Regarding the recent Nepeste Nova 45/45mm article (→here)
I received feedback from several people
so I'm writing about that.
First, about the customer's Nova 45/45mm mentioned in the article,
unfortunately based on our shop's inspection
there was no noticeable change in performance.
Before this article spreads further
I'm thinking of selling it
they said.
↑It might already be too late
On the other hand, the Wind 40 changed dramatically in a good way,
and the difference is especially noticeable in headwinds and
climbing at around 10% gradient.
I'm not of the mindset that "the stiffer the wheel, the better,"
but it is a fact that the Wind 42 and Wind 40 at that time
had quite a bit of room for improvement later on.
Next, about the Wind 42,
whereas the Wind 40 runs Continental's
Grand Prix 5000,
this one had a different brand of tire mounted
and they were feeling heaviness in rolling,
so when they switched the tire to Grand Prix 5000,
they found that the Wind 42 had better
cruising performance than the Wind 40.
"Compared to the image my brain remembers—
"with this frame and this power output, this is the speed I should get"—
the speed is noticeably higher
and leg fatigue is less!
That said,
when it comes to whether the wheel feels uncomfortable to ride,
that's not the case at all.
Perhaps because the Nepeste NOVA rides uncomfortably,
I even feel a sense of good ride quality."
they said.
In the 36–38 km/h speed range, the power required
is clearly much greater with the Nepeste Nova,
and the power-to-performance ratio doesn't add up,
so they were getting unusually fatigued.
Next, I'm not sure if the rim height is the same,
but here's a comment I received from someone who has the same wheel,
responding to the article:
"This was very helpful.
When I first started using it, I thought "oh, this is pretty good maybe?"
and used it for a while, but the speed doesn't build on flats or climbs,
and I felt an inexplicable tendency to get buffeted by crosswinds,
the same things this customer felt.
Recently I started wondering "is this really the fast-rolling wheel everyone says it is?"
Having you write about it has given me confidence.
I'm going to get rid of it."
they said.
Update: The same person read this article and
sent me another comment.
They have a Fulcrum Speed 55
and in comparison with that,
regarding four points—cruising speed, the power needed to maintain that speed,
ride quality, and acceleration—
the Fulcrum was overwhelmingly better,
and Nepeste only wins in actual weight,
and "bad ride quality" is described as
a sensation of your body being lifted up dramatically even from small bumps.
Also, when comparing with the same tire,
the cornering lean-in limit was also
higher on the Fulcrum.
Next, I received a comment from yet another person,
but there are some risky parts to posting the full text,
so I'll excerpt it:
a famous influencer's coupon code shared in their blog
pushed them to make the purchase.
Though the cart was pressuring them with "order now, delivery within a month!"
it turned out to be very popular and
delivery took nearly two full months.
When inflating the tire at the bead,
the front rim cracked on this defective unit
and while waiting for a replacement, they bought
a used Mavic wheel (300g heavier than Nepeste) from a local shop for practice
and that one rolled much better.
Next, feedback from the customer with the Bora One 35
from the previous article.
They have the Nepeste Nova 45/55mm
and their impression is "it's just exhausting."
They come back completely worn out after riding,
and their bike is a Trek, but the wheel that came stock on it
is heavier, yet doesn't cause that kind of fatigue.
This "exhaustion" isn't from the carbon spokes being stiff
and putting stress on the legs,
but rather when you ease off the pedal pressure slightly without stopping pedaling,
the deceleration is sharp, so
continuing to push against that is tough.
Next, in perfectly timed fashion,
someone from the influencer side of Nepeste wheels
came to the shop today to have
a Nepeste wheel spoke fixed,
so I'll write about that in the next article.
Today's visit was completely coincidental,
because the spoke was broken when something got caught in it
during this morning's race.
I received feedback from several people
so I'm writing about that.
First, about the customer's Nova 45/45mm mentioned in the article,
unfortunately based on our shop's inspection
there was no noticeable change in performance.
Before this article spreads further
I'm thinking of selling it
they said.
↑It might already be too late
On the other hand, the Wind 40 changed dramatically in a good way,
and the difference is especially noticeable in headwinds and
climbing at around 10% gradient.
I'm not of the mindset that "the stiffer the wheel, the better,"
but it is a fact that the Wind 42 and Wind 40 at that time
had quite a bit of room for improvement later on.
Next, about the Wind 42,
whereas the Wind 40 runs Continental's
Grand Prix 5000,
this one had a different brand of tire mounted
and they were feeling heaviness in rolling,
so when they switched the tire to Grand Prix 5000,
they found that the Wind 42 had better
cruising performance than the Wind 40.
"Compared to the image my brain remembers—
"with this frame and this power output, this is the speed I should get"—
the speed is noticeably higher
and leg fatigue is less!
That said,
when it comes to whether the wheel feels uncomfortable to ride,
that's not the case at all.
Perhaps because the Nepeste NOVA rides uncomfortably,
I even feel a sense of good ride quality."
they said.
In the 36–38 km/h speed range, the power required
is clearly much greater with the Nepeste Nova,
and the power-to-performance ratio doesn't add up,
so they were getting unusually fatigued.
Next, I'm not sure if the rim height is the same,
but here's a comment I received from someone who has the same wheel,
responding to the article:
"This was very helpful.
When I first started using it, I thought "oh, this is pretty good maybe?"
and used it for a while, but the speed doesn't build on flats or climbs,
and I felt an inexplicable tendency to get buffeted by crosswinds,
the same things this customer felt.
Recently I started wondering "is this really the fast-rolling wheel everyone says it is?"
Having you write about it has given me confidence.
I'm going to get rid of it."
they said.
Update: The same person read this article and
sent me another comment.
They have a Fulcrum Speed 55
and in comparison with that,
regarding four points—cruising speed, the power needed to maintain that speed,
ride quality, and acceleration—
the Fulcrum was overwhelmingly better,
and Nepeste only wins in actual weight,
and "bad ride quality" is described as
a sensation of your body being lifted up dramatically even from small bumps.
Also, when comparing with the same tire,
the cornering lean-in limit was also
higher on the Fulcrum.
Next, I received a comment from yet another person,
but there are some risky parts to posting the full text,
so I'll excerpt it:
a famous influencer's coupon code shared in their blog
pushed them to make the purchase.
Though the cart was pressuring them with "order now, delivery within a month!"
it turned out to be very popular and
delivery took nearly two full months.
When inflating the tire at the bead,
the front rim cracked on this defective unit
and while waiting for a replacement, they bought
a used Mavic wheel (300g heavier than Nepeste) from a local shop for practice
and that one rolled much better.
Next, feedback from the customer with the Bora One 35
from the previous article.
They have the Nepeste Nova 45/55mm
and their impression is "it's just exhausting."
They come back completely worn out after riding,
and their bike is a Trek, but the wheel that came stock on it
is heavier, yet doesn't cause that kind of fatigue.
This "exhaustion" isn't from the carbon spokes being stiff
and putting stress on the legs,
but rather when you ease off the pedal pressure slightly without stopping pedaling,
the deceleration is sharp, so
continuing to push against that is tough.
Next, in perfectly timed fashion,
someone from the influencer side of Nepeste wheels
came to the shop today to have
a Nepeste wheel spoke fixed,
so I'll write about that in the next article.
Today's visit was completely coincidental,
because the spoke was broken when something got caught in it
during this morning's race.