Scribe Inception 50+ Disc wheelset

A sub-1,500g, deep-section carbon wheelset for £649 is an absolute bargain – and that’s exactly what the Scribe Inception 50+ Disc is. At this price you might expect some corners to have been cut, but that doesn’t seem to be the case – the components are all of a good quality and the wheels are handbuilt at Scribe’s own premises. The very reasonable price even includes a three-year warranty.

> Buy now: Scribe Inception 50+ Disc for £649 from Scribe

Less than £650 for a set of carbon wheels would have been impressive even five years ago – let alone now after a few years of constant price rises for parts and components. Scribe has been able to achieve this by literally not trying to reinvent the wheel.

There is nothing flash going on here, no swirly rim shapes or clever hub systems, just tried and tested components built into a durable wheelset in the UK, which delivers an impressive performance as a result.

The rims are constructed from Toray’s T700 and T800 grades of carbon fibre, they’re 50mm deep and have an external width of 34mm. More importantly the internal width is 24mm, which is compatible with tyres from 28-50mm, though it’s optimised for 38mm rubber.

The hooked rim profile allows you to use the Inception 50+ Discs with either clincher tyres, using an inner tube, or with tubeless-ready tyres, the hook ensuring that you won’t be limited on tyre pressures as you would be with a hookless rim.

Other parts of the build include 24 Sapim D-Light spokes front and rear, along with brass nipples, which are much less susceptible to corrosion in winter.

You can also choose from a Shimano or SRAM XDR freehub with the pawls engaging every six degrees.

The Scribe-branded hubs have an aluminium alloy construction and are compatible with J-bend spokes. They can be run with 12mm thru-axles or quick-release axles depending on the specification of your bike.

TPI bearings finish off the spec list and each wheelset is handbuilt at Scribe’s factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This is backed up by a three-year warranty against material and workmanship defects as part of Scribe’s Infinity program, which also includes a crash replacement policy.

They come fitted with tubeless rim tape which saw our pair weigh in at 1,580g on our ‘scales of truth’. This is a bit higher than the claimed 1,433g weight (thoiugh that’s without tape) but is still a decent weight for deep-section wheels, especially at this price. You’ll also find a set of tubeless valves in the box.

Set up went very smoothly indeed with both the sets of tyres I tried: 30mm Continental Grand Prix and 228mm Michelin Lithion 4 Performance tyres. The Conti tyres were tubeless and I ran the Lithions with inner tubes.

Both tyres went on with the minimum of fuss with just the last section of each requiring a little tease from a tyre lever and then they popped onto the rim just using a standard track pump.

Straight out of the box both wheels were running true and perfectly tensioned and, unlike some wheels I’ve reviewed, there wasn’t any pinging of spokes as I rode those first few metres out of my estate.

The ride quality on offer was noticeably good with no harshness or buzzy vibration, which you can sometimes find on lower priced deep-section rims, and they also handled crosswinds without too much drama as well.

I couldn’t detect any issues with their lateral stiffness when climbing hard or under acceleration, and more importantly the Inceptions gave a a bit of a ‘swooshy’ sound when up around 20mph – which I consider easily the most important aspect of any wheel upgrade!

At just over 1.5kg they are 150g to 200g heavier than some of the more expensive wheelsets I’ve been reviewing lately, but in the real world and just as you’d expect, that made no difference. They climbed without feeling weighty and considering that the Inceptions are likely to be an upgrade over the stock wheels on your bike, you’re likely to be saving 200-400g.

Overall, I can’t really find anything to criticise the Inceptions for, especially when you consider the price they’re hitting.

Value

Similarly specced competitors include the Velocite Hyperdrive Carbon 50mm, which I reviewed not long ago. These also feature a 50mm-deep carbon rim though with a much narrower 17mm internal width, which is suitable for most 25-30mm road tyres.

They’re a bit lighter than the Scribe Incepetions and have a ratchet freehub as opposed to pawls, but they’re also priced a bit higher at £699.

Hunt’s 50 Carbon Disc wheelset also uses a ratchet hub and comes with a three-year warranty like the Scribes. This is an updated version of the Carbon Aero range I reviewed back in 2020. The latest model has a 50mm carbon rim with a 22mm internal width and the weight is pretty similar to the Scribes, though at £899 they cost a fair bit more.

If you’re interested in some new rolling stock, check out our guides to the best road bike wheels and the best gravel wheelsets.

Conclusion

The Scribe Inception 50+ Discs aren’t the lightest or flashiest wheels, and Scribe doesn’t make claims about them being the fastest wheels on the market. But for the money they make an excellent upgrade to the stock wheels found on a lot of bikes, or if you want to add a set of deep-section wheels to your collection without bankrupting yourself.

> Buy now: Scribe Inception 50+ Disc for £649 from Scribe

Verdict

Excellent upgrade wheelset for aero gains on a budget

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