Campy Eurus. Wow.

Got a set of 2006 Campy Eurus and took my first ride on them today. Incredible difference! I was running some Spinergy Xaeros, which were creaking on steep climbs and generally were not inspiring a lot of love or confidence. I figured they needed to be replaced and a nice set of Campy's would be an upgrade, but after this ride I simply was astonished at the difference!

I expected them to be stiffer and maybe to roll a bit smoother. Frankly I think I was expecting to be underwhelmed for the amount of cash outlay, but I figured I'd get some improvement. Well so far (1 ride, okay, I'm excited) they have fulfilled or exceeded my wildest expectations. They are stiff in accelleration, just as smooth as my Spinergys over bumps, supple as could be, and they roll like an absolute dream. I felt fantastic all day, zipping up short hills, screaming down hills, and just shooting along on the flats in at least 2 gears higher than I'd been riding them just days ago. I figure the improvement on flat ground for the same effort was at least 2 and maybe 3 mph, from easy early-season noodling at 16-17 mph to easy cruising at 19+ mph today with the same effort. Maybe I was just feeling better 'cause I went in afternoon temps of 62 degrees instead of the usual morning 42 degrees, but there is no question about the improvement in feel and the smoothness/stiffness. Looking forward to hitting the steeps next weekend.

Anyway, I can't compare them to other wheels in that class like Ksyriums or others, as I've only owned these, but right now I'm a HUGE fan of the new Eurus. Feels like a new bike. Of all the upgrades I've ever done, w/o question this had the biggest impact. Go Campy.

I picked up a set of the '05 model last fall. I concur with your remarks. I remember riding with the club guys and coasting past them on even the slightest downhill. The suckers just roll (they climb and sprint pretty well too..). Enjoy!

I prefer my HED 3's the most, then my 04 Ksyrium SL's, then my Campy Eurus, then my R535's, then my Xero Lite wheels.

Damn... now thats a wheel line-up !!!

I use traditional wheels 90% of the time(Record hub/ on a good Mavic rim- or older Campy rim) ....... or I go to my Campy 1997 Ventos(deep section 41mm) /or Mavic Cosmic Pro . Just picked up a nice Corima carbon-clincher(45mm deep) front wheel

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I've put about 1,000km on my new Campag 2006 Eurus wheels (got 'em for XMas) and love them.

They are nimble up hills, a good 5km/h faster down hills, but the biggest difference I have noticed is that they are hardly affected at all by cross winds and noticeably better in a headwind (my previous wheels were Mavic Open Pro rims/Chorus hubs).

Cheers
M

All those wheels fit on my 4 roads bikes, so I have an extra set of wheels. But I just got my 5th road bike - an 06 Raleigh Prestige with Stronglight cranks and 05 Ritchey Protocol wheels (1350 grams). Couldn't resist this deal (without a BB though) for $1940 shipped. For this price, I think this bike is better than any comparable full carbon bike at it's price range - especially compared to Giant or Trek.

I can't wait to give my new bike a ride.

Does anyone have any first-hand experience in seeing what transpires with a spoke break with these wheelsets on the rear? They look really nice but I'm a bit skittish of what happens with only 7 spokes on the non-drive side of the rear if you happen to lose one. Thanks.

They feel bombproof to me and I go 205 at this point. I honestly have no concerns about it at all. That said, the Fulcrum series is a very similar wheel from Campy with a different pattern for a bit more cash. Cross-laced on the drive side.

Here are some reviews on the Eurus which may address some of your questions:
http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/wh...x.aspx#reviews

People who own them seem to love them and I haven't seen any reviews where someone has broken a spoke. In the event of a broken spoke, you can expect to walk home or call for help because it is impractical to remove tyre and rim strip to true up the wheel. This seems to be an acceptable risk for owners of these wheels.

Ritch

You might want to take a closer look at those wheels before you take them out:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/recal...5/ritchey.html

That Ritchey hub was problematic because it was made by American Classic and had the freehub problem that the AC's had. Typical of AC stuff. Light but not that durable.

I already talkjed to the bike shop about the 05 Ritchey Wheels I got. They said they were the fixed hub model. So when I get these 05 Ritchey Protocol wheels - I'll really be wondering at how they perform. I got them mainly because they were lighter then the stock Mavic Askium wheels on the 06 Raleigh Prestige.

The 2006 Eurus has external nipples, no need to remove tire and rim strip to true the wheels. As a matter of fact no rim strip is needed anymore.

One other comment, I saw some '05 Eurus wheels today, and the '06 version has VERY different spokes. Flat and much, much beefier. And overall wheel weight is down 100 grams. Don't know if that's good or bad, but there you go.

I have some of the 04 Campy Eurus wheels and they are fantastic, I have over 5000 miles on the last year. They are still true and super smooth, I could not believe how fast they are on the down hills... I would recommend them to anyone looking for a wheel in that price range...