# DT swiss Aerolite or Competition



## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

So I'm building up a new wheelset on DT 180 hubs and Enve 4.5s. My LBS is recommending me the DT Competition instead of the Aerolites. His rationale being the Competition will make for an even stiffer wheelsets. Now I have no prior experience with both spokes although I felt that the Aerolites should be stiff enough, being that I never have any complains with both my Zipp 303 and 404s using the Sapims which from what I've heard are pretty much similar performance wise as the Aerolites. Thoughts?


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

The LBS might know something we don't - your weight & riding style!


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## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

Oh yea how can I miss that lol. really getting old  I'm 5'9". 185 lbs. been riding 30 years. Usually logs around 4k miles a year. Around 90% of my rides are on flat, well paved roads. Current bike is a Giant Propel. I'm a fairly aggrssive rider. Love to ride fast esp on group rides. Hope this helps


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Ahh that's better. IMO Aerolites will be fine (I'm a Sapim person so it would be CX-Rays for me) and DT Comp (or Sapim Race) would probably build a stiffer wheel but are the bladed spokes stiff *enough*? I think so.

That being said, you won't notice a benefit from aero spokes (I don't) and they're about 3x the cost of normal spokes. To save money and get the lightness benefit of the Aerolites you could go with DT Revs (2.0/1.5/2.0) or Sapim Laser.

I have a few sets of Sapim Laser spoked wheels and they are plenty stiff enough. I'm 10lbs lighter than you.


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## twinkles (Apr 23, 2007)

Use Competition for the pulling spokes, at least on the drive side, and lighter spokes everywhere else. It will keep the wheel light and stiff. I've built 3 sets of wheels like this with great results.


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## jnbrown (Dec 9, 2009)

I usually put Aerolites on the front wheel only because you can buy them in sets of 20, just enough for a front wheel and stiffness isn't an issue there.
On the rear I use DT Comps on the DS and DT Revs on the NDS. Saves some money and maybe makes the wheel a bit stiffer. Sometime you can good deals on spokes on Ebay, I just bought 28 Aerolites for $35 which is way below the normal price.


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## dcgriz (Feb 13, 2011)

kukula said:


> So I'm building up a new wheelset on DT 180 hubs and Enve 4.5s. My LBS is recommending me the DT Competition instead of the Aerolites. His rationale being the Competition will make for an even stiffer wheelsets. Now I have no prior experience with both spokes although I felt that the Aerolites should be stiff enough, being that I never have any complains with both my Zipp 303 and 404s using the Sapims which from what I've heard are pretty much similar performance wise as the Aerolites. Thoughts?


You are paying a pretty penny, actually a lot of pretty pennies, for the SES 4.5's and their Smart technology. Stay the course you charted and get the Aerolites, if for nothing else, to complete the theme.

Also, if you picked the DT180 to save weight then that's another reason to stay the course. If you picked the DT180 because of its ceramic bearings, think again. The single purpose of the 180 is to save weight at the expense of everything else. It's got the small bearings and rolls very well on the stand but your weight and intended purpose of the wheels, IMO, don't justify the compromise in durability. The DT240 or CK R45 are better suited for the task; IMO again. If you must have ceramic bearings, upgrade the 240's; you will be wasting your money but, hey, if it makes you feel better, it's worth it. Anyway, not much sense in coupling the 180 with anything else but bladed spokes.

At your 185lbs, these rims are wide enough and deep enough to be plenty stiff with the bladed spokes. For extra assurance, call Enve and talk to these guys. They will be glad to answer your questions.

Just my take coming from the 45 classics with cx-rays and ck r45s.


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## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

Thank you for all the feedbacks. Being that my LBS will stick to our agreed price for whatever spoke I choose, I guess I will stick with the Aerolites. I am sure they will be fine, being that I had been satisfied with my Zipps which used an almost similar spokes.

I chose the DT 180s for the looks. Weight would be secondary being that there are lighter, cheaper options out there. As for the ceramic bearings, well I dont care about the hype. IMHO ceramic bearings have their best applications on high speed high RPM machineries, not cycling. As for durability, well a buddy of mine has a set of 180s for two years now and so far he is very satisfied. He does weight much lighter than me (160s) but rides much more than me too.
Truth is I was also contemplating on the new Enve hubs but realized this is Enves first foray into hub making which is giving me second thoughts.
Once again thank you guys for your insights. I greatly appreciate them.


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

kukula said:


> Thank you for all the feedbacks. Being that my LBS will stick to our agreed price for whatever spoke I choose, I guess I will stick with the Aerolites.


I'd have some reservations about a shop that recommends round Comps on a clearly high $ aero wheelset. Do they build a lot of wheels? If they wanted more stiffness, they should at least use Aero Comps.


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## nhluhr (Sep 9, 2010)

rruff said:


> I'd have some reservations about a shop that recommends round Comps on a clearly high $ aero wheelset. Do they build a lot of wheels? If they wanted more stiffness, *they should at least use Aero Comps*.


Exactly my thoughts. OP is a big enough rider that he might benefit from stiffer spokes but no need to abandon aerodynamics!


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## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

Thank you for the concern. LBS has been in business for 20 plus years and my friend. Although I havent had a wheel built by him, some of my friends did with good results. He interviewed me when I decided on the wheelset. Fact is he was endorsing CK hubs. I do wonde though why he didnt recommend aero comps. I will try to go see him on Wednesday when I am off from work. Both the Enve wheels and hubs should be arriving within the week so I will have to finalize the build.


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## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

So after finding out the 180s now come as all black I cancelled my order. Spoke with Jason of FWB and decided to take another route instead


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

the new look


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## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

Wow they actually look better than the old black and white. Thanks for posting these MMs. Do you own these? How do they ride? I was actually planning to get the new Enve hubs lol. Jason said they should be out mid October.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

I own the 4.5s but not these hubs. I went with the 350s and changed out the star ratchets inside to the 10 degree ones. CX Rays.

These hubs, this new look, just came out days ago. Not even sure if they're available for purchase yet but it should be quite soon if not.


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## kukula (Feb 23, 2008)

MMsRepBike said:


> I own the 4.5s but not these hubs. I went with the 350s and changed out the star ratchets inside to the 10 degree ones. CX Rays.
> 
> These hubs, this new look, just came out days ago. Not even sure if they're available for purchase yet but it should be quite soon if not.


Several days old you say? Now its finally making sense. My LBS failed to deliver coz he told me the 180s were out of stock. He said they should be available soon after Interbike next week which he is gonna attend. I then got in touch with FWB who told me the 180s are also not in stock. And my talk with them led me to consider the Enve lol.

Seeing that you have the 4.5s how do you like it? Not much first hand info out there so I'd really appreciate some heads up from someone who owns one. Thanks


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

They're pretty incredible. They're just wheels, but they're super smooth and handle cross winds exceptionally well. I did some runs back to back with some box section wheels and found that they do indeed grant me a small amount of speed. They sound great, look great and perform great. The 6.7s can get scary in cross winds at speed but I haven't had any issues with these at all. I find the braking adequate. It does for sure take more force to brake at the lever vs. alloy rims. Different feel too of course. Same as most of the rest of the Enve wheels. That being said I've taken them down some seriously steep and winding descents with zero issues. Only issue I've had with them is that I had to open up the brakes a little on the back to avoid rubbing on hard efforts. I usually run the pads quite close to the rim because of small hands. I'm guessing their stiffness is the issue there. No rubbing now that they're open enough though. Really nothing bad to say about them.


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