ROL Wheels is the Real Deal

I, just like many other cyclists, am on an eternal search for the perfect set of wheels.  The problem is that there are so many wheel companies out there, it becomes very difficult to cut through the clutter.  I have been looking for the ultimate non-carbon clincher wheelset, and I think I found it.  I spoke briefly with Sean Lambert, the Founder and man in charge at ROL Wheels, at Interbike this year, and I must tell you, he is an impressive guy.  He told me that he is trying to be the best at customer service and the best value out there.  Seven months after his claim at Interbike, I decided to give him a try.  I want you to know up front that I did not call and ask for a sample to ride.  I wanted them to treat me like an everyday, average customer, so I went to his website and ordered my wheelset without telling him that I might possibly review his product and customer service on this website.  He passed the test with flying colors. 

Here are the details of my experience with ROL Wheels:

I went to rolwheels.com and decided to purchase his Race SL model because I was looking for an aero rim as part of my new wheelset, and the Race SL model fits the bill with a 30mm Aero profile.  Also, the wheelset is also super light (1550 g) and gets awesome reviews on roadbikereview.com.  All these factors, along with my prior conversation at Interbike with Sean, made me feel like I was getting a steal for the price of just over $600 including shipping.  How can ROL Wheels put a 1550 gram wheelset together with DT Aerolite spokes, alloy nipples, a forged hubset with cartridge bearings for that price?  Other companies would charge twice as much.  If you don’t believe me, just check out the competition.  FSA, Shimano, Mavic, DT, American Classic, and Easton all charge $100’s more than ROL for similar product.  Some of the competition charges as much as 2 times what I paid for my ROL Wheels.

Sean was right about his customer service being top notch.  He called me personally to see what kind of rider I am, what kind of bike I was building, whether I was using SRAM, Shimano, or Campy, and he let me know exactly when he would be building them.  How many wheel companies out there have the head honcho call every customer and update them on what is going on?  I venture to say that ROL is the only company doing that.  Sean let me know that spokes are at a premium right now, and it would be a few weeks before DT could replenish his stock.  He even gave me an option of using Sapim spokes instead because he had them in stock.  I patiently waited for the arrival of my wheels.  They arrived almost exactly when he said they would.  I must say, the service is fantastic.

Service only goes so far though.  The product has to live up to the hype as well.  It is early in my testing of the actual ride of the wheels, but I believe that these are the best aluminum clinchers that I have ever ridden.  ROL has a great product.  The wheels spin up to speed quickly, and they are very stiff in the corners.  It is no wonder that regional racing teams are picking ROL Wheels as their wheel of choice.  Sean has some big names riding his wheels too, but he seems to thrive on helping the every-day racer obtain top notch performance with his wheels.

Complaints?  Sure, I have a few, but they are very minor things.  The website is clean and easy to navigate, but it doesn’t give me all that technical data that a tech-geek like me thrives on.  Only other complaint is the paypal system that ROL uses to collect money over their website.  Paypal is a really bad e-commerce system.  I will just leave it at that, and hopefully ROL will have enough capital in their 2009 budget to have an e-commerce ready website designed for them.

Conclusion:  ROL is for real.  I would recommend buying wheels from Sean and the team at ROL over any other wheel on the market.  They even have high end carbon stuff that is super cool if you are into going a little faster than I go.  Give ROL a chance when you buy your next wheelset.  You will definitely not be disappointed.

A lot of things come in the box with your ROL Wheels.  Mine came with a cute 18 month old little girl named June.

14 May 2008 | Product Highlights | Comments