Hunt Aero Wheels or Campag Zonda's?

Mostyn

What to buy?
It's between the Hunt Aero at £329 or the Campag Zonda's at £300 - Need some help on deciding What's your choice?
Reviews of both wheels are excellent. Anyone have a valid opinion on either wheel set?

Thanks

sloppyschleckonds

Mstyn wrote:

Anyone have a valid opinion on either wheel set?

Define valid

philbar72

got the hunt aero. its not a bad wheel at all. loads of friends I know use zondas. the hunts are probably slightly more aero, and weigh less. they probably don't climb quite as well as the rim is not particularly light. its also a sod to get the tyres off...

darkhairedlord

Zondas, think how much you'll save on Anderson shelters

tonysj

This may not be of use but have you considered these wheels from Cycle Division.

CERO AR24 delivered for £194 and although I haven't used them yet as they are for my summer bike I did weight them against the stock Mavic CXP Elite rimmed wheels fitted to my 2016/7 Boardman Team Carbon road bike when I got them and fitted them.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... #p20276577

By all accounts decent wheels as people I've spoken to about them have friends who rate them etc.

Ignore if this is not of use.

Tony.

shortfall

darkhairedlord wrote:

Zondas, think how much you'll save on Anderson shelters

8)

w00dster

I've got a set of the Hunt Aero Light Disc, not overly sure they have any noticeable aero qualities. They are a decent wheel for the price but I certainly wouldn't be letting the aero wording in the name make me buy them. I bought them because they look half decent for a shallow rim. I don't think there will be a performance difference between the wheels, it really is a case of buying what you prefer the look of.
The Hunts are really nice wheels by the way, but the marketing is a bit OTT in my opinion....the fastest £ for £ wheel you can buy.....They are just wheels, they are not noticeably faster than my stock wheels, but they look nicer and that helps. They may save 30 seconds over 50 miles or something silly like that (Ps - I made those figures up)

Agree with philbar regarding getting the tyre of, but they are designed for tubeless so that's fair in my mind - I'm just too lazy to make the switch. They are likely to be my racing wheel for crits this year so I will go tubeless then. I don't notice any difference climbing between these and my lightweight carbon wheels - a couple of grams in the rim doesn't make any noticeable difference in my opinion - hills are still hard.

lakesluddite

w00dster wrote:

I've got a set of the Hunt Aero Light Disc, not overly sure they have any noticeable aero qualities. They are a decent wheel for the price but I certainly wouldn't be letting the aero wording in the name make me buy them. I bought them because they look half decent for a shallow rim. I don't think there will be a performance difference between the wheels, it really is a case of buying what you prefer the look of.
The Hunts are really nice wheels by the way, but the marketing is a bit OTT in my opinion....the fastest £ for £ wheel you can buy.....They are just wheels, they are not noticeably faster than my stock wheels, but they look nicer and that helps. They may save 30 seconds over 50 miles or something silly like that (Ps - I made those figures up)

Agree with philbar regarding getting the tyre of, but they are designed for tubeless so that's fair in my mind - I'm just too lazy to make the switch. They are likely to be my racing wheel for crits this year so I will go tubeless then. I don't notice any difference climbing between these and my lightweight carbon wheels - a couple of grams in the rim doesn't make any noticeable difference in my opinion - hills are still hard.

Just changed to these on my winter bike, and agree with woodster. They seem fine, not particularly light, but then again not particularly heavy either. A good aspect is the brass nipples, which should be far more hard wearing, especially on the grit and salt covered winter roads. My lighter alu-nippled Pro-Lites suffered two nipples shearing off due to corrosion this winter, so have relegated them to summer use. They are slightly more aero compared to other alu rims, but hardly deep section. Mine have a noisy freewheel as well, which I actually quite like, saves me using spokey-dokeys. Look nice as well.

shiznit76

TonySJ wrote:

This may not be of use but have you considered these wheels from Cycle Division.

CERO AR24 delivered for £194 and although I haven't used them yet as they are for my summer bike I did weight them against the stock Mavic CXP Elite rimmed wheels fitted to my 2016/7 Boardman Team Carbon road bike when I got them and fitted them.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... #p20276577

By all accounts decent wheels as people I've spoken to about them have friends who rate them etc.

Ignore if this is not of use.

Tony.

Agree with this. These wheels are seriously light and reliable. I've bought a spare set at this price for future use!

Mostyn

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Mstyn wrote:

Anyone have a valid opinion on either wheel set?

Define valid

Have some knowledge of the item.

Mostyn

Thanks everyone for your replies; and guidance ! I'm still not sure which wheels to buy?
Bought my daughter a set of Zonda's last year; she loves them; and they do roll really well, have a 22mm wide rim for 25/28 mm tyres; and she has improved her climbing ability on long climbs. But; the Hunt Aero 23mm wide is lighter, and gets equally as good reviews as the Zonda's Then there's the Cero AR 30's at £349. also lighter with 22mm wide rims.

best price is Zonda's at £300; the Hunt Aero 23mm at £329 or £369, for the Aero-Wide 29, mm deep. or maybe the Cero's AR 30's??
It's a dilemma I'm pondering on. I do not climb very well on the longer climbs; although, on shorter steep climbs I can mix it with the best in my group. I'm 70, years young ; and looking for a set of wheels that may help me on the longer climbs ; my average pace varies between 15mph and up to 18,mph depending on how hilly the route is. Any sound advice appreciated

ATYapton

Curve ball alert. Check out the cycle clinic https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/collection ... -wheelsets. You’ll get handbuult tubeless ready and great service for about the same price. I’ve run a set all winter and they are superb. I had the bike on the stand at the weekend to fit some raceblade mudguards. I gave the front a spin to make sure it wasn’t fouling and it was still spinning well as I finished fitting the guard on the rear.

philbar72

that's the thing, what you are comparing is campags mid low end effort vs a decent-ish wheel. Hunt market their wheels well and they are pretty sturdy, but ultimately they are just a decent rim with decent spokes mated to a decent- ish hub. theres nothing outstanding about them, but they are better than most generic stock wheels ( rs500's racing 7's, Aksiums and the like).

but it think you already get that! for me they represent decent value for money.

I also think however, that the cero wheels are really good bang for buck.

bobones

Your daughter is now better on the long climbs because she's fitter and has improved her power to weight ratio. The new wheels will have had virtually no impact on this. Likewise, you are not going to go uphill significantly faster because of a new set of wheels: you need to improve your power to weight ratio to do that.

If you want to buy speed with a faster set of wheels then go for something aero, which means at least 45-50mm depth with a wide U shaped profile. Aero always trumps weight, so over the same course, even a very hilly one, there are more speed gains to be made by switching to aero wheels.

None of the wheels you have mentioned have any real aero credentials so if you're sticking with them go for the one you like the look of best. My recommendation however, would be to go for something like the carbon rimmed Zuus 50s which are 1540g and £540 or save your cash a get the 1460g Cero AR24s at £190.

Mostyn

I do have a set of Ksyrium Elite S wheels; they made a difference, but Mavic don't have the Kudos they did when I bought my Ksyriums in 2012. I suppose the weight and bearings play a part in any well put together wheel set. I raced on aero deep V's almost 35, years ago; I always found you needed to wind them up; they were slow to get going; but quick when you were on pace. Although these day's I'm not the super fit cyclist that I was 40, years ago. 50mm aero V's would hold me back on any long climbs these day's. The Hunt wheels I'm looking at are 1449g and £329. I thought they were pretty good on weight and quality bearings?

bobones

The 50mm narrow V shaped wheels of old were probably very heavy which is why they felt slow to accelerate. They'd also be difficult to control in windy conditions. The 50mm U shaped rims I mentioned are within 100g of the Hunt Aeros, which is insignificant compared to their aero advantage.

All these wheels have similar cartridge bearings, and they will make zero difference to speed as long as they are functioning adequately. Better quality bearings will just last longer as they're made with better materials, to tighter tolerances, and are better sealed against the elements.

Those Hunts are only 27mm deep so hardly qualify as "Aero". For £140 less you could get the Cero AR24s which are not aero either, but are almost as light.

Mostyn

Thanks everyone;
I'm going to hold off on a wheel purchase for a short while; do some more research on wheel rims; bearings and hubs.

Input advise and knowledge of wheels appreciated
Many Thanks
M

philbar72

no problem. in terms of weight 1450-1600 is pretty much the go to for a set of decent ish climbing/training wheels. the brand is pretty much irrelevant.