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review
Hunt Race Aero Wide wheelset£399.00
VERDICT:
Excellent alloy wheel upgrade for your rim-brake road bike
Nicely built
Reasonably light
Durable
Wider section works well with 28mm tyres
Only really aero by name
Weight:
1,507g
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.
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If you've got a rim brake road bike and you want some wheels that are pretty light and durable but aren't going to break the bank, what you need is something like the Hunt Race Aero Wide wheelset. It's a solid choice for everything up to racing, assuming you don't want the swoosh (and expense) of carbon.
First things first: although these are called 'aero', the 31mm alloy rim isn't one that Hunt has agonised over in the wind tunnel, and the company isn't making any specific aerodynamic claims for this wheelset.
They're a bit deeper than a standard alloy rim but not really any heavier, and this wheelset tipped the scales at 667g for the front wheel and 840g for the rear, nudging them just over the 1,500g mark. For the money, that's light.
The rims are built into Hunt's Race hubs with straight-pull Pillar Spoke Re-enforcement XTRA spokes and alloy nipples. Spoking is radial at the front and two-cross at the back, with 18 spokes front and 21 rear, distributed 2:1 in favour of the drive side to even out spoke tensions.
The hub gets Hunt's H_CERAMIK freehub with a hardened coating to stop the cassette biting into it, and the 4-pawl freehub has a 10-degree engagement angle. The hubs run on EZO bearings that are easy to source and replace, either from Hunt itself or online. You'll need a bearing press to seat them properly, though, if you're replacing them.
The wheels come set up tubeless-ready, with good quality tape and a valve fitted. If you want, Hunt will supply them ready-shod with 25mm or 28mm Schwalbe Pro One tyres for another £99. I mostly used them with inner tubes and Pirelli P-Zero race tyres in a 28mm size; I did throw a tubeless setup on there to check everything went up okay, and I had no issues.
The Race Aero Wide rim measures 19mm internally. That's not super-wide these days, it's more like the new normal. Wheels like the Ksyrium S from Mavic are the same width, while others like the Campagnolo Zonda are still a 17mm internal, which in itself is a step out from the 15mm that you'd have expected some years back.
The extra width of the rim helps to flatten out the sidewalls of the tyre a bit and that can help to stabilise the tyre and also provide a better corner profile for when you're leaning the bike over. Some people will also tell you that rolling resistance is lower, although that doesn't seem to be borne out by independent testing.
Anyway, although you can fit some pretty big tyres on these rims, the sweet spot is probably 28mm, and there are lots of 28mm race tyres out there these days. You get a bit of extra comfort, the profile of the tyre works well with the rim width, and you can still squeeze them underneath your standard road calliper brakes.
In use
So, how do they ride? Well, firstly I took them out to Andalucia and rode them up and down mountains in the sunshine, which I can recommend. It was the first time I'd ridden the wheels save for a short shakedown ride to make sure the bike was working, and I'd swapped out some old semi-deep Swiss Side Hadron wheels that had finally given up the ghost. Did I miss the Hadrons? Well, I missed their lovely thrum over the tarmac, because that's the sound of fast. But in terms of performance, I was really happy with the Hunts.
They're a bit lighter than the Hadrons, which were the original alloy/carbon construction, and although the spoke count is reasonably low and I'm a reasonably big rider (94kg), I didn't have any issues with them feeling vague or wandering from their line through any of the many, many hairpins. Without doing the same descent back to back on narrower and wider wheels with the same tyres you'd be hard pressed to say whether the extra width makes cornering better, but the Pirellis always felt planted and the wheels responsive.
When you're stamping on the pedals up a steep rise or sprinting for a sign, there's very little flex evident. I tend to set my rim brakes a bit further from the rim on my road bike than usual because extra weight and power through the frame and wheels can induce some brake rub, but I didn't get any with the Hunts even when I dialled them in a bit.
We had the opportunity to test out some pretty brutal headwinds and sidewinds during the week, which certainly made life interesting for Iwein at times on his aero Ribble Endurance SL Disc and Hunt 4050 carbon wheels. The Race Aero Wide wheelset wasn't unduly affected by even savage sidewinds. Probably that means that in less extreme conditions you're not getting much free speed from the rims when the wind's coming in at an angle, but they're light and they roll well.
Braking on alloy rims is objectively better than on carbon; these rims with the standard Shimano 105 brake pads never gave me any cause for concern. The machined surface works well in both wet and dry conditions, and there's a wear indicator indented into the surface to let you know when it's time for a new rim.
Pulling the cassette off the freehub after about 1,000km revealed some very minor notching of the body, but nothing that stopped the cassette from coming off easily. In my experience the hardened coating that Hunt uses isn't quite as effective as the steel insert that other brands use, and it's certainly not as fuss-free as a steel freehub body like you'd get with a Mavic or Shimano wheel, but there is a weight penalty there. Albeit not a big one.
Pulling the hubs apart showed very little water or muck inside, suggesting the sealing is doing its job, although the bike hadn't had that many wet miles during testing.
Both wheels stayed true during testing. If you need to tweak them then you can attack them with a standard spoke key from the outside without pulling the tyre off, or there's a hex head inside the rim which gives a better interface for more involved work. The nipples are alloy, so this isn't the ideal wheelset for all year round; Hunt's 4-season Aero wheelset has brass nipples, better sealed hubs and a higher spoke count if you want a bit more winter longevity. It's only about 80g heavier, so if you're looking for a year-round training wheelset then it's probably a better bet. If your rim brake race bike comes out on nice days and you're riding the paceline on it or doing the odd crit race, then these Race Aero Wides are the ones to go for.
Value and conclusion
We've tested plenty of alloy rim brake wheels. These Hunt wheels are probably closest in performance to the Scribe Race wheelset that Stu tested. Weight is very similar even though the rim on the Hunt wheels is a bit deeper. The Scribes are £410 and probably edge it at the hubs with a ratchet drive with quicker engagement, and an anti-bite freehub body.
You can go lighter at this kind of price: the Pacenti Forzas (£389.99) are almost 100g less than the Hunts and are marketed more as a climbing wheelset, with a 25mm rim. The £390 JRA Lark Light wheels are worth mentioning too for their light weight and comfort, although their slightly flexy nature makes them better for lighter riders.
> Buyer’s Guide: 58 of the best road bike and gravel bike wheels
All of those wheels are worth looking at as a reasonably inexpensive upgrade to stock alloy wheels, and you should add these Hunts to the mix too, because they're excellent. They're well built, they're stiff, and they're light. Carbon wheels look great, and they sound nice, and most people don't need them. Save yourself some cash and get a great alloy wheelset instead.
Verdict
Excellent alloy wheel upgrade for your rim-brake road bike
road.cc test report
Make and model: Hunt Race Aero Wide 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?
Hunt says, "Stretch the gaps and burn the legs of your riding compatriots with incredible fast riding performance. You will take the corners faster and tighter than ever before due to the 24mm rim width opening out your tyre profile and providing incredible grip.
"The wide rim, working with a 25 or 28mm tyre, will eat up rough roads allowing you to hold your line and carry your speed. The upgraded straight pull hubs and spokes reduce weight, add strength and respond instantly to your accelerations."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel?
Hunt lists:
Rims | Our HFR Alloy+ rims are constructed using a heat treatment process, delivering far higher fatigue resistance than 6061-T6. High-polished aluminium finish. 31mm deep. 19mm internal and 24mm external width, creating an excellent tyre profile for wide road tyres and cross tyres up to 45mm.
Tyres | Designed with a wide 19mm rim bed to create a wider tyre profile. Great with 700x23mm tyres but ideal for 25, 28 and cross tyres. Also works excellently with clincher tyres and tubes.
Hubs | HUNT Race Straight-Pull with 10° RapidEngage 4-pawl freehub, with H_CERAMIK coating for enhanced durability.
QR | Hunt Race Season super-light with heat-treated alloy/brass cam plate actuation and stainless steel springs.
Weight | 1496g
UCI Approved
Rate the wheel for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the wheel for performance:
9/10
Rate the wheel for durability:
8/10
Rate the wheel for weight
8/10
Rate the wheel for value:
7/10
In the same ballpark as the likes of Pacenti and Scribe, a bit to a lot cheaper than comparable wheels from Miche/Mavic/Campagnolo/Fulcrum.
Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?
No issues during testing.
How easy did you find it to fit tyres?
Didn't have any issues with the two tyres I tried.
How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?
Skewers are good, although I'm still a sucker for a Shimano quick release. The tape is good quality and comes fitted.
Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose
They're excellent as an upgrade over stock wheels.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel
Nicely built, reasonably light, durable, wider section works well with 28mm tyres.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel
Not really aero, in spite of the name.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The cheapest lightweight alloy wheels are slightly cheaper, but the Hunts are good value.
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
These are excellent wheels: they perform well, they're nicely built, and they're light.
About the tester
Age: 49
I usually ride: whatever I'm testing... My best bike is: Kinesis Tripster ATR, Merida Scultura, Dward Design fixed
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: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Mountain Bike Bog Snorkelling, track
Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.
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39 comments
the kinlin xr-31t rim (this rim) isn't a bad aero rim for its depth, just 31mm rimss as aren't great for lowering the power at a given speed,
Aren't Hunt wheels Chinese?
Wow, I think I just bought these wheels, just not from Hunt. Kinlin 31 tubeless rims, with bitex RAF hubs, hand built in the UK by the wonderful people in Spa Cycles which cost me £350. So if you're interested, the 'Hunt premium' is over £60 extra per wheelset on this exact product , but built in Taiwan, so the margin must be good!
Moral of the story, just buy this build from your local wheel builder...
Just to add that I have allways found Hunt aftercare and service top notch. Want a different frewheel std? No problem, broke a nipple but would rather replace/rebuild the whole wheel, no problem. (heavily discounted parts) Hunt allow your LBS to work on the wheels without affecting warrenty (but free return shipping if you dont want that) oh and dont forget crash replacement program.
None of thease benifits are unique to Hunt but they definatly add value to a purchase. Might be worth noting the additional benifits on all reviews.
From Hunt's website:
"100kgs is the upper recommended rider weight limit for these wheels. Please include the weight of any luggage in your total rider weight when choosing the correct wheels. If a rider is over 90Kgs then an experienced bike mechanic should check the wheel regularly and it is advisable to use minimum 25mm tyres at max 100psi ”
At 94kg it’s unlikely that Dave’s all up weight (including water, food, tools/spares, GPS, etc) would approach the 100kg limit but he’d need to get the wheels inspected “regularly” if he bought them. The Hunt site gives no advice on how regularly this is needed and what, exactly, the experienced mechanic should be looking for. Maybe Road.cc could ask Hunt.
Having to take these wheels to the LBS for regular checking would be an additional cost of ownership. I think that the review should make it clear that these could become an expensive set of wheels for anyone whose weight + water, food, toolkit, GPS, etc. >90kg and expects to do high mileage with them.
I had a quick look around and Hunt aren’t a alone in this: Campag. have 82/109kg (check/upper limit) for the two wheels I looked at (Bora WTO and Shamal). Scribe are at 90/105 for the Élan Wide+ 42-D. Fulcrum have a 120kg ‘system weight’ limit for the Racing 5 DB. Shimano, Reynolds, Black Inc, don’t mention a limit in their specs.
It’s obviously not a problem, or surprise, if lightweight performance wheels have low rider weight limits but 90kg all-up rider weight probably isn’t unusual for some of Road.cc’s readers - me included. I think that it would be useful to include any manufacturers’ weight limits and wheel inspection requirements in wheel (and bike) reviews.
Some of us lie awake at night dreaming (I suppose that should be day dreaming) of only being 90kg, even without luggage! I managed it 3 years ago by flogging myself to death in the gym for two years, but then stopped going and went backwards faster than I'd lost it. Part of my problem is that I don't ( never have) lose weight just from cycling. Ho hum. Anyhow, back in the gym now for another go.
Mean time my Ribble Gran Fondo is waiting for me to get back down to low-90s again. Luckily the other three bikes don't seem to mind too much.
I've never lost weight from just cycling but have done whilst upping my rides to 5 a week and counting calories....
Where can you get a wheel built for £15 ? A club member went into a local bike shop,part of a chain,and was quoted £80 just to true a pair of wheels.
My local Evans will do it for a tenner inbetween booked jobs.
I'd pay Evans £10 to not attempt to true my wheels. Wow
Sounds like you need a better LBS! That's an absurd amount.
Have a pair of these. Neither wheel was true coming out of the box, and on the first ride bits of alloy filings came off the rim, embedded themselves in the new Swiss Stop pads and scored the rim quite badly. The join on the rim was also not smooth. If I hadn't shipped them overseas I'd have sent them back. Trued them myself, sanded the rims and put them away as a spare pair after buying a set of Zondas which are the wheels I should have bought in the first place.
I think the alloy filings are a feature of less well finished rims.
I don't recall my DT or Pacenti aluminium rims shedding filings but my new Kinlin rim on the front left a few lumps in the brake blocks. I noticed also that the rim join wasn't as well finished so am assuming the filings in the brake blocks were from smoothing out the lip at the rim join.
Kinlin rims, bitex hubs, pillar spokes probably. About twice the price of what you'd pay if you sourced the bits yourself, even if you pay your LBS to then build them.
Care to show your working? If your assumptions are correct I'd say £60 for the rims, £140 for the hubs, £40 for the spokes and £70 minimum for a good wheelbuilder to assemble a pair. Chuck in £30 postage (Hunt wheels are postage free) for all the bits and you've saved about £50 - then factor in how much time you've spent sourcing, ordering, sending/taking to the wheelbuilder...
I'd be delighted to be proved wrong as if there's a way of picking up a pair of this quality for £200, I'm absolutely in.
Not quite under 200, but a DIY build kit from BDOP Cycling isn't far off that.
I have a Road Kit III and it was easy to build myself (first timer), pulled up very true, and hasn't missed a beat.
Looks interesting thanks, might try that myself sometime - always fancied building wheels but worried I'd make a mess of it (I can true wheels but I've assumed building is a big step up from that). However, there's no real way of knowing whether Hunt use the same level components or even if they're from the same manufacturer so not sure it's possible to make a genuine like-for-like "I could build that myself for half the price" comparison.
Building wheels is actually easier than truing them, believe it or not. It relies on having decent components but because you're effectively starting from zero, you know everything is tensioned to the same degree. Possibly easier with carbon rims than alu though as they don't warp so much.
I'd really recommend giving it a go, the first time took me ages but I can do a wheel in about 20 mins now. Once you get the technique down it's easy and incredibly satisfying. I built a stand out of wood but you can use a vice and an old fork if need be. The biggest expenditure is a tension guage but I'm not sure they're that necessary really, you can get it evenly tensioned by ear (assuming you're not tone deaf), a guage just helps you not pull spokes through/undertension so they unwind.
Thanks for that, I'll definitely be looking at giving it a go when my current hoops need replacing. I already have a wheel stand and a tension gauge for truing* so pretty much there...
*Anyone considering going down the DIY route, these and a decent spoke key paid for themselves well within six months through not having to pay LBS for maintenance and repair of my bikes and Mrs H's.
I've got a tension guage, but I rarely use it whilst truing a wheel. I just go by the feel of the spokes (sometimes the tune they make when plucked) and the position of the rim. The last couple of re-truing jobs, I didn't even bother with the stand - just true the wheel on the bike.
Those hubs aren't £140. Whether they're bitex or novatec they're more like £50 if you buy straight from Asia. The spokes will be cheaper than that, the rims are likely a bit more at around £45 a piece. Any decent lbs will build wheels, mine charges £15 a wheel. So sub £200 easily. £400 is a lot of markup for the same wheelset that you could get from numerous other places e.g. superstar, or even build yourself (honestly, it's super easy!)
Not Bitex - Novatec I think.
I'd have a hand-built set from DCR wheels for this money. Standard set does have Bitex hubs (very good) and CXRay spokes - oh yes, and they are very, very round!
I might be wrong, I thought hunt used bitex. Still about £50-60 if you buy direct from Asia. Kinlin rims are 40-50 a pop. Cheap spokes so around 50p each makes it what, £180 ish? My local lbs is £15 to build a wheel, it's not rocket science. If I was looking to spend £400 on some alu wheels and was willing to pay for someone else to do all the grunt work I'd be looking at dcr too. £400 for some very ordinary machine built wheels is absurd, frankly.
Really?
Care to explain what happens if your individually sourced parts go wrong?
Care to mention that Hunt have a 3 year warantee for the the original owner?
I have no problem with people building their own wheelsets but lets not kid ourselves that you are a comparing like-with-like.
This is a build i peiced together off SPA Cycles before i went with my Hunt set (See attached picture)
I contacted about 5 or 6 different wheel builders within London to build me the same wheels we are talking about (I really wanted a Kinlin XR31T wheelset) and they all quoted me close to £500 while one quoted me closer to £550. My best offer was £450
Some places charged £40 per wheel - other places £50 per wheel to build.
Even if i had purchased the parts from SPA to save myself money and pay £80 to have them built by a local wheelbuilder, The Hunts were cheaper or would work out just the same for almost the same thing.
I spent almost over a month looking for wheel builders and i honestly dont know why i didnt have a look at HUNT sooner.
I was stressing over it till 3am and i was really really close to getting a DT Swiss PR 1600 Spline 32 Clincher wheelset then i randomly stumbled across the Superdura's and that was the end of my search.
I was originally after a 24/28 spoke set up as im a heavy rider and the overbuilt'ness of the Superdura's was just an extra peice of mind.
Off the shelf and ready to go, next day delivery and 3 years warranty with a 60day returns policy if i decide that i dont like them. whats not to love about that?
Ive saved myself HALF THE TROUBLE of getting a similar wheelset built.
I'm sure you appreciate that you're looking at a lot more to have cx ray rather than the spokes on this wheelset? Hard to find the exact price but looking at less than a quid Vs £2.50.
I realise that wheelbuilding isn't for everyone, and the warranty is appealing. It's a bit like insurance I guess; I'd sooner spend the equivalent money on better components in the first place.
The difference around this price point is evidently not that much, but once you start looking at fancier/carbon wheels it's striking.
For example I built a set of carbon wheels with hope hubs and CX ray for around £700. A wheelset with lower quality components would be £1000 from any of the builders, many of those built by machine. Nothing has gone wrong with them despite two years of abuse, and if something does then I can replace the part and still be better off financially.
Yes - the £500 place were charging me £3.50 per spoke hence why i was thinking about buying all the parts from SPAcycles and then just having a local wheel builder or LBS build it - Another thing was SPAcycles had supplied the nipples with their spokes - the other places charged seperately for nipples... Granted it only came to £10 for spoke nipples but £10 is still £10 when one is trying to keep to a certain budget.
I was also ready to give SPAcycles a call and have them build EVERYTHING for me. But i never asked them for a quote so i dont know how much they would have charged but I doubt it would be £430 and they are super busy so there is a 4 week lead time on handbuilt wheelsets.
--- this would have been how it turned out had i not found the hunt Superdura's
I really really looked. £500 is mad for an alloy wheelset. Prime RR-50 V3 Carbon clincher wheelset from wiggle are £474.
Buddy, you've done it all wrong. Why didn't you get a full build quote from spa cycles if they built the full wheels themselves?
Totting the components up to purchase each separately on their website isn't what you'd be paying in-house for a complete wheelset made by them. I literally just had this build done by Spa for £350, Bitex RAF/kinlin xr31/(better)cx ray spokes hand built in the uk with a uk warrantee for £350. Hunt are having you for a sucker.
Just call spa and get a proper quote!
How long is the warranty?
Im not sure how they could build the whole thing for £350, not when they have a 20/24 XR31T wheelset for £375 - we'd probably be looking closer to £400 in which case I still think the Hunts are still a good choice.
I assumed SPA would have charged £60-80 for labour so i just added that on top of the cost of parts.
::EDIT::
Ive run the numbers for the 20/24 wheelset. parts = £340 - labour = £35 = £375
So £355 from my originally spec'd 24/28 build would be £390 (inc labour)
Could have saved £40 - but i doubt SPA supply any extras with their wheels - £4.17 in extra spokes £4 for a 10sp spacer. So about £8's worth of extras/spares.
Also add another £10 for rim tape.
So yes i could have saved some money.
Ive owned a set of HUNT's superdura's for almost two weeks now and im very impressed with the quality of the wheels. The freehub is a bit loud compared to the ones on my outgoing wheelset but the Hunts pick up and maintain speed really well and will freewheel/roll effortlessly for minutes on end.
Another thing that impressed me was they supplied a few extra spokes and 10sp spacer along with the wheels.
what im not so impressed about is the advertised weight. Hunt claims 1595g but i weighed my set with two different sets of scales when they arrived and they came to 1665g -- not a HUGE difference by any means but 70g is still 70g. Im guessing the extra weight was due to the double helping of rim tape.
Is a single layer of rim tape supposed to weigh in at 17.5g a layer though??
---
Im guessing RoadCC wont have the superdura's in for review since they are more or less the same as the wheels here except for a minor differences.
(Im slightly lighter than you at 88kg so i probably could have gotten away with this lesser spoked wheelset. I'll just have to take the kitchen sink with me next time i do my 100+ mile rides)
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