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review

Halo White Line 700c Wheels

7
£249.98

VERDICT:

7
10
Not exactly light, but their strong build provides plenty of reliability and they're also attractively priced
Durability
Good price
Quite weighty
Weight: 
1,900g

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.

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At 1,900g the Halo White Line might not be a weight-saving upgrade compared to the stock wheels you find on an entry-level bike – but they're certainly reliable and smooth-rolling wheels. You also get full tubeless capability and a choice of spoke counts to suit your riding style.

If you are looking to upgrade your wheels any time soon, do check our best road bike wheels buyer's guide that covers wheels from a Halo White Line-like £230 right up to a money-no-object £3,000-plus.

White Line is Halo's entry-level range, offering wheels in various builds including this option for rim brakes. While discs may rule the roost these days, lots of us are still running bikes with rim brakes, so it makes sense.

The price is good at £249.98 (£109.99 front, £139.99 rear) although at 1,900g including tubeless rim tape they aren't the lightest wheels in this category.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - front hub 2.jpg

But they're less expensive than Fulcrum's Racing 6 and Racing 5 wheels, and a fair chunk cheaper than the CES Sport PT26 and Hunt Race Aero Wide wheels, both of which come in around the £400 mark.

So, they are clearly good value for money, then – but what are they like to ride?

Pretty good in fact. Frankly, their weight was only really noticeable when I was accelerating from a standing start or when I was tackling a steep climb. Apart from that they roll nicely.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - rear hub 1.jpg

Most of us are likely to use these for winter riding or training, when durability and reliability are more important than all-out performance – and it's here that the White Lines do well. We have the 20F/24R-spoke build and even in this lighter build they stood up to any abuse from the local roads, which are currently strewn with a new wave of potholes, and even with poor weather during testing the sealed hubs haven't grumbled from the rain and road spray to which they were subjected.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - front hub 1.jpg

If you want extra strength, you could go for a front wheel with 24 spokes and a rear with 32. All the builds use double-butted stainless-steel spokes and brass nipples, which resist corrosion better than aluminium ones and are a good choice against salty roads.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - spoke nipple 2.jpg

The Halos also impressed when it came to stiffness, with no signs of flex under hard efforts, even with the brake pads sitting just a millimetre or so from the rim.

The brake track's machined surface gives plenty of bite from the off, and gets better the more they are used as they bed themselves in. I tested the wheels with both stock Shimano pads and SwissStop Flash Pros.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - valve hole.jpg

Overall, the Halos are a good all-round wheelset for those of us on a budget, and the rim's high-gloss finish makes them look more expensive than they are.

The rims are shallow at only 25mm in depth, but their 19mm internal width is wide enough to suit 28mm tyres, which is pretty much the widest tyres you can comfortably use with dual-pivot calliper brakes. The outer rim width is 24mm.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - rim bed.jpg

Fitting a range of tyres wasn't an issue with both the 25mm Continental GP 5000 AS TRs and 28mm Vittoria Rubino Pro IV TLR rubber going on easily. With the pre-installed rim tape tubeless set-ups are simple, all you'll need to do is add valves.

And I also found they worked just as well running clincher tyres with inner tubes.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - spoke nipple.jpg

The WL hubs include a freehub that uses three pawls with 27 engagement points, which equates to 13 degrees of rotation. This isn't as quick as you'll find on some hubs, but about the only time you'll notice any 'play' between engagement is when you're trackstanding at the lights.

2023 Halo White Line 700c Wheels - rear hub 2.jpg

If you like a freehub with some noise then you'll like this one, as there is a defined click when you stop pedalling, though fortunately without ever sounding too shrill or buzzy.

Value and rivals

At £274.99 Fulcrum's Racing 6 wheels are a little more expensive than Halo's White Lines but those have a claimed weight of 1,760g, while the Racing 5s that Leon tested a while back are lighter still at 1,650g – though at £339.99 they will lighten your wallet by nearly £100 more.

The hand-built CES Sport PT26 all-rounders that I reviewed were 1,720g on the road.cc scales, although they're pricier again at £400.

Hunt, meanwhile, has managed to achieve a very impressive weight of just over 1,500g for its £400 wheelset, the Race Aero Wide wheels that Dave was extremely impressed with.

Conclusion

This is a great wheelset in terms of durability and stiffness, especially considering their modest price. They are well made too, tensioned nicely right out of the box and they remained that way throughout the review period. They are quite heavy though, so they're more for those of us looking for reliability over pure performance.

Verdict

Not exactly light, but their strong build provides plenty of reliability and they're also attractively priced

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Halo White Line 700c Wheels

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?

Halo says: "The White Line Series is our entry level road range, offering you exceptional value, great performance and reliability.

Our White Line Road wheels are our go to, entry level upgrade wheel, designed to deliver multiple fast miles.

The tubeless compatible 19mm internal, 24mm external, rim width profile allows you to run your choice of traditional or tubeless tyres and is well suited to modern tyres ranging from 25C through to 35C widths to deliver enhanced comfort and grip.

Our WL hubs use a well-established and smooth 3 pawl 27 click engagement drive and sealed bearings for great reliability.

Available in two spoke counts, Race or Sport. Race offers a lighter (-190g) 20 hole front, 24 hole rear build whilst Sport offers a more robust 24 hole front, 32 hole rear build."

I agree that they offer good value, reliability and performance.

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

Spokes: Black double-butted stainless spokes

Nipples: Black ED-coated brass nipples

Rim Depth: 25mm

Internal Width: 19mm

External Width: 24mm

Front Hub Spacing: 100mm

Rear spacing: 130mm

Drive System: WL 3 Pawl (Road HG) 27 engagement points (13 degree)

Recommended Tyre size: 25-35c

Tubeless: Tubeless ready

Colour: Black – anodised black hub and rim with subtle white decals

Rate the wheel for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the wheel for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the wheel for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the wheel for weight
 
5/10
Rate the wheel for value:
 
6/10

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

The wheels showed excellent trueness and that didn't change throughout the review period.

How easy did you find it to fit tyres?

Fitting tyres was straightforward.

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

Halo includes both tubeless rim tape and quick-release skewers with the wheels – and both of these are decent quality.

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

A reliable set of wheels ideal for training and commuting.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel

Well tensioned and remained true throughout.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel

They're not exactly light.

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

They are well priced against many similar wheels on the market as mentioned in the review.

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

A little on the weighty side, but the build is strong and reliable, which makes them a great training wheel for dry and wet conditions. And the price is also impressive for wheels of this overall quality.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

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!

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5 comments

Avatar
eadipus | 10 months ago
0 likes

I've had the disc version of this on the rear of my bike for years after the nipples and freehub died on a set of Kinesis Crosslights and they've been great. Only had to be trued a few times after putting them through some rooty singletrack that was probably a bit above what they were intended for. Also good to see they're still selling them individually rather than having to buy a pair.

Avatar
Langsam | 10 months ago
0 likes

"their weight was only really noticeable when I was accelerating from a standing start or when I was tackling a steep climb."

Riiiight. 

Avatar
Brauchsel replied to Langsam | 10 months ago
0 likes

Are you doubting that it's harder to accelerate or lift vertically a heavier object, or that a difference of c400g is not very noticeable when moving a bike+rider of 80kg (or more)?

Avatar
Langsam replied to Brauchsel | 10 months ago
1 like

The latter. Of course the reviewer can't notice the difference. It's confirmation bias. 
Anyway, they look pretty decent wheels at the price point. The problem with a review of a training wheelset is that you'll only find out if they were any good after you've done a couple of seasons on them. 

Avatar
Cugel replied to Langsam | 10 months ago
0 likes
Langsam wrote:

The latter. Of course the reviewer can't notice the difference. It's confirmation bias. 
Anyway, they look pretty decent wheels at the price point. The problem with a review of a training wheelset is that you'll only find out if they were any good after you've done a couple of seasons on them. 

Wot is needed in such "reviews" is a standardised blindfold test in which 3 "reviewers" ride 5 pairs of wheels then pick out those that accelerate less easily or seem to feel harder to ride uphills. The blindfold would only obscure their view of the wheels, of course, otherwise the whole test might never be completed; or be replaced by one comparing the quality of the local docs & nurses at mending broken cyclists.

One suspects that detection of differences in acceleration and effort needed to ride up hills would require wheel weight differences of more than a few hundred grams, especially since other factors such as quality of build, stiffness, spoke arrangement and so forth can make far greater differences to the feel of the wheel.

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