The Reynolds AR 58/62 X DB wheelset offer real world aero advantages while coping well with crosswinds and climbing. Tubeless compatibility finishes the package for not a huge amount of money.
The most important thing deep carbon wheels must offer is a 'swooshy' sound as they spin, to let everybody know that you've spent a chunk of money to make your bike go faster. The Reynolds certainly get that message across, but the amount of money you actually have to spend to get your swooshiness is very reasonable.
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For £1,350 you are getting a wheelset with a 58mm-deep rim at the front and a deeper 62mm rim for the rear.
The rim widths differ slightly too: the front has an inner width of 19mm (28mm outer) while the rear is 21mm with a 30mm outer.
Profile-wise, the rims aren't quite as bulbous as, say, Hunt's 48 Limitless and not as V-shaped as carbon rims of old, like its Aero 58 Clincher wheels from back in 2013, which basically finished in a sharp point. The ARx here have something in the middle.
The shape certainly helps them handle well. Deep-section rims like this are always going to be affected by crosswinds, but I found these dealt with the majority of them with little concern, regardless of the yaw angle.
I could feel the wind giving them a nudge, but it was just a bit of pressure on the side of the rim, not feeling like it was trying to steer the front wheel. Things might be a bit different if you are a lightweight racer, mind.
Reynolds claims a weight of 1,668g and we got 1,711g on our scales, which includes the pre-fitted tubeless tape. Allowing about 20g per wheel, that's about right, and pretty good for a set of wheels as deep as this, and for this sort of money.
For the majority of testing I was using the ARx wheelset on the Vitus Vitesse Evo, swapping out the very light 1,425g Prime Attaquers with their shallow alloy rims.
The extra few hundred grams of the Reynolds blunted the climbing a touch, and pulling away from a standing start, but once rolling, the added aero benefits easily outweighed the extra weight.
These wheels are just so fast, showing really big gains over 20mph where it feels like you require less effort to keep them moving than you would on a less aero set.
The stability in crosswinds means you can carry that speed into the bends as well.
Stiffness levels seem absolutely fine; occasionally, when really hammering it out of the saddle, I could detect a bit of lateral flex, but we are talking tiny amounts.
Build
Reynolds has gone for full carbon fibre rims with a hooked bead, making them suitable for use with standard clincher tyres and tubeless ones.
Fitting tyres, both tubed and tubeless, was easy. I found that 25mm and 28mm tyres seemed to work best with the rim profile.
Tubeless tape and valves are included in the price, so setting them up will just require some tyres and sealant.
The 24 Sapim CX-Sprint bladed spokes in both the front and rear wheels are attached to the rim using alloy nipples, which I'm glad to say aren't hidden away. If you have a bit of basic mechanical knowhow, you can roughly re-true the wheel at the side of the road if needs be.
The hubs are Reynolds own and they ran smoothly throughout the test period, through all kinds of weather. Six weeks is quite short a time to test durability, but a poorly sealed hub can often show up problems quite quickly.
If you like a 'clicky' freewheel then you'll like the ARx rear as it gives plenty of noise without sounding high-pitched.
Pawl engagement is reasonably rapid at 10 degrees, and a couple of options are available for Shimano HG and SRAM XDR, which we have here.
End caps to suit 12mm thru-axles are installed, with a 15mm set included, and the brake rotors are held in place by a Center Lock ring rather than six separate bolts.
Value
As I've already mentioned, these are well priced, sitting in between Hunt's 60mm Limitless wheels with EZO steel bearings – just £1,189, and with CeramicSpeed bearings, £1,489. I've only ridden the 48 Limitless, but they are some of the fastest wheels I've used, so if the 60mm version builds on that, they'll be difficult to beat.
> Buyer’s Guide: 58 of the best road bike and gravel bike wheels
Campagnolo's Bora WTO 60 Disc wheels are a similar depth to the Reynolds, but cost £1,928.99 because of their ceramic bearings.
Or what about the Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Disc wheelset for a cool £3,199.99? They come with 60mm/65mm rims and Tune hubs, though going for a standard PCW hub drops the price to £2,899.99.
Conclusion
Overall, at this price point this is a very good set of wheels. They look much more expensive than they are, and they ride well, with decent stiffness and weight, with the build quality shining through.
Verdict
Real world fast, and a decent price for such a quality set of deep-section wheels
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Make and model: Reynolds AR 58/62 X DB wheels
Tell us what the wheel is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Reynolds says, "The Reynolds ARx series delivers an unmatched selection of carbon fiber wheels to offer you the perfect product capable of tracking the types of terrain and roads you ride. The ARx line of wheels carries on the heritage of our wildly popular Attack, Assault and Strike wheels with wider rim profiles optimized for modern, wider tubeless tires. Working with the wider profiles allowed our engineers to design sleek, new rim shapes that vastly improve stability in crosswinds in the deeper sectioned rims. The new ARx profiles are not only wider and faster, but they are also lighter than their Attack, Assault and Strike predecessors."
The wheels are certainly fast, and achieve that without being a handful in a crosswind.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel?
Reynolds lists:
Inner Rim Width: F:19MM | R:21MM
Outer Rim Width: F:28MM | R:30MM
Rim Depth: F:58MM | R:62MM
Spokes: F24 | R24
Spoke Pattern: Front 2x | Rear 2x
Weight: 1668g
Technology: PR3
Front Hub: Reynolds Hub / Center Lock - Disc Brake Compatible
Rear Hub: Reynolds Hub / Center Lock - Disc Brake Compatible
Spoke Type: CX-Sprint
Nipple: External Alloy
Engagement: 10°
Pawl: 4
Decal: Black water slide
Rim: Strike Carbon Tubeless Disc Brake 58mm, Strike Carbon Tubeless Disc Brake 62mm
Rate the wheel for quality of construction:
8/10
Rate the wheel for performance:
8/10
Overall performance is very good, with just a small amount of lateral flex on the rear, but not any great amount.
Rate the wheel for durability:
8/10
Rate the wheel for weight
8/10
Rate the wheel for value:
6/10
Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?
True at the start and remained that way.
How easy did you find it to fit tyres?
Fitting tyres was very easy, both clinchers and tubeless.
How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?
The rim tape came ready fitted and worked fine, as did the valves.
Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Good all-round road wheels, especially if a lot of that time is spent above 20mph.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel
Deal with crosswinds without issue.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel
A bit of lateral flex.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
Hunt's wheels are always competitive, and its 60 Limitless do look very good value for money. But a lot of the other wheels we've tested at this depth are a lot more expensive, though many of them use ceramic bearings.
Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes
Would you consider buying the wheel? Yes
Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
A good quality set of deep-section wheels that perform really well, whether that's speed on the flat or the way they deal with crosswinds. A tiny bit of flex is the only negative.
Age: 42 Height: 180cm Weight: 76kg
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
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