CERO AR24 EVO New wheels-first impressions..

tonysj
tonysj Posts: 391
edited February 2019 in Road buying advice
Hi All,
I ordered these wheels after searching on the run up to Christmas and reading this forum for a set of upgrade wheels over my stock ones.
I have a Boardman Team carbon road bike and for a first bike Im well chuffed with it. As seems to be the thing with lower to mid priced bikes the wheels seem to be part of the savings made on the bike itself so today my set of CERO AR24 EVO wheels from Cycle Division landed at my home after ordering them over the New Year.

I've weight them and compared them against my stock set which are Mavic CPX Elite just to give me an idea of weight savings between the two.

MAVIC wheel fitted with Continental Grand Prix 4000 sii 700 x 25( original stock wheels were fitted with Vittoria Zaffiro Pro tyres ) Conti Race 28 butyl inner tubes

Front wheel total weight - 1199grms
Rear wheel total weight - 1920grms

The CERO wheels were fitted with SCHWALBE PRO ONE Tubeless 700 x 25 with 30ml of Effetto Marisopa Caffelatex sealant with the Presta valves that came with the wheels.

Now just a little bit of info that's worth knowing. I have never fitted tubeless tyres before and this was my first attempt after watching a number of videos on the internet I had a good idea of what to do.
Fitting the tyres was to be honest Dead easy and I only needed a splash of soapy water to get the tyre rim over the rim for the last bit, NO levers needed. I then tried to pump them up without any sealant initially and they went up Dead easy first time with a standard Halfords own track pump.
As they have removabler valve cores I deflated the tyres and then syringed 30ml of sealant into the tyre. Pump it up again first time and the only leak I could see was at the valve seat which sealed after getting the sealant to that area and a slight tigthening of the valves retainer
Rear wheel was exactly the same other than this sealed first time with no leaks at all visible.

As the saying goes - Piece of P*SS - to sort these wheels with the tyres.

I weighed both wheels with tyres in situ and a 10speed cassette on the rear wheel.

CERO AR24 EVO + S Pro Ones and 30ml sealant.

Front wheel total weight - 1010grms
Rear wheel total weight - 1454grms

Stock weight 3119grms
CERO weight 2464grms

So the weight saving alone is 655grms.

I'm quite impressed to be honest but will give you lot an update after I've been out riding them but expect to notice a willingness to climb better, even if that's just me due to having new wheels lol.

Tony.

Comments

  • The Pro Ones will roll nicely, and are a fast tyre. I swapped mine out as they scare the hell out of me on wet/ slippery conditions.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • tonysj
    tonysj Posts: 391
    Checked the tyres yesterday to see if they had lost much air and both had gone from 80psi to 60-65psi.
    Cant wait to use these new wheels but will have to wait for warmer weather......

    T
  • I haven’t run road tyres tubeless DT as my current wheels and tyres aren’t compatible, but my mtb is tubeless.

    I find they do lose air quicker than tyres with an inner tube. Probably pump them up every 3 weeks or so. But then they’re only running 25psi normally and can drop to just below 20 over that period.
  • tonysj
    tonysj Posts: 391
    These tyres have been on thewheel for over a month and Yes I haven't fitted them yet.. Checked the tyres yesterday and they are still holding most of not all of the air and don't appear to be defating over time. Suppose that's a bonus but I would check the pressure before every ride out anyway.
    Can't wait for Sumner ...
  • I used to work at cycledivision amongst other bike shops and the AR24’s deliver the most bang for your buck out of any wheel set I’ve come across.
    You can spend a lot more but there’s no real performance difference until you go carbon and aero.
    Over the years I’ve built up fair collection of random wheels and it’s always the AR24’s I go to.
  • bobones
    bobones Posts: 1,215
    I bought a set of these a couple of weeks ago just to have something a bit lighter for a change and as a spare set. If I could've built a set of wheels as light for anywhere near £190 I would have, so they look excellent value to my eyes

    I haven't used them yet as I keeping them for the good bike, but I'd echo the OP's comment that fitting tubeless tyres to these is an absolute dawdle: mine went up first time with a track pump, and they seem to hold air very well.

    My only complaint so far is that the freehub sounds like a buzzsaw.
  • Don't know if this is a sign of quality but if I have my bike on the stand and spin these wheels they keep going forever, seriously, I almost needed to have a shave by the time they stopped. Looking forward to putting the EVOSs back on and removing the Vision 35 winter wheels, or as I like to call them "cycling enjoyment killers".
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    I got a set of these to replace some Hunt race wheels ( the 31mm/24 kinlin rim). initial shakedown ride indicates these are at least as good. one thing the hunts are renowned for is their sealing of the bearings isn't particularly good on the model I had. the pawls stick as well because of this. of all the wheels I've owned they've been the poorest in terms of reliability.

    On the cero's after a look the sealing seems a lot better, the hubs spin nicely and the tyres (conti 23/25 gp4000s II) went on a hell of a lot easier. they handle predictably and are comfortable, and roll well.

    for £189.00 I don't think most people could do much better for an all purpose set of road wheels, that are light enough for most conditions.
  • tonysj
    tonysj Posts: 391
    After a year and around 8 months of riding, 2500 miles + with the CERO AR24 EVO I've had 1 spoke give way on a really bad pothole. Replaced it as you get spares with the wheels.
    Still can't believe the price of these wheels...
    Got to say probably the best sub £200 I've spent on the summer bike as they are Sweet for the money.
    Let's not say too much about the wear rate of the Schwalbe Pro Ones !!!
    T.
  • TonySJ wrote:
    Let's not say too much about the wear rate of the Schwalbe Pro Ones !!!
    T.

    I am getting 4000 miles out of Padrones, after 1500 miles my Pro Ones were looking quite worn
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Not tried the Ceros, but Wiggle's Prime Road Race wheelset is a similar pitch and looks slightly cheaper too.
  • philbar72
    philbar72 Posts: 2,229
    Imposter wrote:
    Not tried the Ceros, but Wiggle's Prime Road Race wheelset is a similar pitch and looks slightly cheaper too.

    think, they are definitely a very similar format (though a little heavier and narrower). not that anyone should be fussed about 100grams.
  • furiousd
    furiousd Posts: 214
    Is there a max weight on these, couldnt see anything on the web page for them. Any noticeable flex when out of the saddle? Going to give them a call later today when i get a chance.
    Thanks
    D
  • FuriousD wrote:
    Is there a max weight on these, couldnt see anything on the web page for them. Any noticeable flex when out of the saddle? Going to give them a call later today when i get a chance.
    Thanks
    D

    They roll well and are a good buy for the money.
    I am 82-84 kg and have had mine trued up a couple of times, it doesn't take much to knock them slightly out in my experience.
    You can't expect perfection at the price, so I was making an observation rather than a real gripe! :)