Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

review

DT Swiss R24 Spline db wheelset

8
£239.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Great addition to the disc wheel marketplace offering a good balance of speed, weight and price
Weight: 
1,810g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The SPLINE DB wheelset range from DT Swiss is a welcome addition to the disc brake wheel market and with their entry-level R24s they come in at a sensible price and weight too. Pair that to excellent build quality from decent components and you've got a wheelset that'll cover everything from fast training rides to a bit of cyclo-cross.

Being launched for 2015 these wheels are, as you'd expect, bang up to date in terms of technology and the current trend of increasing tyre width on road bikes, so you won't be disappointed.

Find your local dealer here

Buy these wheels online here

Starting with the disc specific rim, i.e. no brake track, the 23mm deep clinchers have an internal width of 18mm making them perfect for running 25 and 28mm wide tyres that we are seeing on many of the disc equipped bikes coming through the road.cc office. The wider rim allows a more rounded tyre profile instead of the usual 'lightbulb effect' you get from mounting a large tyre on a more traditional narrow rim. The broader tyre shape gives you more grip in the corners. It's tubeless compatible too.

The hubs are 11 speed Shimano/SRAM fitment (sorry Campagnolo users) and use DT Swiss's pawl system rather than the ratchet one found on the more expensive wheels. Pick-up is instant though, the second you give the pedals a kick the wheels respond.

Standards are yet to settle as far as attaching the wheels to your bike goes, so DT Swiss have got round this by using push fit adaptors for 12mm or 15mm thru axles and the more common 5mm quick release skewer. It's good to see this level of adaptability especially at this price point.

Spoke numbers and lacing patterns have long been a contentious issue when it comes to road bikes running discs. DT have gone 24 straight pull in a two cross pattern front and rear and trust me there have been no issues dealing with the braking forces dished out on 50mph to 0mph hard stopping efforts. They are bladed so you might get a bit of an aero advantage but much more importantly they look pretty cool.

DT use aluminium nipples, not something I'm too much of a fan of on training wheels that are likely see a lot of poor weather and the odd bit of road salt. I've had plenty in the past that have corroded and split so would ideally like to see brass. Because they poke out externally from the rim you can true the wheel without having to remove the tyre and tube, not that I've needed to, as they've stayed as straight as a die for the test period.

As far as disc mounting goes, the hubs are designed for Shimano's Center Lock where the rotor slides on and is then held in place with what is basically a freewheel lockring. In the box you get a pair of Center Lock/IS adaptors if you are using six-bolt rotors.

Out on the road the R24s feel very tight and stiff, being borderline harsh, but thanks to the 28mm tyres (which fitted with absolute ease by the way) you can knock a bit of the pressure out to increase comfort. At 1810g for the pair, acceleration isn't razor sharp but it's far from sluggish and once rolling are easy to keep moving, with the bearings running beautifully smooth.

There isn't a huge amount in the way of competition out there at the moment but they are lighter and cheaper than Mavic's Askium Disc although I haven't personally ridden them yet to be able to compare ride quality. I'd take the R24s over the similarly weighted Shimano RX31s, though, the DT Swiss offering a much tighter ride and better all-round feel.

Overall, the R24s deliver exactly what they are intended for: a hardwearing, durable training wheelset that has still got enough zip and performance to provide a rapid ride. In fact the only time the weight becomes noticeable is when pulling away from a standing start.

Build quality is excellent. Plenty of potholes and rough roads were clattered over during the 800km of testing and they are still running as true as the day they were delivered, and from previous experience I'd expect them to stay that way too.

Verdict

Great addition to the disc wheel marketplace offering a good balance of speed, weight and price

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: DT Swiss R24 Spline wheelset

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product 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?

DT Swiss say "At the core of this all round wheelset lies a brand new aluminium rim with its balanced width to stiffness to weight ratio. The R 24 SPLINE® DB is built around it and features a proven pawl system freewheel as well as a high end build with bladed spokes and elaborate alloy nipples. With these features it is a premium training wheel, be it for road or cyclocross use" I think they are pretty spot on, the R24s are perfect for training or as a do-anything wheelset thanks to solid build quality. I appreciate Campagnolo haven't made it to the disc market yet, but the lack of freehub is a bit of an omission in my eyes.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Rims : Clincher, tubeless compatible.

Hub: Shimano 11spd (Washer included for 8,9 & 10spd)

Spokes: DT Aero, DT Aero Comp 2-cross, 24 f & r

Nipples: DT Pro Lock aluminium

Disk fitment: Centre Lock (IS adaptor included)

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
 
7/10

Need big tyres to take the sting out.

Rate the product for value:
 
8/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

They are solid, dependable wheels which offer a spirited ride.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The build quality

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The lack of a Campagnolo option

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? I now have

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?

The R24s are a very good wheelset for their intended purpose with a decent weight per cost ratio which puts them above the competition.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 36  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: Kinesis T2  My best bike is: Mason Definition

I've been riding for: 10-20 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,

 

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

Add new comment

16 comments

Avatar
rookybiker | 8 years ago
2 likes

@Flying Scot:

DT Swiss also offers freehubs for Campag but unfortunately it is sold separately and is thus an additional expense.

There is a way to use discs with Campagnolo today, as Ergo brake levers work well with mechanical disc calipers.

Avatar
wilkij1975 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Yeah considered those too. Read that they're not particularly stiff which at my weight might not be a good thing. I emailed about the rider weight too and they were a bit non committal. Maybe I'm just getting too hung up on weight limits?

Avatar
Luv2ride | 8 years ago
0 likes

Don't forget the Kinesis Crosslight disc. Set mine up as tubeless with Stans rim tape, vale and sealant and have been running sweet. Bought another pair so have one for road slicks and another for off-road tubeless. £244 at Winstanleys:
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/67027/Kinesis_CrossLight_CXDis...

Avatar
wilkij1975 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Pro-Lite Revo were my other choice for £315 off Wiggle. Don't know much about them though. I liked the look of the Hunt wheels but am too heavy for their recommended rider weight too!

Avatar
Stefan M | 8 years ago
0 likes

Just waiting for my set of Mason X Hunt 4 Season disc wheels. A bit more expensive at £349 but tubeless ready and only 1585g. I've been waiting for disc/tubeless/good weight/good price for a while now and these do like like they'll be perfect.

Great to see better value disc wheels in the market.

Avatar
wilkij1975 | 8 years ago
0 likes

I'd be pushing it then!

Avatar
Leodis | 8 years ago
0 likes

Maximum system weight: 110 kg.

http://www.bike24.com/p252827.html

Avatar
wilkij1975 | 8 years ago
0 likes

Any thoughts on how good they would be for the heavier rider? I've been considering these for a while but being ~100kg and with a relatively low spoke count, I've resisted so far. I have owned a set of older Aksiums with no problems though so I suspect they'd be OK.

Avatar
Leodis | 8 years ago
0 likes

I use the R23's and they are nice but I the rear hub is making a right racket since I got them.

Avatar
sergius | 8 years ago
0 likes

I'm not sure I understand their naming conventions I have to say. Is the only difference between these and the R23 Spline Discs I just got on my new bike the weight?

@amazon22, if they are similar to the R23's (the tech sheets on the DT Swiss site say they share the same freewheel), then very noisy. I've only had Shimano wheels before which are silent, the noise of the freewheel was a bit of a shock to me.

Avatar
amazon22 replied to sergius | 8 years ago
0 likes
sergius wrote:

@amazon22, if they are similar to the R23's (the tech sheets on the DT Swiss site say they share the same freewheel), then very noisy. I've only had Shimano wheels before which are silent, the noise of the freewheel was a bit of a shock to me.

Thanks - that's a shame - my Ultegra hubs (with DT Swiss rims) are completely silent and I wouldn't want anything different. Freewheeling down a quiet lane in silence is too precious - I guess I'l have to wait for Shimano to come up with similar goods.

Avatar
Roval replied to sergius | 8 years ago
0 likes

The R23's and R24's are similar in terms of hub technology but different in other ways. The 23's have a nicer finish on the hub and are lighter because the rims are sleeved. The 24's are the entry level DT wheels the hubs are painted black and the rims are pinned.

Avatar
Flying Scot | 8 years ago
1 like

I suppose the lack of a campag freehub body is just to discourage you from braking on the rims seeing as campag have no disc solutions.

Avatar
amazon22 | 8 years ago
0 likes

How noisy or quiet is the freewheel?

Avatar
barbarus | 8 years ago
0 likes

Just a question; are they sealed cartridge or cup and cone bearings? Maybe I've missed something but I couldn't see.

Also, although they are lighter, at this list price they are more expensive than Mavic's Aksium one Disc which my LBS are selling at rrp of £175. Would you say they are better? These could be the upgrade that I am looking for!

Avatar
Roval replied to barbarus | 8 years ago
0 likes

DT only uses sealed bearings in their hubs. You can check this very easily by removing an end cap and you'll see the bearings are sealed ones.

Latest Comments