Wheels: Hunt v Zonda

DanM29

I'm looking for a new wheelset to replace my Pro Lite Bracciano A27 on a Bianchi Oltre. They're solid and smooth but quite narrow- 13mm internal width- which leads to my 25mm tyres ballooning a lot and I want more stability.

I'm also 90kg so need to run 110psi or the tyres balloon a bit too much. My usual rides are social 50km at 27kmh, 50km each-way commutes every couple of weeks, and some charity gran fondos.

My choices are the Hunt Race Aero Wide, or Campy Zonda. I'm tending towards Hunt.

My reasoning:
- Hunts have wider rim. 19mm internal to Zonda 17mm.
- Hunts are deeper, 31mm rim depth compared to 27mm Zonda... stronger (doubt aero would matter).
- Hunts have 20/24 spokes, Zonda has 16/21 spokes. More spokes = stronger for heavier guy.

Am I missing anything? Between these two, what else should I consider? I've heard that Campy hubs are great but that doesn't help if the low spoke count means I pop one...

Thanks

sheffsimon

DanM29 wrote:

I'm looking for a new wheelset to replace my Pro Lite Bracciano A27 on a Bianchi Oltre. They're solid and smooth but quite narrow- 13mm internal width- which leads to my 25mm tyres ballooning a lot and I want more stability.

I'm also 90kg so need to run 110psi or the tyres balloon a bit too much. My usual rides are social 50km at 27kmh, 50km each-way commutes every couple of weeks, and some charity gran fondos.

My choices are the Hunt Race Aero Wide, or Campy Zonda. I'm tending towards Hunt.

My reasoning:
- Hunts have wider rim. 19mm internal to Zonda 17mm.
- Hunts are deeper, 31mm rim depth compared to 27mm Zonda... stronger (doubt aero would matter).
- Hunts have 20/24 spokes, Zonda has 16/21 spokes. More spokes = stronger for heavier guy.

Am I missing anything? Between these two, what else should I consider? I've heard that Campy hubs are great but that doesn't help if the low spoke count means I pop one...

Thanks

Zonda are nice wheels but if you do brake a spoke the wheel might well be unrideable, and spokes aren't cheap or easy to get hold of.....personal experience.

DanM29

Yeah it's a fair point. Hunt supply a couple of spare spokes in the box I think.

thiscocks

Would personally lean towards the more spoke count for over 85kg.

cycleclinic

if hunt were confident in there wheels there would be no need for spare spokes.

also if a mech goes into a wheel you will need more than a couple of spare spokes. If a wheel break a spoke through fatigue replacing it is just asking for you to be stranded again. if a spoke fails through fatigue then they all need to be replaced. no point in messing about with spare spokes.

turbo1191

I've had a set of hunt wheels for about 3 years now.. covered about 10k.. still true and never had a problem with them. i'd highly reccomend hunt wheels.

birdie23

I'm about the same weight as you and I have Zonda C17s on my rim brake bike and some Hunt 4 season discs on my disc bike.

I've had both the current Zondas and the prior Zondas and you will have no issues at your weight. Campag put the limit at 109kg. The Zondas are actually 26mm front, 30mm rear for rim depth. I've hit tons of potholes (unintentionally) and ridden a bit of off road on them and both sets still run true.

The disc brake Hunts are also really nice wheels.

I'd go for Zondas considering they are £80 cheaper.

styxd

Hand built wheels with only 20/24 spokes (The Hunts) will not be strong or stiff enough for someone who's 90kg

darkhairedlord

Don't forget, zondas are bomb proof

chippyk

Never had any bother with my Zonda's, racing weight I''m 78kg, after 18 months off running and swimming I'm a fair bit heavier and have done nearly 4K miles this year on them.

DanM29

styxd wrote:

Hand built wheels with only 20/24 spokes (The Hunts) will not be strong or stiff enough for someone who's 90kg

I have been riding 20/24 Braccianos for 3 yrs and they're true with no problems. The Zonda have even fewer spokes. I'm confused.

styxd

Zondas aren't handbuilt using "normal" hubs and j bend spokes

DanM29

styxd wrote:

Zondas aren't handbuilt using "normal" hubs and j bend spokes

Can you explain the difference please?
Hunt say they're fine for 95kg riders. A good wheelbuilder here in Sydney also suggested 20/24 for me.

handful

I have recently gone through the same dilemma and went for the Hunts. I can confirm you do get a couple of spare spokes and a certificate signed by the person who built them! They are very nice wheels but I haven't really noticed a lot of difference between them and the Quattros they replaced to be honest despite the 300g weight saving. I tested them fairly well last weekend when I ventured down a track that ended up being more cross country than road, very, very bumpy and inspected them after and they were fine thankfully.The hubs are quite noisy which isn't such a bad thing as it gets you noticed without having to call out to horse riders and the like. My choice ended up being more on looks rather than expectation they would be better than the Zondas, they do look nice on my fairly stealthy coloured Kuota!

cycleclinic

I build 20F/24R wheels alot for 90kg riders and there are no problems. The hunts are similar to what I do. Knowing the spec of the hunt wheel they will take a 90kg rider just fine. they dont need to send spare spokes though that is just a waste of money.

birdie23

handful wrote:

a certificate signed by the person who built them!

You get the same for Zondas by the person who checked them.

DanM29

Thanks everyone. I'm tending toward hunt due to the extra rim width and likely easy servicing by LBS. theyre about $200 more though. Maybe 17-19mm is an insignificant width difference though. So hard to decide.

cycleclinic

If your LBS cant service a campagnolo hub find a new LBS. It is a hub not a marine diesel.

birdie23

thecycleclinic wrote:

If your LBS cant service a campagnolo hub find a new LBS. It is a hub not a marine diesel.

This, you can probably service Zonda hubs yourself too.

2mm width is nothing compared to the extra £80. 17mm of the Zonda will be great for 25mm tyres unless you're running wider than 28s?

bobmcstuff

birdie23 wrote:

thecycleclinic wrote:

If your LBS cant service a campagnolo hub find a new LBS. It is a hub not a marine diesel.

This, you can probably service Zonda hubs yourself too.

2mm width is nothing compared to the extra £80. 17mm of the Zonda will be great for 25mm tyres unless you're running wider than 28s?

Zondas are ludicrously easy to service. No idea about the Hunts but I agree, if the LBS can't open up Zondas to service them I'd be a bit concerned??

rob39

Zondas mate I'm 95kg constantly doing 50-60 miles no issues super smooth and bomb proof. As for spokes. One of mine needed replacing LBS quickly obtained one and easily fitted. Also you can replace Zonda spokes with generic straight pull spokes that can be obtained at most well stocked bike shops.

darkhairedlord

rob39 wrote:

smooth and bomb proof.

Someone had to... Don't forget "spin up quickly" and "carry their speed"

handful

darkhairedlord wrote:

rob39 wrote:

smooth and bomb proof.

Someone had to... Don't forget "spin up quickly" and "carry their speed"

"Roll well" is my personal favourite.

DanM29

One more thing.

On the Campag website, the Zonda rim profile depth is:

Profile height: 24-27/27-30 mm
https://www.campagnolo.com/au/en/Wheels/wheel_zonda

What's the story here? Is the rear wheel 27mm deep or 30mm deep and is the front 24 or 27mm??


Regarding servicing of wheels, what I meant is that I understand that Zondas' G3 system and spokes are harder/dearer for LBS to obtain and work with, than the Hunt ones which seem more generic.

darkhairedlord

DanM29 wrote:

One more thing.

On the Campag website, the Zonda rim profile depth is:

Profile height: 24-27/27-30 mm
https://www.campagnolo.com/au/en/Wheels/wheel_zonda

What's the story here? Is the rear wheel 27mm deep or 30mm deep and is the front 24 or 27mm??


Regarding servicing of wheels, what I meant is that I understand that Zondas' G3 system and spokes are harder/dearer for LBS to obtain and work with, than the Hunt ones which seem more generic.

Does it matter what the profile height measures to? It's only aesthetic so just see if they look nice.
As for the spokes, just don't break them! I've never had one go, at least not for 35 years. My guess is that if you do break a spoke on a low count G3 pattern the rim is likely to distort anyway.

philbar72

handful wrote:

I have recently gone through the same dilemma and went for the Hunts. I can confirm you do get a couple of spare spokes and a certificate signed by the person who built them! They are very nice wheels but I haven't really noticed a lot of difference between them and the Quattros they replaced to be honest despite the 300g weight saving. I tested them fairly well last weekend when I ventured down a track that ended up being more cross country than road, very, very bumpy and inspected them after and they were fine thankfully.The hubs are quite noisy which isn't such a bad thing as it gets you noticed without having to call out to horse riders and the like. My choice ended up being more on looks rather than expectation they would be better than the Zondas, they do look nice on my fairly stealthy coloured Kuota!

its the hubs, they aren't that great on the hunts. campag hubs at that price point are better.

DanM29

darkhairedlord wrote:

Does it matter what the profile height measures to? It's only aesthetic so just see if they look nice.

I thought the deeper rim would be stronger for a 90kg rider....

beanstalk

The wording in description and specs suggests that Hunt has developed the rims on their own but they are Kinlin's XR31T.
It's a good rim that comes also as an offset version! Hunt should have used that on the rear wheel.

birdie23

DanM29 wrote:

One more thing.

On the Campag website, the Zonda rim profile depth is:

Profile height: 24-27/27-30 mm
https://www.campagnolo.com/au/en/Wheels/wheel_zonda

What's the story here? Is the rear wheel 27mm deep or 30mm deep and is the front 24 or 27mm??


Regarding servicing of wheels, what I meant is that I understand that Zondas' G3 system and spokes are harder/dearer for LBS to obtain and work with, than the Hunt ones which seem more generic.

If you look at a picture of them you'll see that the spokes come from a bit of rim that is 3mm deeper than the rest. So the rim profile on the inside is stepped.

DanM29

For what its worth I got the Zondas and am really happy with them. The extra rim width DOES make a big difference; everything else feels better than old wheels though that may be placebo. Thanks for the advice.