Easton wheelset

[GIRR]

Hi all, does anyone have any comments regarding the Easton Orion II and EA90 SLX wheelsets?

 

How well do they perform and how good are their hubs?

[ewep]

Orion's are GREAT!  Spin them , go to the loo and make tea and then come back, still running!

[Cocaine]

Orion II is a really good all round wheel... they damn strong and the hubs perform well... took them with to Belgium this year and they handled a lot of abuse and they still as good as new... I would definitely buy them over any other similarly priced wheels...

[ORCA]

I have the ea 90 slx, and there is really not much to say ? what can you say about perfection.

If someone says the old R3 hubs is smooth, try these new R4 hubs

[Trispoke]

I know of a guy who snapped his fork when he ran into a car, but his Easton front wheel was still running perfectly true...

 

[g00s3m4n]

the ea90 slx are supposed to be the replacement for the acesent II, they use new hub technology

[javadude]

 

the ea90 slx are supposed to be the replacement for the acesent II' date=' they use new hub technology

[/quote']

 

They are also heavier by 50 grams and more expensive, so not so sure if they are that good a buy.

 

[Racer X]

The EA90's are much smoother than the Kysrium ES's, thats based on my 2 minute ride on them anyway.

[GIRR]

thanks all for the replys!

one more thing do the round spokes make much difference to bladed ones?

[Trispoke]

Well, bladed spokes will make a wheel slightly more aero, but in general round spokes are easier to replace (more of them about) and quite often also lighter than aero spokes.

[Johan Bornman]

Orion's are GREAT!  Spin them ' date=' go to the loo and make tea and then come back, still running! [/quote']

 

I just tried that and it doesn't work. Perhaps I should stop reading in there....

 

Seriously now, a little bit of seal drag is a good thing, not a bad thing. Once the wheel is loaded, the seal drag is such a small proportion of the overall bearing drag that it is neglible. A bearing with no seal drag translates to a bearing with no seal.

 

I also love a wheel that spins on my hand with no noticeable bearing roughness but drag is good. A loaded bearing drags (rolling resistance is another name for it) because it is always rolling uphill.

 

Visualise a train wheel on a track. The wheel makes an indent in the trackand to roll forward, it has to roll uphill or squeeze the dent in front of it down, which is the same as rolling uphill.

 

In a ball bearing you have the same phenomena. The difference between the train wheel and the ball bearing is that the tain wheel doesn't slip on the track and hence doesn't reaquire lubrication whereas the bearing half-slips, half-rolls. The outer race is bigger than the inner one and the bearing thus has to negotiate two radiuses at the same time. It does this by slipping/rolling. Hence, it needs lubrication.

 

A well-adjusted bicycle wheel bearing will feel as if has more drag than a too-loose one, but the bearings will last longer since more will carry the load in the tight one than in the loose one.

 

JB

[pererace70]

Thanks for a lesson on wheel dynamics Johan.

 

GIRR, check out:

 

http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/13404.0.html

 

Easton showcase new wheels

 

 

[Johan Bornman]

thanks all for the replys!

one more thing do the round spokes make much difference to bladed ones?

 

They make a big difference in your wallet. A bladed spoke costs about 5 times what a round spoke costs. Bladed spokes are available in restricted sizes only and difficult to come by.

 

Further, most bladed spokes are round where it matters most - at the peripheral of the wheel where the spokes travel fastest.

 

Although spokes trail each other and technically move in each other's slipstream, spoke shape does make a difference - performance-wise, if you're a time-triallist. The difference can be measured over a 40k TT and is a few seconds. In the bunch, don't bother.

 

I've seen many badly-build wheels where the bladed spokes have turned and acted as paddles in the wind.

 

I'll take round spokes over bladed anyday.

 

JB

[fr0sT!e]

in fact round spokes are actually stronger than bladed spokes as well

[Johan Bornman]

in fact round spokes are actually stronger than bladed spokes as well

 

 

Hmmmm, not quite. Bladed spokes due to them being cold-worked by forging the flat sections out of round wire, last longer in a well-built wheel.

 

Buty "strong" is a misnomer in bicycle spokes. They don't fail in tension but from metal fatigue. Any spoke is always strong enough, but not necessarilly durable enough.

 

Therefore a stronger, i.e. thicker spoke may not last as long as a "weaker" (thinner) spoke if the wheelbuilder had not managed to eliminate flexing that causes metal fatigue.

 

JB