WHEELS

(NOTE: The following overview is quite a bit out of date, and profiles wheels made by Lew before this company was purchased by Maclean Composites and rebranded as Reynolds. Many changes have ensued, and we'll have an updated version within weeks).

Lew builds deep-dish carbon wheels, and has a pair of wheels in this style that are very nicely built (and a third, the Atlanta, which we haven't seen yet).

They're pretty wheels. To invest in them––sez us––we think you've got to have a specific affinity for the wheels, the company, the mystique, or the style. As in the case of bikes, there are some people who specifically take a liking to a brand, even if the price is well above that set by the rest of market. Such is the case with Lew. The wheels are pricey. You fork over either $1800 or $2500, roughly, for a pair of these wheels, depending on the model.

Lew claims achievements matched by few, or none, of its competitors, such as hiddle nipples and, most unique, its self-style "Ideal aerodynamic rim width" of 17.5mm. Its principals also believe in an ideal rim depth of 41mm to 45mm. Our question is, Why? Who says? We haven't yet found any reliable independent corroboration of these claims.

LEW SYDNEY

This 43mm-deep rim is built extra stiff, and, like Zipp, has a ceramic braking surface molded in. It is just a very nicely made wheel. Lots of care.

All that said, Lew makes a big deal of rim weight on its website, but a Zipp 303––at 280g––is lighter than a Lew Sydney, and quite a bit lighter than a Palermo. To be fair, the Lew is also 5mm deeper than the 303. But, the problem is the price: You can just about buy three pairs of 303s for each pair of Sydneys.

PALERMO

Same basic wheel as the Sydney as regards the rim's depth and profile, just a bit heavier at 350g vs 290g (700c tubular). The entire wheel has, like the Sydney, 16 spokes in the front and 20 in the rear. Its price per pair is about $1800, and again it becomes an issue of value. You get 2 pairs of Zipp 303s for that price. The 303s are lighter at the rim, perhaps the same or a bit heavier than the Palermo for the entire wheel (Zipp's hubs are heavier than they used to be due to a company decision to embrace the virtue of durability over extra light weight).

ATLANTA

Corima is generally considered the only company that builds an all-carbon rim for clinchers. But the Atlanta is also an all-carbon rim. Lew rims as considered stiff, and therefore the particular virtue of the Atlanta would be, theoretically, the ability to pump more air into the tire than the lower pressure rating on the Corima clincher. But the Atlanta hasn't shipped yet, and as of this writing––May 16, 2002––won't ship for a month and a half. One of Lew's retailers told us that this is an eagerly awaited rim, but that the rim has had to undergo some changes in design to get it up to Lew's desired specs––hence the wait.

It's hard to get good info about this wheel company. Its website is two years old, and its website comparisons to other wheels are therefore out of date, because both its and its competitor's wheels have undergone significant changes. There is no wind tunnel data we can find to substantiate Lew's claims that its rim depth and profile are any better––or even as good––as those used by companies like Hed and Zipp.

We'd feel better about the wheels if they were priced at, say, $800 per pair. But at $1800 and $2500 per pair respectively for the two models described above, there would have to be something desperately wrong, in our opinion, with Zipps, Heds and Corimas to justify the extra money.