Reviews of Products

Manufacturer Profile: Easton Wheels

Why do we carry what we carry? This is one of the best questions you could ask of any dealer. At Fit Werx, we spend a lot of time researching any product that we carry. While we lose some sales because we are not willing to always jump on the latest marketing bandwagon or just carry any brand people are interested in, we sleep well knowing that we offer our athletes products that work better, last longer and perform better.

Even though we have access to many brands we do not stock, these profiles are designed to help you understand the value we see in the brands we stock and why they are category leaders.

Ratings & Comparisons

Wheel Rewards Program

Ordering

Company Statistics:

Owned By: Easton Wheels is owned by Bell Sports.
Location: Illinois.
Number of Employees: A significant number.
Materials Used: Carbon and Aluminum.
Point of Origin: USA and Asia.
Year Started: Easton wheels bought Velomax wheels in 2005.
Unique Attributes: Velomax Wheels was one of the most leading edge wheel companies going into the new millennium. Velomax was known for building hand building wheels with high quality hubs, tight tolerances, lightweight and offering very solid value. When they bought Velomax, Easton Wheels was smart enough to preserve all of these good characteristics and then to slowly start improving where they could.
Web Site: www.eastonbike.com

Pros of Easton Wheels:

• Few multi-purpose wheel sets do as much well across as broad a range of parameters as those offered by Eaton Wheels. From weight, to aerodynamics, compliance and durability of hub/bearing design, Easton Wheels score well in all variables.
• Price point leaders. At a given price, Easton Wheels are proven and compete strongly in regards to features and performance variables.
• What a nice hub design. While Easton’s hubs improve in terms of tolerances and features as you go up the line, even the entry model EA50 SL has a nice hub and by the time you get to the R4 hubset on the EA90 SL you truly have as world class hubset in every regard.
• Twin-Thread spoke technology (flange pictured above right) has held the test of time and remains one of the lightest and most durable ways to connect a hub to a rim.
• Many models are still handbuilt (EA90 SLX rim pictured right).
• One of the first to embrace asymmetrical rim design to minimize differences in spoke tension on the rear wheel.

Considerations of Easton Wheels:

• While we have seen very few issues, Easton’s rims do not have reinforced eyelets at the spoke holes.
• Laterally, not as stiff as some other options.
• If you want aero spokes, look elsewhere.

What stands out about Easton Wheels/Attributes:

We like survivors. Any company (Velomax) that can be brought from the brink of non-existence (a lost lease forced to the newly born Velomax to survive out of the owner’s garage initially) only to develop into a major player with wheel spec found on a number of major bike companies bikes (including Cervelo) has to know something about building a better wheel. Like Mavic, a lot of wheel innovations commonly used by many of their competitors can be credited back to an innovation found earlier on an Easton/Velomax wheel. Some examples:

• Mass use of straight-pull hub and spoke design.

• Nickel/brass spoke nipples on the drive side rear wheel spokes to maximize strength while using alloy on the rest to minimize weight.

• Conical alloy axle caps that not only help seal the bearings, but also stiffen the wheel at the axle.
To Easton’s credit, if one lesson can be learned from their acquisition of Velomax Wheels in 2005, it was that sometimes leaving well enough alone is the best decision. Velomax had literally blossomed from a garage business to a notable player in the bicycle wheel market and when Easton bought them, there was some notable worry about what would become of a wheel company that had become a bit of an iconic example of “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” success. Luckily, the answer was not much was changing at Velomax Wheels except for the decals on the side of the rims. This being said, Velomax had established itself so firmly that when Easton Sports bought them in 2005 that even changing the decals was almost too much. Easton’s acquisition of Velomax was one of the few cases where a very established and respected big company (Easton) actually hurt itself (at least for the first few years) by putting their name on a product that had been considered more of a niche player. Even though the wheels did not change at all during the first two years of Easton’s ownership, Velomax wheels had developed such a reputation for quality and value that consumers were actually skeptical in many cases of the newly labeled Easton wheels. In some regards, Easton may never be able to capture the specialty niche that Velomax had. This being said, we’re not going to dwell on this as what we are concerned with is the performance, ride and durability of the products and not the name on the side.

So, what do we like? We like how Easton wheels do so many things well. These are not “one hit wonders” or narrow focus wheels that sacrifice important characteristics like durability and bearing quality just to make the wheel 10 grams lighter. This being said, Easton wheels still tend to be some of the lightest in their respective categories. The result is that just about all Easton wheel models are balanced and address all the major performance variables (from weight to durability) well.

Velomax was an innovative company without being experimental. Thankfully, Easton seems to be maintaining that approach now that Velomax wheels are Easton wheels. The rims, spokes and hub designs on Easton wheels are logical and proven. Any incremental improvements are done without a total rework, but just subtle additions to what was already a class leading design. For example, the R3 hub design that Velomax innovated was a really good design; arguably one of the best for the money. However, historically, one of the few knocks we could make against Easton wheels was that the hubs on their upper end wheels did not have adjustable bearings. Admittedly, this was grasping at straws

to some degree as it really seemed to take a long time for the hubs to do develop any play in the bearings and require replacing. However, we still liked the option of being able to adjust the bearing preload if it loosened at all or was feeling too tight. When Easton updated the hub in 2007 to the R4, they kept all that was good with the R3 and added in what is likely the easiest bearing preload design on the market - it does not require any tools and can be adjusted on the road in a matter of seconds by just turning the adjuster with your fingers (pictured left). We congratulate Easton Wheels for only changing what you could actually make better as opposed to just making changes to change or to create a new ad campaign. Easton wheels prove that cutting edge technology and traditional sensibility do not have to be independent.

Is there anything not to like? Well, if you want your wheels as laterally stiff as possible there are companies that make wheels that are laterally stiffer than Easton’s, but in all but a couple cases, they do so at the expense of vibration damping.

In a market where many wheel designs seem to use spoke lacing patterns and rim and hub shapes that are based more in sounding good in advertising materials than sound engineering, Easton’s designs are a refreshingly logical. By combining proven materials and shapes with straight-forward and intelligent modern design, Easton wheels are some of the most versatile, dependable and balanced multi-purpose wheels available.

Key Easton Wheel Terminology:

T3 Spokes: Easton’s twin threaded spoke design that eliminates the weak spoke elbow as well as eliminating the weaker cold formed head that traditional spoke designs use. The stainless spoke looks relatively traditional, but threads deeply into the hub to minimize stress risers and maximize strength.

Gen3 Rims: Generation 3 Easton rims consist of an asymmetric offset rear hub designed to even spoke tension and maximize strength and durability by minimizing wheel dish. They also have machined and welded braking surfaces to make the braking surface as uniform as possible and the overall rim as strong as possible.

R Series Hubs: Easton’s proprietary hub design as a whole. R Series hubs employ a function first design that includes everything from the unique twin thread T3 spoke integration to the use of double sealed cartridge bearings and a unique conical hub cap shape that seals as well as supports. The R4 hubset is currently the top of the line on Easton wheels and it adds in the very best material application in hub design (alloy front axle, titanium rear) to maximize strength while minimizing weight along with being one of the easiest to service and use with its tools-free bearing preload adjusters and simple design.

Model Overview:

Please visit our on-line store wheel section for specific model information.

Model Comparisons and Ratings:

Multipurpose Wheel Ratings

Event/Race Wheel Ratings

Fit Werx Wheel Rewards Program:

Performance bicycle wheels should not be treated like a commodity and you get more than just a wheel when you buy from Fit Werx. The Fit Werx Wheel Rewards program offers you value that is well beyond just a competitive price.

The Wheel Protection Program offers you the following security and protection:

• Advice. Fit Werx is nationally known for asking the right questions and then providing you with real answers that apply to your individual needs and allow you to choose the optimal wheel for your needs. Not everyone should be on the same wheel…

• Competitive pricing. Our regular pricing on wheels is very competitive and we will always work to meet or beat a price quote from an authorized dealer of a product.

• Wheel Protection Program (WPP). Every Fit Werx Event/Race wheel protects its owner against down time due to repairs or warranty work. For two years from purchase, if your Fit Werx event/race wheels are out of service due to a warranty or repair situation at a time when really need them for an event or race, we will provide you with a pair of demo event/race wheels for up to two weeks of time at no charge to you (beyond shipping).

• Free Tire Mounting. Even on tubulars. Our skilled technicians take the time to install your tires properly and your initial install costs nothing extra. A $40-$60 value on a pair of tubulars.

• Full Wheel Tolerance & Tension Check. We do not rely on the factories to do final detail work. Our technicians are some of the most detail oriented in the business and every wheel we sell is hand inspected and adjusted to make sure it meets our standards.

• Warranty. Fit Werx is an authorized dealer of every product we carry. Unlike many internet sites and auctions (where many products are even stolen), anything you purchase from Fit Werx is new and has a full warranty.

Ordering:

Visit the Easton wheel section of our on-line store or call 866-833-4FIT (4348).

Visit the Tech Center for more articles on a wide variety of bike technology and fitting subjects. If you have questions or are interested in a product, don’t hesitate to stop in, call, or e-mail one of our locations. We continue to build our inventory and have one of the best selections of in-stock products anywhere in the northeast. We are always here to answer questions and we ship daily if you need anything.