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.

