Wheels: Lew v Reynolds



AussieRob

New Member
Mar 7, 2005
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I'm looking at buying a set of Lew's second hand (its from a source I trust) and I see that, through a couple of mergers, Reynolds has taken over Lew.

1) is there anyone out there still riding Lew wheels? If so how are they?

2) Lew has a fantastic reputation, what are the Reynolds wheels like? Are they really better? I have a feeling its just marketing c*ap.

Thanks
 
AussieRob said:
I'm looking at buying a set of Lew's second hand (its from a source I trust) and I see that, through a couple of mergers, Reynolds has taken over Lew.

1) is there anyone out there still riding Lew wheels? If so how are they?

2) Lew has a fantastic reputation, what are the Reynolds wheels like? Are they really better? I have a feeling its just marketing c*ap.

Thanks
I have used the Sydney's and they are great wheels. Light and stiff. The only thing is trying to figure out that annoying clicking sound from the rim. I've heard that by dropping a small amount of oil on the spoke/rim area, the clicking sound will disappear. I haven't done that though so can't comment on that yet.

Reynolds? I haven't had the chance to try them yet.

-gas
 
I thought LEW was made by Reynolds when it was originally selling wheels.:confused:
 
bobbyOCR said:
I thought LEW was made by Reynolds when it was originally selling wheels.:confused:
Lew sold the rights to Reynolds and now Reynolds or the owners of Reynolds sold something to Serotta.
http://www.serotta.com/pages/current.html

http://www.serotta.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22708

And with LVCY1's post: "Lew is selling wheels again! www.lewracing.com",

I'd say something must have been in the contract between Lew and Reynolds that if Reynolds sells ? that Lew gets the wheelbuilding rights back.

Maybe... just maybe.


-gas

http://www.lewracing.com/
 
Price is comparable to lightweight, ADM

Missed out on the wheels in the end, to slow.
 
superunleaded said:
Lew sold the rights to Reynolds and now Reynolds or the owners of Reynolds sold something to Serotta.
http://www.serotta.com/pages/current.html

http://www.serotta.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22708

And with LVCY1's post: "Lew is selling wheels again! www.lewracing.com",

I'd say something must have been in the contract between Lew and Reynolds that if Reynolds sells ? that Lew gets the wheelbuilding rights back.

Maybe... just maybe.


-gas

http://www.lewracing.com/

MCQ sold a facility, not the rights to a product line, to Serotta. MCQ is much bigger than Serotta.
 
superunleaded said:
I'd say something must have been in the contract between Lew and Reynolds that if Reynolds sells ? that Lew gets the wheelbuilding rights back.

Maybe... just maybe.


-gas

http://www.lewracing.com/
I would guess that the duration for the "non compete clause" in the sales contract expired and thus Lew is back in the wheel business.
 
Yeah, I'm sure the non-compete must be up. Looks like he's been pretty busy in the Aerospace industry with his other company. www.lewaerospace.com is a pretty slick website.

Anyway, I'm glad he's back in the bike business... should be good for the marketplace... :)
 
No kidding!!! That is a lot of pennies!!! You still need to motor the darn things to get them to turn. I think its an isolated price point. Very few ethusiasts will be able to experience them if the price stays that high. It may just end up being a pro team wheel after all.

superunleaded said:
YOWWWWwwww
$5k for a set of tubies...:eek:
 
dkrenik said:
"non compete clause" expired.
That must be it. I just visited Reynolds site and they are still selling the old Lew(KOM).

carbonguru,
I have a set of the old Sydney and I tell you, they are nice.


-gas
 
I bought a pair of these wheels but when the rear one failed (see youtube) I sent it back but they stopped all contact and kept my wheel. gutted to say the least.
 
EXCEED said:
I bought a pair of these wheels but when the rear one failed (see youtube) I sent it back but they stopped all contact and kept my wheel. gutted to say the least.

Send a registered letter to Paul Lew c/o Reynolds Composites (the wheel makers). That is where he works now. Reynolds has just released a new wheel based largely on the Lew VT-1, so it's possible there could be help in the offing. It can't hurt, anyway.
 
alienator said:
Send a registered letter to Paul Lew c/o Reynolds Composites (the wheel makers). That is where he works now. Reynolds has just released a new wheel based largely on the Lew VT-1, so it's possible there could be help in the offing. It can't hurt, anyway.

How do I know if he recieved the letter?
I really don't think he would do anything even though I delt with him directly when buying the wheels. I'm asking from morale grounds and not legal ones and have had no luck for over a year now.

RZR Reynolds wheelset seem to be the Lew VT 1 so I'm sure they will have the same problems
 
EXCEED said:
How do I know if he recieved the letter?
I really don't think he would do anything even though I delt with him directly when buying the wheels. I'm asking from morale grounds and not legal ones and have had no luck for over a year now.

RZR Reynolds wheelset seem to be the Lew VT 1 so I'm sure they will have the same problems

The whole point to a certified letter is that you will get confirmation that it was delivered. If you can send an identical letter certified to someone high up at Reynolds, perhaps they'll speak to Paul. Again, it can't hurt.

As for the RZR wheels, a friend who used to rep for Lew in Europe saw the RZR's at Eurobike this year. He handled the wheels, talked with Lew, and talked with other Reynolds folks. The wheels are significantly different. Brake track composition, hubs, spokes, molding, rim composition are all different. And from the pics the bonding of the spokes is different (no more blue epoxy). There's no way Reynolds would just re-issue the Lew wheels: the VT-1's had some significant issues, and Reynolds just doesn't operate that way. When Reynolds bought the first Lew company, back when Lew was selling the Lew Sydney whels (progenitors of the Reynolds Stratus/DV 46 line), they didn't just start selling Reynolds branded Sydneys. No, those wheels were prone to fracturing, so Reynolds reworked the wheels/rims and released, instead, a very successful line of wheels that built the company's reputation.

You can likely get the name of a big muckity-muck at Reynolds either by searching online or by contacting one of the cycling mags or cycling industry mags.
 
Thanks,

I'll try an email to all the staff there first as I'm in New Zealand and would rather not spend more money on Registered packages.