2009 Alloy wheels overview

The 2009 alloy wheels are very similar to the prior generations. Every year both the hub maker and rim maker learn new tricks to make the quality better.  Most companies market this as some form of "new and improved."  I don't.  Most changes are minor and essentially fixing very minor design or manufacturing issues.

In order to help you make better sense of the models here's a good overview.

Rims:  I use two basic rims for the alloy clincher wheels.  They both are the same on the outside but one is 440 grams and the other is 480 grams.  The heavier rim is stronger.  Both use 6066 aluminum alloy which is stronger than the older 6061.

Hubs:  Front hubs are all basically the same.  Some have scalloped flanges but the workings are all indentical.  Rear hubs are either M series or R series.  Many people ask what the letters stand for.  Fortunately or unfortunately, absolutely nothing.

The M series hubs use a steel cassette body that is an old Sachs design and was used for many years by Mavic.  It's very solid and requires almost no maintenance but is about 50 grams heavier than the R series hubs and only comes in the Shimano - Sram version.  The R series hubs use an alloy cassette body that's lighter than the M series and comes in either the Shimano-Sram or Campy versions.  Both designs are proving to be really strong.

Spokes:  We use Sapim spokes for the round and double butted spokes and Pillar for the big Aero spokes.  We have had excellent luck with both.  Sapim is one of the major suppliers of spokes to most of the Pro Tour teams.  Pillar is an old Taiwan spoke maker who uses Sandvick wire on their higher end spokes.

Sets:  All graphics on all of the wheels are the same so you can pick any front and any rear and it will match.  The strategy here is that normally you want a heavier rear wheel because it's rear rim cracks that are 95% of all wheel failures.  So, for example, you could go with the R28 SL5 front wheel and R28 SL6 rear and have a very light set of wheels that is also very strong (that is the go to set up for a very nice set of wheels).

Bearings:  We use a very high grade Abec 5 level low contact seal bearing that is stock in all of our wheels. 

Sales Pitch:  The single biggest hurdle I face is that people don't believe the quality of the wheels is equal to the higher priced wheels.  If you were to go to the factory you would see, side by side, the same hubs, rims, spokes, and wheel builders building wheels costing 3 to 4 times as much.  That's not smoke and mirrors marketing.  It's a fact.  Buying Neuvation wheels is not being thrifty, it's being smart.

2009 Alloy wheels

Model Compatibility Weight Rim Spoke
M28 Aero3 Front    760 27 mm 480 gram Pillar Aero 4.3
M28 Aero3 Rear  Shim -Sram  990 27 mm 480 gram Pillar Aero 4.3
M28 SL Front    675 27 mm 440 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.8
M28 SL Rear  Shim -Sram  920 27 mm 440 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.8
M28 SL2 Rear  Shim -Sram  960 27 mm 480 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.8
R28 SL4 Front    660 27 mm 440 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.8
R28 SL5 Front    640 27 mm 440 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.5
R28 SL5 Rear  Shim -Sram or Campy 850 27 mm 440 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.5
R28 SL6 Rear  Shim -Sram or Campy 880 27 mm 480 gram Sapim Black 2.0-1.8
R28 Aero4 Front    690 27 mm 440 gram Pillar Aero 4.3
R28 Aero4 Rear  Shim -Sram or Campy 890 27 mm 480 gram Pillar Aero 4.3

Wheel sets

The chart below shows the different wheel weights and what the weights would be for sets.  Since all of the graphics are the same you can mix and match models.  Often you want a heavier (and stronger) rear wheel and lighter front.  Also, at any given time there may be special sales on some models and it's always good to take advantage of lower prices.


Model M28 Aero3 Front  M28 SL Front  R28 SL4 Front  R28 SL5 Front  R28 Aero4 Front 
M28 Aero3 Rear  1750 1665 1650 1630 1680
M28 SL Rear  1680 1595 1580 1560 1610
M28 SL2 Rear  1720 1635 1620 1600 1650
R28 SL5 Rear  1610 1525 1510 1490 1540
R28 SL6 Rear  1640 1555 1540 1520 1570
R28 Aero4 Rear  1650 1565 1550 1530 1580


Older models and Carbon wheels.  Note there are no changes to the carbon wheels so the info is the same.