Road Bike Online

A very light pair of wheels indeed, though feeling in side winds can be a little on the scary side, especially group riding on longer rides – if you’re on the nervous side in groups then you might be best avoiding these.

The rims can be prone to brake rub quite easily though they do hold onto speed well with a comfortable ride, apart from the side winds they are a good wheel, good braking and quality of ride.  £1700.

Ritchey Superlogic Carbon 46mm Clincher Wheelset Specification:

• Weight, 20 spoke front 614g, 24 spoke rear 801g.
• Rim depth, 46mm
• Braking surface, Carbon

These are very similar to the Shimano RS80 C50s, smooth Shimano Ultegra hubs laced with nice and tight Sapim spokes; they perform well in gusts of wind. The weight of the Pro RC50′s are noticeable on the climbs, gyroscopic affect is increased when at speed when makes the RC50 feel really quite stable on the descents.

Rather than uni-directional carbon they are made with coarse weave 12k, a very steady wheel.  RRP £899.98.

PRO RC50 Road Wheels Specification:

• Weight, 24 spoke front 915g, 24 spoke rear 1108g.
• Rim depth, 50mm.
• Braking surface, Alloy

The FFWD Fast Forward F6R Wheels are 58mm deep and seemingly similar to the likes of some Zipp and HED sections though the scale is narrower.

FFWD calls its rim shape Darc, this is the narrowness from the inner spoke section to the braking surface, and claims to reduce wind drag.  The hubs are very smooth and sealed well; they are laced with the brilliant CX-Ray spokes from Sapim, these wheels are very straight, they performed well on climbs. On even the steeper climbs they don’t actually feel as heavy as they are, dealt well with the side winds an all round good ride.  RRP £1014.99.

FFWD Fast Forward F6R Wheels Specification;

•  Weight, 20 spoke front 843g, 24 spoke rear 1010g.
• Rim depth, 58mm.
• Braking surface, Alloy

Best used with 23mm tyres these carbon clincher wheels can certainly help you improve on times, compared to light standard wheels they can feel a little sticky on the climbs but descending feels very controlled and smooth.

The overall ride is good, the 50mm deep sectioned rims performed well in gusts of wind.  Working well together Hed and Bontrager’s aim to create a decent clincher aero wheel combined with the 23mm tyre seems to have worked,  the Aeolus 5.0 is a worthy investment of £1649.98.

 BONTRAGER AEOLUS 5.0 Road Wheels Specification:

• Weight, 16 spoke front 696g, 16 spoke rear 939g.
• Rim depth, 50.5mm.
• Braking surface, Carbon.

If you have £1099.98 to spare then SRAM fail to offer anything special with these S40’s, they feel somewhat on the sluggish side, climbing and sprinting felt laboured whereas handling did not feel altogether controlled or comfortable, with rim depth at 39mm they are not the deepest or even lightest of Aero wheels, the S40’s just seem to be left wanting.  It does seem unusual for SRAM, they are not terrifically disappointing wheels but for the price you can do better.

SRAM S40 Road Wheels Specification;

• Weight, 18 spoke front 821g, 20 spoke rear 1001g.
• Rim depth, 39mm.
• Braking surface, Alloy

Campagnolo Neutron Ultra Wheels have asymmetrically drilled holes in the rear wheel and all the spokes enter the non-drive side, (though the drive side spokes are thicker), achieving lateral rigidity for those hugely energetic sprints and uphill accelerations.

The carbon and aluminium hub bodies are laced with straight pull spokes giving a total weight of 1529g, the fitting of tyres can be a little tricky but the end result is a very firm but full on responsive wheel.  Coming with maintenance booklet and wheelbags, at £649.99 the Neutron ultras are worth every penny.

HED JET 6 Carbon Clincher Wheels

These wheels are fast, very fast, the hubs are unbelievably smooth with spokes laced nice and tight.

The Jet 6’s have a wide rim, this is to ensure a smooth transition from a 23mm tyre sidewall to the rim – an aero feature changing the tyres profile so the rim and tyre pretty much become one, the tyres sidewall curve is removed.  Though they might not kick as well on steep climbs or while sprinting they feel well controlled in side winds and these are quick.

Specification: 18 spoke front 853g, 24 spoke rear 1046g, rim depth 62mm, braking surface is Alloy.  Price £1149

The DT SWISS RRC 625F/725R 66mm Road Wheels are a 66mm section road wheel set available in either front or rear or as a pair for around £1,800.

The DT SWISS RRC 625F/725R 66mm Road Wheels use DT’s revolutionary rim technology to give a very stiff wheel which many riders will struggle to flex. There is a lot of carbon in the wheels and with a weight of 1,360g it’s an achievement to have them so light for so much material.

The hubs feature stainless steel bearings in the DT 240 hubs, so expect good performance there too.

PROS: Very light, super stiff, and very quick.

CONS: £1,800 – ouch