Based of your review and watching some of your audax rides I just purchased a set of Black Ra Ardennes for my custom Cicili Barco steel rim brake frame. Still a few months away from getting the frame , but the wheels were delivered today and they look and feel sweet. Looking forward to riding them!
Looking at hed Belgium plus rims for 28/28 3x build for a rim brake bike with saved hubs for CX, local mixed surface rides, and future gravel events. Need the wider rims as they work better with wider tires to a point. Replacing worn alloy clincher wheels. Stuck now as my only wheels left are tubular wheels which have CX race mud tread tubulars on that is needed for CX season.
Best rim for maintenance, building, etc. I've built few over the years myself including one set for powertap wheelset while back. They stay true and very easy to work on and sturdy, very good tolerance, etc. If I choose to go aluminum wheelsets again, these are it. Have you played around with Belgium G rim yet?
I have built many wheels with the Belgium Plus wheels! I haven't "played around" with the Belgium G rim... yet! I love the specs though 25mm Internal 30mm External and only weighing in at 453 grams!!
Hello great channel and love the content. Im looking into purchasing the ardennes black or the jet 4 black. I already have some dura ace c24s on my trek emonda. Would you reccomend either wheelset? I really would like a wider rim for lower pressure.
Hello Kevin! Thank you for taking the time to watch my video and post a comment. You have very good taste in wheels my friend. I also love the Dura-Ace C24 wheels. They are light, comfortable and spin up with ease. Their only downfall is Shimano has not adopted the wider rim on the C24 because they want them to remain light and agile. Shimano has adopted a wider rim profile on some of their other wheels though. So then I like the HED wheels because of their 25mm rim. You really have to ask yourself do you want an all around wheel or a wheel more focused on aerodynamics. The Ardennes would be the all around wheel, climbing, road riding some light dirt and graveling. The Jet 4 is 46mm and more focused on aerodynamics and can be used for many other applications but will be a little heavier IF weight is a concern on your Trek Emonda. Good news though I have them both in stock and ready to ship to you! Please let me know if you have any further questions! Please subscribe :-)
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad Thanks for the awesome reply. I'm leaning towards the HED Jet 4 blacks. I love my rim brakes. I live in Illinois so its very flat here. I can use the c24s for those windy days. Ill have to save up for them. Can you please let me know if they can be purchased via your website and what is the URL ? Thanks again for the awesome content.
Hello Kevin! You’re welcome sir! Please hit me up at “revcycling@gmail.com” so we can continue our discussion. Short answer is Yes they are on my website for purchase online!
Just started watching your channel yesterday, those HED Ardennes do look really nice. Was looking at the disc version, and noticed the internal width is only 21mm. The weight looks like an upgrade for my gravel bike (got WTB i23 wheels which weigh 2100g). The WTBs are 23mm internal width, is there a wider version of the Ardennes? Btw, I like your wheel philosophy, looking forward to seeing more videos!
Hello David thank you so much for finding my channel! I appreciate you watching please make sure you subscribe though. Regarding your gravel bike why not choose a gravel wheelset from HED with internal widths of 26mm. The Ardennes is mainly a road wheel that can be used for anything. But if you need a specific gravel wheel then look here. And please please please if you’re going to order anyway please order from me. I am a ONE man shop and HED still gets the sale but I need the business more than they do. hedcycling.com/gravel/
@@davidadamus177 Thank You sir! The pricing is the same everything is the same so why not support a ONE shop who already providing you with customer service 😉
Hello again George, on the HED website it says 80 max psi. I run 100 on my older mavic cosmics and ksyriums. Is this 80 psi max true? I never exceed the tire psi I am under that number.
Check again it should say 90 psi. Anyway you’re riding either a very narrow tire or too high a pressure on your Mavic wheels. The HED wheels are wider rims you don’t need or want 100 psi.
Hello Andy, I have ridden these wheels for years and the finish on the black finish on the brake track has not worn off. Maybe there are examples out there where the black anodized coating has come off but to date I have not seen it. Thank you for watching ... Please subscribe! :-)
Great video, thanks. I'm looking at getting some Ardennes but am torn between the ra pro and the black. I know the black are better but worth the jump from 850 to 1300 dollars? Keen to hear your opinion on this. Thanks.
Thanks for watching. Yes the Black series is always worth it in my opinion. The textured brake track is totally worth it. Aesthetically I think they are worth a couple of hundreds more 😂 Anyway let me know and I’ll get those wheels for you!!
Thanks for the review. Are these wheels with 130mm hubs? If they are 130mm, then do HED have an end-cap to convert to 135mm? I can't find anything on HED website about this. Since you're hands-on then maybe you would know. Thanks!
130mm standard road spacing. I have never had to convert these to MTB spacing so I don't know. What type of bike are you wanted to put these on? Thanks for watching please consider subscribing
Thanks for the reply and confirmation on the hub width. I was pretty sure it is road spec 130mm. However my local distributor told me 135mm which I doubted, hence asking you. I've got a query with HED on an end-cap for conversion to 135mm, but I'm not hopeful. Some other hub manufacturers have interchangeable end caps for 130/135 spacing, but nothing like this on the HED website. My bike is a mullet build based on a hybrid frame, hence the 135 rear. Perhaps an option could be to rebuild the rear wheel with a 135mm hub. Might be worth it since they are such unique and nice rims.
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad i don‘t know but with the blue swiss stop brake pads they work very well i love them they are stiff, fast, light and i have get them for 600€ new…
After viewing this video I purchased the Ardennes Black wheels to have a better braking option than my carbon wheels, particularly in the rain. Every year I travel from South Texas to the Colorado high country for 6 weeks to experience some cooler temperatures and epic climbs. Baking is fantastic but something no one mentions is the accelerated brake pad wear. I had to replace the front pads 4 times in 6 weeks! (3 different brands)! don't know if this is to be expected or not and HED haven't responded to my questions on their support page. Wondering what wear other people have seen or recommendations for a more resilient pad. The best luck I had was with the Kool Stop Dura.
Hmm… that’s very interesting. I climb over 1,000,000 feet per year, year after year. We have very steep hills and mountains here in San Diego much steeper than Colorado. My brake pads last me at least 6 months if not longer. Do you just ride the brakes all the way down a Mountain? If you had a disc brake bike you would be spending hundreds on brake pads and rotors. My guess is you are still saving a lot of money on the HED wheels. This year has been an off year as I focused on mileage as I was getting ready for Paris Brest Paris a 762 mile with 40,000 feet 86 hour ultra cycling event. No much climbing per mile so I have only 700,000 feet of climbing this year
Thanks for responding George. I descend pretty aggressively so hit the brakes pretty hard prior to a curve at speed but don't ever drag them. (Used to race in Colorado a few years ago.) The most mileage I got out of a set of front pads in Colorado last summer was 250 miles (only half of that is downhill).. I Wondered if there was a possibility of a defective brake track, sounds like there may be.
@@stevehambley55something doesn't sound right! I brake very little when I descend and definitely not "...pretty hard prior to a curve" I feather my brakes and carry a lot of speed through the turns and out descend everyone I ride with and most people I know in general. Let's leave that aside for a moment. I just built my new Ritchey Road Logic with my HED Ardennes Black. I did a component swap from my other Ritchey. I took the brake calipers off my grey Ritchey to put on the Red/Pink Ritchey and didn't change the brake pads. In other words, I have been riding them for many months already. BUT so we can get some data, so far on the new Ritchey I have 713 miles and 58,556 feet of climbing and the pads are just fine. I'm sure they will be fine for another 713 miles and another 58K of climbing as well. We have a lot of double digit grades here many 15%-20% all over. I don't wear the pads out in 125 miles. We also have a lot of high speed descents here with annoying traffic lights at the bottom when you are going over 55 mph. Some personal data I am 68km or 150 pounds.
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad I don't think the wear I'm getting is due to any variations in our comparable braking techniques. I am heavier (180 Lbs). Riding a Canyon Ultimate, I purchased last January (one of the last ones they offered with rim brakes. to replace a Cannondale Super six HM I cracked). I have a sister that lives in Frisco CO that I stay with. Lots of mountain passes to choose from but your right most rarely surpass 10%. I'll try to contact HED again. Thanks for your time
Thanks for your review. What’s about HED hubs? I didn’t see many reviews out there about Hubs. Wanted to hear from your experience. Thanks for your help!
Hello Luan - I ride a lot and my riding partner does as well. Our combined mileage is upwards 20,000 miles per year. The hubs are just fine with no issues.
Thank You! I am an authorized Bianchi dealer. It is a Bianchi watch. The back plate has the Bianchi crest on it as well. Super cool backing I wish I could post a picture of it. Thanks for watching!
@@simonhj because they are basically Campy mindset type wheels. I am not a fan of anything Campy and Fulcrum uses proprietary stuff on their wheels. I like simple things to fix either in the field or at ANY bike shop
@@simonhj keep in mind that’s just my opinion some people loooove Campy stuff, like a cult following. I just stay away from it. It always seem problematic- at least that’s been my experience in the shop environment
No issues! I’ve used them for heavy gravel riding with no issues. However, if/when you dent them it creates a high spot and it might wear it down a bit.
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad more good news that type of geo can handle light gravel duty. Getting ready to dedicate an Alchemy Eros frame to “all-road” with the Ardennes Black and 28c, maybe even slightly flared bars. Will be interested to see what it’s like after selling off a true disc gravel bike.
@@expectandreceive personally, I love rim brake and 28/30 tires is more than enough. However, I could not pass up the Ritchey 50th anniversary Outback. I just did an unboxing video check it out.
@@mansteinman I guess I need to know more about what you consider climbing. Where do you climb? The nature of the climbs? Your weight? How much do you climb per ride per year?
@@mansteinman unless you have weight to lose you need you should consider custom wheels. At 90 kgs you can’t expect any off the shelf wheel to work for you. I’ll come visit you in Andorra 🇦🇩
YASS! And worth every single penny!!! I would ride these wheels before I would ever ride carbon wheels! Oh wait I do! These wheels are lighter than most carbon wheels. These wheels ride better than carbon wheels because of the low profile rim and long spokes. They brake better than carbon wheels with the textured brake track. In other words they are worth more than $1300 and we are lucky to only have to pay $1300 for such an outstanding wheelset!
You sold me. I"m upgrading my old Buenos Aires Lemond from 9sp to R8000 and I'm sure now these are the wheels to go with.
Hello Bob! These are fantastic wheels that I ride myself!
Thanks for being real. You are rare. Let's grow this thing mang!
Ha ha Thank You! Like and share my videos let’s grow it together!
Based of your review and watching some of your audax rides I just purchased a set of Black Ra Ardennes for my custom Cicili Barco steel rim brake frame. Still a few months away from getting the frame , but the wheels were delivered today and they look and feel sweet. Looking forward to riding them!
Boom! I just upgraded to Kool Stop salmon pads and it improved the braking which was already great. Enjoy those wheels they are still my favorites
the braking surface and koolstop pads💯💯
Yes I just switched to Kool Stop Salmon! OMG incredible power and modulation with eeBrakes!
So excited for these on my super six
Fantastic wheels you’re going to love them! Thanks for watching please subscribe
Looking at hed Belgium plus rims for 28/28 3x build for a rim brake bike with saved hubs for CX, local mixed surface rides, and future gravel events. Need the wider rims as they work better with wider tires to a point. Replacing worn alloy clincher wheels. Stuck now as my only wheels left are tubular wheels which have CX race mud tread tubulars on that is needed for CX season.
Just ordered a pair of these! Thanks for this video.
I wonder why you didn’t order them from me?
Best rim for maintenance, building, etc. I've built few over the years myself including one set for powertap wheelset while back. They stay true and very easy to work on and sturdy, very good tolerance, etc. If I choose to go aluminum wheelsets again, these are it. Have you played around with Belgium G rim yet?
I have built many wheels with the Belgium Plus wheels! I haven't "played around" with the Belgium G rim... yet! I love the specs though 25mm Internal 30mm External and only weighing in at 453 grams!!
Hello great channel and love the content. Im looking into purchasing the ardennes black or the jet 4 black. I already have some dura ace c24s on my trek emonda. Would you reccomend either wheelset? I really would like a wider rim for lower pressure.
Hello Kevin! Thank you for taking the time to watch my video and post a comment. You have very good taste in wheels my friend. I also love the Dura-Ace C24 wheels. They are light, comfortable and spin up with ease. Their only downfall is Shimano has not adopted the wider rim on the C24 because they want them to remain light and agile. Shimano has adopted a wider rim profile on some of their other wheels though. So then I like the HED wheels because of their 25mm rim. You really have to ask yourself do you want an all around wheel or a wheel more focused on aerodynamics. The Ardennes would be the all around wheel, climbing, road riding some light dirt and graveling. The Jet 4 is 46mm and more focused on aerodynamics and can be used for many other applications but will be a little heavier IF weight is a concern on your Trek Emonda. Good news though I have them both in stock and ready to ship to you! Please let me know if you have any further questions! Please subscribe :-)
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad
Thanks for the awesome reply. I'm leaning towards the HED Jet 4 blacks. I love my rim brakes. I live in Illinois so its very flat here. I can use the c24s for those windy days. Ill have to save up for them. Can you please let me know if they can be purchased via your website and what is the URL ? Thanks again for the awesome content.
Hello Kevin! You’re welcome sir! Please hit me up at “revcycling@gmail.com” so we can continue our discussion. Short answer is Yes they are on my website for purchase online!
Just started watching your channel yesterday, those HED Ardennes do look really nice. Was looking at the disc version, and noticed the internal width is only 21mm. The weight looks like an upgrade for my gravel bike (got WTB i23 wheels which weigh 2100g). The WTBs are 23mm internal width, is there a wider version of the Ardennes? Btw, I like your wheel philosophy, looking forward to seeing more videos!
Hello David thank you so much for finding my channel! I appreciate you watching please make sure you subscribe though.
Regarding your gravel bike why not choose a gravel wheelset from HED with internal widths of 26mm.
The Ardennes is mainly a road wheel that can be used for anything. But if you need a specific gravel wheel then look here. And please please please if you’re going to order anyway please order from me. I am a ONE man shop and HED still gets the sale but I need the business more than they do.
hedcycling.com/gravel/
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad thanks for the tip, I'll definitely let you know if I need to order something 🙂
@@davidadamus177 Thank You sir! The pricing is the same everything is the same so why not support a ONE shop who already providing you with customer service 😉
Will you mount these Ardennes Black wheels on your steel Ritchey?
Indeed sir! And other hikes as well! But steel Ritchey is my all-purpose bike - road and gravel
Hello again George, on the HED website it says 80 max psi. I run 100 on my older mavic cosmics and ksyriums. Is this 80 psi max true? I never exceed the tire psi I am under that number.
Check again it should say 90 psi. Anyway you’re riding either a very narrow tire or too high a pressure on your Mavic wheels. The HED wheels are wider rims you don’t need or want 100 psi.
could stones/metal grind away the black coating on the brake track?
Hello Andy, I have ridden these wheels for years and the finish on the black finish on the brake track has not worn off. Maybe there are examples out there where the black anodized coating has come off but to date I have not seen it. Thank you for watching ... Please subscribe! :-)
Great video, thanks. I'm looking at getting some Ardennes but am torn between the ra pro and the black. I know the black are better but worth the jump from 850 to 1300 dollars? Keen to hear your opinion on this. Thanks.
Thanks for watching. Yes the Black series is always worth it in my opinion. The textured brake track is totally worth it. Aesthetically I think they are worth a couple of hundreds more 😂
Anyway let me know and I’ll get those wheels for you!!
Thanks for the review. Are these wheels with 130mm hubs? If they are 130mm, then do HED have an end-cap to convert to 135mm? I can't find anything on HED website about this. Since you're hands-on then maybe you would know. Thanks!
130mm standard road spacing. I have never had to convert these to MTB spacing so I don't know. What type of bike are you wanted to put these on? Thanks for watching please consider subscribing
Thanks for the reply and confirmation on the hub width. I was pretty sure it is road spec 130mm. However my local distributor told me 135mm which I doubted, hence asking you. I've got a query with HED on an end-cap for conversion to 135mm, but I'm not hopeful. Some other hub manufacturers have interchangeable end caps for 130/135 spacing, but nothing like this on the HED website. My bike is a mullet build based on a hybrid frame, hence the 135 rear. Perhaps an option could be to rebuild the rear wheel with a 135mm hub. Might be worth it since they are such unique and nice rims.
I see. The rims are awesome! Well worth a rebuild if you can find a quality 135mm hub. DT Swiss hubs have lots of end cap options.
I ride the dt swiss oxic- very nice black rim brake wheelset too...
cool! Do they have a textured brake track to improve braking performance over standard smooth aluminum rims?
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad i don‘t know but with the blue swiss stop brake pads they work very well i love them they are stiff, fast, light and i have get them for 600€ new…
@@mortlow6688 niiice!
After viewing this video I purchased the Ardennes Black wheels to have a better braking option than my carbon wheels, particularly in the rain. Every year I travel from South Texas to the Colorado high country for 6 weeks to experience some cooler temperatures and epic climbs. Baking is fantastic but something no one mentions is the accelerated brake pad wear. I had to replace the front pads 4 times in 6 weeks! (3 different brands)! don't know if this is to be expected or not and HED haven't responded to my questions on their support page. Wondering what wear other people have seen or recommendations for a more resilient pad. The best luck I had was with the Kool Stop Dura.
Hmm… that’s very interesting. I climb over 1,000,000 feet per year, year after year. We have very steep hills and mountains here in San Diego much steeper than Colorado. My brake pads last me at least 6 months if not longer. Do you just ride the brakes all the way down a Mountain? If you had a disc brake bike you would be spending hundreds on brake pads and rotors. My guess is you are still saving a lot of money on the HED wheels. This year has been an off year as I focused on mileage as I was getting ready for Paris Brest Paris a 762 mile with 40,000 feet 86 hour ultra cycling event. No much climbing per mile so I have only 700,000 feet of climbing this year
Thanks for responding George. I descend pretty aggressively so hit the brakes pretty hard prior to a curve at speed but don't ever drag them. (Used to race in Colorado a few years ago.) The most mileage I got out of a set of front pads in Colorado last summer was 250 miles (only half of that is downhill).. I Wondered if there was a possibility of a defective brake track, sounds like there may be.
@@stevehambley55something doesn't sound right! I brake very little when I descend and definitely not "...pretty hard prior to a curve" I feather my brakes and carry a lot of speed through the turns and out descend everyone I ride with and most people I know in general.
Let's leave that aside for a moment. I just built my new Ritchey Road Logic with my HED Ardennes Black. I did a component swap from my other Ritchey. I took the brake calipers off my grey Ritchey to put on the Red/Pink Ritchey and didn't change the brake pads. In other words, I have been riding them for many months already.
BUT so we can get some data, so far on the new Ritchey I have 713 miles and 58,556 feet of climbing and the pads are just fine. I'm sure they will be fine for another 713 miles and another 58K of climbing as well. We have a lot of double digit grades here many 15%-20% all over. I don't wear the pads out in 125 miles. We also have a lot of high speed descents here with annoying traffic lights at the bottom when you are going over 55 mph.
Some personal data I am 68km or 150 pounds.
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad I don't think the wear I'm getting is due to any variations in our comparable braking techniques. I am heavier (180 Lbs). Riding a Canyon Ultimate, I purchased last January (one of the last ones they offered with rim brakes. to replace a Cannondale Super six HM I cracked). I have a sister that lives in Frisco CO that I stay with. Lots of mountain passes to choose from but your right most rarely surpass 10%. I'll try to contact HED again. Thanks for your time
again? Have they not responded to you?
Thanks for your review. What’s about HED hubs? I didn’t see many reviews out there about Hubs. Wanted to hear from your experience. Thanks for your help!
Hello Luan - I ride a lot and my riding partner does as well. Our combined mileage is upwards 20,000 miles per year. The hubs are just fine with no issues.
Thanks for your reply. Just found out your videos today. A lot of watching ahead 😂. Looking more future videos🎉
@@Luxubu2020 I love it! Please consider subscribing and hitting the notifications 🔔
Great video, thank you! Cool watch, by the way. What is it?
Thank You!
I am an authorized Bianchi dealer. It is a Bianchi watch. The back plate has the Bianchi crest on it as well. Super cool backing I wish I could post a picture of it.
Thanks for watching!
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad Cool! Thanks, I found them online.
Hello my brother Brasil Rio de Janeiro on
George, have you ridden the Fulcrum Racing Zero Nites? Just wondering how they compare at almost half the price.
I have not. Nor do I like Fulcrum wheels - the higher end anyway. On the lower end there is always something else as well.
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad I do have concerns about the proprietary aluminium spokes with the Zeros and about comfort. Why don't you like them?
@@simonhj because they are basically Campy mindset type wheels. I am not a fan of anything Campy and Fulcrum uses proprietary stuff on their wheels. I like simple things to fix either in the field or at ANY bike shop
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad Fair enough. Thanks George.
@@simonhj keep in mind that’s just my opinion some people loooove Campy stuff, like a cult following. I just stay away from it. It always seem problematic- at least that’s been my experience in the shop environment
Considering using these for a light gravel bike. How's your experience been with the durability of the black anodized brake track?
No issues! I’ve used them for heavy gravel riding with no issues. However, if/when you dent them it creates a high spot and it might wear it down a bit.
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad Nice! Good to hear. I’m curious, what type of rim brake gravel setup were/are you running?
@@expectandreceive Ritchey Road Logic! Sometimes 25’s sometimes 28’s - race rubber like GP 5000 TL I’ve done BWR multiple times on rim brake
@@SeeYouUpTheRoad more good news that type of geo can handle light gravel duty. Getting ready to dedicate an Alchemy Eros frame to “all-road” with the Ardennes Black and 28c, maybe even slightly flared bars. Will be interested to see what it’s like after selling off a true disc gravel bike.
@@expectandreceive personally, I love rim brake and 28/30 tires is more than enough. However, I could not pass up the Ritchey 50th anniversary Outback. I just did an unboxing video check it out.
Hi . What about stiff of that wheelset. Im climber thanks
Hmm… interesting question as a climber I wouldn’t want a stiff wheel.
Well any problem this wheel with stiff
@@mansteinman I guess I need to know more about what you consider climbing. Where do you climb? The nature of the climbs? Your weight? How much do you climb per ride per year?
Marie Blanc, Toumalet Andorra. 90 kgs
@@mansteinman unless you have weight to lose you need you should consider custom wheels. At 90 kgs you can’t expect any off the shelf wheel to work for you. I’ll come visit you in Andorra 🇦🇩
Aluminium $1300 :(
YASS! And worth every single penny!!! I would ride these wheels before I would ever ride carbon wheels! Oh wait I do!
These wheels are lighter than most carbon wheels. These wheels ride better than carbon wheels because of the low profile rim and long spokes. They brake better than carbon wheels with the textured brake track.
In other words they are worth more than $1300 and we are lucky to only have to pay $1300 for such an outstanding wheelset!