Hi Nepest,
I’ve had my pair of Nepest SPEEDN, 45mm deep with carbon spokes, for a while now. I’ve taken them on a variety of rides the past few weeks (flat to hilly, Flanders classics, hot and chilly weather) and I would like to share my experience.
I’m not going to elaborate on the obvious weight reduction over my standard Fulcrum Racing 4’s (the figures are everywhere to find).
What I would like everyone to know about is the sheer quality of the set. So I guess they’re on par with the MAUI’s on that subject.
My bike is much more agile, quicker, more responsive without being twitchy or uncomfortable. With 28mm tyres you can run them on pretty low PSI for real speed and comfort.
I’ve had the chief mechanic of my bike shop (whom I trust blindfolded) put a new cassette on these so I can swap these with my F.R.4’s outside the summer. I also asked his opinion on these. He had them in the shop for a day, took a good look at them, even took them for a testride. He was amazed by the build quality. He especially praised the spokes (tensioning, positioning), said that he had not often seen this quality (they sell Roval, Bontrager, Fulcrum Racing, FFWD and Stealth).
He had never heard of Nepest before. When I told him the price I paid, he went pale. 😊
I don’t ride with watt meters. I ride on hart rate and feeling.
At my age, I still easily punch above 60km/u (+/- 37mph) in a sprint with these, flat terrain feels like slightly down, there’s no wind circulating around the bike only around me, so they got the drag sorted. At headwinds you gain the most. How far they continue to role without pedalling is amazing. I rode away from my companion downhill without pedalling. Speed at the base of the hill is no problem since the stoppingpower is great. They actually brake better (stronger and better dosible) then the F.R. 4’s. The special cut and treated brake surface works!
I’ve taken them out up until wind force 3 diagonally from the front along a canal. They handle great. With the 45mm rim, I wouldn’t take them out there at force 6.
Overall my bike feels much faster, I typically ride 2,5km/u (+/-1,55mph) faster on every type of terrain on my known rides.
With my 84kgs (+/-185lbs) I’ve not been able to get a millimetre of flex in them even on the most powerful accelerations on flats or uphill. Every watt goes forward.
I would like to end by writing: skip hours of training, buy these wheels and ride like a pro! 😊
I hope the wheels will provide me with many years of carefree miles.
The only circumstances that I’ve haven’t tested yet are: high mountains and really wet.
KR,