The Prime Race Road Alloy Clincher wheelset is a lightweight and hardwearing tubeless-ready choice for general road use and even gravel/cyclo-cross riding.
Prime is a new brand from Chain Reaction Cycles with a range that covers everything from £155 alloy clincher wheels up to £879.99 carbon tubular wheels.
The Race wheels feature tubeless-ready aluminium AT01 rims from Alexrims. They have an internal width of 17mm, an external width of 22mm, and a CNC-machined brake track. I used them with the excellent Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyres (28mm width), which inflated first time with a floor pump and a little Stan’s sealant. No fuss at all. I tried inflating from flat a few times. Sometimes the bead popped into place easily, sometimes it required soapy water to seal the deal.
Prime’s R020 hubs are forged and CNC-machined 7075 alloy, very low profile in the case of the front one. They contain sealed cartridge bearings so there’s no particular skill required during maintenance. The sealing isn’t elaborate but I’ve used these in all conditions over several weeks and no water has got inside.
The alloy freehub body – Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11-speed compatible – is lighter than steel options often found at this price point, while durability is good thanks to an Anti Bite Guard spline insert that stops the sprockets digging in. The freehub has four pawls and 26 teeth.
The front wheel is built with 20 DT Swiss double-butted J-bend spokes and DT Swiss Pro Lock alloy nipples, while the rear wheel is laced with 24.
The Prime Race wheels have put in an excellent performance out on the road, offering plenty of stiffness and durability, and braking is as firm and reliable as you’d expect on an aluminium surface. I’ve been using them for general road riding and I also put them on a cyclo-cross bike and hit the local gravel roads and byways a few times. They’ve done a great job throughout.
They’re light too. Ours weighed in at 662g (front) and 868g (rear) – a total of 1,530g (without skewers or valves). That’s exactly the overall weight that Prime claims.
> Check out our guide to the best road bike wheels
> Read our buyer’s guide to tubeless wheels
Checking them post-test, both wheels are still as round and true as they were to start with, the spoke tensions virtually unaltered. That augurs well for long-term durability. The brake tracks show signs of wear, obviously, and there are marks on the freehub from the sprockets, but they’re not at all deep. I imagine the stuck-on graphics will eventually start to look tatty but they’re doing fine so far.
The wheelset is supplied with Prime Quick Release skewers, tubeless valves (installed), and three spare spokes and nipples. Although the valves on our test wheels are silver, they’re black on the production version to match the rim finish. If you want to ride tubeless, all you need are the tyres and sealant and you’re good to go.
Verdict
Lightweight alloy clincher wheelset that’s hardwearing and tubeless-ready out of the box
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset
Size tested: 700C
Tell us what the wheel is for, and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Prime says, “The Prime Race Road features a super light build and will be the perfect wheelset for everything from daylong rides to cyclocross racing. The Race features our tubeless ready Pro rim with R020 hubset and is hand built with DT Swiss Double Butted spokes and DT Swiss Pro Lock nipples.”
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel?
Prime lists these features:
Prime Quick Release skewers
Tubeless valves x 2 (installed)
Tubeless tape (installed)
Spare spokes x 3: 1 front, 2 x Rear (1 drive side / 1 non drive side)
Nipples x 3
Total Wheelset Weight: 1530g
Rim Specifications:
Material: Alloy
CNC machined brake track
Tubeless ready
Spoke count: 20 hole & 24 hole
Rim width: 24mm (17mm internal width)
ERD: 582
Weight: 440g
Hub Specifications:
Rear:
Material: Superlight Forged & CNC machined 7075 alloy hub body
Spoke type: J Bend
Bearings: Premium Japanese sealed cartridge bearings x 4
Axle: 130mm x QR
Pawls: 4
Points of engagement: 26
Freehub Body: Light weight alloy with ABG (Anti Bite Guard), Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11 speed
Freehub Body Option: Campagnolo freehub body available for purchase separately
Hole count: 24
Weight: 228g
Front:
Material: Superlight Forged & CNC machined 7075 alloy hub body
Spoke type: J Bend
Bearings: Premium Japanese sealed cartridge bearings x 2
Axle: 100mm x 9mm QR
Hole count: 20
Weight: 60g
The Anti Bike Guard spline does a good job of stopping the sprockets digging deep into the freehub.
Our review wheels are virtually as round and true after several weeks of testing as they were initially.
This is a very good weight for alloy wheels at this price.
The value is very high, especially as Chain Reaction is selling them at £224.99 (a saving of 10% over the list price).
Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?
They’ve stayed absolutely true. I’ve not had to get the spoke key out once.
How easy did you find it to fit tyres?
Easy enough. Running them tubeless, they’ve inflated with some Stan’s sealant and a floor pump – sometimes easier than others, but that’s the way with tubeless.
How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?
They worked fine. Haven’t really noticed them, and that’s a good sign.
Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose
No complaints at all. It’s a well-built wheelset that cracks on with its job without fuss.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel
The light weight, and the fact that they’ve stayed true.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel
Not a lot.
Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes
Would you consider buying the wheel? Yes, for general road use, including rough road use.
Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your score
These are very good wheels at an exceptionally good price. They’re a clear 8 out of 10. If value is a key consideration, they’re especially attractive.
About the tester
Age: 43 Height: 190cm Weight: 75kg
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding
11 thoughts on “Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset”
Was hoping to see some good
Was hoping to see some good value 1300g alu rims at Eurobike.
Techy people need whipped.
unconstituted wrote:
The Julius AC22 are ~1,290g. I’ve got a set, they’re very nice wheels. Weight limit of 75kg though.
userfriendly wrote:
The Julius AC22 are ~1,290g. I’ve got a set, they’re very nice wheels. Weight limit of 75kg though.— unconstituted
Going to check those out, cheers!
unconstituted wrote:
I got mine directly from Julius in the Netherlands. Asked for them to be sent without any decals on them, and they were kind enough to accommodate me. Shipping was 30 Euros if I remember correctly.
The look a lot like the
The look a lot like the Wiggle Cosine wheels i just bought.
Welsh boy wrote:
What are they like? They seem too good to be true but I haven’t heard any feedback?
Ciarán Carroll wrote:
What are they like? They seem too good to be true but I haven’t heard any feedback?— Welsh boy
Made by Gigantex, should be decent.
http://www.gigantex.com.tw
Ciarán Carroll wrote:
What are they like? They seem too good to be true but I haven’t heard any feedback?— Welsh boy
I have only ridden them once so far but I am very impressed with them. Build quality is very good, round and true, tyres went on easilly enough, braking is good and they seem very good on the road. They replaced a pair of one year old Zondas which have just destroyed their second freehub. I would say the ride is at least as good as the Zonda and (unfortunately) the freehub is a bit quieter than the Zondas.
Those hubs must be made by
Those hubs must be made by Novatec. They look very similar to the ones I have in my custom built wheelset. And Anti Bite Guard is the same name that Novatec uses. See: http://www.stradawheels.co.uk/product/novatec-superlight-hubs/
anyone know how these compare
anyone know how these compare to Ultegra 6800 wheelset? They are around the same price and trying to decide which one to buy and go tubeless
not many reviews about
not many reviews about
I see wiggle have the race and the road versions 1470g v 1530g £50 difference with slightly different spec hubs R010 v 020
as said the cosines are no longer, fancy tubeless after trialling a schwable one for 3 months with no issues and good wear rate
Zonda c17 would be good if they were tubeless and not just ghetto TL
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