Our New HED Wheels are Awesome

March 17, 2010 10:13 by Steve Baker

We are fortunate to have some of the best equipment sponsors in the world supporting our Hincapie Development Team.  We love riding and racing the best stuff you can get, and this week we took delivery of some new hoops from HED.  Justin Lowe won a race the very first time he raced on the new wheels!  That has to be a good sign of things to come.

HED makes some of the most advanced bicycle wheels in the world.  They are light and stiff, while providing superior aerodynamics in almost any condition.  They test all their wheels against the wind and publish the information on their website in some easy to understand graphs.

This year, Hincapie Devo riders are rolling on HED Jet 4 and HED Jet 6 wheels.  These things are awesome.  They are smooth and fast, while offering the stiffness we need to rail through corners.  Not only are they fast riding wheels, but they look amazing on our Black/White BMC ProMachines too.  Our friend Eddie Helton took some shots of Justin’s bike last night at the Tuesday Night World Championships.  (Hooray for the time change!)

That's one sweet looking ride.  This one belongs to Michael Stone.

I wanted to try the new HED Ardennes that I have read so much about, with their bombproof 23mm Scandium C2 rim and smooth rolling Sonic Hubs.  Being a larger rider, who is pretty hard on his wheels, I ordered the Stallion build.  HED recommends this build for riders over 190 pounds, because this set up adds one extra pair of spokes to help absorb any extra abuse.

These HED Ardennes wheels are awesome!  They are light, stiff, good-looking and smooth-rolling.  I’ve ridden quite a few wheels over the years and these are definitely some of the best wheels I’ve ever pedaled.  My BMC ProMachine was already a rocket ship, but from the very first time I spooned on my Michelin Pro3 tires, these Ardennes put a big smile on my face.  They accelerate better than anything I've ridden in a long time.  They feel light up the hill and have the stiffness to bomb the decent with the best of them.  HED says these things are great for racing and training, so they are just right for a guy like me who hates switching wheels on race day.  (Hey, you have to practice using what you race on to get good when it counts, right?)  If you aren’t looking for larger, deep-dish wheels like the Jet 6’s, and you want some light, stiff, do-anything wheels, you will absolutely love these HED Ardennes!