Easton EA70 wheelset

Easton's EA70 wheelset is a staple for mid-range bikes off the shelf and a popular upgrade from heavier hoops. They're resonably light and nice and smooth, though we have our doubts about how long the Aluminium freehub body will last if you're not careful.

Like all of Easton’s wheels, the EA70s are handbuilt and the spoke tension was spot-on straight out of the box – and it’s stayed that way throughout testing without any jiggery-pokery in the workshop. The 26mm-deep rims are black anodized and have a machined braking surface, the forged alloy hubs are black anodized too, and you get double-butted, straight-pull Sapim spokes. The 24 at the front are radially laced, the 28 at the rear are radial on the non-driveside and 2-cross on the driveside.

We’ve heard gripes that fitting tyres on these is difficult but we had no trouble with any of the sets we tried. They’re tight, but we managed it without any levers once we’d pushed the bead into the centre. We think some people just need to man up a bit.

Our pair weighed in at 1704g (742g front, 962g rear – plus, you have to factor in 120g for the QR skewers) – not quite as feathery as the manufacturer’s claimed weight but still decent for the money, although they're giving away 200g to Pro-Lite's similarly priced Braccianos. That’s reflected in the swift acceleration you get from these hoops, and they climb really well with a definite spring in their step. They’re reasonably stiff too although, in our case, the rear wheel was much more prone to flex than the front one when we slapped the bike in top gear and jumped hard on the pedals – nothing disconcerting, but we could certainly feel it when we leaned the bike over hard.

The cartridge bearings run smoothly and they’re pretty well sealed so we wouldn’t expect any particular problems there, while the three-pawl freehub works just fine. The splines of the alloy freehub body did start to dent from the cassette early on though – it was noticeable within the first couple of hundred miles – so that’s a more likely source of future problems. Make sure you fit your cassette nice and tight to minimise the damage.

Verdict

Lightweight and smooth everyday wheels – but early wear on the freehub body makes us worry about the long-term durability