Mark Adams Our most affordable wheelset, the Team25 has semi-aero 25mm deep aluminium clincher rims laced to alloy hubs.
The rims are CNC machined for an even braking surface and consistent control. Spokes are conventional J-bend items, laced asymmetrically at the rear: 3-cross on the drive side, radial on the non-drive side. Adjustable loose ball bearings roll smoothly and make for easy maintenance. Like our high-end wheels, the Team25 is built entirely by hand by expert wheelbuilders, ensuring long-term reliability.
Features:
- CNC braking surface
- CNC machined aluminium hubs
- 4 adjustable loose ball bearings
- Plain J-bend spokes
- Artisan built, entirely by hand
- Rim: Alloy 24.3mm section clincher
- Rim Finish: Sandblasted black anodized
- Hub Finish: Black anodized
- Bladed spokes (F/R): 20 radial front wheel; 24 rear wheel, 16 cross x3 drive side and 8 radial non driveside
- Includes: QR-22 and rim tape
- Rear Hub: Steel freehub body for Shimano 9-10-11speed only
- Weight: 1820g/pair (w/o QR)
Fsa Vision Team 25 Wheelset Review:
Vision is a brand that you’ll have difficulty finding in a US bike shop. They are oriented towards the European market, but they do make a few products available in the US, including a small selection of wheelsets. Recently, I received a pair of Vision Team 25 wheels, which I plan to use for commuting and training. I figured that an affordable wheelset with adjustable bearings would make a good test of the Vision brand.
The wheels arrived in a cardboard box with a small cardboard divider separating the right wheel from the left. The rear wheel had a flat tire, but it was only a matter of a few minutes to remove the rear wheel, patch the inner tube, and remount it using a track pump. The wheels had a plastic coating, which was supposed to be a silver color. A few weeks of UV exposure had bleached the really really light wheels to a dirty white color, which means that these wheels are very quick to collect dirt and difficult to clean.
The first miles of use were pretty easy. I tested the wheels briefly on the road, then put the bike away for a few weeks of off-season storage. When I finally took the bike out for real, I remounted the rear wheel and got a puncture after a few minutes. The rear wheel uses a metal freehub body for a rear hub, and the manufacturer doesn’t recommend riding the wheels with a tire sealant (mixing sealant with metal ‘feels’ wrong because the carbon anodization layer can flake off), so I paused to put some Stan’s on the tire. After the sealant was applied, the wheel was very stiff to turn, I got a few more flats, and some side-to-side wobble. The wheel still has play in the bearings. I haven’t tested the wheel with a sealant, so I don’t know if it will work without the side-to-side wobble. Without sealant, I would be very cautious about using the wheel in any situation where the road has potholes or glass.
One major concern that I had when I bought the wheel was that the freehub body is optimized for Shimano. I have a Campy based system, and you have to pull the freehub body from the rear wheel in order to switch to Campy. I’m not sure how common a need this is, but the fact that you need to remove the freehub body makes shifting quite difficult because it’s not a genuine Campy based rear hub.
The wheel is built entirely by hand by Vision artisan wheel builders, and the wheel is built accordingly. The wheels were nicely completed at the factory, with an even anodization layer. Each wheel has a sticker showing the date of production, which is a nice touch. The anodization layer shows great craftsmanship. The wheels came with quick release skewers, but I would strongly recommend replacing them with the rat traps (sold separately) that you can find for 6 quid at any decent bike shop.
The wheels are moderately light (about 1,720 grams) for the price. They don’t have the aluminium brake surface that you can find on higher priced wheels, which could help justify the weight of the wheelset. The spoke tension is slightly uneven, which could lead to a bent spoke fairly quickly.
Even when balanced the wheels have had a directional wobble where one side of the wheel moves in a rotation around the other side of the wheel, which is possibly a consequence of the asymmetric spoke arrangement. I have read that this wobble can be reduced by replacing the left hand rear radial rear spoke with a double-cross spoke. This is not ideal, because Vision’s aluminum hubs use aluminum nipples, and the only aluminum nipples that I’ve had success using are from Campagnolo and Wheels Manufacturing, which adds to the price point of the wheelset.
The wheelset uses bladed spokes. I’ve preferred bladed spokes over double-crossed spokes, mainly because the bladed spokes are easier to tension. After six months of use, the wheels have accumulated some substantial dirt. I’ve only washed the wheels once, and the dirt makes the wheels slightly less attractive. I would prefer to see the spokes use regular nipples, which might speed up the process of cleaning.
The wheels are a great choice for a budget wheelset. The wheels are an excellent choice for a rider who does not have the budget to put Tandems on their bike, or for a commuter looking for a set of wheels to ride in the rain. The wheels are a decent fit for a mid-high mileage rider, which can use the additional weight savings to invest in a carbon fiber wheelset, where the weight savings are more significant. The wheels are probably not a great fit for a competitive rider, because they may not last for a season.
