The Jet 9 FR Clincher is the fastest, deepest, and most confident clincher wheelset HED has ever made. Period. The versatility and familiarity of clincher tires lets you use it for PR-crushing time trials, rolling stage races, or simply for dominating weeknight club rides. But what good is speed without control? Wheels that cross the forty or fifty-millimeter threshold grow increasingly more difficult to handle in crosswinds, so imagine controlling the Jet 9 in adverse conditions, which is ninety millimeters deep. But HED engineered a solution called Stability Control Technology, or SCT. In regard to the wheel shape, SCT maintains a 0-15 degree yaw angle while reducing the force put on the wheels by side winds. This makes this 90mm deep wheel handle like a 50 or 60mm deep wheel in crosswinds.

Steve Hed has been doing aero wheels since 1985 -- he consulted for High Road Cycling and Radio Shack, and he's always tinkering, so it's almost a given that HED aerodynamics are great. What you might not know is that these wheels also have low rolling resistance and better aerodynamics thanks to their C2 rim concept. C2 is about the two C's, less Cda (aerodynamic drag) and less Crr (rolling resistance). Their 23mm wide rims are what make this possible; the width provides a better aero shroud for the rest of the wheel and changes the nature of the tire's contact patch with the road.

HED uses the Flamme Rouge, or FR, designation to announce that a particular model has been given special attention with regards to weight reduction. The Jet 9 Flamme Rouge has Scandium C2 rims, and Carbon FR Sonic hubs, the fairing uses a lighter 1k carbon-weave, the rear hub has a titanium ratchet ring, and the skewers have titanium shafts. Those Carbon FR Sonic hubs are entirely of HED's design. They run silky ABEC5 bearings on oversize axles, 12mm in front, 15mm in rear. Oversized axles flex less, resulting in smoother bearings and less drag. They spaced the flanges as wide apart as possible to create a stronger bracing angle, again resulting in better lateral stiffness. The front hub has aluminum end caps with a carbon-fiber center, and the rear hub is all aluminum. Since this is the pro-level wheelset, the rear hub has a grease port and carbon port cap. A subtle convenience, but rejoice that this capped port ensures you'll no longer need to rebuild your rear hub after repeated washings.

As we mentioned, the fairing is bonded to the rim, which means the spokes engage at the rim rather than at the end of the fairing. The result is not only better aerodynamics and no exposed nipples, but greater lateral strength thank to a better bracing angle. The Sapim hex-headed aluminum nipples are treated with a light thread-locking compound and are accessed from inside the rim. They anchor the silver Sapim CX-Ray spokes, the fastest spokes in the business. The 18 front spokes are straight-pull while the 24 rear spokes are J-bend for both sides.

At the rear, you'll notice something else new -- a two-cross lacing pattern on both sides. HED made this change for a simple reason. With ever-stiffer frames, the force of stomping on the pedals was increasing force on the wheels, which has in turn reduced mechanical efficiency. To counteract these forces, HED stiffened up the rear wheel so that no power would be lost to wheel flexing, thus putting more power into driving the bike forward.

The HED Jet 9 Flamme Rouge Clincher Wheelset is available to fit Campagnolo or Shimano/SRAM cassettes. The freehub bodies are easy to swap out with two 5mm hex keys. The wheels come with HED titanium-shafted skewers, valve extenders, and rim strips. HED does not recommend these wheels for anyone weighing over 190lbs.