Too good to be true? Any comments on the new Hermes Levitator wheelset?

[bc_hills]

http://www.bikerumor.com/2010/05/14...-sport-carbon-rims-with-tune-hubs/#more-17868

It's an amazing price point for such a light wheelset. Does anyone know the company, or Tune hubs?

Thanks!

 

[Greyhound Velo]

From looking at the photos on the Hermes web site the 50mm deep wheels look to be made by Equinox, the same company that makes (or made) wheels for Cole, Xlab, Token and many other second tier wheel brands. Not that there's anything wrong with them, I had a set myself last year that held up fine and were as aerodynamic as any other 50mm deep rim, just that they aren't unique.

Based on that, there's no reason to think these climbing wheels are anything other than branded Equinox wheels. They should be fine, but I wouldn't put them in the same category as Edge, Campy or other first tier wheels when it comes to quality control.

 

[flyor64]

Don't know anything about the rims but Tune are a German component manufacturer with a very solid reputation...their hubs are along the lines of Chris King, Hope, etc. The funny thing is they are mostly known for MTB parts...I guess they're branching out

Tune

That is a sick weight btw...

 

[Greyhound Velo]

Oh yeah, forgot about the Tune hubs . Those are great, very light and well engineered. I've also used them and Tune cranks for the past few years and have no complaints, solid gear. In fact, for the price I'm surprised they have such nice hubs. I think the hubs alone retail for ~$600 in the US (partially due to the exchange rate) if you can even find them.

 

[bc_hills]

Thanks for the comments. It would be interesting to do a "blind" ride test with these and then a set of Campy Hyperons or whatever. I can't get past the suspicion that carbon fibre has become a scam. All I see is mind numbing mark-up on frames and wheels made off-shore and labelled as if the act of naming a component or frame "Cervelo," or "Colnago" is enough to justify the mark-up.

New rule of thumb: only by frames or wheels from builders that actually make frames or wheels.

I do recognize that there wouldn't be so much cheap/generic carbon around if it wasn't for the big players, put things are ****ed when every second day there's a new company offering a carbon frame or wheelset for a third or even half the cost of what the big players offer. It's a joke. Somebody is getting screwed and it all stinks. We're either screwed by inferior parts and frames that seem a bargain but really aren't, or we're screwed into believing that the big names offer some hidden but real value in their more expensive offerings, when really they don't.

Which one is it?

Cheers!