Hed Flamme Rouge Jet 4 Stalliion Build

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Category: Reviews

Published on Friday, 30 December 2011 19:43

Written by Administrator

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After a few weeks research and talking to several reps I settled on HED wheels for this build. HED stood out from the others for a few reasons. Most importantly was the weight requirement. HED Jet 4 wheels come with a 230 pound rider weight limit in their stallion configuration. After speaking with Andy from HED I learned they can be made even stiffer with the use of heavier spokes. What I eventually settled on was a custom build of the Jet 4 Flamme Rouge. While the Jet 6 was tempting, the Jet 4s made more sense as an everyday wheel as they are suitable in more wind conditions as well as can use a standard valve stem with no need for extenders.

Lets start with the basic info on these wheels. They use a scandium outer hoop, coupled with a non-structural carbon fiber fairing. This configuration allows the rims to have all the strength of an alloy hoop while having the aero advantage of a composite wheel. Because the carbon is not structural it also allows for substantial weight savings. Worth noting is all HED wheels are currently 23mm wide. This requires special consideration when selecting your brakes, but allows lower tire pressures to be used.

So what sets the Flamme Rouge variant of these wheels apart from the base Jet 4? It starts with the upgrade to a scandium outer rim from the basic aluminum rim. From there they add a few titanium bits to reduce weight as well as a carbon fiber hub shell. At that point the FR variant is both stronger and lighter than the base version. Then they throw in ceramic hybrid bearings to increase roll out. All said and done the FR is stronger, lighter and faster than the basic version.

Build quality is where HED really starts to stand out. Zipp, Flashpoint, Mavic, and many other high end wheels come through the shop every day. The disturbing trend is they are all being made to sloppier and sloppier tolerances. Everything from structural resin voids, to 2-3mm out of true and dish. On wheel sets that are often 3000+ dollars this is not acceptable. In general we spend 30 minutes ore more getting wheels ready to sell that are brand new just because of some questionable QCQA. These wheels arrived and needed very little work. The front tension was 64-71, with the rear 92-100. The rear was just slightly out of true measuring .048 on the run out gauge. Compared to other wheels we see, these were a godsend. With the weight with tape at 781 front 987 rear these were as advertised. Worth noting is these rims require slightly wider that normal rim tape.

In the end all that matters is how they ride and preform. With just 300 miles on thes rims I have a few initial impressions. First and foremost these rims feel very live. Response is great while still having a compliant ride. The rear free-hub is a little louder than most, but you are not supposed to be coasting. On the second ride with these we had some pretty nasty cross-winds gusting to over 25mph. Even at 220 pounds this cross wind was very pronounced and did product a little wag in the bike when under 20mph. North of 20 however there was almost no perceivable throw to these. They were also a great deal quieter than another riders Flashpoints.

All said and done I am very impressed with HED. I will be ordering more of these in the future and can honestly endorse them to almost any rider.