I believe @Nate_Pearson and @Jonathan have Enve wheels (5.6?). Does anyone else have experience with these? The 5.6 vs. the 7.8 are the same except the width but this is just from a general look at them.
Do they also ever go on sale and what is the practical differences between the two?
This is how ENVE positions them:
I’m a relative cycling newbie and only have experience with my Domane’s Bontrager stock vs 5.6 Disc. Have been in the Sierra and Coastal mountains on descents that previously have done around 45-50mph on the stock wheels. In crosswinds the front wheel can get a bit “nervous” or twitchy, and so with 5.6 disc in fast crosswind descents I’ve kept max speed around 35mph but I’m conservative (and promised my wife not to take chances). I’m sure others can and do go faster. Bought mine at wheelbuilder.com and upgraded to heavy duty aero spokes and at the time their price was very good compared to list. And you can buy a single wheel, so if I do more mountain events my plan is to get a 3.4 disc front wheel due to the number of days with high winds in the mountains out here. I’m currently 98kg, there is no weight limit, and I’ve only broken a spoke once. Otherwise they have stayed true for 3+ years and I ride on really crappy NorCal roads and take a lot of pothole hits.
Enves are known for excellent crosswind handling, thus I’d go for the 7.8s.
I believe @Nate_Pearson has mentioned wanting to try 7.8s after seeing @Pete and the Clif Bar team run them.
The main drawback is weight. I think the improvement in aerodynamics is worth the penalty. Hambini, like him or not, has mentioned that there’s a general consensus among aerodynamicists that for 28mm tires, you’ll want those 70-80mm rims, and IMO, 28mm tubeless is where it’s at right now.
As for sales, Enve did a $600 off trade in program over the holidays, but no direct sales on the disc wheels. Some places were selling the rim brake versions at half off, but the disc wheels were at full msrp.
The 5.6s are better than 7.8s in cross winds. The 7.8s are good, but on a 40mph descent with cross winds I’d rather have the 5.6.
I had a set of each and when downsizing to pimp my MTB I sold the 7.8.
ENVE told me the 5.6 would be 30 seconds slower in a 70.3 than the 7.8 and I was ok with that.
Thanks. Leaning towards the enve 5.6 or the roval clx 50.
I think it depends on what you’re gonna use them for
I have a set of Roval CLX50 and I’ve definitely felt squirrelly in the wind with them. The 5.6s seem pretty stable in the crosswind - I even raced then in like 40mph winds where they cancelled the later waves due to the high wind and they never felt out of control.
I’ve got 7.8’s on my aero bike, i’ve been out in 20-25mph crosswinds and they were manageable, surprisingly stable for that depth of wheel. I do a lot of solo riding in relatively flat-ish terrain, doing it all over again i’d still go 7.8.
Thanks all. Prior to getting my Tarmac disc I was riding 52mm mavic cosmic sls which are a little squirrelly but manageable in cross winds.
Is there a 7.8 successor on the horizon?
I kinda want to pull the trigger on a pair but i would be kind of upset if they were to release a newer version of a super deep wheelset in the next 12 months?
No idea but call them and they might tell you if a refresh on the horizon. I don’t know how much deeper you can go or would want unless you get a full cover.
Maybe they have a deep and wide wheel
I have a 5.6 but want a 7.8 since im bigger
You can check out the Foundation series wheels. I have them, they are amazing and nicely priced under the SES series wheels:
ENVE wheels go on sale at authorized dealers all the time. I post the sales when I see them here:
The Foundation wheels are on sale now (as are some of the AR’s) here (but for Gold members which is easy to obtain):
Also if you are ex-military you can get 20% off of them anytime here but you have to sign up and show proof of service. They are Enve’s military partner:
