Edge 1.0 Rims. 38/68mm

[madcow]

This is a mixed review, two sets of wheels based on two different depth Edge rims. Please bear in mind that these are a semi-pre production version and the the final production version is slightly different.

Some universal items, that apply to both the 38 and 68mm rims.

1. Rider Weight limit: None.

2. Aesthetics: Near perfect. The rims have one of the best finishes that I've seen in the high end carbon wheel market. The finish is even nicer than the already nicely finished Reynolds wheels. The biggest improvement over the Reynolds aesthetic is in the brake track. Reynolds scrim layer is visible sporadically throughout the braking surface. The surface on these is slightly raised and finished without aesthetic flaws. As seems to be typical with Edge these have a white logo which will look good on any bike.

3. Braking surface/recommended pads: While yellow Swiss stop pads are recommended and included with the rims, they are not required. I'm told that any pad will work on the tubulars without heat being an issue. There is a change coming in the production version of the rim in which the braking surface is molded with a machined brake track look to it. This will increase the friction leading to increased stopping power. Currently the stopping power is average. On par with Reynolds and many others. One noticeable feature of the braking is that the brakes do not seem to pulse. The braking is incredibly consistent(though I have not tested it with multiple pad compounds)

4. Spoke tension. One unique feature of the Edge rims is that the spoke holes are not drilled, they are molded into the rims. This means that the fibers are not cut at the spoke hole which is common with other carbon rims. Because the fibers are continuous and uninterrupted the amount of stress that can be sustained by the rim at the spoke hole is said to be unbelievably high. I thought I would test this with the 38mm rims. I built that wheelset with 150kgf of force on both the front and rear drive side spokes. Not only did the rims not crack, but they did not even bubble from pressure applied by the nipple against the carbon(as is often seen on other carbons.) I came later to find out that this is not as high as I had thought. It seems as though Edge has built and ridden quite a few of these rims with 170+ kgf. While obviously this is far more than anyone would want or need on a wheelset like this, it's nice to know it's possible, and does give some indication of the build quality and durability of the rims.

5. Weights:
38's claimed weight: 260grams. Actual 268.7 and 271.9
68's claimed weight: 350grams. Actual 356.9 and 362.4

6. Price: One nice thing to see is that there has already been a price reduction from the originally announced prices at Interbike.
1.38, MSRP, $700 and the 1.68 will MSRP at $750. (the clincher versions will be $100 more)

Now for the individual wheelset reviews.

Set one: Edge 1.38 rims. 38mm deep, tubular. Extralite Ultrarear flanged rear hub and Extralite SX front hub. Revolution spokes 20 radial front and 24 radial/2x rear. 150kgf on the front and drive side spokes. Wheelset weight: 962.3grams.

I built this set to serve as a daily rider and race wheelset not only for myself but for the other guys at the shop as well. I chose the Revolutions because they have almost the same frontal cross-section as the Aerolites but have a much smaller side cross section. It makes them feel more stable in crosswinds and more confident descenders.

Being such a lightweight wheelset with such a high spoke tension, I actually thought that I might have a good chance of destroying them with just a few hours of testing. The first thing I did was to head over to University and run them seated back and forth across the trolley tracks and fake cobbles. As suspected they did not budge. Then it was onto campus to find some stairs. After riding at a decent speed down a couple flights of stairs, I started to gain some real confidence in the wheels. Within a couple of hours I was doing drops off of 3 steppers. The largest drop being a little more than 24" high. By the end of that ride, I had spent a couple of hours slowly gaining more and more confidence in the wheels. Granted I am not the heaviest rider, and am considered to be fairly smooth, but I now feel confident enough that I think I could ride them around some local mtb trails without problem.

The handling of the wheels on the road was impressive as well. The wheels are very stiff, coming not even close to touching the brakes under sprints/climbing, nor even when riding on the side of the bike trying to deflect them. The stiffness and the weight made them feel as though they are some of the best accelerating wheels I've ridden. Dare I say as good as LW's?(I think some more time will tell on that) The cornering was predictable and stable. Feeling very connected to the road and yet at the same time incredibly easy to change directions on. These could very well have turned out the be the perfect crit wheels.

Set two: Edge 1.68 rims. 68mm deep, tubular. Tune 70/180 hubs. Revolution spokes 20 radial front, 24 2x rear. Total wheelset weight, 1186.4grams.

I had originally planned on building this set with Aerolite spokes, but DT was out of the very short sizes. Since I didn't want to wait, I built them with Revolutions as well. I used a lower spoke tension on this set with 130kgf front radial and 120kgf rear drive side.

There were more surprises with this wheelset than with the 38mm. Most noticeable was the sound. These have the LW sound. I don't mean the Tune ratchet sound, I mean the fast sound of LW. I know many won't understand that statement, but anyone who has ridden on, next to or behind someone on LW wheels will understand.

Another big surprise for me was that these are quite manageable in windy conditions. Friday was quite a windy day here with gusts up to 30+mph in the afternoon. No I won't say that these are unaffected by the cross wind, but only that they react in a very predictable and manageable way. Enough so that I felt quite comfortable riding them around town. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd feel comfortable descending Mt Lemmon at 45+mph on them in the wind, but around town at 25mph they did not shake my confidence.

The weight is quite nice for an almost 70mm deep wheel and it shows in accelerating the wheels. I'm not sure if it's the extra weight, or the difference in the hubs/tires etc, but these wheels coast as if they just don't want to slow down.

I understand that wheels are a very subjective kind of thing to review, and that because of the near infinite different combinations of rims, spokes, hubs, lacing patterns, tensions etc... they can feel quite different everytime. The best thing I can say about these wheels is I do believe that one of these two wheelsets will be on my bike at least 90% of the time.

Both of these wheelsets would have a retail price of around $2000 and in my opinion one could not find a better wheelset in that range. I know these will eventually end up in the windtunnel and I await the data, but my real world experience tells me that these are top-notch wheels.

I typically like to try and find at least one flaw in every thing I review, but with these, I am really struggling to find something that I think can be improved. The only thing I may have liked to see changed would be the braking surface.(Not that it lacks, but I'd like it to be better than the competition, then I could consider it another improvement) but that has already been addressed by Edge in the production version. So I guess my only complaint would be that they are a bit over the claimed weights, but then again, perhaps the production version is lighter.

[RTW]

So you liked them then?

[Jeffr]

Great review Jason.

Does the sticker come off? I like the outline style on the fork but the rims are a bit much.

Does the rim have a simple V profile? Do you also know the rim width? Any excitement when gluing them?

[madcow]

Great review Jason.

Does the sticker come off? I like the outline style on the fork but the rims are a bit much.

Does the rim have a simple V profile? Do you also know the rim width? Any excitement when gluing them?

The decals come off quite easily.

Profile is a v, but not totally straight on the sides. The 68 is a bit rounder near the inside spoke edge and then travels in a straight line out the the outer edge. While the 38 actually seems to be a bit concave.

They are wider than some other rims. I didn't measure them without tires but I'd say the 68's are around 21mm, at the widest point which is the brake surface and not the very top of the rim. My 38's are out being ridden so I can't measure them. I did notice the width when mounting them to a bike with ZG's, as the brakes had to be ridden with the qr open to create what I would consider as sufficient spacing.

No problems at all with gluing, neither the Schwalbes on the 38 nor the Vittorias on the 68.

One of the guys in the shop took the 68mm on the shootout yesterday, and asked if they could be built not quite so stiff. He said with the lightweight combined with the stiffness and his expectations of a deep wheel caused him to oversteer a bit. However in my opinion this is a good thing and one that people can quickly adapt to.

Like me he also thought that they were quite manageable in the wind.

[Theros]

Nice, thanks for the review. Was hoping for a lower price though I really like the 38mm rim and considering the weight and finish the price is totally reasonable for sure. One day, one day....

[lancev7]

I'm very very interested in the 38mm clinchers. what will the weight of these rims be and is there any information of price and availibility?

[Boonen]

This makes those rims sound really interesting! It's amazing to see how people can keep pushing the envelope and come up with yet again lighter but also stiffer and stronger products. Looking forward to see these!

OT question, what are those nice looking blue valve extenders?

[Amadeus]

So it had to happen ... My first post on the forum of the Tuscon Mad-Cow!

In the memberlist I do find a lot of the WW-crew

Jason,

Do you have an idea if these rims will be availeble in clincher version?
And if they will ... do you know when that will be?

I am biginning to think these are the most awsome rims on the market.

Further:
Good review!
Nice insight!

THANKS!

[Theros]

@LanceV7 & Amadeus:

You skipped a part while reading

5. Weights:
38's claimed weight: 260grams. Actual 268.7 and 271.9
68's claimed weight: 350grams. Actual 356.9 and 362.4

Clincher will be heavier then the tubular I suppose, but still very light (Corima 45mm rim tubular is claimed at 370gr.)

6. Price: One nice thing to see is that there has already been a price reduction from the originally announced prices at Interbike.
1.38, MSRP, $700 and the 1.68 will MSRP at $750. (the clincher versions will be $100 more)

[Amadeus]

Thanks Theros......

B.t.w. You mention Corima but they also drill the spoke holes.

What I do like about the EDGE rim is that the spoke hole is moulded in the rim.

[jrennie]

Boonen- they are the Bontrager valve extenders.

[Jmpantone]

Do you have an idea if these rims will be availeble in clincher version?

The clincher rims will be available in January in limited supply initially as we build inventory. You can expect the weight to be around 405-415grams for the 38mm. The 68 won't be available in a clincher until later.

[billyboy]

Jason, that was a very thorough and interesting review! But the part about riding down stairs and jumping off steps, what bike were you using for the test riding? Wouldn't that kind of riding tend to not be very good for a carbon road frame and fork?

[madcow]

I'm very very interested in the 38mm clinchers. what will the weight of these rims be and is there any information of price and availibility?

Weight around 400 grams. Limited availability starting in Jan. Retail price $800 per rim.

OT question, what are those nice looking blue valve extenders?

Jrennie is right, they are Bontrager.

Do you have an idea if these rims will be availeble in clincher version?
And if they will ... do you know when that will be?

I am biginning to think these are the most awsome rims on the market.

For clincher availability see above. As for them being the most awesome rims on the market, I think I might agree with you. In terms of weight and quality, they seem to be unmatched.

Jason, that was a very thorough and interesting review! But the part about riding down stairs and jumping off steps, what bike were you using for the test riding? Wouldn't that kind of riding tend to not be very good for a carbon road frame and fork?

Bill, The testing was done on my Parlee. A carbon frame should be just as strong as it's alloy counterpart(except maybe in the case of impacts against a tube in a crash) So with that in mind, I personally wouldn't want to ride a bike that wouldn't hold up to riding like this.(that's why my daily rider is 12.5 pounds instead of 9 or 10 pounds) I have plenty of faith that so long as I do not crash my Parlee it will hold up to anything I throw at it. But also remember that I am quite light and have been riding bmx/trials for about 25 years(that tends to produce smooth landings and transitions in riders)

[Ypsylon]

Any news on when there will be a distributor for Germany? Any other way to get hold of a pair?