# Easton Carbon Clinchers for 2010



## Easton

All-

These are new as of Eurobike. Below is the marketing copy, let us know what you think or if you have any questions. These should be in stock this Fall. 


New for 2010 EASTON EC90SL CARBON CLINCHER

THE BEST BRAKING PERFORMANCE IN A CARBON WHEEL. PERIOD. 

Easton’s proprietary ThermaTec™ brake track treatment helps manage heat and provides smooth, consistent braking. This eliminates the pulsing, grabby feel found in other carbon wheels. Easton wheels with ThermaTec™ offer the performance of a carbon wheel with braking quality rivaling aluminum wheels. 

Braking heat wreaks havoc on carbon clinchers. Our in-house brake test rig has been known to literally melt competitor’s wheels under braking forces. Sidewalls can flex up to 1mm outwards, which brings about the risk of tires blowing off, not to mention degraded braking performance. 

EC90SL clinchers with ThermaTec™ were designed to survive this test. So far no other wheel has. 

SUPERIOR RIM CONSTRUCTION. SUPERIOR IMPACT RESISTANCE.

This is the world’s most advanced carbon clincher. The entire rim including sidewalls is molded into their final shape---no post-mold machining that would weaken the structure. 

In our rim impact test, _a bare rim _takes eight hits in the same spot. The height is increased after each impact. The EC90SL clincher rim was the only to emerge from our brutal impact test and still be rideable. And like ALL Easton wheels, the EC90SL clincher has NO WEIGHT LIMIT. 


WEIGHT: 1460 grams, no rider weight limit. 
HUBS: 18h R4SL front, 24h R4SL rear; Custom Grade 3 ceramic bearings 
RIM: Easton 38mm carbon clincher. 
SPOKES: Sapim™ bladed black, straight pull
DETAILS: SwissStop™ pads included
MSRP: $1800


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## Coolhand

Nice- when will they be available?


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## zott28

I'd be all over these if I didn't drop so much dough on my EC90 Aero's, and I wouldn't have to choose between my EC90 and EA90SL's. Looks like the perfect blend.


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## dom3333

It would be really nice if you could offer the decals in other colors. Like what HED does with some of there wheels.


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## CleavesF

Carbon clincher... finally. Not sure if I like the logo design on these like the other models though.


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## rhyslewisdavies

i have a pair of ec90 aeros and i love them and wouldnt bother with carbon clinchers ever though, whats the point? and theyre as heavy as a standard aluminium clincher wheel at 3 times the price!


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## commfire

*EA90's*

Are these shipping yet?

Whats the rim width?

Anybody use carbon clinchers for an everyday wheel...this one sounds like it was built with durability in mind

Thanks


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## kmac

I've been riding the EC70s, which is basically this wheel with an aluminum rim. I absolutely love the EC70s. They weigh about 1690. Looks like the EC90s would save 230 grams, but I'd give up the flexibility to swap wheels around. I love Easton wheels, so I'm sure these will be great, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go to a full carbon wheel.


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## commfire

I just pulled the trigger on these,

Was wondering if Easton could chime in on recomended tire pressure and width.


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## zott28

commfire said:


> I just pulled the trigger on these,
> 
> Was wondering if Easton could chime in on recomended tire pressure and width.


Lucky, did you get a deal, if so where at?


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## DLEVETT

*Easton carbon clinchers*

Now these are exactly what I,ve been waiting for!
I wonder if the stated weight includes the skewers?


Dave


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## OffRoadRoadie

Is the rear hub quiet while free-wheeling? Wish they offered some sort of 2-3 yr no-fault insurance policy like Reynolds & Mavic offer.


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## OffRoadRoadie

Is the rear hub quiet during free-wheeling? Does the ThermaTec work as promoted? How are they for standing climbs and sprints, any flex? How is the comfort compared to a Mavic Ksyrium SL or ES for long (4-6 hrs) rides? I'm wondering how long the brake surface treatment will last and if it will glaze over after few 1000 miles like ceramic rims end up doing. 

For the recommended price of $1700-$1800.00 compared to Reynolds UL 32 or 46mm clinchers at $2400-2600, or a pair of Edge 1.45 with 240s at $2600-$2800.00 these are very attractive price wise!


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## 4cmd3

Bump. Definitely want to hear some reviews! 

(from reading other Easton reviews, if the hubs are unchanged, then they would not be quiet)


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## Easton

EC90 SL clincher ETRTO width is 12.5mm

Maximum recommended tire pressure is 135psi (9 bar)

The appearance of the ThermaTec coating will change in the first couple hundred miles but this does not affect the performance or function of the coating.


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## 4cmd3

For anyone else hanging on the edge of their seat...

Bicycling has some words about the EC90SL Clincher now:
http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail/0,7989,s1-17-150-2749-0,00.html


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## DLEVETT

*Ec90sl*

Thanks for the heads up on the review.
I,m waiting and watching the forums to see what the real world reviews will be like before jumping in.
I,m presently riding Bonty Race X Lite wheels and am very happy with them.
The Eastons will only save me 50-75gms so I,m not really sure if I,d like to spend the dough on these wheels or save some more and go for a lighter set like the
Bonty Race XXX Lite carbons clinchers and save 200gms.

Dave


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## 4cmd3

FWIW, I assume that you have also seen:

http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/wheels/rims/easton/PRD_449019_2488crx.aspx
http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/18356.htm

That is all I have found.


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## DLEVETT

*Ec90sl*

Thanks for the links.
I hadn,t seen them yet.
I,m especiallt encouraged by the 6'- 185lb rider as those are my specs as well. 
Since we have another 6 weeks of winter to go, I,ll wait until the spring Toronto bike show and see if there are even more positive reviews before buying besides you never know I could get a really good deal at the show.

Dave


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## ghostryder

I just bought a set to put on the 2010 dogma. Will be done with the bike build on sunday. I will let you guys know how it rides. i cant wait. i chose these wheels over the fulcrum zerosm and the campy shamals.


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## DLEVETT

*Ec90sl*

Sounds good Ghostryder,
The Toronto International Bike show is this next weekend so I,m looking forward to seeing them at the Easton booth.

Dave


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## ghostryder

DLEVETT said:


> Thanks for the links.
> I hadn,t seen them yet.
> I,m especiallt encouraged by the 6'- 185lb rider as those are my specs as well.
> Since we have another 6 weeks of winter to go, I,ll wait until the spring Toronto bike show and see if there are even more positive reviews before buying besides you never know I could get a really good deal at the show.
> 
> Dave



Here is a very positive review. These wheels are amazing. And they actually stop, and stop very well i might add. 



1) much smoother(and by much I mean a world of difference)
2) Much better over 20 mph than the 1's or the shamals ultra's.
3) they look much better 
And at under 1500 grams they are great for climbing, which i do a often.

Feel free to ask any specific questions.

thx


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## mcrent100

Are they stiff... How much do you weigh if you don't mind me asking...


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## 4cmd3

Pics or didn't happen! 
Please.


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## Mr. Krisztian

How long do pads (on average ) last on these wheels? I know that depends on where and how you ride, but in comparison to an aluminum wheel set do they eat up pads quick?


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## ghostryder

mcrent100 said:


> Are they stiff... How much do you weigh if you don't mind me asking...


i weigh 160 to 165.

Stiff and very smooth. I will post pics tommorrow. I will not have a chance to ride until monday. The weather and work has put my riding on a slow down for two and half weeks.


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## tomato

*pics pics pics*



ghostryder said:


> i weigh 160 to 165.
> 
> Stiff and very smooth. I will post pics tommorrow. I will not have a chance to ride until monday. The weather and work has put my riding on a slow down for two and half weeks.


Where are the pics? Pics please!


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## 4cmd3

tomorrow never comes!


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## chrisden5150

I have had these wheels on an 08 Trek Madone 5.2 for just under a week. In that short time, I have been very impressed by their performance. Stiff, light and aero too. I posted a pic over on the Trek forum (I believe the pic is on the last page of the post your carbon treks thread) on this site if you are interested. 


http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=213457&page=14


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## ghostryder

Sorry about the pics, i just have not had the time and been lazy about it. I know i mentioned that these wheels stop very well, but i at sppeds above 35 or 40 on decents, they do not stop faster than aluminums. You have to be on the ball. A good thing about them though is they do not have the grab effect when you brake, so you dont' lose momentum. 

These are the smoothest wheels I have bought. Very aero above 25.


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## ghostryder

For some reason I can't post pics. Please pm me yuour email and i will send you some pics taken with my iphone.


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## 4cmd3

A new review in case anyone missed it:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/wheel-sets/product/ec90sl-clincher-37614


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## mdutcher

chrisden5150 said:


> I have had these wheels on an 08 Trek Madone 5.2 for just under a week. In that short time, I have been very impressed by their performance. Stiff, light and aero too. I posted a pic over on the Trek forum (I believe the pic is on the last page of the post your carbon treks thread) on this site if you are interested.
> 
> 
> http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?p=213457&page=14


Very nice set of wheels on your bike! I like the way that those EC90s look! :thumbsup:


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## IAmSpecialized

I ordered a set today. Apparently these are selling like hotcakes. My shops distributor says it will be 4-6 weeks before we get them. I've read a couple of reviews that say they have a bit of lateral flex, more than expected, but perhaps the guys experiencing the flex were heavyweights. I'm 155 lbs so hopefully they will be plenty stiff. I hope so, or I'm going to wish I had bought the EA90 Aeros b/c they are supposed to be stiff as nails.


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## mcrent100

They look fantastic in person. I had a set come in but had to ask the shop to sell for me since I injured myself and will be off the bike for a while...I saw them on the bike of the guy who was lucky enough to get them They felt stiffer than my american classic 420 just by feel...Hard to tell till you ride them...Beautiful wheels though...You won't be sorry you got them...


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## IAmSpecialized

My one concern, although too late at this point, is all the people I keep reading who say they constantly have to adjust the hub because it loosens so frequently. With a $1500 set of wheels that should NOT be happening.


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## IAmSpecialized

Mine have been shipped from Easton. Should be at my LBS in the next few days. I'm stoked about getting these wheels. I really hope they come with the new preload adjuster that requires a cone wrench.

If not, I wonder how long it takes Easton to ship the new one?


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## jemsurvey

Just got mine and rode them hard the past weekend. Very nice, reasonably light, spin up smooth and quick, very true. Mine have the cone wrench adjuster, needed to adjust after first ride but has been good since. Easton says on their website that you should have to make an adjustment about every 800-1000 miles. Oh...they look very good too...much nicer finish to the decals than the Reynolds, which look a bit tacky in comparison side by side.


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## IAmSpecialized

agree with above post. mine showed up today. took them around the block. think i pissed my pants. will get a few hours on them tomorrow. can't f*cking wait.


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## sam575

IAmSpecialized said:


> agree with above post. mine showed up today. took them around the block. think i pissed my pants. will get a few hours on them tomorrow. can't f*cking wait.



Mate...tell us how they're going??? You like? Any pro's and cons in comparison to other wheels?

Any photos????!!!!!


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## IAmSpecialized

sam575 said:


> Mate...tell us how they're going??? You like? Any pro's and cons in comparison to other wheels?
> 
> Any photos????!!!!!


Sam, I made a post about my wheels under the wheels and tires section. I gave my review of them, posted pics and even a video to show the differences in the sound of the free hub versus my Fulcrum 5s which have now become my training wheels.check this thread, I think you might find exactly what you're looking for... Here is the URL:

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=216206


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## alias33

Got my wheels finally today with my box all squished up and soggy, it must have been the reason for the delay since there were floods in MN last week. Opened the box and they were perfectly fine, high quality decals that match my madone perfectly and light as crap! Now fast foward to the cassette body, it has a sticker on it that says "dura ace 7800/7900 casette only" WTF?! I knew about the different bodies and told easton that I needed a cassette body that works for a SRAM 10 speed which is compatable with shimano 10 speed. I got ont he horn with easton and of course right before I leave for a week long tour on saturday I get the wrong body and the one I need is on backorder until next week and they are charging me for the body until they get my "old" one back. Apparently Easton specs all their "shimano" wheels with this cassette body and are in the middle of a "running change" to the NORMAL shimano body. 

Lets see, what they should have done in the first place was spec the wheels with a cass body that works for 95% of the shimano and SRAM cass, or spec it with a cass body that requires a $300 dura ace cassette? The first option is a DUH!

I called easton again to see if they can grab a wheel off the newer sets they have sitting in the warehouse, the new ones are blue and are already in the system but I got the crappy luck of the draw and got the older duraace specific red colored one shipped to me and the part #'s on the old and new ones are the same so no way of telling what you are gonna get.

I ask what they could do for me and they offered my inside reps who never answered or got back to me when I called. I'm a dealer for their products at my shop also so go figure. I call a third time and get the low down from the person who took my order and they put the correct body on back order for me and mention that they have "a lot" of cassette swaps before they changed to the newer style. 

I then get on the horn with shimano to find out what the difference really is with the duraace cassettes compared to the ultegra and 105 units, the tech tells me they are exactly the same and their wheels work with ALL the 7800, 7900, 105, and ultegra units and he has received "a whole bunch of calls" regarding these easton wheels specifically and was also wondering what "easton was thinking?" He told me that the newer cassettes have a slightly deeper groove to to mate to the cass to reduce gouging on the body but they all work fine apparently.

So I go to our cassette drawer to figure it out. The sram cass on my personal bike didn't work since the "grooves" in the cassette itself were not deep enough to clear the cassette body. The next unit I tried was a 105, it fit SUPER sloppy and the aluminum 3 gear cluster move atleast 3-4 mm around the body, no go. Next up were the two ultegra units, one wouldn't go on more then 3mm over the body and the other fit on extremely tight and required me to grease the body to get it to slide on. I actually fit so tight some of the red anodizing got wore off. 

The splines on the body were not a square shape but rather a ramped curved style. 

ala:











instead of the regular simano style like this:










anywho I got out on the road finally after weighing these (640 and 860 grams f/r) and they are fantastic and spin up super fast and transformed the character of my bike to what it originally should have been. I was on a set of sram S60 deep dish wheels and the 40mm eastons are way stiffer and conpliant and it lurches foward with much more authority and doesn't have that laggy spin up that my sram's had. Crosswinds didn't seem like much of an issue either, but I've got some miles to put on next week (450 mile tour) so I'll report back after that. Easton get me my dang cassette body ASAP! kthnxbye


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## Ultraslow

*Problems with EC90SL wheels warping-Anyone else experiencing this?*

Got a brand new pair of the 2010 wheelsets in late June. Rode great at first but after 600 miles the rear began to modulate when breaking. Took to LBS and they noted an area about 8 cm long in the non breaking surface (aerodynamic?) portion where it dimpled in slightly, but visibly, This inward dimple pulled the breaking surface above this out slightly causing the modulation. I sent them back to groundandpoundLA (Bike2parts) and they very rapdily sent out a new rim. 

Th e replacement rim rode great for about 1400 miles, then I began to have problems with modulation while breaking. No dimple this time but LBS showed me where the breaking surface was ever so slightly flared out on both sides ( ~15 cm on non gear side, 6cm on gear side). When I took the tire off the rim and ran my pinky in the groove I could definitely feel a place where the rims widened. I again contacted the seller and have returned the wheel for him to show to Easton. At this point I'd rather a refund than a replacment. 

I'm about 180 lbs and inflate my Verestein tricomps to 120#, so I don't think it's weight or inflation causing this. 

Anyone else having similar problmes with this wheelset?


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## DLEVETT

Keep us updated on your wheel issue.
I,m going to pick up my new set of wheels this week and hope that this isn,t indicative of a problem with the EC90;s in general.
I had a set of the Easton EC90 cranks and ran into a problem with them about 2 months ago.
Easton treated me really well since the cranks were still under warranty.
So I,m confident in them as a company and the good service they offer.
Additionally I have in general had great success with all of there cycling products.
I,ll be watching.

Dave


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## alexp247365

Can any of the owners give an update on your experiences with these wheels? I can't find one bad thing about them in 8 pages of Google searching. Thanks. How do the perform in sprints? Climbs? Do they rub pads when putting down any power?

Weight is 170-180, and will be coming off a set of HED Jet 4's. 

Thanks


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## eyezlee

To the top. Santa wants to bring me these.  Looking for any further reviews after a summer of beating on them. Anybody in the 200LB range????


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## IAmSpecialized

150 pounds during the summer peak and 160 pounds through the winter. I've had mine for 6 months now. I absolutely love them. Can't comment on rear hub durability b/c i had my Easton rear hub replaced with a Powertap Pro+ (which I think Easton should offer as an option like Zipp does). But as far as the wheels themselves, I love mine. I will say that for the 3 months I had the Easton rear hub, I had no problems at all with it.


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## Moll1998

*Love them*

I thought I would chime in here on this forum.

I bought a 2010 Trek Madone 6.5 with the Easton EC90SL wheels. I was reluctant to go to a full carbon clincher for a few reasons.

1. I often get out of the saddle on climbs and stomp the bike hard. I probably don't use the best technique and my previous wheels (Mavic ES) would rub on the brakes side to side. I got used to it and it didnt bother me.

2. I weigh 170 lbs on a good race day and 180 lbs when it's cold and I eat donuts. Im right on the border of a "heavy" rider I guess.

The words that literally came out of my mouth when I started my first ride on these wheels were "Holy $%&@ this is awesome!" The wheels are beyond smooth and absorb so much of the road chatter. They spin up faster than my zipp 404's or any wheel that I have ridden. When I stomp them, they dont flex at all. When I fly down descents they brake as well as any of my other wheels.

Bottom line - these wheels (and the bike) have made me much more confident in my equipment than I have been in a long time. The wheels are spendy but damn they are worth it!


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## brn2vlo

What would be a good price on a set of these, the 2011 model? I have a shop that wants to move a pair and it seems like a pretty good deal, although I'm not completely sure what would be a good deal?


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## Moll1998

I'd say $1400-1600 would be a good deal.

Check out bonktown.com though. they have been putting up a pair of Reynolds DV46's for $850 the last few days which is a damn steal.


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## alexp247365

I've had these wheels now for a season. If you are looking for carbon, I'd have to say that these wheels are a very solid choice to use for both training, AND racing.

I'll even go so far as to say the warranty service to take care of a defect in my rear wheel was no questions asked. A defect was found in the rear wheel brake track when taking the bike in for service. The bike shop submitted the wheel to Easton. 3 weeks later, I had a call to come pick up a brand new rear wheel.

You cannot go wrong with these wheels.

For reference - I am 170 pounds @ race weight, cat-3. Bike is '11 Tarmac S-works built from frame up.


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## willieboy

I order a set of 2012 EC90 SL clinchers today. Mike LBS told me there were changes to the hubs (more durable) for 2012. I'm not sure what that means but after reading countless reviews about the 2010 and 2011 versions, I can't wait to try them out. Will post a ride report by the end of the year which should be 500 miles or so. Thanks to all for your previous input.


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