Road Test - Hed Ardennes Wheels

I went out on my trusty Litespeed today for the first time since ... goodness knows when, but I guess it was sometime before I raced in Barcelona last October. The bike has changed a bit since then and now wears a pair of very smart looking Hed Ardennes wheels (with the stickers removed). These are pretty light for an alloy clincher (from memory about 1350g for the pair) and suit the black and white colour scheme of my bike perfectly (even if I do say so myself!). Before I start, let me explain what am I comparing this set up with. Recently I have been riding my Planet X Pro Carbon with Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL wheels; a not too shabby set up for a winter training bike. So how does the Litespeed/Hed set up compare with the Planet X/Mavic? Well, it's a bit like chalk and cheese, or night and day, or a Rolls Royce to a Nissan Micra (I'll stop there; I think you get the picture). The Hed wheels are just so comfortable. The C2 rim, that is significantly wider than a standard rim, allows the tyre to sit in an arch shape rather than the more normal lightbulb shape and Hed says this brings many advantages, including aero and comfort. It is also possible to run the tyres at a much lower pressure and from reading several reviews it seems that 95psi is about optimum. As for today's ride, it was a short and sharp 24km (or thereabouts, I haven't got round to putting a magnet on my new wheels so the computer doesn't yet work) with Chairman Ed (Ed will be going to Mallorca next week; don't worry Neill, I put in a good word for you! :-) ). It was a bit windy on the seafront but we cracked on at a reasonable pace; no surprise to learn that I was working a tad harder than Ed! The Litespeed is, IMHO, a very good bike and I'm looking forward to riding it a lot in the months ahead, including its second IM distance race when I complete The Outlaw in July. And the wheels are pretty special as well! Train smart folks.