Rolf's

Callistus Valerius said:

Does anyone have any opinions on whether the Rolf Vector Comps and Pros
were good wheels or bad wheels, looking back. Years ago, my bike came with
the Pros, and I was scared of the low spoke count so I just threw them in
the closet, and bought some Comps instead. I put about 14,000 miles on the
Comps and I still have mixed feelings about them. I never had to true them,
never had to service the hubs, so I guess from the perspective they were
good wheels. But I never fell in love with them either. I've used Open
Pros, and they have more of personality to them, but I haven't put near the
miles on them. The Comps seemed like ol' dependable wagon wheels to me, but
they were fast and looked good. Maybe it was the stiffness, and teeth
jaring quality to them, that put me off. And I really couldn't tell, on
fast descents with a stiff crosswind if they were my friend or my enemy.
Any opinions?

Paired spokes is marketing 101. In addition, adding 200 grams to the
rim so that you can save 120 grams in spokes doesn't make sense except
to the marketeers.
Decent hub but for less $ you could get a comparible hub, well built
wheel that would be more reliable.

I put a rear Rolf Vector Pro on my bike for several thousand miles.
I obtained it used off Ebay so it already had some miles on it. It's
quite comfortable to ride on. I never had an issue with the wheel
true, except the time when my rear derailleur trashed itself into a
spoke. Replaced the spoke and no further problems.
The wheel's a bit heavy compared to newer lightweight wheels. The hub
chatter is pretty annoying even after I had the hub relubed. I use
the wheel for a spare now.

I am sure what Peter says is true.

In my experience the Rolf V. Pro's were a good, if not excellent
wheelset. I got mine new for $200 (*S*), and put over 20,000 miles on
them, riding and racing. I had one spoke break when I threw a chain
off the largest cog. That necessitated a car ride home, as the rim
wouldn't clear the seat stays (a known problem with this kind of
wheel). At some point the rear hub failed due to water damage from bad
seals. The hub internals were replaced under warranty (I think they
went with a double star ratchet instead of the single star ratchet, but
I may have that backwards). The front wheel remains true to this day.
I loaned them to a triathlete friend for a couple of years, and just
got them back, and am glad to have them. I only once had any trouble
in a cross wind, and that was on a bridge. I like thier solidity.

Kirby.