Where every second counts and every watt of power matters, the choice of wheelset can make all the difference. Today, we're diving deep into the world of aerodynamics, speed, and control as we put two exceptional contenders against each other in an ultimate face-off: Princeton Wheelset's Wake 6560 Strada vs. Wake 6560 Corsa.
This are our thoughts and hopefully you guys can make a good buying decision when opting for one or the other wheel.
We tested the Corsas for more than a year and Stradas for the past two months.
Specifications for Princeton CarbonWorks Strada Tactic wheelset:
- 1387g for the pair
- Tactic TR01 hubs
- ABEC 7 ceramic bearings with Tungsten Disulfide low friction coating
- 60-65mm deep wheels
- Inner rim width 20,5mm
- Outside rim width 26mm
- Straight pull spokes
- Sapim CX Ray spokes
We rode this aero road bike wheelset on Pinarello F5 road bike equipped with Ultegra di2 12s and Vittoria N.EXT 700x28 TLR tires and we did use them without tubes.
Specifications for Princeton CarbonWorks Corsa Tune wheelset:
- 1496g for the pair
- Tune King/Kong hubs
- CeramicSpeed bearings
- 60-65mm deep wheels
- Inner rim width 18,5mm
- Outside rim width 24mm
- J-Bend spokes
- Sapim CX Ray spokes
We rode this aero road bike wheelset on BMC Teammachine, Timechine and Colnago C68. Bikes were equipped with Ultegra di2 12s or DA 12s and Vittoria N.EXT 700x28 TLR tires and Pirelli P-Zero SL TLR 700x26. We did use them without tubes.
First impressions - Princeton CarbonWorks wheels Corsa Tune with CeramicSpeed bearings
When we put the wheelset out of the box we were amazed instantly. The packaging is the same for both wheels.
IN THE BOX:
- front wheel
- rear wheel
- two valves
- two bags for transport
The wheelset looked clean so we were really impressed straight out of the box.
The First ride was in the Fall/Winter of 2021 with Corsas and BMC Teammachine SLR 01 Three 2022 model we had them fitted with Pirelli P-Zero SL TLR tires 700x26. We were instantly impressed with this deep aero wheelset. The first rides were made on Cres Island in Croatia where everyone that knows the area the wind is not crazy but it does blow and the wheels were outstanding. You feel the first push of the wind gust but then the wheels stabilizes or at least that is how it is felt. On Cres there is almost no flat so we tested them on climbs and descents and after the first couple of rides we were all smiles.
We sold the BMC Teammachine and got a BMC Timemachine and this combination was a match made in heaven. Aero bike with Wake 6560 wheels should be a picture under the Google Search "fast aero bike wheelset combination". The bike handled amazing on fast roads. It was stiff and responsive. The weight of the bike was 7350 grams which is amazing for an Aero bike.
All in all this setup was as close to a 10/10 you can get for an Aero bike.
Then we tested the wheels with Colnago C68. C68 came equipped with Shimano DA C60 wheelset and the bike felt a bit slow and the small wind was felt. We changed the wheels to PCW Wake 6560 with Tune hubs the next day and the bike felt better instantly! Faster on accelerations and the wind wasn't felt as much...
The video of the review:
The problems we encountered:
1. Tune hubs are really light but with that lightness come some problems. The problems came in regards with the rear ratchet system. We shipped the wheels to Tune which were helpful and serviced the wheels asap and after that the wheels were ok.
Now let's go to the Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Strada wheels with Tactic hubs.
First impressions - Princeton CarbonWorks wheels Strada Tactic hubs
We like the sound of the Tactic hubs, the wider rim, straight pull spokes and we have a love hate relationship with the hub color.
We fitted the wheels with Vittoria Corsa N.EXT 700x28 TLR tires and we ran them tubeless. The setup was on a Pinarello F5 road bike with Ultegra 12s and CeramicSpeed 3D titan printed OSPW.
The ride:
The bike looks amazing and the handling on descents is pretty much the same as on the BMC Timemachine; responsive, amazing handling and fast on descents and they feel fast on the climbs as well.
Here is the video:
The final verdict of the Princeton wheelset Wake 6560 Strada:
Looks: we see a lot of crazy wheels out there which we really like, this look amazing but some are crazy. Not saying those crazy wheels are better but they do look exceptional.
8/10
Descents: It really depends on what frame this wheels are fitted on a bike like Pinarello F5 they feel like a train on railroads. Really amazing!
9,5/10
Climbing: they are light for aero wheels but pretty heavy for climbing wheels. Although they stood their ground we know they are better climbing wheels on the market. For example PCW ALTA 3532.
7/10
Other:
The freehub sound, wider rim and all around ride is simply amazing! Where we usually ride more flats with shorter climbs from 1km to 6km in lenght this wheels are perfect!
9,5/10
The final verdict:
34/40 and this wheels are APPROVED!
For the best price contact us: hello@approvedcycling.com
