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Hunt unveils "world's fastest aero-tested alloy disc-brake wheels"

Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc will be available later in the year for £479

Hunt has unveiled what it says is the fastest aero-tested alloy disc-brake wheelset in the world: the Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc. The Sussex-based brand claims that the design is faster than Zipp's 32mm-deep carbon 202 NSW when paired with a 28mm wide tyre.

HUNT-34-Aero-Wide-Disc-Front-Wheel.jpg

We've told you before about the 48 Limitless Aero Disc wheels that Hunt claims are faster than any other wheels of their kind with either 25mm or 28mm tyres fitted; the Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc wheels have come out of the same development programme. 

"All of the learnings and knowledge from our 48 Limitless project have been brought into an alloy disc-brake road wheelset, developed and tested by aerodynamicist and Hunt Engineering Product Manager Luisa Grappone (MSc Aerospace Engineering)," says Hunt. 

Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc 4

"The new Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc (using the Mavic Wind Averaged Drag calculation with a 25mm Schwalbe Pro One tyre), outperforms the world-leading alloy aero disc brake wheels.

Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc 2

"The broad shape and large radius spoke bed profile developed by Luisa for the Limitless project allows excellent transfer of airflow from tyre to the rim and then around the spoke bed to ensure low aerodynamic drag at a wide range of yaw angles."

Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc 3

Hunt says that the 34 Aero Wide Disc wheels are more aerodynamically efficient than Zipp's carbon-fibre 202 NSWs with Schwalbe Pro One 28mm tyres fitted, although it doesn't say how the wheels compare when fitted with 25mm tyres.

Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc1

As the name suggests, the Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc is 34mm deep, and Hunt says that the 26mm-wide rim is the broadest road aero alloy profile ever developed. Hunt uses 6069-T6 alloy to keep the weight down, the total wheelset coming in at a claimed 1,548g.

HUNT-34-Aero-Wide-Disc-Wheelset-ETRTO.jpg

The wheels use Hunt Sprint hubs (with a 7.5° engagement on the freehub) and Elliptical Pillar PSR Wing spokes. They fit all current axle sizes.

HUNT-34-Aero-Wide-Disc-Wheelset-In-House-Aero-Research.jpg

The Hunt 34 Aero Wide Disc wheelset is priced at £479 and is currently available for pre-order with delivery expected in September. 

HUNT-34-Aero-Wide-Disc-Rear-Hub.jpg

For more info on the wheel testing go to www.huntbikewheels.com 

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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6 comments

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Ogi | 4 years ago
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I'm curious to know who built the rims. Also, I can't see the rim weight details in the article. Zipp 202 NSW comparison is all nice and good, but key competitor to these wheels/rims will be Kinlin XR31T rim - £50ish. pounds per rim, also known to be quite a solid aero performer.

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ped replied to Ogi | 4 years ago
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Ogi wrote:

I'm curious to know who built the rims. Also, I can't see the rim weight details in the article. Zipp 202 NSW comparison is all nice and good, but key competitor to these wheels/rims will be Kinlin XR31T rim - £50ish. pounds per rim, also known to be quite a solid aero performer.

Quite happy to be told otherwise, but I thought (i.e. the interwebs told me) that Kinlin made Hunt's rims. 

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Vovis | 4 years ago
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Not mentioned "will arrive pre-taped for tubeless setup and come with tubeless valves as standard. "

Very competitive price for set and good value considering added areo benefit.

Just a week ago I was searching for  wider TL-ready rims and ended ordering  Roval carbon set c38 with 21mm internal, 26.6mm extrernal width, DT Swiss 350 hubs , 1560 g.

38 mm means also a bit more of aero benefit.

Of course price of Roval is double compared to the Hunt.

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Scoob_84 | 4 years ago
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Rim brakes are the issue there Toffee. There only so wide a rim can go. 

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sammutd88 replied to Scoob_84 | 4 years ago
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Scoob_84 wrote:

Rim brakes are the issue there Toffee. There only so wide a rim can go. 

 

Some rim brake carbon wheels are out at 27-28mm wide and more. I can't see that being an issue, especially at 26mm. 

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Toffee | 4 years ago
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They sound like an awesome set of wheels to me, but do they fancy making a rim brake version? I realise disc is the future and all that, but come on Hunt, you know you want to.

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