Miche Altur Wheelset

The Altur wheelset is part of Italian brand Miche's 2015 line up. They're reliable enough for your training bike and bling enough for your best bike so they'll get a lot of use year round.

The 35mm deep rims are made from T6 hardened 7075 alloy, which helps keep the weight under control. They come it 1780g on the road.cc Scales of Truth™, which lines up well against the competition.

Miche claim that they are designed as an all rounder for use training or racing in all terrains and to be fair they aren't far off the mark. They climb, sprint and accelerate very well indeed thanks to the stiffness of the deeper rim; there's really no lateral flex when you're out of the saddle.

On the flat or descending the 35mm rim depth does offer a little aero advantage and the Alturs maintain speed with ease. Although they're not super light there isn't a feeling of any excess weight anywhere; they feel very balanced.

It's depths of winter so these wheels have seen loads of rain and recently a fair amount of road salt and mud which hasn't affected the performance of the bearings at all. Everything is still running smoothly and more importantly quietly. The bearings are sealed so I don't see any reason why this should change.

The front uses aero 16 spokes laced in a radial pattern which allows a little bit of flex in what is an unforgiving wheelset. The rear uses a two-cross pattern on the drive side for the 24 spokes which keeps things tight like I mentioned above. There is a Campagnolo freehub option alongside the Shimano and Sram versions and all are 11-speed compatible.

At £294 they are pretty much in the ball park with other wheels with 35mm alloy like the Campag Scirroco 35s or the Fulcrum Racing Quattros both of which have a similar overall weight. Taking everything into account that is a pretty realistic price, you've got the reliability there and enough performance for varied riding styles.

Overall the Miche Altur wheelset is a solid feeling and performing set of wheels and makes a worthy upgrade without breaking the bank. They perform very well in the hills as well as on the flat feeling very similar to Mavic's well respected Ksyrium Elites although much cheaper.

The reliability is top notch and they are shrugging off the worst the weather can throw at them which makes for a good training wheel. The strength and stiffness provided by the rim also makes them a sensible alternative for entry level racing as they'll shrug off crashes and knocks with little in the way of damage.

The only downside is that they could be seen as a little bit harsh on rough road surfaces especially if you are a light rider.

Verdict

Solidly built wheelset that is quick enough of for racing and tough enough for training.