Vision Metron 60 RS SL Disc Carbon Road Wheelset review – worth the premium price?

The Vision Metron 60 RS SL Disc Carbon Road Wheelset brings a list of the latest advancements and must-haves to the market, with a deep section, reasonably wide rim and carbon spoke construction that offers good performance and an impressively low weight. But at over £3,000, are these wheels worth the price when pitted against some of the most desirable options on the market?

Technical details

The Metron 60 RS SL is Vision’s first full carbon wheelset – although by this Vision means carbon rims and carbon spokes with the hubs still made from alloy.

The set tested here has a 60mm deep rim front and rear, and a 45mm version is also available. Both depths have a 23mm internal rim and support a wide range of tyre widths from 28mm right up to 65mm (2.5in), although they are optimised for tyres between 28mm and 32mm. The rims are hooked, and Vision does not provide a maximum rider or system weight limit for the wheels.

Available with either Shimano HG or SRAM XDR freehubs, the claimed weight is 1,390g, which was almost exactly matched by the measured weight of 1,395g. This broke down as 625g for the front and 770g for the rear, including tubeless tape and tubeless valves.

The V-1000 hubs use a PRS (Power Ratchet System) clutch ratchet, with a 72-tooth freehub providing 5-degree engagement.

Carbon spokes are becoming far more common, and the Metron uses aero-bladed DP Carbon spokes, laced 2:1 front and rear, with 21 spokes on the front and 24 on the rear.

No spare spokes are provided, although the wheelset does come with tubeless valves and tubeless tape, which isn’t fitted. Given that carbon spokes are less easily available than traditional steel spokes, and the cost of replacements will be higher, having the reassurance of spares provided would have been welcomed by many riders, I am sure.

Performance

The wheels on test had tape fitted, which wouldn’t be the case for purchased wheels, but it seems like good-quality tape, and it didn’t begin to lift at all during use.

Installing tyres onto the 23mm internal diameter rims was simple. I used a pair of Schwalbe Pro One 28mm tubeless tyres, which were fitted using one tyre lever. Inflating with a track pump gave a tight seal quickly and without any frantic pumping.

Initial rides helped give some indication of the levels of vibration and comfort offered, and I tried to cover a wide variety of surfaces, from freshly laid tarmac to more typical, rougher British roads.

On rough roads, the vibrations through to the handlebars are noticeable, although damped enough to give a manageable ride for longer days in the saddle. What I found interesting was that although they were not as comfortable overall as the Cadex 50 Ultra carbon spoke wheelset they replaced, on bigger hits, such as very poorly surfaced roads or when hitting a larger bump, they were slightly more forgiving. This was surprising given the extra rim depth.

> How much faster are deep carbon wheels? We test whether deeper really is faster, and explore which rim depth is best for your riding

On windier days, the 60mm-deep rim can sometimes move around, although even when passing hedge entrances or in stronger gusts, it felt like more of a nudge rather than feeling unstable or being blown off line. While I might not use them on a very windy winter day, they are still far better than many other 60mm deep wheels and more manageable than I expected.

With an actual weight under 1,400g, the low mass makes the wheels genuinely usable for all types of riding, even the hilliest events or rides. They feel fast uphill and on flatter terrain, and while Vision makes no aerodynamic claims – merely stating that they have been CFD and wind-tunnel tested – they feel fast in real-world riding conditions.

Vision has built the wheelset with 72-tooth V-1000 hubs, using its aforementioned PRS technology, which provides very quick engagement – although I don’t think such rapid engagement is quite as important on road bikes as it is for off-road riding, where on-off pedalling is far more frequent.

What was noticeable initially, and something that I was worried about, was dramatic drag in the freehub. Ensuring that the brake pads were not touching the rotors at all, spinning the wheel up and allowing it to spin freely, it slowed down and came to a stop far quicker than I would have expected. However, this did improve dramatically after some use, and testing again with around 1,000 to 1,200km ridden, they were almost the opposite with lots of time passing before they came to a stop. This was likely due to initial bearing resistance that improved as they were used and “worn in”.

I am sure there will be some people who are unsure of carbon spokes, but on all the wheels I have used and tested, I have found them to be excellent, offering a combination of stiffness and comfort that steel spokes would struggle to match, while also helping to reduce the weight.

They may be less aerodynamic than bladed steel spokes, and likely more so at greater yaw angles, although I have not seen any tests to confirm this either way.

What is disappointing is that the wheels don’t have any spares, and while carbon spokes are growing in popularity, they are not likely to be easy to find or replace. Every other wheelset with carbon spokes I have tested has come with spares, such as the Hunt Proven range and the Roval CLX III. Breakages might not be a common occurrence, but having some reassurance should something happen is important.

The low weight helps the wheelset defy what you might expect from a deep section carbon wheel, with a typical weight for a 60mm deep carbon wheelset considered to have been around 1,600g a few years ago. Dropping a few hundred grams is significant, and with no loss of stiffness or sprinting performance that I can feel, they make for a great all-round riding option. This is helped by still feeling manageable in the wind.

Value and conclusion

In terms of performance, there is very little not to like about the Metron 60 RS SL Wheelset. The only major issue is the price. At £3,099.99, it sits above many other options, including the Roval Rapide CLX III, which is just under £3,000 and even lighter at 1,332g on the road.cc scales.

There is also the Hunt 54_58 Aerodynamicist for almost half the price at £1,600 (we reviewed the 44_46 version), and the Scribe Élan Ultra 6 at 1,287g and priced at £1,999. Other branded options include the Fulcrum Sharq 42 Wheelset priced at £2499.99.

There are also lots offering good performance at even lower prices, such as the Farsports Evo5 S Series for £1271.29 when Jamie tested them.

While the Vision Metron 60 RS SL Wheelset performs well in most areas, there is nothing that stands out from the competition to make me consider it above rivals that are often much cheaper.

The wheelset feels light, which helps make it feel fast on all terrain; it feels good in the wind; and it mixes stiffness and comfort to make it an excellent all-round option, but it lacks anything truly special to justify the high price.