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Review: Hermes Sport’s magnetically pawled, mostly US-made hubs & alloy wheels

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hermes sport hub and alloy wheel review

(Editor’s Note: This is a guest review from our friends at Blacksmith Cycle in Canada. They are not a dealer of Hermes Sport and have no affiliation with them or incentive to promote the brand, but they ride hard and often, try a lot of boutique products for their own use, and we trust their opinion.)

The Hermes Sport aluminum clincher wheels are not your run of the mill aluminum hoops. These are American-assembled, lightweight, solidly-stiff, tech-heavy wheels that demand to be taken seriously. While the super sexy Hermes hubset ought be the focus of this wheelset review, the asymmetric rims matched with Mach-1 bladed alloy spokes also performed well under continuous testing across a three-month span of about 1,500km of riding.

In terms of specs, we covered them at the Fall 2014 launch, and things have remained relatively unchanged, except that Hermes Sport has now dropped pricing to $750 for the wheelset, with ceramic bearing upgrade running a very reasonable $90. When you consider that a set of Chris King R45 hubs retails for almost this price, getting the entire wheelset built on the Hermes Sport hubs would seem to represent a solid deal in this wheel category…

hermes-sport-jamaica-teal-limited-edition-color-hubs

Hermes uses an American-made alloy rim (25 mm deep / 17 mm internal width / 23 mm external width / 450 grams) and they note that the stiffness, weight and relatively robust width provide great performance for both 23 and 25 mm clincher tires, though larger tire sizes are supported, of course.

Those rims are laced to their proprietary hubs with French-made Mach-1 bladed alloy spokes. Speaking with Alex of Hermes, he confirmed that the switch from Sapim Superspokes used in the previous generation of the wheels, to the French-made Mach-1’s, which he prefers to the more ubiquitous Sapim CX-Ray, has produced a more evenly tensioned and consistently reliable build quality. The wheels are laced with 20 spokes radially in the front, and with 24 in the rear, 16 3-cross on the drive-side and 8 radially laced on the NDS for a triplet pattern.

Alex-Webster_Hermes-Sport_Interview_0021 Alex-Webster_Hermes-Sport_Interview_0020

The hubs themselves are simply an awesome piece of engineering – big axle, tall flanges (on the drive side), high-grade american-machined aluminum hub shells, magnetic ring drive ratchet system – really it is a technical marvel that also performs extremely well on the road. I’ve ridden hubs from Chris King, DT Swiss, Industry Nine, Tune, White Industries, and others, and these are right up there with the best in terms of both engineering and style. It is worth noting that they are LOUD, with the freewheel creating a nice buzz that rivals almost any rear hub on the market. I tend to love the noise, but for those who prefer silence, be warned.

 

 

hermes sport hub and alloy wheel review with actual weights

The complete wheels weighed in, without rim tape, at 1,480g. Claimed weights for the hubs are 65g front and 215g rear.

RIDE REPORT

hermes sport hub and alloy wheel review

Ok, they look the part, now how do they perform in the real world?

First off, the weight…these babies came in just a hair over claimed weight at 1,480 real-world grams, not bad for the low-profile, mid-to-high end clincher category. Out on the bike, they certainly feel snappy and get up to speed nicely, with little delay. Responsiveness is a relative term, but the wheels tend to accelerate well, the mark of a smartly-weighted wheelset, not too heavy around the rim, where inertia is really felt most.

In terms of stiffness, I’m usually looking for a wheelset that provides solid rigidity for cornering, sprinting, and climbing, but also a modicum of vertical impact absorption to take the sting out of the roughest roads. The VK’s don’t necessarily hit stiffness marks achieved by the stiffest factory built wheels, but these are also comfortable wheels, which means they work well in both racing and training conditions.

hermes sport hub and alloy wheel review

The real comparison mark for these wheels should not be competitors from Mavic, Fulcrum or any other big brand focused on WorldTour stiffness. The wheels most similar to the Hermes Sport would be a classy handbuilt wheelset, say a Hed Ardennes or Pacenti SL23 rim laced to Chris King R45 or Industry Nine Torch hubs. With that category of competition in mind, the Hermes clinchers stand out as a serious competitor, with similar high-quality hubs that lean towards more cutting-edge engineering techniques to create a more complete wheel system.

The VK1 wheel system might not hit the off-the-charts stiffness levels that Hermes describes, but these wheels are plenty stout for 90% of riders, offering higher levels of acceleration and rigidity than an old Open-Pro hand-built set could ever dream of. Asymmetric rims, Mach-1 spokes, and gorgeous hubs combine to create a compelling package that could be priced far above the current MSRP. The wide internal width is perfect for turning 23mm rubber into a real 25mm size, or turning 25mm rubber into a proper 27-28mm set-up. Though not as ultra-wide as the widest Hed or Pacenti rims, these are otherwise fantastic alloy hoops, and tubeless compatible to boot.

Braking? It’s solid, which means nothing to report. All good. Aluminum surface still better than carbon? Check. Silent deceleration and smooth modulation? Double check.

Durability? Also solid. Our wheels did not come out of true at any point in our test period. In spite of thinking the low-profile lightweight rims might not hold up to extended thrashing, it turns out that this wheelset can certainly take a beating. Under two riders (weighing 140 and 170 lbs) and over months of rough Canadian pot-holed roads, the VK1’s held up with nary a truing.

OPTIONS

hermes sport hub and alloy wheel review

Hermes Sport sells the VK1’s in a choice of black or teal hubs, with steel or ceramic bearings. They also produce two carbon wheelsets, a clincher and a tubular, both 24.5 mm wide and 50 mm deep. The carbon rims are produced by an American wheel company in their Taiwan facility, which means a treated brake surface and modern rim shapes, paired with a U.S. warranty.

As of now hubs are not sold on their own, as Hermes touts the benefits of their the complete wheel system, which relies on the asymmetric alloy rims and unique spoke design. Worth noting that the carbon wheels are not asymmetric, so we can only hope the hubs will eventually be available for sale on their own. For now, the complete wheel system options are quite compelling, so if Hermes Sport decides to go down the factory-built path, we’re excited to see what’s next.

CONCLUSION

+ Sweet aluminum clincher hoops for $750 USD with ceramic upgrade for $90
+ Beautiful hubs with performance to match that exceeds the wheelset price point
+ Intelligent rim and spoke design create compelling performance
+ Upgrade to carbon [clincher or tubular] rims for even greater performance
– Slightly narrower internal width than some competing alloy rim shapes
– Currently tied to existing rim options, would be great to see these as after-market hubs

Bottom Line: Awesome hubs mean a great overall wheelset that deserves serious consideration against its competitors in the sub-$1000 category.

Hermes-Sport.com

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26 Comments
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M
M
7 years ago

Where are those “tall flanges”??

Haakon
Haakon
7 years ago
Reply to  M

Haha:D

This has nothing to do with the article, but the combination of the THM cranks and brakes and the Ultegra drivetrain seems really strange:S

Geoff
7 years ago

Could you say “American Made” a little more, I’m not sure I got that? Continually implying that a product is better because it’s made in the USA is kind of irritating for, you know, everyone else in the world.

Kernel Flickitov
Kernel Flickitov
7 years ago
Reply to  Geoff

I’m sure the German press does the same with their small domestic hub manufacturers like Tune, or the Italians with Extralite, or the French with Aivee. So a US based site that features product from all over the world pumps up domestic manufacturing every so often… So what.

Tim
Tim
7 years ago

Forsooth, Kernel, forsooth.

El Pataron
El Pataron
7 years ago
Reply to  Geoff

Hey Geoff– First, you have to lose your job to outsourcing. Then we can talk about what’s irritating for, you know, whomever.

Heffe
Heffe
7 years ago
Reply to  Geoff

Agreed.

Bryin
Bryin
7 years ago
Reply to  Geoff

American made is better that ROC crap (are you listening Mavic?)… and there is nothing wrong with pride in one’s home country.

anonymous
anonymous
7 years ago

I don’t see much in terms of flanges, tall or short.

Eric Hancock (@eric_d_hancock)
Reply to  anonymous

I’m guessing he meant “wide flanges,” but that could just be me hoping the author was making sense.

Robin
Robin
7 years ago

The Hermes Sport website discusses their wide flange spacing, so that has to be what the reviewer meant.

Alex Webster
7 years ago
Reply to  anonymous

Yep, wide flanges are the thing. One of the real design guidelines was to take advantage of as much real estate we could get in the 130mm form factor to get as much bracing angle as we can.

Clancy
Clancy
7 years ago

When I hear Made in America, I tend to think of better customer service and better warranty. although not always the case. Agreed many fine manufacturing takes place overseas, so does a lot of inferior manufacturing with little to no oversight and little chance of recourse. Made in USA usually implies some safety regulations and oversight.

I’ve been reading about this company since its start up. Look to be great hubs. Would be nice to see them sold separately. Nice review, use these guys more!

Greg
Greg
7 years ago

I keep seeing “alloy” in reference to the spokes. While steel is an iron alloy, the term alloy is most often referring to aluminum, which these spokes aren’t.

Eric Hancock (@eric_d_hancock)

If the wheels are well-built, this is a really competitive price. Time will tell about durability.

I’d like to see a little more technical info here or on their site (who builds them, nipples, tensions, etc…)

Loving the Parlee.

Alex Webster
7 years ago

Hi Eric! I’ve been selling these about a year, and we’ve had next to no problems with the build. Everything is done to 125KGF or thereabouts in rear, and with our lacing pattern the tension is just about uniform between the drive and non-drive sides. I get all my nipples exclusively from Lilly’s Precision right here in SD – they make an awesome 7075 nipple with much more consistent anodizing than others. It helps with the salt air out here!

Robin
Robin
7 years ago

People get upset when the products aren’t US made, and now people get upset when it’s mentioned that products are US made. Sisyphus, that rock is nothing. Try satisfying readers.

Antipodean_eleven
7 years ago
Reply to  Robin

I prefer that all my bike bits come from Mars. It avoids having to get into this whole ‘never satisfied and hate the next thing fest’…

Jason Quade
7 years ago

An alloy is when two or more metals are intentionally mixed together. It can be used to describe all kinds of metals. Cycling would lead you to believe that it’s an aluminum specific term but that’s not correct.

Alex Webster
7 years ago

Hi Guys! Thanks for the review – feel free to shoot any questions my way!

Blacksmith Cycle
7 years ago

Hey Guys,
My bad on the flange comment – I should have clarified I meant overall hub beefiness, axle width, and that only the drive side has the taller flange, obviously.
Otherwise, yes I do like products made in North America, since it keeps jobs where the purchases are happening…not an indictment of all foreign products in any way.
And alloy is not just aluminum, but whatevs 😉
FYI Alex is great to deal with for any technical details that are not highlighted above.
I believe that all wheels are all built under his supervision, if not by his hands.

Best,
Mike
Blacksmith Cycle

Steve
7 years ago

Any plans for disc wheels for cross/gravel with wider tubeless rims? While I typically build my own wheels, I do like supporting smaller businesses and would gladly look at these for my next wheelset at that price. I’ll check out the website for more info on the “magnetic ring drive”, as I’m always concerned about the durability of a new technology application.

Alex from Hermes Sport
Reply to  Steve

Hi! Disc is forthcoming – shoot me an email to stay abreast of developments!

dustytires
7 years ago

Wow, those are nice designs, really digging the shape of the rear hub, Not going for the pink, but whatever floats yer boat errr bike. The magnetic ring drive makes sense, no springs needed just magnetize the steel rings, smart.

Alex from Hermes Sport
Reply to  dustytires

Thanks! You rock.

paul
6 years ago

Hi Alex
Can you give me an email as I am looking for some parts for my rear hub

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