brakes for pretty much the entire descent and whilst I managed to get through a set of front pads the coating on the brake track has remained intact.

robbo2011

Ah yes, the Gavia descent down to Bormio I presume?. Terrible road quality at the top, I remember it well.

Good to hear the coating held up.

ugo.santalucia

robbo2011 wrote:

Ah yes, the Gavia descent down to Bormio I presume?. Terrible road quality at the top, I remember it well.

Good to hear the coating held up.

The Giro hasn't been there in a while, hence it's probably in need of new tarmac. It's gone a bit out of favour, not sure why, as it is one of the most beautiful and one of the hardest climbs

paulmon

robbo2011 wrote:

Ah yes, the Gavia descent down to Bormio I presume?. Terrible road quality at the top, I remember it well.

Good to hear the coating held up.

Nope the other way, we climbed Stelvio from Bormio and then descended back to Bormio and then climbed Gavia and descended towards Pezzo and we where supposed to finish the day in Vermiglio but the weather going up and down the Gavia was so bad that we had to be rescued at the bottom. I've never experienced weather like that before. A real near death experience.

This was me half way down Stelvio. Absolutely freezing cold after descending 5K through cloud. Worst day on the bike ever.




P

ZMC888

I've got RR21s. Love the hubs and the braking but there is some spoke noise on the rear and I don't really like and the spoke tension seems a bit light on the rear. They've stayed completely true in thousands of kms.

paulmon

ZMC888 wrote:

I've got RR21s. Love the hubs and the braking but there is some spoke noise on the rear and I don't really like and the spoke tension seems a bit light on the rear. They've stayed completely true in thousands of kms.

I'm glad you have posted this. I have spoke noise on mine and to be honest it was a bit of a worry initially.

ZMC888

PaulMon wrote:

ZMC888 wrote:

I've got RR21s. Love the hubs and the braking but there is some spoke noise on the rear and I don't really like and the spoke tension seems a bit light on the rear. They've stayed completely true in thousands of kms.

I'm glad you have posted this. I have spoke noise on mine and to be honest it was a bit of a worry initially.

Do you find the spoke tension much lower on the rear? Do you find the spoke noise particularly noticeable at lower speeds especially when climbing under power?

paulmon

ZMC888 wrote:

PaulMon wrote:

ZMC888 wrote:

I've got RR21s. Love the hubs and the braking but there is some spoke noise on the rear and I don't really like and the spoke tension seems a bit light on the rear. They've stayed completely true in thousands of kms.

I'm glad you have posted this. I have spoke noise on mine and to be honest it was a bit of a worry initially.

Do you find the spoke tension much lower on the rear? Do you find the spoke noise particularly noticeable at lower speeds especially when climbing under power?

I'm unable to really check the tension other than by feel but they are only noisy at low speeds under power.

HenHarrier

An older thread but I bought a set recently and thought that other fifty-somethings who love riding long distances at moderate speed and who may be thinking of buying these may be interested in a mini-"review". Long story short i really like them. They replaced a hand-built set that cost about £450 two years ago and are a similar sort of weight and while I didn't expect them to be like I'd rediscovered cycling they are unquestionably a better ride. Not more aero, not more comfortable (tyres and psi are the same as previous wheelset and nothings changed there), but they feel so much more efficient - I'm not faster (too late that for that if I'm honest with myself) but they make a long ride feel easier with no flexing, better power transfer, and a beautiful feel to the way they roll. The hubs definitely make climbing a little easier (I'm 74kg, bike is 7.5kg). They're probably not the absolute pinnacle of wheelsets but I opted for these over a bling and far more expensive carbon set I would never have got the maximum out of and I couldn't be happier. They sound great (far quieter than I expected) and look really, really nice. I've only done dry rides so far but they brake well (without squealing) and I can't see me wrecking pads at the sort of alarming speed others have reported - it's rolling where I live but not steep so ymmv. I already felt I had a reasonable set up (cervelo r2 ultegra with plenty of small upgrades), but they have made it 'more complete' and for the price (my lbs did a good deal and fitted them) I can't imagine another upgrade for the money making such a discernible difference in how much I enjoy a ride. I don't have the cash for £2k wheelsets but I genuinely feel like I've scratched the upgrade itch and found something I'll be happy with for a long time. And, no, I have no affiliation with any manufacturer or retailer whatsoever, just thought this might benefit someone else if I added my view to the thread (which I read many times on my way to buying the oxics).

mrb123

Good to hear your feedback.

Have you noticed any marking or deterioration of the braking surface yet? (And how many miles have you put on them so far?)

nachetetm

@HenHarrier, would you mind to tell us what handbuilt wheels are the Oxic replacing? I am curious mostly about the hub you had in your previous wheelset. What about the braking? I read all kind of contradictory reports regarding the "improved" braking of the oxic/exalith treatement and I would like to hear your opinion.
Enjoy them, they look like a very nice wheelset and seem very well regarded.

HenHarrier

@nachetetm - sure, they were DCR matte rims, alloy braking track, with his branded hubs (Bitex I think). I really liked them but I'd hammered them, they looked a bit plain (yeah, I know, shallow but looks matter), and I wanted to replace them. I've done less than 200 miles on the oxics, and only in the dry, so I'm not really qualified to comment on the braking. I read piles of different reports on the net before plumping for them (was thinking of buying the DTSwiss 1400 carbons with the same hub) but £1600 is a bit much for me and I'm not quick enough for them to make a huge difference. A mate had banged on his about (older) 240 hubs and to be honest it was the dicut hubs and the looks that attracted me more than whether they braked better than x or y. I've not had to emergency stop yet but I've made sure the pads are bedded in and I'm confident on them which is about all I'm after. Descending de Huez would be a real test, but on the rolling stuff round here they stop perfectly. Will the oxic coating stay put, I'll find out in time but right now I don't regret buying them at all and don't regret the extra £900 I didn't spend burning a hole in my pocket either!

paulmon

nachetetm wrote:

@HenHarrier, would you mind to tell us what handbuilt wheels are the Oxic replacing? I am curious mostly about the hub you had in your previous wheelset. What about the braking? I read all kind of contradictory reports regarding the "improved" braking of the oxic/exalith treatement and I would like to hear your opinion.
Enjoy them, they look like a very nice wheelset and seem very well regarded.

I've ridden mine for 6-700 miles and the braking is good but when I had to change the front wheel to my spare (HED Belgium) I found the braking on the HED to be much better, particularly on descents.