So, last year I purchased a new Emonda SLR, the model comes with the Aeolus RSL 37mm wheels. These are lightweight and supposedly just as quick as the 47mm wheels in Trek’s line up they replaced.
As I purchased a Project One build I changed the wheels to xxx6 (60mm deep).
I knew at the time of purchase that the xxx6 wheels were being made obsolete, but as they had some in stock I thought I’d be ok.
Bike has arrived to be built, but the front wheel is damaged. No more available in stock.
I do have options but I’m undecided, I could have a display xxx6 to replace mine, likely to have been ridden so not brand spanning new. Also will be debadged as I ordered black stickers the replacement has white.
Option 2 is I could have the xxx4’s, weigh about 1500 grams and 47mm deep. Also about to become obsolete.
Option 3 is go with the current wheels that come with the bike, 37mm RSL’s. These are 1325 grams.
This is a big purchase for me. I have a very good relationship with Trek and haven’t paid anywhere near the RRP so any cash return is going to be awkward.
One minor complication, I already own the Aeolus Pro 37mm wheels (pretty much just a different hub to the RSL – weighs 1510 grams)
So do I go with a used front wheel and keep the xxx6’s (looks the 🐕 dangly bits with these wheels), or go for one of the other wheels?
I am a bit of a weight weenie and have added some lighter components to the build so being drawn to the RSL’s….

I’m light, sub 70kgs, ride a lot. This is only good weather bike so not worried about wind. (Ridden loads of 60mm and 80mm wheels in the past)
I like the free speed, but I’m older now and no longer racing. Aesthetics are probably more important than speed.

Bike is due to be picked up tomorrow night.

The best wheels, rebadged. For me ex-display wouldn’t matter.

Aesthetics are probably more important than speed
Basically all the wheels actually are new.
You know what looks best. Go with that view.

Agree with those above. Whatever you think looks best on the bike.

I wish Trek/Bontrager would of released an RSL 50, the 37s just don’t look deep enough to be cool.

I like the look of the XXX4 but I know if I buy a set then the next day they will release a new wheel.

Personally, I’d take the RSL37, sell them and buy a set of Roval Rapide clx – aero and 1,400gms, best of both worlds. If you don’t mind Rovals on a Trek.

I’d take it as a sign to stop meddling with the spec, and take the standard wheels. Or dig in and take the ones I originally chose, even if ex-display and rebadged. I wouldn’t take the middle option of your three anyway.

@savoyad I’m pretty bad for meddling with the original spec, hence going down the Project One route (not custom but about as custom as Trek do).
I already have the wheels the bike came with as stock. So through the Project One options I changed to a different wheel.
Got the bike now with the 60mm wheels on, one is the proper dark sticker (what I ordered) the other has no stickers and has the odd mark on it. The shop could put the correct sticker on to make it match….
It’s just that it’s an £8500 bike. Some of the gloss of having this specific bike has been a bit tarnished.
Also the seatpost is damaged so I’m having to use a loan seatpost from a demo bike until mine is replaced (mine is 0 degree setback the loan is 20 degree)

@chrisdb I think there are some new wheels due to be released pretty soon. The Madone looks naff with 37mm wheels.
Weighed the bike tonight, in full ready to ride mode it’s 7.3kgs. That’s with pedals, 1 bottom cage, Wahoo mount, and cheap Bontrager pedals. Have a better lighter set of pedals to go on when they eventually get delivered. The lighter pedals and the RSLs would take the weight down to just below 7kgs. Good shout with selling the RSL, not sure how strong the second hand market is for wheels like this, could possibly take a small hit on them, possibly list for £1700.
Will upload some photos tomorrow when I take it out for a short lunch time ride. The paint job is awesome but the pictures won’t do it justice.

damaged wheel, damaged seatpost, ?invisibly damaged … – are you happy with the general history of this bike ?

Can you gets pics of the build with each pair of wheels?

Here’s the bike with the 37mm Aeolus Pro. Same depth as the RSL, different hub and a £1000 price difference. The RSL is a more gloss finish and does look a bit nicer. Also the ones in the pic are from my winter bike so have had a bit of usage.

Second pic is with the Bontrager 60mm wheels, rear is as ordered….

And one to show the colour changing….it’s green in one light and purple in another….

Scardey, general history of the bike is brand new, it’s “hand made in Wisconsin” as are the wheels. The issue with the wheel is as they were inflating it with the compressor instead of the tyre hooking, it has slightly lifted a layer of carbon. Obviously it shouldn’t do that, but these things happen.
The seat post is actually very minor, I ordered the “lightweight” lugs, they don’t grip my carbon saddle rails correctly, again they should as it’s supposed to be a system, the saddle tilts. Have to be very careful with the amount of torque used.
Going out for a short ride soon, very happy with the bike itself,just the wheels that are a let down….but as Mr W said, they’re 30% of the budget.
The xxx4 wheels are being shipped over for me to look at. I’m actually leaning towards the RSL to get the riding weight below 7kgs.

I think white stickers are faster than stealth stickers. Deeper rims are faster (both when looking at a bike and riding)

I guess after that if you really want to get fussy, is it windy where you live, and how flat is it? If I rode everywhere on the flat I think I would get 80’s and sacrifice a bit of weight. I prefer hills so went halfway on aero.

Topiary on the right needs some attention.

No lawn in the picture – disappointing.

nice bike though! I prefer the Matt wheels I think. Not a huge fan of deep section wheels.

Edit: thought the stones were very tidy but there is a weed on the left side near the rear wheel!

I think that bike looks great with the 37mm wheels on, I personally prefer them to the 60mm which (in my opinion) are just that bit too deep for the frame and look a bit like you’re aiming for a TT bike but didn’t quite get there. I went for 41mm wheels on my road bike for that reason myself.

Great paint job though, looks fantastic.

I prefer the deeper rims.
And stealth or no stickers at all, I don’t like brightly coloured stickers on wheels.
Bike looks stunning either way though.

I’d go with the RSL’s The Emonda is classed as the lightweight climbers bike and the shallower depth rims look better on it. If it was the Madone on the other hand….

If it was a Madone I’d say stick with the 60s but it’s an Emonda and I think it looks better with the 37s so I’d take the RSLs. The 47s might be a nice compromise!

£8500 and neither suspension nor a motor – I’ve think you’ve been duped 🙂

Aesthetically the 37mm look better in proportion to the frame, the 60mm take your eye away from how lovely the frame is, they are fighting for attention.

I also prefer matt wheels but it’s all down to the individual, ultimately it’s your bike and cash, you need to be happy.

I’d go with the lower-profile rims for sure, deep-profile ones just look ugly to me.

Funny how some people (including you OP?) are the total opposite though.

But more importantly, what’s the story with those mahoosive steerer spacers?

Bright white or coloured stickers on really deep section wheels look badass (with the caveat being that the rider is fast and the bike comes hauling past you at 27mph!).

But in aesthetic terms the shallow profile option of your two photos looks much better.

The top ones for me all day long too, right combination of depth, matt colour, subtle decals, the matt black also tones in really well with the bar tape, stem and seatpost. – lovely looking bike.  For me less is more on the decal front, especially if it’s a frame colour which really pops.

Of the two, 37mm’s for me, echoing what the other 37mm supporters above said, 47’s may a decent compromise.

Chakaping, agree with the spacers, they will be slowly reduced, until I get my seatpost on I’m not chopping any carbon from the steerer. I’ll still have some spacers though as I’m not as flexible as I once was.
I’ve previously always said that on non aero bikes 40mm is the correct depth aesthetically, but part of the reason for the 60mm is the fact that I still ride in a fast group of guys who still race….just being silly and thinking they’d help me hang on! But I’m no longer racing and I guess if I get dropped I get dropped.
Just been out on it, only 37 miles with a friend so very social. The 60mms are going back. They’re great wheels (and I had them on my Madone), but yeah they don’t look as good as I’d like on this bike.
So it’s either the 47mm xxx4’s or the RSL’s. The xxx4’s are about a 3 week wait.
The bike is very nimble. Not my first SLR frame so knew what I was getting, but it’s still very lively. Not done any fast descents or big climbs but just general riding alongside another rider I had to be very careful of my steering inputs. Winter bike is a Domane and feels like a barge in comparison. Only had 25mm tyres so a fair bit of feedback from the road, especially as my saddle has zero padding and is just a hard piece of carbon. It’s not uncomfortable and I’m used to long hours in the saddle, but its not as comfortable as the Madone or Domane. My 0 setback seatpost will help I think.

It’s reasonably flat where I live but I ride in the Chilterns at weekends and regularly ride in Snowdonia (pre Covid) so lightweight is always preferable. The Xxx6’s are 1650 grams so
Reasonable weight. The xxx4’s are 1500 grams and the RSL’s are 1325. Pretty windy today and the 60mms were fine. Better than some shallower wheels I’ve ridden. Still notice wind but it didn’t ever feel like the front wheel was being pushed.

The RSL bars are really comfortable. The sweep on the drops is really nice. Always been happy with Bontrager bars and these are no exception. The bars are 100mm stem and 38cm.

One minor bugbear is the rear shifting is slightly more clunky sounding than I’d like….that’s my fault again for going down the weight weenie route and installing an aftermarket cassette.

Thanks for everyone’s input. Think the majority is go shallower which is what I’m going to do.

. deleted. you’ve just answered what I was going to say. Regardless of depth, my observation is that the matt finish is a better match with the awesome paint job…might just be a trick of the light though.

Frame looks stunning, love the colour. Very similar to one of the dark green colour shifts from spesh and Scott addict Rc. makes me feel slightly sad for picking up a discounted chameleon colour that was heavily discounted rather than stumping up the full rrp for the better green/purple fade.

Defo the 37 or max 40mm wheels. If you are climbing a lot there’s much more merit to them than going for the looks anyway. Even then I think the less deep profile suits the frame better. In the same way low profile wheels look odd an aero frame with deep tubing profiles and futuristic angles.

What is the cassette you have that is light but a bit clunky shifting, the rotor by any chance. I thought about one of those as it’s a saving of around 150/160gm. Either that or mixing a sram red with a Shimano group set.

@kirky72 yeah it’s the Rotor Uno. Its not horrible and I can’t feel a clunk, just hear it. My friend had to say he thought it was mechanical gears due to the noise.
Di2 on another bike with all Shimano is almost silent, whereas the Rotor is noticeable.
134 grams for the Rotor, Dura Ace is 195 and Ultegra is 250 grams, so an OK weight saving.
Did you buy a chameleon spec tarmac? I was tempted with getting the S-Works SL7, test rode one, but the dimensions felt wrong for me and the shop wouldn’t get different bars/stem in. I ride a 52, but the 52 tarmac felt cramped, 54 a bit big, so wanted to try the tarmac with a 110mm bar/stem.