Logos Eudae Wheelset Review

LOGOS EUDAE WHEELSET REVIEW

CARBON WHEELS ON A BUDGET

Review by Dario DiGiulio

For the majority of mountain biking’s brief history, carbon fiber has been reserved for the highest end bikes and components, often seen as something of a luxury or cost-prohibitive upgrade. With modern supply chains and manufacturing methods, that assumption is beginning to shift, and we’re seeing more and more affordable carbon parts pop up on the market. As a relatively new brand to the space, Logos is looking to make a splash with their Eudae 29 wheelset. In an increasingly saturated market, how does this newcomer fare?

THE LAB

I’ve discussed this in various other wheelset reviews, but the menu of choices to contemplate when building up a wheelset can be overwhelming to those who haven’t tried every last option. That’s the beauty in a well-considered pre-built wheelset, such as with the Logos Eudae. After a long conversation with Logos founder Randall Jacobs, it was clear to me that their team had done the time testing and optimizing the mix of all those options, resulting in a well-appointed 1,565-gram wheelset optimized for the broadest group of trail riders.

Let’s start with the hoops, and work towards the hubs. The carbon rims sport a beautiful raw finish that shows off the quality of the layup and come with removable graphics should you want a more minimalist look. With a 31mm internal width, they are optimized for 2.2-2.6” tires, and come with tape and valves installed to make setup a breeze. The rims feature a slightly asymmetric profile, offset by 3.5mm to balance spoke tension between the two sides of the wheel.

The spoke choices made on these wheels are quite well considered, and worth getting a bit nerdy about. First off, there are 28 per wheel, which is fairly typical of lighter weight trail-oriented wheels these days. For their impressively low overall weight, I was surprised to see that the Eudae wheels feature brass nipples, which is a very welcomed durability addition to a component you hope to carry from bike to bike. The wheels feature straight-pull bladed spokes, which may seem more typical of road wheels, but the reasoning behind this choice makes a lot of sense to me. First off, the bladed profile is the result of roll forging, which makes for a stronger spoke with higher fatigue life. There are also slight aerodynamic gains to be made here, but unless you’re suiting up in full lycra this is probably not a selling point. The choice of a straight-pull design was done to keep all the spokes within 2mm of each other in length, meaning you can replace any spoke on either wheel with one universal spare. It also slightly increases durability, as the J-bend alternatives tend to break at that bend point, where forces tend to concentrate. Tension is relatively even throughout the wheels, which means they should stay true longer between re-tensioning.

At the heart of the Eudae wheels lies the Logos-branded arché|os hubs, which are made in house based on the now-open Hügi design, which was popularized by DT Swiss under their “star ratchet” moniker. Thanks to this open standard, you can use any non-EXP DT freehub body on the arché hubs, making aftermarket parts readily available and ubiquitous. Logos allows you to select either an XD, Microspline, or HG freehub with your wheelset upon purchase. The durability of this old DT standard is renowned, and a dual-sprung ratchet assures consistent performance (as many single-sprung versions have a tendency to bind under pedaling forces). Engagement with the stock 34t ratchet is 10°, and you can upgrade to a 54t ratchet to bring that down to 6.6°. The hubs are centerlock-only, which means you’ll either have to use an adapter for 6-bolt rotor designs, or find a centerlock version of your favorite discs.

All of those fine details are safeguarded from any manufacturer defects by Logos’ lifetime warranty, which also includes incident protection should you break one of your wheels casing that jump that still scares you. That incident protection program provides riders with crash replacements shipped out same/next business day from their US warehouse “at-cost” (up to 50% of the product value), plus shipping.

All-in, the Logos Eudae wheels look to be a solid assembly of quality parts and smart design choices, coming in at an equally impressive price: $1248 for the set.

Logos Eudae Wheelset Review

THE DIRT

I tend to be pretty hard on wheels, and had some initial trepidation about sticking a 1,565g wheelset on my bike for fear that I might kill them before the test really came together. Four months later, any worries I had have washed away, as I’ve been nothing short of impressed by the Logos Eudae wheels since the very first ride.

Right out of the box, the wheels are clearly high quality, with a very clean finish on the carbon hoops and even a nicely-taped rim bead, which makes setup all the more pleasant. I’ve had no issues fitting or airing up a wide variety of tires onto the rims, in all cases using nothing more than a floor pump. Early on, I swapped the stock valves out for the Santa Cruz Fillmore valves, as they do offer a performance upgrade I’ve come to really appreciate. Otherwise, I’ve made no changes or adjustments to the wheels. It’s been nothing but miles and miles of dirt and rock, without any fuss.

The low weight is immediately apparent, as they spin up quickly and feel light when hopping the bike around on trail. In some circumstances, I prefer the feel of a heavier wheel in the way it tracks over chattery terrain, but with these I haven’t been missing that sensation too much. They don’t feel overly stiff or springy, letting the bike track nicely through awkwardly cambered sections and over rough sections of trail. By no means are they as soft and compliant as something like an enduro-focused alloy wheelset, but compared to many other light straight-pull carbon wheels I’ve ridden recently, they’ve really impressed with their relatively muted ride feel.

I rode these back-to-back with the Reynolds Blacklabel 329’s pretty often, and the ride feel was relatively similar between the two, besides a slight difference in tire shape thanks to the different internal widths. In terms of overall quality and longevity the win easily goes to the Logos, which really comes down to the details. They are quieter, both at the hub and in the spokes, thanks to their non-interlaced straight pull design. The brass nipples will simply last longer, and are less liable to rounding out while truing. Lastly, the hubs themselves are far more robust, using one of the most bombproof designs out there, compared to the relatively low-cost pawl-based mechanism on the Reynolds.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been running the Eudae wheelset on my current long-term test bike, the new Yeti SB160. Seems like an unusual pairing, trail wheels on a race-focused enduro bike, but they’re gelling remarkably well. The Yeti is a very stiff bike, and the Logos wheels are no slouch when it comes to holding up in the corners, which makes for a very precise and sharp feel on trail. Maybe a bit sketchy if you’re trying to get down gnarly and steep rock gardens, but still manageable even in that application. Obviously this isn’t the purview of the Eudae wheels, but I wanted to see how they performed outside their comfort zone, and have been thoroughly impressed. In these more all-mountain applications, I’ve been running the wheels with inserts front and rear (mostly Rimpact, my current favorite), to aid in keeping the tires at a low pressure while still protecting that lovely carbon hoop. The team at Logos are also working on a burlier enduro-focused wheelset, as well as a featherweight XC offering, so keep your eyes out for those down the line. For now though, the Eudae trail wheels are an excellent middle ground, and should appeal to a very wide variety of riders.

Logos Eudae Wheelset Review

The Wolf’s Last Word

From their fantastic build quality, to their well-considered design details and their reliable and energetic performance on trail, the Logos Eudae trail wheels have been nothing short of a joy to use. With a relatively low price compared to other high-end carbon wheelsets, I’d have a hard time justifying the upcharge. Even when pushed into gnarlier terrain, the Eudaes hold their own and keep on spinning.

Price: $1,248
Weight: 1,565 grams
Website: Logoscomponents.com

We Dig

Excellent build quality and details
Quiet and reliable performance
Light and stiff, without feeling sketchy

We Don’t

Centerlock-only hubs
Low engagement ratchet

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