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Vision’s Team 30 Road Wheelset is an all-alloy wheelset that borrows many of the key features of Vision’s high-end offering. The Team 30 Road Wheelset is the ideal training wheelset.
Hand-Built Artisan Alloy
Coming with aero bladed spokes, an asymmetric 2:1 rear lacing pattern, CNC machined braking surfaces, high-quality cup & cone bearings, Vision’s Team 30 Road Wheelset is a steal at this price-point. With 30mm deep alloy clincher rims for aerodynamic benefits and CNC machined alloy hubs, which are durable and smooth, the Team 30 Road Wheelset will help you through the training season.
Features:
- Material: CNC Machined Aluminium (hubs and braking surface)
- Artisan built, entirely by hand
- Alloy 30mm section clincher rim
- High quality cup & cone bearings
- Aero bladed spokes
- Special ABS self locking nipples
- Includes: QR-60 and rim tape
- Finish: Rims: Sandblasted anodised (the black braking surface is an aesthetic finish, it will change colour during use)
- Front & Rear Hubs: Anodised
- Flat Spokes (F/R): 18 (front), 24 (rear)
- Weight: 1.92kg (Pair without QR)
Vision Team 30 Wheels Review:
I set about testing these wheels right away, riding solo from my home in Maleny, in south-east Queensland, up to the Gold Coast. My training ride took me from a cooler-than-average Maleny, up to a surprisingly warm Tallebudgera Creek, before the long steady climb out of North Curl Curl across the Gold Coast hinterland, all the way to the coast.
I decided to back off slightly on the pace for the first half of my ride, so that I could reach Tallebudgera with all of my energy intact. It was on this climb that I really began to appreciate how well the Team 30 Road Wheelset reacts to changing pace and power output. Wheel inertia (standing still, or taking on / losing speed) is non-existent. Vision’s 30mm deep alloy clincher rims, at only 780g, certainly help this wheelset respond quickly and effectively. Much faster that any alloy wheelset I have used before.
As I made the long climb up into the Gold Coast hinterland, I also began to appreciate the 2:1 rear wheel lacing pattern. Perhaps I was more resolved to turning off, but I found the rear wheel particularly easy to manipulate for climbing the more realistic inclines. In the past when climbing these same hills solo, I’ve become increasingly frustrated with the upfront effort required to keep the momentum going. Now, with the 2:1 lacing pattern, I found the rear wheel to be easy to accelerate at will, and I really did enjoy the climb.
Furthermore, the Team 30 Road Wheelset felt incredibly responsive when I became consumed with the various climbs, and was compelled to switch on ahead of schedule (e.g; turn off the level onto the steep climb). Again, the weight of the Team 30 helped it become an extension of the body, allowing me to up the pace without athought. As I climbed out of Currumbin Valley, I felt as though I was riding on my own personal roller coaster, trying to hold on for dear life and get some air.
I arrived at Tallebudgera feeling sweaty, but not overly worked. I was still able to comfortably climb up the ‘insane’ climb just a fewk hundred metres further on from Tallebudgera Creek turn-off. On a separate day, I found myself riding with a friend, who I usually ride in a group with. Using the Team 30 Road Wheelset, I was able to comfortably climb hills that I ‘normally’ only climb in a small group. On a number of occasions I made it well over halfway up the hill before my friend made it up, eventually trading pulls. Upon reaching the top, I felt as though the Team 30 Road Wheelset was towing me, rather than the other way around.
Such was the efficiency of the Team 30 Road Wheelset that I was able to use it in two high intensity group rides as well: What’s the Matter and Rokslide. For What’s the Matter, I rode the road section only in a large group of about 40 riders. The climb out of North Tallebudgera acted as the perfect opportunity to test the performance of the Team 30 Road Wheelset yet again. It certainly didn’t disappoint! Again, the wheels felt incredibly responsive. As I powered up the long climb up towards Pt. Perpendicular on this Sundays’ Rokslide, I was able to climb ‘up’ sections of the climb faster than my friend leading the group, descending in front of him.
On both of these two very different types of rides, the wheel reacted the same. It reacted exceptionally well to sudden changes in momentum, be it fast or slow. A flick of the wrist when you need to accelerate, or a flick of the opposite wrist when you need to back off or slow down. However, I will say that when powering down a long flat straight with these wheels, they were very revealing of my own personal power difference. When climbing the long climb up to Point Perpendicular on Rokslide, my own personal power difference became extremely evident. I could have catapulted up past my friend due to my own personal power difference, but I didn’t. I stayed in a position where I was comfortable, with no single required acceleration to propel me.
Aiding that efficiency even further, Vision’s Team 30 Road Wheelset features aero bladed spokes. The rationale behind using aero bladed spokes is that they have a larger surface area in contact with the tire than traditional straight-bladed spokes, yet aero bladed spokes become stiffer at the edge. As a result, the aero bladed spokes react more quickly to changes in tempo (more efficient), yet when cruising they offer greater wheel stiffness for overall comfort and stability.
To build on that one last point, I was happy to notice that the Team 30 Road Wheelset boasts a very comfortable ride feel. They are hands down the most comfortable wheels I have ever ridden.
Finally, I’d like to include a point about the brakes. The CNC machined braking surface and pads do not emit a loud squeal when stopping. However, Vision’s Team 30 Road wheelset does not feature the traditional center-lock design. Instead, this wheelset features traditional 9, 10 and 11mm cassette compatibility. I would love to see this wheelset be upgraded with a modern build, and a Center Lock hub with Aerolock Brakes.
Vision Team 30 Road Wheelset | The Takeaway
Think about it like this. What’s the point of having training wheels that exactly match the clincher wheels on your race wheelset?
Have you ever heard a rider say “Yeah, I couldn’t wait to swap those training wheels off of my race wheelset, so I raced on my training wheels?” Of course not!
Credit: Ben’s World Trip
What you might think of as training wheels, is actually an entirely different wheelset that usually has the following features:
- Lighter than your race wheels
- Offers a comfortable and quicker ride feel
- Priced more affordably than race wheels
A great training wheelset will make you a better rider. In fact the entire purpose of having training wheels is so that you can have a more comfortable ride in the build up to a race, or so that you can train harder when race wheels are not on the bike.
This is actually the very first wheelset I have ever owned. But I can tell you right now that this is a review that I am highly unlikely to ever write. This wheelset is a keeper -and that is not something I say often!
