Hunt 44_46 Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke Disc Wheelset

The Hunt 44_46 Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheelset has been designed for the all-rounder – and that’s exactly what it is. With a low overall weight, a real-world aerodynamic advantage and loads of lateral stiffness, it’s a great package, especially considering the price that undercuts many similarly specced wheels from the competition.

> Buy now: Hunt 44_46 Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheelset for £1,269 from Hunt

Most of us don’t have the budget or space for multiple wheelsets, which can be an issue if your riding takes in a bit of everything – as is the case for me. I tend to ride rolling terrain with the odd lengthy climb thrown in, while on other days my journey might take me on pan-flat routes where I want some aero benefits. The Hunts are ideal: very versatile, covering all kinds of conditions without any major sacrifices.

The Aerodynamicist range of wheels has been around for quite a few years now and has impressed us when reviewed. Hunt hasn’t rested on its laurels, though, with its latest range featuring new rim profiles (different shapes for the front and rear) that it says have been re-engineered for pure speed.

The front rim is 44.5mm deep with a 31mm external width, with the rear 46mm deep and 30mm wide. Each has a 22mm internal width and a hooked design that lets you run both clincher and tubeless tyres.

The wheelset is optimised for 28-30mm tyres, though if you want to run slightly narrower or much wider rubber then they are ETRTO compliant with tyres from 25mm right up to 50mm. I rode these with 28mm and 32mm tyres, and found the tyres relatively easy to fit, too. Neither tyre slipped on too easily, which I always find reassuring, so with a bit of thumb and lever action to persuade the last section of the tyre bead into position, everything went reasonably well. I inflated them using a standard track pump and saw the tyres pop under the bead and seat securely straight away.

The rims are constructed from Toray’s T800 carbon fibre composite and the spoke holes are reinforced.

As for the other components, Hunt has specced a H-Ratchet 40T DBL dual-sided ratchet freehub mechanism with the 40-tooth drive rings giving 9-degree engagement. There is also an H-Ceramik coating on the freehub body for added durability. Hunt has catered for all freehub options, and sent me both a Shimano freehub and a SRAM XDR option, which meant I could switch the wheels between bikes. Swapping out the freehub body proved very quick and simple.

Both the front and rear hubs have 6066-T6 aluminium alloy bodies, with 7075-T6 grade aluminium axles.

Center Lock is the standard employed for mounting disc rotors – using a lockring to secure the rotor to the hub (kind of like a cassette) rather than the other option of six Torx bolts, making it much quicker and easier to swap rotors between wheelsets – and Hunt has catered for plenty of axle sizes, even including quick-release axles in the range.

It’s gone with Enduro ABEC 5 stainless steel cartridge bearings, and this version of the Aerodynamicist wheels uses uni-directional carbon fibre spokes, with 18 laced one-cross/radial on the front wheel, and 20 on the rear laced two-cross on both sides. The claimed benefits of the carbon spokes are a 6% increase in lateral responsiveness over the cheaper version which uses Pillar Wing 20 Elliptical Aero stainless steel spokes. (A previous version of this review incorrectly said it was the steel-spoked wheelset.)

The TaperLock nipples with Nyloc insert are mandrel mounted at the rim to prevent the spoke twisting when truing or replacing.

This spec is a claimed 1,274g which tallies with our findings – our set weighed 1,297g on our own scales, with the included rim tape fitted.

So, the specs are solid and that pretty much sums up the ride too.

Performance

Straight out of the box, everything felt tight, well tensioned and smooth running, and that is how they have remained over the couple of months I’ve been testing them.

The ride quality is good too. I know most of the feel you get will come down to the tyre compound and pressure, but some wheels can transmit more harshness and high-frequency vibration when compared side by side with others using the same setup. The Hunts feel smooth and aren’t overly bothered by poor road surfaces.

Lateral stiffness is impressive, too: hard efforts out of the saddle didn’t highlight any flex, and thanks to their low weight they also feel very responsive. For deepish section rims they climb well, and they definitely don’t feel hampered when accelerating repetitively when riding through urban areas or when the group ride starts to get a little competitive before the café stop.

When it comes to aerodynamics, Hunt has never been shy about sharing its wind tunnel results (you can read them in full on Hunt’s website) and it’s made some big claims here with these 44_46s, saying they beat plenty of competitors’ wheels in terms of drag vs weight.

All I can say is that in the real world, on roads surrounded by hedges, traffic and the wind blowing in various directions, they do feel as though they cut through the air very well indeed, especially for their depth.

When I found myself on a flat section of straight road, they’d sing along on the tarmac almost as well as some of the deeper section wheels I’ve tested over the years.

The main bonus for me, though, is that these Hunts aren’t affected by crosswinds at all. Even though the weather has been warm and dry, we seem to have had some bouts of quite windy conditions, and I was impressed with how well the Aerodynamicists dealt with it. No twitchiness of the front wheel at all when being passed by lorries or passing exposed gateways in the middle of hedges.

Overall then, an impressive ride performance and build quality, which is also matched by the price.

Value

At £1,579 (and currently with 20% off), the cost is impressive for everything you are getting here – and if you want similar performance for less money then the stainless steel spoke version is £1,179 (and currently £949). They are a mere 70g heavier.

You could easily spend more on wheels with similar specs: Sam reviewed the HED Wheels Vanquish Pro V45s earlier in the year which cost £2,090. They are 45mm in depth and the internal rim width is marginally wider by about half a millimetre; the rims are hooked too. He was impressed with how they rode and said that the build quality was to a very high standard. They were about 200g heavier, though, and you don’t get carbon spokes – in case that is key purchasing point. 

Vision’s Metron 45 SL Discs are basically the same depth and weigh a bit more (1,400g) than the Hunts. Ollie was generally impressed, but said that they lacked that extra ‘wow’ factor that would justify their £1,999 price tag.

I recently reviewed the sub-1300g Elan SL 50 Carbon wheelset from Scribe Cycling and they impressed me a lot. They are slightly deeper at 50mm, but have a 24mm internal hooked rim and also have a ratchet freehub system. This one has 45-tooth rings with 8 degrees of engagement, and you get ceramic bearings too. UD carbon spokes are also included, as is a three-year warranty, all for £1,199.

Hunt also offers a three-year warranty against material and workmanship defects on most parts, although wear and tear items like bearings are covered for only six months.

For more options, check out our guide to the best road bike wheels.

Conclusion

Overall, I highly rate the Aerodynamicist wheels – I can’t find anything that niggled me or that I’d want to change. They are basically fit and forget, covering all kinds of ride styles and terrains, and the performance per pound is up there with the best.

> Buy now: Hunt 44_46 Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheelset for £1,269 from Hunt

Verdict

Great all-rounder performance and one hell of a lot of bang for your buck!

All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here.