Orr ES-88 Carbon Wheel System Review

My Ridley Cheetah, sporting a dashing brace of ORRs ES-88s

In years past, carbon materials have been one of the loudest distinguishing features that separate competitors and completitors in the cycling universe, the latter existing as a class of aspiring racers who wind up as cannon fodder during criteriums and road races.  At triathlons, they're the ones who struggle through transition halfway through the wave that followed them into the water, and who, if they're lucky, get to see the pros or elite amateurs screaming back into T2 while they frantically try to clip in and raise a humble tempo.  And those elites who by now are halfway through the run?  "Carbon," the age-grouper mutters to himself.  "They've got carbon..."

In my few years at the grindstone of multisport, I've never witnessed any of the the serious performers at triathlon without deep section carbon rims.  (The truly badass - or the truly wealthy - roll on rear discs.)  In recent years, though, carbon fiber materials have become more and more readily available to the age-group athlete, as different vendors attempt to tap the market keg of middling-level age-groupers looking to pick up some affordable speed.  Companies like Williams, Flo, and Oval are all in the business to address the desire for increasingly-affordable technology amongst the hobbyist triathlete.  Through such vendors, you can now obtain a pair of reliable wheels at a fraction of the cost demanded by such industry giants as Zipp and HED.  ORR Cycling is one of the newcomers who've explicitly taken aim at the gap between exorbitantly-priced equipment and opened fire.

I first learned of ORR cycling through their advertising in the SetupEvents Maryland Triathlon Series.  But while I was intrigued by the idea of affordable carbon wheels, I also assumed that "affordable" was a marketing gimmick.  I preferred at that time to focus on improvement in other, more cost-effective areas of my training.  Sure, it would be cool to have a sweet TT rig, replete with stealth-looking matte-black implications of speed and power; but I couldn't justify dropping what I was sure would be at least 2k on a set of wheels when I could much more profitably improve performance simply through consistent training - which itself was difficult.  (At that time, I was in shift work and had very little time or motivation to train after pulling, say, an unforeseen double due to last-minute staffing shortages.  The year before, I'd sprung for a set of used Zipps for the road bike, so I was familiar with the advantages of CF wheels.)  The money for a new set of wheels versus screwing my discipline to the sticking place?  The answer was obvious.  Besides,  I think secretly I feared dropping more money into a sport than I could reasonably extract from it in terms of performance.  I stuck with my alloys on the TT bike, gritted my teeth and prayed to escape crashes during crits and circuits while I rode the Zipps, and pressed on.

But having since come out of shift work, I've been able to devote significantly greater amounts of time to my training, and I'm at the point now where my performance has begun to increase to the point where I could realize a return on investment in better equipment.  I had this in mind when I attended the Savageman 70.  There, after the race, I met Jason Williamson, one of the proprietors at ORR.  I was looking enviously at the deep profile of the 88 display which they'd sent out to the race, imagining what I might be able to do with that aero configuration on my TT bike.  I felt a bit self-conscious talking to Jason, since I was holding onto a Madone with Zipp 404s.  If he noticed, Jason didn't let on, and he had enough to say about the Zipps' to make me think he'd done his homework.

I recall him blasting the dimpled surface of the Firecrests and saying that "Tony Martin couldn't feel the difference between those dimples and a smooth finish."  He was certainly confident, and something about that was winning: the conviction he had in the quality of his product, the ability to talk specs that took me outside my range of technical knowledge, and the willingness to correspond with potential customers all gave me a positive feeling that this would be the place to start when I was ready to realize a fully-conceived TT bike.  I took Jason's card but waited a few months.

In the weeks between Savageman and Christmas (the time at which I determined to buy from ORR), I'd been watching several vendors (see the links above), eBay, craigslist, and some local shops for deals, hoping the end-of-year inventory purge would work its magic.  I'd decided on a set of deep section rims to reap the benefits of the aerodynamic efficiency on longer rides, in which the marginal gains from such equipment could total, at least in theory, several minutes.  (Despite realizing perceived gains on the set of Zipps I have, I was still a skeptic.)

I decided to take the plunge and purchase a set of wheels specifically for my triathlon and TT events, but I'd found a decent clearance price on an older model from Williams Cycling, a model '13 year, 85mm rim.  The pair weighed roughly 60 grams more than the ES-88s, but it came with an 11speed compatible hub right off the shelf.  I'd checked at ORR's website, and their ES-88s came with a 10speed hub rather than the 11 I needed.  It was a Sunday afternoon; I'd just emerged from the trails on a training run with Lydia.  I emailed Jason and told him about the quandary I was in: I was looking at the ES-88s as opposed to the FX-88s (which were 20 grams heavier, came with the 11speed hub, but were $450.00 more than the ESs), but I wanted the 11speed hub.  Could he match the price on the ES-88s and supply an 11speed hub?  If so, I'd post my order right away.

Twenty minutes later - remember this is a Sunday afternoon - I had my answer.  Twenty minutes later, Jason emailed me back saying they'd swap the 10speed out for the 11speed and keep the sale price of $849.  Twenty minutes after my initial inquiry, a great customer service exchange took place.  Twenty-five minutes after my initial inquiry, I got an email saying that I could expect my wheels in roughly a week.  Interestingly enough, I just checked ORR's website, and they don't seem to have the ES-88s up any longer.  It may be that their own sale price - which is scheduled to expire on 12/31/14 - has depleted their stock.  Who knows?

But already, before those wheels even arrived, I was thrilled to have had such quick response to my questions.  It argues for the high premium the folks at ORR place on customer service and satisfaction that they're as prompt, accommodating, and thorough as they are in their business dealings.  This is the way to grow a brand.

The thrill of becoming an owner of some serious speed machinery wasn't enough to prevent me from being very suspicious.  As I mentioned in passing above, I'd never conducted legitimate tests to determine the actual benefits (beyond the perceived advantages I felt) of having the Zipps.  I resolved to conduct as close to a controlled and empirical test as I could to compare the enhancements the 88s would provide.

The greatest problems I found while attempting such a test were the unreliability of the weather in the winter months, the lack of a HR or power monitor, and even - as an unfortunate accident - the lack of such simple cycle computer functions as a speedometer.  Mine crapped out five miles into the run.  Of course, using a speedometer wouldn't have given a great comparison anyway, as I would have relied on perceived effort to maintain a set speed across the course.  As it was, I determined to use a Rate of Perceived Effort/Exertion (RPE) scaled 1-5.  This is, of course, based on entirely subjective impressions of my own sensations, and keyed to my HR zones.

I conducted the baseline test on 12/15 on the Hunting Creek Time Trial and was pleasantly surprised with the performance here alone.  I hadn't done this segment in a while, and the last time I had it was on the Madone with clip on aero bars - not the most appropriate hardware for a TT effort aimed at marginal gains.  But despite the lack of frequent effort, the course itself represents one of the best local stretches of road for a focused, replicable effort in which variables can be limited, or at least noted, discussed, and analyzed.  The Strava ride data for the baseline test is here; the data for the ES-88s is here.  The ride profiles indicate a parity between both rides and suggests the usefulness - if not scientific objectivity - of the RPE scale as a training tool and pacing guide.

I chose the Hunting Creek Time Trial as the primary test ground because of its relatively low-traffic and mostly sheltered corridor.  Thus, it would be unlikely to have major disturbances from autos and wind variations.  It was a calm day for the most part, though windy during the morning; by 4pm conditions had settled and it was about 45 degrees out - warm enough to ride without gloves at first; I threw on a long-sleeved Under Armour base layer under my 7-11 team jersey for the test and later regretted not having the gloves throughout.  I wore the aero helmet and shoe covers just to maximize comfort so I could focus on the task at hand - which was to maintain a stable effort throughout the ride.

I used the Cox Rd climb as a warmup and completed it in roughly 2.49 before settling into a smooth rhythm to arrive as fresh and recovered as possible at the start of Hunting Creek Rd.  (The recovery period was approximately 4.50 seconds from the end of the climb.)  Traffic was light, so I experienced no stoppages from Huntingtown to Hunting Creek and rolled smoothly into the segment, beginning my effort seamlessly.  I invoked the RPE scale and tried to hover near 3.5 out of 5.

During the effort itself, I was mindful of the calm winds until I approached a stretch of road that opened up on the right to an expansive field.  There are several “openings” in the corridor which the trees form along the road: the first just before HC & Matthew Dr, opening left and right; the second at JC & Alameda Dr, opening left and right; the third at HC & Bowie Shop Rd, opening predominantly left; the fourth at HC & Deep Landing, opening left; the fifth and final just before HC & Fresh Meadows Ln, opening left and right for a considerable expanse.

But it was only on the third opening that I noted perceptible changes in wind direction and its influence on the bike.  The breeze was in an Easterly direction and came across my right shoulder as I crossed into the open space here.  The opening fields form a great tract that runs East-West, and it creates conditions for buffeting on especially windy days, as the wind sweeps over the Patuxent River.  On this day, there was enough wind to require a slight adjustment by leaning right in order to correct the new input.  Apart from this, I observed no adverse weather conditions at all.  I was careful to note precisely the moments at which I rose from the saddle: just south of Leesburg Dr, and just north of Deep Landing Rd.  During each spell out of the saddle, I adjusted only to maintain the same cadence after shifting to a lower gear, and was careful to remain standing for only so long as I needed to crest the hill.  This ended up being about four seconds.

With these observations, I covered the 3.9 mile course in 9.52, setting a personal record on the course before using Lowery Rd to return to Huntingtown & Cox by doubling back via Hunting creek.  My effort on Cox Rd to Mexico was similarly promising, but for the purposes of the test invalidated by the excessive tailwind and notable assistance which a series of tractor trailers rendered.  For this effort, I recovered from Bowie Shop Rd to Cox & Huntingtown at Rt 4.  As with the turn onto HC, I rolled smoothly into the segment and began my effort.  I stood up to do a light sprint from Cox Rd roughly halfway along the parking lot running adjacent to Rt 4, or approximately 150 ft.  I settled into my rhythm and pressed southwards before hitting the first rise just past Lorrin’s Dr before the Methodist Church.  I got some assistance over this hump from three trucks that passed in quick succession, and then I felt myself transferring power for acceleration down to Bowie Shop Rd, where Rt 4 kicks upward about 20 ft before plummeting to Mexico Restaurant.  On this segment, my maximum speed was 36.5 mph, which brought me into second place on the course.

Encouraging, to be sure, but ultimately invalid as a comparison for gauging differences in performance on the wheels.  The variance between this effort with the perceptible advantages of the tailwind were evident after my second run on Christmas Day.  And though my effort was unplanned, I think it’s an accurate representation of similar output under similar conditions.

The run with the 88s ran virtually identically to that with the standard alloy rims I used ten days prior.  As with the morning of the 15th, the day dawned chilly and windy.  The rising temperatures contributed to the wind until calming at around 3pm.  It was noticeably colder when I started this ride at 436pm, so I threw on some running gloves just to ensure comfort; this change aside, I had the same kit: shoe covers, aero helmet, cold gear base layer beneath the cycling jersey.  My pace fell within 7 seconds of my warmup ride on Cox Rd towards Huntingtown, which I completed in 2.56, only slightly slower than my earlier effort.  My recovery from the end of the climb to the start of the HC TT was approximately 5 minutes, a moment longer than the same recovery from the 15th owing to a stop at the traffic light at Cox & 4.  The effort began smoothly, as it had done on the baseline effort, and I began my run without incident.  Similar to the first attempt, I aimed for a RPE of 3.5 out of 5.  I stood for 4 seconds only at the small humps of Leesburg and Deep Landing.  

The only difference in perceived experience during this effort involved awareness of the wind and the smoothness of acceleration.  I felt the wind much more acutely than I had before.  When I emerged from the corridor at Bowie Shop Rd, I noticed that the wind came as before across my right shoulder.  But whereas on the alloy wheels the wind engaged me mostly across my upper body, this time I felt the lateral motion primarily through the front wheel.  I was in the aero bars, so I corrected, as before, with a slight lean and minor steering correction.  But once I made this correction and trimmed it out to compensate for the new input, the wheels seemed to stabilize themselves.  I could still feel the wind acting on my upper body and at the wheel, but they weren't buffeted about as much as I’d expected with a deep section rim.  Certainly things could have gotten hairy if there’d been gusts, but with relatively consistent conditions, the wheels were very manageable.

The second aspect which stood out was the sensation of power transfer and smoothness.  I noted the wheels were responsive in a way that I hadn’t expected of a system at this price point.  They were on par with the Zipp 404s in terms of transfer and retained speed.  It felt like I needed less effort to reach cruising speed and less effort to maintain it.  I even found myself holding back as I approached the threshold of my Zone 3 during a slight descent: after cresting a minor rise which didn’t require standing, I noticed my cadence increasing rapidly and approaching the 110s.  I dialed it down a bit without shifting to a bigger gear and noted the sensation of coming off the pace.  I don’t know how to describe it, unless it’s to say that the wheels rewarded power input with corresponding velocity output.  I imagine the responsiveness comes from the stiffness of the hoop, but the ease of maintaining speed must arise from the aerodynamic profile of the wheel.  The wheels muted the road noise perceptibly as well, which I was pleasantly surprised to observe.  There are some heavy segments of cracked and patched pavement on the HC TT course, but running over them at speed didn’t translate to the jarring frame I experienced atop alloy wheels.  I recalled this from my earlier effort on the course and braced for the effects: a rhythm-sapping, speed dampening shudder that transferred the dirty road straight up into my arms and shoulders.  But it was noticeably less than on the alloys.

The best part of the whole experiment was the final figures afterwards.  On the same course, with the same RPE but with the carbon wheels, I posted a time 11 seconds faster over 3.9 miles.  With all else being equal, this represents approximately 78.4 minutes in savings over the Iron distance bike leg.  And with savings like that, I think you'd be hard pressed to improve your performance in any way except by addressing issues above the saddle.

If we want to get creative and think of our budgeting like the government does - that is, by determining savings based on spending the "not most" for a given product (as opposed to not spending at all) - the savings between a set of big box brand CF wheels and ORRs is simply dumbfounding.  Zipp's 808 clinchers - the closest comparable model to ORRs ES-88s - are 82mm deep and weigh in at 1840 grams (approximately 4lbs), while the Orr ES-88s weigh in at 1770 grams (approximately 3.9 lbs). The weight savings isn't immediately significant, since it won't be apparent how much these wheels differ in terms of gain over time until they've been ridden in similar conditions over longer-than-average distances of 25-40 miles.  My test only establishes the ES-88s as superior to a standard alloy rim and not the Zipp 808.

Zipp’s 404 clinchers, on the other hand, are 58mm deep and max out at 1620 grams per set (approximately 3.5 lbs), making this a lightweight yet aero-enough profile that a rider will certainly feel the performance benefits in any general session, let alone racing.  I have a set of these, which are on Lydia’s bike at the moment, and I have to say there is something to the hype about this particular wheel.  Now, I’m not sure that it’s the best wheel in its profile class (55-65mm depth), but it’s definitely a way to buy speed, if not the best way to afford speed.  The first time I rode with these, my average speed boosted 2 miles per hour without any extension of perceived effort.  But then, I had even less structured environments to compare on than those of my most recent test.  What I initially perceived as phenomenal performance was the aerodynamic benefits of the deeper section compared to the alloys at roughly half the depth.  I averaged 20 mph to Solomon’s Island and back on a windy day back in the summer, and it was amazing the way the wheels responded to acceleration and held speed at that pace.

Hearing this, you might think that the Zipp 404s are the wheels to be had for the aspiring racer attempting to marshall resources needed for top performance.  And you could be forgiven until you realized the price of a set of Zipps.  The 404s retail at $3550.00 per set, the 808s at a humbler $2975.00 per set.  By contrast, Orr’s ES-88s retail at $1299.00, and their 404 equivalents, the FST6 (60mms deep, and tipping the scales at 1680 grams per set) come in at $1249.00.  Unless there’s a massive difference in workmanship and quality of the carbon weave, the massive differences in price are simply paying for the brand’s cache - which, let’s not forget, is considerable amongst cyclists.

So the savings over the regular 11 speed model from Orr (1499-1299) comes to $200.00, but after the discount to match Williams’s model, and including their sale price, (1299-849) comes to $450.00!  Compare that to the comparable Zipp model for ≈80mm wheels (2975-849) comes to 2126!

These figures are simply amazing!  I’ve done some snooping around online and discovered that Orr’s wheels are all over elite amateur triathletes up and down the eastern seaboard.  They’ve reached the midwest and even adorn the competition bike belonging to Lindsey Torgerson, a fine ITU circuit triathlete!  If this doesn't garner credibility for the crew at ORR, I'm not sure anything else can.

The bottom line is this: for the price point, these wheels are an absolute steal for the amateur on a budget.  They bring significant advantage in savings over distance without changes in power inputs, as my test established - not that I'd recommend trying to podium with your wallet.  But if you're currently trying to put your event together for a competitive finish - perhaps an age group award or top 20 overall, these wheels are a fantastic place to start a program for improving the total system of your game.