Rol Wheels Volant Review

I've been very happy with my Boyd Rouleur alloy wheelset (reviewed here). I added another set when this year's edition went on sale for a few days in September.

Nevertheless, I like trying new equipment and thought I'd give the Rol Wheels a try. They had a sale going that made their Volant alloy wheels comparably priced to the Boyd Rouleurs (at regular MSRP the Rol wheels are more expensive).

Ordering was easy. Not long after I placed my order I was notified a shipping label had been created, soon thereafter I learned they shipped -- cool!

A few days later the box appeared on my front porch. Both wheels were nicely packed (tight, but still protected). I pulled them out, checked the overall build quality and figured they would be good commuters. I did not weight them but they felt heavier than the Boyds (the Rol wheel works site claims 1660 grams for the Volant set while the Boyd Rouleurs claimed weight is 1527 grams).

The rear hub had the same tinny sound I'm getting used to these days of super-lightweight everything (my 1997 Campy Super Record -equipped steel Pinarello is still the standard by which I judge every component), but it seemed slick enough and engaged instantly at any wheel position.

When I had some free time I mounted a set of Vittoria Rubino Pro 3 tires on the set in order to make a fair comparison (I use the same tires on the Boyds for training and commuting). I use 25mm on the rear, 23mm out front. The Rol wheels were standard size so the tires went on without too much trouble.

Setup for winter commuting with Rol wheels and Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tires

It was too late to test ride so I planned to just ride them to work the next morning on my somewhat hilly commute (18.5 miles one way). I rolled out in the AM and settled in for the ride. I hear a few spoke pops but that's normal for any wheel on the first trip. But then the sound continued -- mile 5, mile 10....

And then I stood up to climb the last little bit of Hickory road, a nice little back road that gradually rises from 3% grade at the bottom to 10% at the top (with a 13% kicker at the turn). All the way up I heard and felt wheel rub on my back brake. When I got to the top I hopped off an spun the wheel -- yep, as suspected, a nice wobble. Ugh. Brake loosened I continued on, grimacing each time I heard a spoke pop. This was NOT fun.

I made it to work but wasn't looking forward to the ride home. Fortunately the spoke pops reduced and the wide open back brake allowed the wheel to pass by without rubbing. But I could tell I was on "squishy" wheels that were robbing a few of the small number of watts I usually produce.

I immediately emailed Sean Lambert, owner of Rol Wheels:

Sean,
I'm sorry to report that I took my first ride with these wheels this morning (18 mile one-way commute over rolling Lancaster County paved, smooth, lightly-traveled farm roads) and was wildly disappointed.
There was spoke pop from mile 1 to mile 16, the back wheel rubbed the brake when standing up hills, and the front wheel is not true.
When I mounted the wheels I thought the front looked a bit off but chalked it up to illusion due to the large white logo. I checked tension and noticed a wide variety in notes among the spokes (checked the same point midway up the spoke, comparing same side).
But after riding today I moved the brake pads closer to check and sure enough the wheel was not true.
I really wanted to like these wheels -- the reviews are nearly all positive, and the Volant seemed perfectly suited my riding needs.
For comparison, I rotated off a set of Boyd Rouleur alloy wheels that list for $100 less. Those wheels came true and remain so after more than 2000 miles. Prior to those I used Neuvations and Shimanos RS-series (lower- end training wheels, but all in the 1600-1700 g weight/ $400-500 price range).

A bit later that morning I received this response:

Dan, I'm terribly disappointed to hear this. I will call you to discuss this morning. I have a Doctor's appt with my son this morning and then will be in the office. 
Talk with you soon. 

We did talk on the phone later that day and Sean expressed his concern and said he would ship out a replacement set immediately. A couple of days later they arrived. I mounted the same tubes and tires and tried the new wheels. I plucked the spokes, spun them on the work stand -- so far, so good.

The next morning I took them out -- Excellent! This was what I excepted: a decent wheelset that ran true, had been pre-stressed, and exhibited no spoke pop or wobble.

I've been riding these since August on my commute (a little less than 19 miles, 700-1000' of climbing each way for a total of 15000 miles) and they have been solid commuter wheels: Bombproof, solid, dependable.

They are a bit heavy but they aren't sold as race wheels -- the description on Sean's website calls them a "daily driver." That's where these wheels shine.

After the initial issue customer service saved the day and I can heartily recommend Rol Wheels.

NiteRider Sentinel Tail Light Review

The day's are shorter and I'm commuting to work most days so it was time to look at my safety items. I've been very happy with the excellent NiteRider Solas tail light (later iterations solved the loose mount issue that plagued the earlier versions). It was a solid light with decent brightness and battery longevity (I usually could commute for a week on one charge).

When the NiteRider Sentinel popped up as a sales item on Biketiresdirect.com, I clicked "Add to Cart."

The unit came mostly charged, so I tested it in the garage -- Wow! this thing is BRIGHT! At full blinky mode I think it might be too much for early morning rural roads (no need to blind already distracted, tired, inattentive drivers).

The second blink mode is more a pulse, from very bright to moderately bright and back. It's not as distracting but is still visible a long way.

What really sets the Sentinel apart is the laser lane designator, which is a small class 2 laser that projects a 6' line parallel to the centerline of the bicycle (when mounted upright to the seat tube). The line is about 3' from centerline. When pedaling the light appears on the back of my reflective shoe covers.

I rolled out at 6:15 this morning in the dark. I turned the NiteRider Lumina 500 Headlight (still a very good unit) and Sentinel tail light with blinking laser lights and pulse blinker mode.

My route follows quiet back streets until Main Street in Mount Joy turns into state highway 230 east of town. 230 is a secondary highway with pedestrian traffic and a nice wide shoulder and is frequently used by cyclists and a few Amish buggies.

The posted speed limit is 45 but people still fly on this road (making the actual speed more in the high 50 range). This morning I had no close calls, and several cars slowed and passed with a bit more caution.

Of course there's no way to credit this device with the improvement in driver behavior. But I'm convinced that noticeable lights help attract attention, and in this case enough attention that driver's have to process and adjust.

A phenomenon many pilots encounter when flying at night over large metropolitan areas is losing (or not seeing)  the airport. While airports have unique lighting features, they are often overwhelmed by the hundreds of thousands of lights in the area. Early in my Private Pilot training we flew to Baltimore Washington Airport at night. I couldn't see it! My instructor suggested I look for an  absence of lights -- and then I saw it -- a dark rectangle ringed with blue lights. Only after that could I make out the approach lights and runway edge lights. We landed and a lesson was learned.

Years later I flew from Pittsburgh to Georgia. It was late and very dark (no moon). The GPS was indicating the runway 1.5 miles out and the sky was severe clear, I looked intently but simply could not find the runway (runway lights are white, yellow, and red -- very common light colors in a populated area).

Finally I noticed a different color (in this case, the blue lights of the parallel taxiways) that caught my attention. We landed without incident.

It's the same for drivers -- we "see" many lights (especially early in the morning before sunrise), but our minds are trained to react to certain hues of red, green, and yellow. We've trained ourselves to ignore other lights.

The NiteRider Sentinel draws attention by being different enough to be noticed in a sea of lights. The red laser lane designators help drivers notice that there is something there. They notice a difference, slow or move away as they process, and then pass.

And that's all I want -- see me and avoid me!

Once the sun peaked out the lasers were simply too faint to be noticed. I turned them off and let the blinky catch some attention. The light is bright enough to be visible in morning and late afternoons. It's visible in bright sunshine but obviously less effective.

The NiteRider Sentinel is a great tail light and I can wholly recommend it as gear in the commuting cyclists' safety tool box.