- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
review
£360.00
VERDICT:
Strong enough to train on, light enough to race on
Weight:
1,520g
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 meanGood 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
Scribe has delivered a double whammy with its new Race wheelset. Not only are they light enough to compete with similar depth carbon fibre wheels, they'll cost you at least half the price. And to achieve the numbers on the scale, Scribe hasn't sacrificed on strength or stiffness either.
- Pros: Impressive weight and build quality; a lot of wheels for the money
- Cons: Not much, as long as you don't mind a pretty loud freehub
If you're searching for lightweight wheels as a general upgrade for riding or even racing, carbon fibre rims are typically the go-to option. But the Scribe Race wheels show that you can have pretty much all of the performance and stiffness of carbon in alloy guise without the price tag.
For your £360 you're getting a set of wheels that weigh just 1,492g (without rim tape), and under hard acceleration or sprinting up short, sharp climbs the Scribes don't flex at all, so brake rub isn't an issue. Scribe has achieved this performance by using a hardened, heat-treated alloy for the rim design.
The rims themselves are 26mm deep with an internal width of 19mm, which gives an external measurement across the brake tracks of 24mm. This size works well with the 25mm and 28mm tyres I used them with, leaving a smooth transition between tyre and rim.
The Race wheels are tubeless ready and also have a ramped rim bed to aid the fitting of tubeless tyres. It helps the tyres slide up into the rim bead to hook onto the wheel. The design also has a 'bead lock' which stops the tyre separating from the rim when being ridden at low pressures.
For the spokes Scribe has used Sapim's CX-Rays – 20 on the front wheel and 24 on the rear.
The CX-Rays are tough spokes, used by a lot of wheelbuilders. On the thousands I've miles I've ridden them on various wheels, I've never had any issues.
This build has proved itself to be tough and robust. I don't go out of my way to wreck wheels but I'll certainly put them through much more abuse than if they were my own.
I whacked a fair few potholes during testing and even tried them out on a bit of gravel with no problems at all other than them going a tiny bit out of true. It wasn't by loads, though – I didn't need to adjust the brakes or anything.
Hubs
The rear hub is exclusive to Scribe and uses a ratchet drive system rather than the more usual pawl system.
You can find full details here in our First Look piece, but basically it uses a 54-tooth ratchet ring in the freehub which engages a 54-tooth plate threaded into the hub shell thanks to an internal leaf spring.
There is just 6.6 degrees between tooth locations so drive is instant, and just how instant is clear when you are moving from a standing start after track standing at the lights.
When freewheeling, the hub has quite a buzz to it which will certainly get you noticed if you are trying to take it easy on someone's wheel.
Ride quality is also excellent: plenty of stiffness without any harshness making it through. You can control comfort levels with tyre pressure, but on a like-for-like basis with other similar wheels I have in my shed they are a pleasure to ride.
The bearings run smoothly and spin effortlessly when you have the wheels in your hands. Scribe offers the build with two options: endurance bearings and race bearings. The endurance option is the default and is what we have here. They come with better sealing so ideal for all-weather use.
If the wheels are going to be kept for sunny days only then you can go for the race bearings, which are non-contact for quicker and smoother spinning according to Scribe. There is no cost for the upgrade.
Value
Adding all of this up, the Scribes offer very good value for money.
A similar design from Miche, its Neon Black on Black wheelset, weighs in at 1,598g and costs £534.99. We had a few issues with those, too, straight out of the box.
> Buyer's Guide: 37 of the best road bike wheelsets
Two sets of wheels that I have been very impressed with are the Pacenti Forza Rim Brakes and the JRA Lark Lights.
The Scribes sit neatly in the middle. The Pacentis cost £350 with a weight of 1,414g, and the JRAs are £414.80 with an upgrade to CX-Ray spokes and weigh 1,460g.
Both are excellent wheelsets, and it shows how good the Scribes are to be able to list them as direct competition.
Conclusion
If you want a performance set of do-it-all wheels, the Scribes are excellent and well worth considering. They offer plenty of stiffness, durability and performance at a cracking price. The only thing you might be sacrificing over a deeper carbon fibre offering is the aero advantage.
Verdict
Strong enough to train on, light enough to race on
road.cc test report
Make and model: Scribe Race wheelset
Size tested: 700C
Tell us what the wheel 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?
Scribe says, "The Scribe Race wheels were design to be just that: Race-ready! Our lightweight design places them amongst carbon alternatives and by using hardened alloys, these hoops are robust. The Race's are an excellent, performance alloy wheel set for those chasing a lightweight edge. An excellent upgrade for those not interested in carbon.
"The Race Alloys are exceptionally lightweight and pound-for-pound, feature amongst the best performance alloy wheels out there. Partnered with lightning fast Scribe Five4 hubs (54-tooth / 6.6 degree engagement), these wheels respond FAST, offering unrivalled levels of performance.
"The Wide 19mm internal profile gives you the option to fit wide tyres for increased stability when cornering, and increased speed due to improved rolling resistance - especially when ran as tubeless."
Scribe has delivered a very good wheelset at a great price.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel?
Scribe lists these features:
Depth 26mm
Material Hardened, Super-Lightweight Alloy
Type
Clincher Tubeless Ready
Rim Width (external) 24mm
Rim Width (internal) 19mm
Spoke Pattern / Hole Count Front (1:1 - Radial) 20H, Rear (2:1 - Radial, 2x) 24H
Rims
Hardened, heat treated rim design - super lightweight and responsive
20 hole Front | 24 hole Rear
Tubeless ready design gives you the option to have increased puncture resistance, faster-rolling wheels and improved weight (works with standard tube also)
4-D precision drilled spoke holes - directs spokes exactly to hub anchor point
Ramped rim bed for easy tyre fitment
Bead lock design for secure tyre binding, even at lower pressures
Hubs
Unique, high-speed Ratchet Drive system Exclusive to Scribe. Check out our latest hub blog
54-tooth engagement ring with super-fast drive rate (6.6 degree)
Heat treated stainless steel drive ring
Enlarged drive-side flange for increased torsional strength
Fully CNC'd rounded design with 4-D precision drilled spoke holes
Shimano/SRAM 8/9/10/11 speed freehub body fitted (SRAM XDR Driver also available
Bearings
You choose! Bearings are an essential component of wheels and it's important your bearings perform as you want them to. All of our wheels come with a fast Endurance bearing as standard but we also offer a Race bearing for those racing, or riding in drier weather. If you would prefer Race bearings, please tell us in the notes section when purchasing and your wheels will arrive with this standard. *there is no additional charge for bearing swop
Endurance bearings: these bearings are fast, and designed to stand the test of time so you can ride as much as you want, with confidence your bearings will keep spinning smoothly
Race bearings: incredibly fast, sealed, non-contact bearings. Spin up effortlessly and allow you to glide at speed. *not recommended for long periods of wet riding
Spokes and Nipples
The Scribe Race wheels use the Sapim CX-Ray as it's considered to be the most aerodynamic spoke on the market. At 4.25g each, and almost as light as Titanium, we can build you a super-lightweight wheel set that allows you to get up to speed faster
The unique drawing, and specifically pressed process produces fast, bladed Aero spoke (2.0mm - 0.9/2.2mm - 2.0mm)
By using fatigue-resistant 18/8 stainless steel, CX-Ray spokes have exceptionally high durability properties and will stand the test of time.
Straight-pull for increased torsional strength
20 hole front / 24 hole rear
Read more about Sapim spokes - Sapim.de
For nipples, we use Alloy Sapim double square head
Quick Release (QR)
Super-light alloy QR
Alloy pivoted cam plate for smooth action, but with strong locking bind
Stainless steel springs for anti-rust (weather) protection
Rate the wheel for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the wheel for performance:
9/10
Great stiffness levels mean these wheels perform very well indeed.
Rate the wheel for durability:
8/10
Rate the wheel for weight
9/10
Rate the wheel for value:
8/10
Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?
They went a little out of true, but less than a millimetre so not really an issue and that took some abuse to cause it.
How easy did you find it to fit tyres?
No issues at all with fitting tyres, either with a tube or tubeless.
How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?
The included rim tape worked spot on with a tubeless setup and the skewers did their job without issue. You also get a pair of tubeless valves and spare spokes included in the box.
Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose
They cover pretty much every aspect of road riding.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel
The balance of weight versus stiffness.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel
Nothing really stands out.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
Cheaper than a lot of the big brands like the Miche wheels I mention in the review, and pricing is very competitive against some of the other excellent wheels from the likes of JRA and Pacenti.
Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes
Would you consider buying the wheel? Yes
Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
An excellent all-round package of a set of wheels that are just as at home on your training bike as they are on your race bike.
About the tester
Age: 41
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 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!
Latest Comments
- Hirsute 2 hours 41 min ago
Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
- lonpfrb 3 hours 1 min ago
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
- lonpfrb 3 hours 27 min ago
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
- TheBillder 4 hours 13 min ago
In that £1000 exactly scenario, beginners should probably be made aware that pedals will be extra.
- don simon fbpe 4 hours 41 min ago
What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
- chrisonabike 5 hours 22 min ago
The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
- ktache 6 hours 1 min ago
Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
- Veganpotter 6 hours 58 min ago
My bet is that all these tires popping off are from people with bad pressure gauges or they're simply just putting too much air in on purpose. ...
- chrisonabike 8 hours 14 min ago
David9694 - you were right! These new autonomous vehicles really are conspiring to run out of control!...
Add new comment
10 comments
I got these as winter wheels, I only fitted them last month though but so far I have been very impressed. They might be the previous version though as the free hub is relatively quiet.
Are replacement rims available? My gripe with so many wheels is that replacement rims are either not available or cost more than a new wheel. Rims wear out. If replacement rims are available at a reasonable price I would jump at these.
Hi iandusud, thanks for leaving a comment. Yes, replacement rims will be available in the near future. We don't have these on site yet as we haven't really needed them; yet. As with all of our spares, these will of course be priced at a low cost. Our objective at Scribe is to create the best wheels possible for the money and we will NEVER try and sting customers with expensive aftermarket parts when they need them most! We've been there too when you try to buy a replacement part, only to find the price is probably more than you could get for your winter bike. Our customer service, and after service care is excellent iandusud and we'll look after you :-). We're too new of a company for this to be mainstream news but we go above and beyond for our customers. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions at all, give us a shout on chat/ email - Alan.
Hi Alan,
That's really good to hear and will ensure that you get my business when I need my next set of wheels (simply because the rims have worn out!). It's not just a financial issue - it's an ecological one, where we've created an economic model where we just throw stuff away and replace instead of repairing. Well done to you. Ian
Hi Ian, thanks for getting back.
Awesome and thank you for the support! :-). Yes, absolutely agree and we're definitely on the same page as we're fixers at this end too. I've blown a few rims out in the past through wear & tear and there's nothing worse than not being able to get a replacement at a sensible price! We know the pain.
Thanks Ian and if you need help with anything Scribe, just give us a shout. Alan.
Very tough market in that price area with so many options including handbuilt, you could get brand new Dura Ace on Open Pros for not much more not that long ago. I bought a pair of lightly used DA9000 hubs on Velocity rims in the summer in 28/24, cost me £250, lovely wheels.
Hi CyclingInBeastMode, thanks for leaving a comment and very good points. I completely agree and the market is tough around this price point :-). Our single goal at Scribe is to offer the best pound-for-pound wheels possible to give riders amazing wheels for the money. With the Race wheels for example, we're offering a 54-tooth Ratchet drive hub system that's new technology to the market, and is very similar to DT Swiss' New EXP. I did a quick search on Google there now and a just a rear DT Swiss EXP hub costs ~£370, with the matching fornt ~£200. For only £360 (price of Race wheels), riders are getting this level of hub technology and they're still very lightweight, comes with Sapim CX Ray spokes, and has 3-year warranty as standard. We also offer an array of low cost spares that are readily available if/ when customers need these. Yes, we are of course very biased (
) but we like to think they're worth every pound. We've been getting amazing feedback from customers on these wheels also and have riders atually choose them as their race wheels over carbon which is pretty cool :-).
I went to the Scribe website not too long ago and only saw their carbon offerings available. I had thought maybe they'd discontinued alloy offerings.
Hi sammutd88,
Alan here from Scribe. Guessing you are outside of Europe? We had to switch our Alloy range off temporarily as the programme we use to convert to native currency (as in your native currency) kept automaically adjusting incorrectly. This only happened when we added 2 additional collections (Alloy Disc and Alloy rim brake). This has been fixed and if you check back now, you should see the ranges, along with pricing :-). I hope this helps sammutd88 and if you have any further questions, give us a shout on team [at] scribecycling.com
Exactly the issue. Good work, will be looking into these when I need new wheels, sooner than later.