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A Review from Inside Triathlon
Gear Test: Rock n' Rol
by Kyle du Ford
IT Editor
This report filed August 23, 2005
New products come and go, as does your income. When new products show up on the market, I'll be the first to test them out - and the first to question their validity. I love gear, and I love gear that works. Inherent in all of this is the ability to honestly critique products - show me something new and something that does what it says it does, and you allow me to perpetuate my obsession. I do love gear.
So when a frame manufacturing-friend called to personally ask my opinion about some new wheels - made in my backyard - I jumped at the chance.
Rol Wheels, the company, and Sean Lambert, the company's founder and sole employee, are just a small chainring away, up in Denver, Colorado, in the Victorian homes of Capital Hill. Lambert's day job of selling mortgages didn't quench his passion for cycling - he yearned to be involved in the industry. So he took aim at what he despised most - expensive wheels - and decided to make an inexpensive, lightweight wheel for the masses, for guys like him. The fruit of his labor is impressive.
The Rol SL-28 (as in superlight and 28mm deep) was the first wheel to "rol" off the line, and deeper sections and carbon rims are in the works. Using a rim made popular by Mavic and VeloMax, Lambert added lightweight, bladed stainless steel spokes and took his creation to a variety of industry people. Most couldn't tell the difference between his wheel and the industry leaders. After all, Lambert was merely taking a rim from one company and merging it with a spoke from another. Add a hub, a funky brandmark and - viola! - the SL-28 emerged. The only difference to the naked eye? The pricetag: $325 for the pair. Yes, the pair - wieghing in at 1,710 grams. I had to try them out.
I threw a pair of the bad boys on my Elite Razor TT bike - my race bike - to see if they were the goods. Over the course of riding near 100 miles to and from work over the course of a week, I developed a good feel for the new buggers. In the end, I didn't want to give them back.
The ride quality of the Rols was to be expected for an aluminum clincher with 16 front spokes and 20 rear: stiff, but fast accelerating; bombproof over the normal road hazards; and good handling. But I was shocked by how good they were. If these are the same rims as the more expensive wheels, then why the price difference? The ride quality confirmed, I became more and more agitated with the likes of VeloMax's MSRP - the same rim!
With a pair of SL-28s, I took to the hills, the flats, and the general daily grind of a commute. I realized that using a time-trial bike to commute isn't the best choice, but these wheels were. And not just for mundane riding. Strapping them onto my Giant road bike for climbing was just - if not more - exhilarating. Why? I couldn't tell the difference between them and the other, more popular, models. And that's just the point. For the price, there's no reason not to have these wheels in your arsenal. Train on Rols and race on your deep section carbons. But for some reason you can't make the swap come race day. I wouldn't fear riding on these on a sprint or Olympic course, especially if the wind is blowing.
The bummer? You won't find Rols in your local shop just yet, though a few local shops in Denver carry them now and, partly because of this review, Elite Bikes may spec some on their price-point models. But no fear, Lambert wants quality across the board, so you can order directly from the website.
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