ENVE
These wheels may not be for everyone. If youre of the mindset that you can pay for speed, you may be partially right. Hear me out. Yes they are fast, depending on who is supplying the speed. You push harder theyll go fast. But dont expect theyll do the work for you.
TLDR I trust these wheels to last a long time, and I love the rear hub noise, it's subtle like my old Dura Ace hubs.
There are too many redundant things said about wheels these days. So I won't get into the light, snappy, stiff, ride characteristics bologna. I think wheel weight is over emphasized and I think aerodynamics is a marginal benefit for people who are very competitive. I value durability and reliability. These wheels delivers that like no other with the added perks of being light and aerodynamic! Wider tires and the right tire casings for your terrain are what make for nice ride quality in the era of wide rims and disc brakes.
I've read lots of complaints about how difficult it is to mount tires on Enve's new hookless rims. It's true, it's a challenge, but it's not impossible. I have done a lot of tire swaps on these and the Enve G23's. I've gotten pretty good at it. I only use a tire lever to pop one side of the bead off. I can get the rest done by hand. Start working on your hand strength! Use lots of soapy water, try to work in a warm environment. Would it suck to have to do it roadside? Yes! But it can be done. Thankfully wider tires and tubeless tech has made flats such a rare issue for me that it's the least of my concerns. Honestly, I feel a bit uneasy if a tubeless tire goes on too easy. The interface should be snug it's a matter of safety. I'm not convinced that a hooked rim will keep your tire attached if you lose too much tire pressure, but I am confident that these Enve hookless rims will not let your tire go even if you had to ride on it completely flat for a short while. The only risk comes with severe over inflation of the tire. Don't do that, it's just dumb. If you're a bigger rider consider choosing a tire width that allows for a pressure under the max PSI of the rim which is 80 PSI for these Enve AR rims. Personally I don't want to run tubeless much over 60 PSI, but I'd feel safe pushing some tires to 80 PSI. For me, that means a 30mm tire is safer and more comfortable than a 28mm tire when running tubeless. I can easily run my 30mm tires at 55 to 65 PSI despite my 215 pounds.
There are so many great wheel options these days at price points all over the board. I choose Enve wheels for build quality, the best quality spokes, and ultimately, I just trust them. I'm a bigger cyclist at 74 inches and 215 pounds. I've broken spokes on plenty of wheels and I've bent lots of aluminium rims. I'm also self sufficient as a road side mechanic. The only bike issues that have left me calling for a ride home have been wheel related, so I've become uncompromising when it comes to wheels.
The only thing I'm not sure about with these wheels is the paired spokes on the hub flanges. I'm not convinced it's a pro or a con. But at least it's got standard j-bend spokes.
Last, I like quiet hubs. There are lots of high engagement hubs with loud, high pitch hubs. I'm not sure what the engagement of this hub is, but it's plenty perfect for road and gravel. The sound is a low grumble, not very loud, it's similar to dura ace or mavic hubs.
My bike sure looks svelte with them! I just wish they made me better looking!
XCO training and racing with occasional outings trail biking. The bar appears tuned well for XCO racing. It takes the edge off of trail chatter. Hard to describe exactly HOW it does it, but the bike feels smoother and ultimately faster. Much less hand and shoulder fatigue.
