Reynolds AR 58/62 X DB wheelset

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.

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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