First Date: Easton Haven and Havoc Wheelsets

Stuart Kernaghan and Dan Austin have just started riding two of Easton's AM/FR wheelset offerings, so they've tag teamed this piece. Stuart had to swap the rear axle on his wheels from through axle to QR, and he has included a how-to with photos of the process.

Check out the Haven and Havoc over here...

_We are introducing a new structure for gear articles to better indicate which stage in the review process we are at with a particular product. These categories include The First Date, The Honeymoon, and the Long Term Review.

The First Date is a brief overview of a product's specifications, as well as our initial impressions both on paper and in-field. It also covers how the marketers and engineers have pitched the product and how they intend to see it used – plus how we intend to test it, where it is being tested, and how long we expect to be testing it for. This is not a full review of the product yet but provides the background for a forthcoming review and allows reader feedback – perhaps there is something specific that readers want to find out about this product and the further review stages can address that.

The Honeymoon is where a product has been used at least ten times over a short period of time. By this stage it gives the reviewer a chance to formulate a fair idea of the product's performance, but not enough to consider its long term reliability. This review may act as the final stage in some cases; if so, it is clearly stated in the review that the product's long-term performance was not fully tested.

The Long Term Review is the full test period, generally lasting 4 months plus or a full season of abuse. In this period the product has been through a variety of trail conditions in various weather. Our testers ride regularly and hard. In the test period they have put the product through the limits of what any product can fairly be expected to deal with in its lifetime. By this stage in the review process, the tester has a very clear idea of the product's performance, its long term reliability – and more so, has perhaps uncovered experiences with the product that some consumers may be faced with, such as servicing procedures and customer service standards in the event of warranty claims. There is no stone left unturned in the Long Term Review._

Aren't the wheels tested aluminum?

Actually, its been since ~1987 but whose counting… :-P

Actually, its been since ~1987 but whose counting… :-P

Fixed.

Is it just me, or does anybody else have the feeling that hardly any of the "got the new gear, will tell you how it rides in a future article"-type posts ever actually get followed up by a proper review?

I think that may have been a fair comment in the past, but we have been, and are, working to ensure that everything gets the full treatment.

Aren't the wheels tested aluminum?

Yup, aluminum. Cam has been riding the carbon wheels for a while. He may have some comments on those…

Are we still talking about 26" wheels?

Are we still talking about 26" wheels?

It would seem so, wouldn't it?

Dan's a tall enough dude and for where you live, time to start testing something in the 29'ers flavor.

you don't need to be tall to ride a 29er.

Dan's a tall enough dude and for where you live, time to start testing something in the 29'ers flavor.

Yeah, have been working on that since last year. Not as simple as calling the manufacturer up and them sending a bike - I wish it was. Was looking into the Niner WFO, would be perfect for my style and the terrain and would be a blast at Silverstar, I can just imagine the looks I'd get. I'll see what I can do in the coming time. But I agree with you 110%!!!

I have the same concern as RichfromUK about the bearing adjustment (mine has never sat properly and requires constant adjustment). Also curious if Easton has done anything to address the rear hub, as the failures on 29er wheels were a bit of an issue. Without some modification of the lightweight aluminum fittings that hold the system together, I just can't see trusting this hub (regardless of wheel size, as 26 and 29 use the same hubs as I understand it). Easton's silence on this issue is somewhat dissappointing. I'm also non-plussed that I have to buy 5 spokes and one nipple (special order) to replace the one broken spoke in my front wheel. meh. That being said, plus 1 for the rims, they really astoundingy tough and easy to mount tubeless on. I wouldn't mind having the Haven rims with easily obtainable spokes on some Hope or Dt hubs (maybe not as flashy, but more trustworthy IMOHO.

I rode my fist generation Haven wheels a good year. In that time I too had had the rear hub become loose nearly every ride so I fixed that with a bit of locktite to the adjuster nut threads. But then the bearings went, I think in the freehub first then the rest after a wet trip in Moab. Was not able to get the bearings to run smooth at all nor was the shop so it was sent to OGC for review. Came back working as smooth as new with a bunch of new parts apparently. maybe something had gotten bent.

The wheel build is spot on. No need to true in all that time and it is a good UST rim. Unlike the writer of the article, I don't need no stinking levers to get any tire on or off. Soft hands or what?

One other issue I had was in running a Hope 183mm rotor with the aluminum center section. On the Haven front hub the center section of that rotor would be ever so close to the brake post. The wheel spun freely but there were rub marks from flex on that brake post. A Hope hub eliminated that problem. And going back to Avid brakes also allowed me to use the Easton wheels again.

The only other issue is that it would have been nice if they made the front hub convertible between 15 and 20 mm. Yeah it would be better still if all forks were one standard, but that is not reality is it.

Is it just me, or does anybody else have the feeling that hardly any of the "got the new gear, will tell you how it rides in a future article"-type posts ever actually get followed up by a proper review?

This is something we have been inconsistent about in the past but it's something we have been working hard on lately and I think our record for the past year or so is pretty strong. We are certainly looking to improve all of our review procedures and we appreciate your feedback.

Here's an article that is all about follow up.