Giant P-SLR1 Wheelset

Giant are getting into the wheel market, launching several sets for 2012 including the snappily monikered P-SLR1 tubeless-ready lightweight wheelset that puts in a strong performance across the board.

The rims are scandium alloy and they're a little wider than normal. The external diameter is 21mm so you might have to adjust your brakes outwards by a couple of millimetres to get them in; nothing major. Giant reckon this extra width allows you to use lower pressure in your tyres without increasing the risk of pinch flats – if you want to, like. They also say it improves their aerodynamic performance although we guess that's more of an issue on the deep-section P-SLR1 Aero.

The rims are 21mm deep too and the tyre well is tubeless-ready meaning that it's airtight, essentially – you can run these wheels with tubeless tyres and no inner tubes. The valve you need for that is included. The rear rim is asymmetric, the profile offset towards the non-driveside. The idea is that it allows Giant to use a more even spoke tension between the two sides resulting in a stiffer wheel.

The forged 6000-series alloy hubs come with widely spaced flanges for increased stiffness and DT Swiss internals. They feature well-sealed cartridge bearings and a star ratchet design at the rear rather than standard pawls. The 18-tooth machined-out ratchets provide fast engagement when you start pedalling. That rear wheel is compatible with Shimano/SRAM; there's no Campag option on offer.

The wheels are held together with Aerolite stainless steel spokes that are bladed to cut through the air. You get 16 up front (radially laced) and 20 at the rear (radial on the driveside, 2-cross on the non-driveside). At the rim end they sit in little inserts that have a large contact area with the rim itself – it's technology taken directly from DT Swiss. The inserts are the same as you'll find on the Tricon wheels that we reviewed a couple of years ago. By spreading the load in this way, the manufacturer can use less material in the rim and so keep the weight down.

Finally on the tech front, the quick release skewers are DT Swiss's RWS (Ratchet Wheelmounting System) design. Rather than the usual cam system, you just spin these until they're tight and then adjust the position of the lever to suit. They work fine but I don't find them as quick or as easy as a conventional design. Tabs on the nut slot into the dropouts on your bike so you can tighten them one handed but, really, is that a benefit? To me, it just makes positioning them slightly more awkward. They do the job but I don't think they're a huge leap forward.

The weights of our test wheels are 662g (f) and 822g (r) for a combined total of 1,484g (without the quick releases). That's considerably more than Giant's claimed 1,390g per pair but it's still pretty light. You can get wheels of a similar weight for a fair bit less than this though.

These wheels perform really impressively out on the road. I went for a standard setup with Giant's own tyres (which we'll also review soon) and a set of inner tubes. They're lively, sprightly, energetic... all those qualities that you want. They accelerate fast, spin along easily on the flat and they climb noticeably quicker than wheels just a little heavier.

They're stiff too – not crazy-rigid but there's certainly not a great deal of rim deflection when you lean the bike over. Maybe that's partly down to the fact that Giant have positioned the hub flanges so far apart – who knows? The important point is that they retain their shape well when you fire yourself into fast corners, giving you a strong feeling of control that's good for your confidence and overall speed.

The spoke tension was consistent out of the box and it still is after several weeks of riding and all the abuse I've managed to dish out on winter roads. They've remained completely round and true, not even requiring the odd tweak after the initial bedding in period. I've got them soaking a few times too and no water has got into the hubs.

If any of the spokes ever does need adjusting, you need a torque spoke wrench for the job and a bladed spoke holder to keep the profile straight, neither of which is supplied. You do get padded wheel bags, though, which are useful addition if you're likely to travel with your bike.

Verdict

Light, quick, and efficient tubeless-ready wheels with some high-quality features