Gipiemme Paia Ruote Carbon H6.0

The Gipiemme Carbon H6.0 tubular wheels are a good aero option suitable for most conditions, and they come in at a reasonable price for this kind of wheel.

Gipiemme make these wheels in Italy using 100% carbon fibre monocoque rims that are 60mm deep and 20mm wide. The hubs are Gipiemme's own GPMClights, made from forged aluminium, and they spin on sealed bearings – although you can get DT Swiss 240 hubs for £100-£150 more. When I say Gipiemme make these wheels in Italy, they make both the hubs and the rims in their own factory.

Everything is held together by Sapim's excellent CXRay stainless steel aero spokes, 20 in each wheel. They're laced two cross at the rear and radial at the front.

We've been testing a model with a Campagnolo freehub body, although a Shimano/SRAM version is available too. As well as the wheels, you get quick release skewers (116g the pair), valve extenders, carbon-specific brake pads and a padded wheel bag included in the package.

The wheels themselves (without QRs or valve extenders) weigh 694g (front) and 880g (rear). That compares to 620g (front) and 735g (rear) for Zipp's 58mm deep 404 Firecrest tubulars (Zipp's claimed weights). The Zipps would, though, cost you £2,300 – virtually twice as much.

The H6s accelerate up to speed pretty quickly but it's once you hit top speed that they really earn their stripes, cleaving their way through the air to keep you moving at pace. They feel pretty tight with just a small amount of flex when cornering hard on fast descents, but it's certainly not enough to be an issue.

I wouldn't say that braking is any more or any less effective than with the majority of other carbon rims, feeling a bit 'grabby' especially in wet conditions. Braking performance is certainly not as good as on aluminium, but it never is in my experience.

The majority of the time, the 60mm rims don't adversely affect the handling. I was quite surprised at how little they were affected by crosswinds. It varies between wheels but I'd say that it's rare that a rim up to about 45mm is a handful in crosswinds, while at 50-60mm deep wheels can get caught a little on a blustery day.

I'm just back from a really windy ride using these – I went up on to the top of Salisbury Plain for the full blowy experience – and I had to be on my guard for sideswipes from sudden gusts in order to make sure I stayed in a straight line, but I was never in any danger of losing control. You might have to go with something shallower occasionally, so these couldn't be described as all-condition wheels, but they're stable enough most of the time. I'd certainly be comfortable using them on a road bike as well as a TT bike.

In terms of build quality, the self-locking ABS nipples have held the spokes firmly and a quick check on the wheel truing stand reveals that these are pretty much the same shape as they were when they came out of the box – there's certainly not enough deviation to cause concern. The rims and hubs are disgracefully dirty after plenty of winter use but the sealed bearings are running as smooth as you like, so that's another positive.

Verdict

Well-made 60mm-deep wheels that handle well in most conditions and come at an okay price too.