Feedback // Review Of November Rail 52 Carbon Clincher wheels:

Recently I rode the California Coast on some brand new November Bikes Rail 52 Carbon Clincher wheels.  They were sent for me to test.  By coincidence I was doing a Coast Ride with 20 clients from San Francisco to Santa Monica CA.  The is 470 miles of cycling in 4 days, starting with 135 miles the first day, then 125 miles, 117 miles and finally, 95 miles into Santa Monica.  The terrain varies anywhere from pancake flat through the strawberry fields of central California to the constant climbing and descending along the spectacular Big Sur coast.  Basically, the ideal spot to test some new wheels.  Wind, terrain, temperatures and road types:  all different and all offered.

To describe the wheels?  Compared in the wind tunnel to the Zipp 404s (which I have owned for years, 3 different versions) these are very similar in design.  The profile gets wider like the Firecrest, and almost hides the 23, even 25 tires, within the carbon of where the tire & carbon connect.  This means when riding you often look down to your tire and barely see a tire!  I experienced the same with both the Zipp 101s as well as the 404s.   All black with a great looking logo makes these wheels look fast and garners some curious looks as they look covert.  Black hubs – black spokes – black tires.  So, first of all they look plain cool!

How did they ride?  Besides looking cool we also want them to ride pretty darn good.  Well these wheels ride pretty darn good!  Immediately they felt stiff when I pushed off from Mill Vally CA.  I rode them with my Pinarello Paris – which with different wheels can actually feel soft.  But these wheels immediately made my bike stiffer and therefore more responsive.  Solid acceleration, great momentum can be maintained.  Steady spin the first day through the strawberry fields to Monterey.  Plenty of tailwind, great zip in these wheels.  By the second day I was already a fan, but throw in 7800 ft of climbing in the first 76 miles down the Big Sur coast, I was truly in awe.  Great response to climbing, standing.  Great descending around some tight coastal hairpin turns with only a stone wall between you and the ocean 600 ft below.  They hugged the road within my bike frame – no problem.  And as the winds shifted in and out of theses deep ravines and coastal coves, crosswinds had little effect on these deeper wheels.  They remained very stable, very solid, whether sudden gusts or a constant crossing wind.  Sure, you have to pay attention, but nothing that would make a rider nervous or catch them off guard.  Add in some super smooth pavement – great momentum.  Even as we rode on some chip-seal for 30-40 miles, with plenty of deeper gravel and rivets in the road – these wheels, while stiff, were still somewhat forgiving.  Part 2, they ride great too!

By the way – you might wonder if it is the bike or the wheels that provide a lot of the feedback I mention above.  I road the exact same Coast Ride with a different set of clients just 3 weeks earlier.  Same bike, same tires, just different wheels.  Its the wheels that were clearly different.  I could feel it.  Sure, carbon vs my usual Mavic training wheels, but it still gives a good comparison.

Why a good comparison?  Because these wheels, as good as they are, cost about as much as a set of training wheels!!  This is the final piece that makes this such a great set of wheels.  Sure, when comparing to Zipp and Hed and all the other big name wheel builders out there, they might be hard to distinguish.  I’m not sure if I can tell in a blind test which wheels are which.  BUT, at half the price of the Zipps…this is an easy choice.  Easy.  Part 3, great pricing…