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review

CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset

6
£865.00

VERDICT:

6
10
Solid wheels suitable for year round training, if uncompetitive on price and weight
120kg weight limit
Brass spoke nipples
Robust, dependable build
Weighty
Not as wide as many rivals
Weight: 
1,734g

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The CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset is solid and dependable, aero enough to provide a decent boost over stock box section wheels, yet still shallow enough to be manageable in most weather conditions. The brass spoke nipples and pre-fitted tubeless rim tape make them easy to set up and service, but they are a fair chunk heavier than many of their rivals in this extremely competitive sector – and pricier than some, too.

The sub £1,000 carbon wheel sector is as competitive as ever and, if you watched our recent testing video comparing entry-level, midrange and high-end wheels, you'll know you can get some very handy carbon for less than you might expect.

At 1,734g on our scales (with tubeless tape and the heavier 11-speed Shimano freehub body) these come in a decent chunk above their 1,615g claimed weight.

2022 CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset.jpg

As we're often told, aerodynamics rule supreme on the vast majority of rides, but it's worth noting that if you live in a hilly area, wheelset weight plays a more significant role.

2023 CES Draig 50 wheelset on scales.jpg

If that's you, less expensive 50mm deep wheels such as the Hunt 50 Carbon Aero Disc (£745) come in a fair bit lighter. Those are a claimed 1,487g. They also happen to be wheels with a Giro D'Italia stage win to their name...

Whilst the Draig (Welsh for Dragon) pair carry a little extra timber, it's impossible to fault the build quality and/or durability.

Firstly, the wheels are laced up using brass nipples, which likely adds in the region of 70g over alloy ones, but vastly increases the service intervals. Whereas in typical UK conditions I usually get two years out of aluminium nipples, I am yet to need to replace any brass nipples even on a wheelset (Roval CL50) approaching four years old.

2022 CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset - spoke nipple.jpg

If you're happy to sacrifice a little weight in return for a vast reduction in maintenance, I can't recommend brass spoke nipples enough.

Also contributing to the weight is the spoke count. It's very common to find 24 in the rear wheel, as here, but whilst 24 at the front isn't uncommon it's far less of a given – many wheels look for every possible way to shed weight. For example, the comparable 50mm Scribes have 21 spokes up front.

The upside is a max weight limit of 120kg though, which isn't always the case with carbon hoops. Despite being a lighter rider I am confident in the robustness of the CES build; during several months of winter abuse I often ventured offroad or simply put them through potholes and battered into kerbs.

2022 CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset - rim detail.jpg

The rims themselves follow recent trends with a U-shaped profile designed to be stable in gusty conditions. Out on the road the Draig 50 wheels are indeed predictable, and I would happily use them year round no matter the weather conditions. If you're considering upgrading from stock to your first carbon wheels, 50mm deep ones like these are ideal – you get an aero benefit but not the uncontrollable buffeting in sidewinds.

The Draig 50s measure up at 20mm internally and 27mm externally. A few years ago this might have been considered wide, but these days there are plenty wider on the market. I personally train and now race on 28mm tyres, and most aero research (including our own) indicates that wheels are fastest when they're slightly wider than the tyres fitted to them.

2022 CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset - rim bed.jpg

In my own experience wider wheels are also more stable; I'd therefore personally opt for something wider than 27mm externally if your frame allows it – something like the Hunt 44 Aerodynamicists, for example.

The hubs are BiTex BX106s, again a solid choice. Bitex thru axle hubs have a decent reputation for durability, and spare parts and bearings are readily available. Alone these retail for around £170 for the pair.

2022 CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset - rear hub.jpg

I couldn't find the engagement angle or freehub tooth count on the CES website, but if my counting is correct then it's a 48t system with an engagement angle of 7.5 degrees. Most riders will find this the sweetspot between good pickup and acceleration from low speeds and excessive dragginess or buzzing when freewheeling at high speeds.

Value

This is one of the most competitive sectors in the entire cycling industry. For instance, last winter I ordered myself a set of Light Bicycle wheels that after duty cost a very similar price, in a comparable build with Sapim spokes, brass nipples, DT Swiss 350 hubs and tubeless rims. However, those are not only wider at 21/30mm, they're deeper at 56mm and still nearly 200g lighter.

In fact, there are quite a few comparable wheelsets that are much lighter for this kind of money. Scribe's Core Wide 50-D wheels are substantially less at 1,448g, don't struggle at all for durability or stiffness, and are £799. They were previously known as the Aero Wide 50-Ds, by the way. We've also reviewed (and loved) the Hunt 50 Carbon Aero Disc wheels, which are 1,472g and will set you back £749. They were actually the 4050s when we did that review, but only the depth of the front wheel has really changed.

Meanwhile the £749 Vel 50 RL Carbon Tubeless Disc Wheelset also features 50mm deep rims, 24 spokes front and rear, brass spoke nipples and are tubeless ready, and they weighed 1,660g on our scales. Really, this is the sort of price the Draigs need to beat to be competitive.

Overall

There's really nothing wrong with the Draig 50s, and they're a solid choice for anyone looking to upgrade their stock wheelset. They're well built, dependable and specced appropriately for UK roads and conditions – it's just that, when you can quite easily get cheaper and lighter interpretations elsewhere, they're quite hard to recommend.

Verdict

Solid wheels suitable for year round training, if uncompetitive on price and weight

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road.cc test report

Make and model: CES Sport Draig 50 wheelset

Size tested: External Width – 27mm Internal Width – 20mm Depth – 50 mm

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?

CES Sport says: "As a rider, you want performance and reliability. Whether you ride triathlon, sportives or just for fun, CES Sport has the right wheel for you. We are passionate about hand-built cycle wheels as our experienced mechanics will tell you."

The Draig 50s are dependable wheels that I would happily ride year-round. Unfortunately for CES, there are similar alternatives available for less.

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

Material – Toray T800 Full Carbon

Tubeless Compatible

UD Matte Finish

External Width – 27mm

Internal Width – 20mm

Depth – 50 mm

Rim Weight – 490 +/- 15g

Wheelset Weight – 1615 +/- 30g

Hubs: BiTex BX106 (12*100/12*142)

Elliptical Spokes – Pillar PSR Wing 21 with brass nipples

Spoke Count: 24/24

Free Tubeless Rim Tape (Fitted)

Warranty – 2 years

Max weight limit 120kg

Max Tyre Pressure 130psi

Rate the wheel for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the wheel for performance:
 
7/10

As you'd expect from a wheelset with a high spoke count these are impressively stiff. Acceleration feels okay thanks to a good choice of engagement angle, but the weight does mean other 50mm wheels feel quicker to get up to speed.

Rate the wheel for durability:
 
8/10

Impressive, and brass spoke nipples should increase the service intervals.

Rate the wheel for weight
 
5/10

These are weighty wheels, even taking the high spoke count and brass nipples in to account.

Rate the wheel for value:
 
4/10

There are similar wheels out there for less.

Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?

No issues, and the wheels stayed true.

How easy did you find it to fit tyres?

I fitted several sets of tyres, both tubeless and with tubes, and had no problems.

How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?

Wheels come pretaped and ready for tubeless.

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

Good - everything worked fine and as expected.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel

They're dependable. This is a wheelset that could take all the abuse I threw at it.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel

The high weight means they're not exactly lively.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

As mentioned in the review, there are similar wheels out there for less. For example, it's hard to differentiate the Draig 50s from the Vel 50 RLs which are £115 cheaper and scored an 8/10. For £865 you can find or build lighter, wider and deeper wheels.

Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes

Would you consider buying the wheel? Not at RRP

Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes - but not at RRP

Use this box to explain your overall score

They're decent wheels with good hubs and spokes, and nice brass spoke nipples. The rims also don't disappoint, but similar builds are £100+ cheaper, often lighter, and wider for greater stability with wider tyres. These are decent wheels in themselves, but hard to recommend over the competition.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 23  Height: 6ft  Weight: 74kg

I usually ride: Specialized venge pro 2019  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,

Jamie has been riding bikes since a tender age but really caught the bug for racing and reviewing whilst studying towards a master's in Mechanical engineering at Swansea University. Having graduated, he decided he really quite liked working with bikes and is now a full-time addition to the road.cc team. When not writing about tech news or working on the Youtube channel, you can still find him racing local crits trying to cling on to his cat 2 licence...and missing every break going...

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11 comments

Avatar
CESSport | 10 months ago
0 likes

On the whole a positive write up, just a little dissapointed to be docked a huge 40% based on the price of the wheels, which lets be honest in the grand scheme of the wheel market, these are by far not the most expensive for hand built wheels. With regards to the weight, we'll definitely be checking these on our own scales when they're returned but if there are weight savings we can make to gain a higher score, then that's next on the agenda. Yes we have gone for heavier brass nipples, but in our opinion thats a positive move, and we made a perminent switch to Bitex hubs a few years back because they are great hubs.

We stand by our products, customer feedback on our service and our products has always been extremely high, so we'll stand by that! Thanks to road.cc for the write up, and everyone for their ongoing support. #TeamCES

www.ces-sport.co.uk

Avatar
PRSboy | 10 months ago
0 likes

Prime RR50s have to be worth a mention as a contender... 1470g according to your article and £549 (though now renamed Doyenne)

Avatar
ChuckSneed | 10 months ago
0 likes

Heavy and expensive, what a great wheelset...

Avatar
joules1975 | 10 months ago
1 like

You seem to make a big thing about the weight, but can't agree what they actually weigh (you say 1660 in one place, and 17354 in another), and applaud the use of heavier nipples. Bit of a schizophrenic review.

 

Avatar
Secret_squirrel replied to joules1975 | 10 months ago
2 likes

Think you're confuzzled.  The 1660g was the Vel's.  The Draigs were 1615g claimed, 1734g actual.

I dont think the review is schizophrenic at all.  Good quality but on the heavyside given the price and competition. 

I feel quite sorry for them tbh.  A quality product but in a hyper competitive brand, weight and price sensitive market segment.

Avatar
Off the back replied to joules1975 | 10 months ago
1 like

All the wheels on the market no matter how expensive or 'cheap' they may appear the money is in the hubs, A heavier wheelset with better quality hubs will always perform better and run faster. Same goes for rim depth, A mega deep wheel on low quality hubs wont always be faster than a shallower wheel with top quality hubs. Obviously comparing 60mm rims to sub 30 isnt a fair comparison but within 10mm either way I would say the hubs play a bigger part than anything.Even If they are slightly heavier they will still outperform the cheaper light ones. 

All comes back to , Strong, Light, Cheap - Pick two!

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Off the back | 10 months ago
0 likes
Off the back wrote:

All the wheels on the market no matter how expensive or 'cheap' they may appear the money is in the hubs, A heavier wheelset with better quality hubs will always perform better and run faster. Same goes for rim depth, A mega deep wheel on low quality hubs wont always be faster than a shallower wheel with top quality hubs. Obviously comparing 60mm rims to sub 30 isnt a fair comparison but within 10mm either way I would say the hubs play a bigger part than anything.Even If they are slightly heavier they will still outperform the cheaper light ones. 

All comes back to , Strong, Light, Cheap - Pick two!

I'm not convinced that there's much difference in frictional losses between cheap and expensive hubs or at least when they're new. I appreciate that better hubs are likely to last longer, but at the speeds that bike wheels spin, the bearings are hardly going to be put under much stress when compared with other machinery that may use similar bearings.

If I had to bet, I'd go with aero rims ahead of quality hubs for a fast wheelset.

Avatar
KDee replied to hawkinspeter | 10 months ago
1 like

You've just made someone at Ceramicspeed cry.

Avatar
Off the back replied to hawkinspeter | 10 months ago
0 likes

There is more to hubs than friction. On a freehub the ratchet system and how many points of engagement make a huge difference. I set of cheap carbon rims laced to expensive hubs are going to be better than the opposite way round. You might not be convinced but the proof is there that hubs make the biggest difference in its performance

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Off the back | 10 months ago
0 likes
Off the back wrote:

There is more to hubs than friction. On a freehub the ratchet system and how many points of engagement make a huge difference. I set of cheap carbon rims laced to expensive hubs are going to be better than the opposite way round. You might not be convinced but the proof is there that hubs make the biggest difference in its performance

Surely the points of engagement only make a difference when starting to pedal?

I'm not convinced and would need to see some numbers to persuade me otherwise.

Avatar
PRSboy replied to hawkinspeter | 10 months ago
0 likes
hawkinspeter wrote:
Off the back wrote:

There is more to hubs than friction. On a freehub the ratchet system and how many points of engagement make a huge difference. I set of cheap carbon rims laced to expensive hubs are going to be better than the opposite way round. You might not be convinced but the proof is there that hubs make the biggest difference in its performance

Surely the points of engagement only make a difference when starting to pedal?

I'm not convinced and would need to see some numbers to persuade me otherwise.

I need convincing too.

I've got two sets of 'posh' wheels; some campag shamals, with fancy ceramic bearings, and Prime RR50s, with basic hubs but 50mm section rims.  The weight of the two sets is very similar.

The RR50s are quicker over all the routes I ride.

The only scenario I can imagine quicker-engaging pawls would help is in a crit where you have multiple fast accelerations out of bends.

A road bike wheel rotates less than 500 times per KM, provided its spinning freely I cant really see less friction at the hub making much difference.

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