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review

Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher Wheelset

8
£152.99

VERDICT:

8
10
If weight isn't your primary concern, these wheels offer great performance with excellent durability and strength
Weight: 
2,145g

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The Pro-Lite Garda DS alloy clincher wheelset is a great pair of wheels for a commuter bike or your training bike. They have excellent build quality and they ride really well.

These were my first upgrade from the stock wheels that my bike came with and the difference is noticeable. They aren't the lightest on the market, but I'm not racing, just looking for something well built and dependable.

> Find your nearest dealer here

> Buy these online here

They're tightly built and pick up speed as soon as you kick off the pedals and give you that joyful feeling of instant reaction. Like any new wheels, they have a little settling in period, where you may hear the odd ping from the spokes settling, but they quickly stopped and were silent.

Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher Wheelset - rim

They acquitted themselves very well both on the flats and the climbs. Braking felt quick and consistent, meaning the rim surface was good. They reacted well in both wet and dry conditions.

The wheels are designed for 9 to 11-speed cassettes and come with a body spacer in the set, as well as quick release skewers. I just changed my tubes and tyres over; I was swapping to winter tyres anyway so it was just a case of moving the cassette at the same time.

Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher Wheelset - rear hub

The wheels have a depth of 30mm, with the clincher being 21mm and 14.8mm just under the rim. That's narrow compared with a lot of current rims, which tend to be 17mm and often more. Good news if you're running 23mm or 25mm tyres, and they'll work okay with 28s too, but wider tyres are better mated to wider rims.

Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher Wheelset - rim bed

The Garda hubs use two bearing types in the rear wheel, two sealed and two cup and cone. Pro-Lite says that these four bearings offer 'a stable feel and improve power transfer', and I've had no issues with either stability or power transfer during testing, so the wheels make good on that claim. The front hub has two sealed bearings. The freehub body also has a grease port which makes adding a bit of grease an easy job, something that's really good to see on an inexpensive wheelset.

Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher Wheelset - front hub

The wheels are laced with 3.2mm steel Sandvik aero spokes and the wheel is set true. I ride on roads all winter, and there are a lot of potholes. The wheels are robust and despite having encountered a few rough patches over the last month, they have stayed true and strong.

> Check out our buyer's guide to road bike wheels here

Pro-Lite hand-builds all of its wheelsets, even down to training wheels like these Gardas. They're a very well made pair of wheels that should keep you rolling for a long time.

Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher Wheelset - rim detail

In terms of value they stack up very well. They're comparable in terms of weight to other wheels at the same price, and the performance is excellent. Spend £50-£60 more and you can make a weight saving of between 200g and 400g which might be tempting if you're looking for a more performance-orientated wheelset. But if your budget is limited and you want quality and performance, these are a really great option. Pro-Lite also offers a two-year warranty.

Verdict

If weight isn't your primary concern, these wheels offer great performance with excellent durability and strength

road.cc test report

Make and model: Pro-Lite Garda DS Alloy Clincher 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?

The wheels are aimed at cyclists wanting to train or race. Pro-Lite says: "Previously only available to select markets, the Garda is now available to the public. the Garda is a robust, smooth-rolling wheel that can provide the longevity of a training wheel with the heart of a racing wheel. A simple and classic setup of a low profile pinned rim laced to a cartridge bearing hub with a sexy new duplex spoke pattern lays the foundation of a great wheel that just keeps on going, mile after mile and year after year."

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

Rim Type: Pinned 6061 Clincher

Rim Finish: Matt Black (Anodized)

Spokes: 20 (Paired)Front / 24 (Paired) Rear

Shape: 3.2mm Aero

Material: Sandvik Stainless Steel

Nipple Material+Gauge: Brass 14G

Lacing: Radial (Duplex Spoke Pattern)Front / 2-Cross (Duplex Spoke Pattern)Rear

Hub Bearings: 2 Cartridge Front / 2 Cartridge + 2 Cup & Cone Rear

Freehub Type: Shimano

Freehub Material: Steel

Axle Width (O.L.D.): 100mm Front / 130mm Rear

Axle Material: Alloy Front / Cro-Mo Rear

Skewer Type: QR

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

The wheels are really well made.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

I can see these lasting mile after mile.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
6/10
Rate the product for value:
 
10/10

A really good value wheelset.

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

The wheels felt strong and gave a smooth ride.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

I liked the price. For everything you get, they make an excellent first upgrade.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your score

The wheels aren't really light, but they ride really well. As a first upgrade to someone new to road biking, they are brilliant.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 35  Height: 158cm  Weight: 61kg

I usually ride: Scott Contessa  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, mountain biking

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
nortonpdj | 8 years ago
1 like

"These were my first upgrade from the stock wheels that my bike came with and the difference is noticeable" - blimey, I dread to think what the stock wheels were.

Avatar
proliteguy | 8 years ago
0 likes

Many thanks Dave .

Avatar
dave atkinson | 8 years ago
1 like

yes, they're hand built. apologies for the mix up, review has been amended.

Avatar
eschelar | 8 years ago
1 like

Pro-Lite doesn't own machines for building wheels. All Pro-Lite wheels are hand-built. It also says so on the wheel overview video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjix_KsSjzs at 0:55

These are intended as winter/training wheels. So yeah, they are heavier. They also use cro-mo freebody/axle which last pretty nearly forever. 3.2mm spokes are also just about bomb-proof.

If you're a light rider who just wants a light wheelset, that's fine. These are solid, very durable wheels that perform pretty decent too (see above article). 

You can check out wheels that cost half as much made in China using machines or whatever if you like, but the review is saying that the wheels are pretty good overall and the specs say that the wheel is strong like ox. This review isn't about those wheels.

Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. You can have lots of fun with the cheapest crap available. That's true of almost anything out there. But there's a reason it's cheaper. And you might just find out the hard way. With bicycle wheels, there's always a chance that the first part of your body to discover the true cost of your bargain basement purchase is your face.

At least with this review, you can see a real guy has taken them out and ridden them. Not only have they not folded like a soggy burrito at the first pothole, they actually rode pretty well. 

Avatar
Vejnemojnen | 8 years ago
0 likes

Overpriced and heavy as hell

 

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/xtreme-road-wheel-set-28700c-r-490--s...

 

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/road-wheel-set-28700c-xtreme-r-490--s...

 

64 spokes, 105 hubs, reasonable rims, less than a hundred..

Avatar
Chris James | 8 years ago
0 likes

Or 3.2mm nipples? Actually, scratch that, the tech info says they are bladed spokes so 3.2 will just be the width of the flat

Avatar
freebsd_frank | 8 years ago
0 likes

3.2mm spokes? Are you sure that shouldn't be 2.3mm?

 

Good to see them using brass nipples.

 

Heavy though. My wheels which I built myself are 600g lighter, even though I wasn't building them to be light; durability being my prime consideration: Hope Mono RS hubs, DT RR440 rims (asymetric rear) and DT Revolution/Sapim Laser spokes (32 rear, 28 front). Cost me ~£350.

 

 

Avatar
themuffle replied to freebsd_frank | 8 years ago
1 like
freebsd_frank wrote:

Heavy though. My wheels which I built myself are 600g lighter, even though I wasn't building them to be light; durability being my prime consideration: Hope Mono RS hubs, DT RR440 rims (asymetric rear) and DT Revolution/Sapim Laser spokes (32 rear, 28 front). Cost me ~£350.

 

Really  your wheels are lighter??! But then again you did build them yourself and they cost £200 more......

Avatar
Danger Dicko replied to freebsd_frank | 8 years ago
0 likes
freebsd_frank wrote:

3.2mm spokes? Are you sure that shouldn't be 2.3mm?

 

Good to see them using brass nipples.

 

Heavy though. My wheels which I built myself are 600g lighter, even though I wasn't building them to be light; durability being my prime consideration: Hope Mono RS hubs, DT RR440 rims (asymetric rear) and DT Revolution/Sapim Laser spokes (32 rear, 28 front). Cost me ~£350.

 

 

So your wheels are more like these then?

http://road.cc/content/review/150504-pro-lite-bortola-a21-wheelset

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