Scope R5.A All-Road wheelset

The Scope R5.A is an all-road, aero wheelset from the Netherlands-based brand that obviously knows a thing or two about how to design a quality deep-section wheelset that'll give a performance boost while still being able to cope with all kinds of weather conditions.

Deep-section wheels are often considered for fast, mainly flat rides on a still day because they can be twitchy in windy conditions, but if the designer knows what they are doing then this can be kept to a minimum, and that's exactly what we have here with the R5.As.

If you're looking for a new set of wheels for your all-road/gravel bike, check out our guide to the best road bike wheels and the best gravel wheesets buyer's guide on off.road.cc.

> Buy now: Scope R5.A for £1,386.45 from Scope Cycling

They have a rim that is quite wide at 30mm externally, a depth of 57mm and a rounded profile – they maintain their width until the bottom, before having a curved area where the spokes exit, as opposed to a pointy V shape.

Many brands have adopted this, not just Scope, and they all handle better than the V shape, but the R5.As handle even better than most of them.

If you live in the UK, you'll know that the last few months have been very wet and windy, with plenty of storms blowing through. I've ridden during a few of them, with the latest – Storm Henk – being the most blustery, with gusts in my area of between 40mph and 50mph.

Even with a full-on crosswind, or sections where it was at various angles, I could feel pressure on the rim from the wind, but at no point did it ever make the wheel feel twitchy or affect the handling.

This means the Scopes can be used year-round for all kinds of riding – and if you're a triathlete or time triallist then you'll be able to spend more time on the aero bars on blowy days.

Away from those tricky weather conditions, the R5.As perform excellently with a definite aero boost from 20mph and above, where you can feel you don't need to add too much extra power to increase your speed. And that smooth handling afforded by the rim shape means you can carry the speed through the bends, even technical ones when descending.

In fact, the only place where they aren't really your go-to choice is a day in the hills. At 1,820g on our scales, including rim tape, they are far from the lightest aero wheelset out there.

Thankfully, their stiffness offsets some of their shortfall on the weight front, because if you do need to get out of the saddle on a climb you won't get any performance-reducing flex. The Scopes feel like a really solid set of wheels, the way they feel so tight and aren't bothered by poor road surfaces, remaining true throughout testing.

Their weight does give a planted feel, but also the ride quality is very good, with no harshness or buzzy feedback from the road surface.

I spent the majority of the review period using them with 30mm tyres pumped up hard to my personal preference, and comfort wasn't an issue.

Speaking of tyres, the internal rim width is 23mm and they come with a hooked profile for the tyre bead to lock under when inflated, which means you aren't limited to tubeless tyres like you are with hookless rims.

Initially, getting the tyres onto the rim was a bit of a fight and required the use of tyre levers, but I've since removed them a few times and it's become easier, where the tyres have stretched, so no worries about fixing punctures at the side of the road.

I also fitted some gravel tyres to test out Scope's claimed all-road capabilities, and the wider rubber fitted much more easily than skinnier road ones.

Scope's tyre width recommendations are 28-32mm for road, and 35-57mm for gravel.

Build specification

The rims, as you'd expect, are carbon fibre and have extra carbon layers applied around the spoke holes for increased strength.

These are mated to a set of Scope's own R-series hubs via Sapim CX Sprint spokes. The front wheel has 21 of them while the rear has 24.

The rear hub uses a 36T ratchet system for the freehub rather than a pawl system, and it gives instant pick-up and a smooth feel when switching between pedalling and freewheeling.

All gearing options are catered for in terms of the freehub body, with Scope even offering options for both Campagnolo's standard cassettes and N3W. Not all brands do this.

The bearings are stainless steel on this build, but you do have the option to spec CeramicSpeed bearings too. In terms of reliability, these hubs have seen plenty of crap weather and haven't missed a beat. They are still running as smoothly as when they came out of the box, although admittedly at a couple of months old it's quite a short test period.

On top of this you get a 30-day free trial, and a three-year warranty, plus a lifetime crash replacement scheme.

Value

Scope's wheels are available in the UK from a small number of retailers, or you can buy them directly from Scope's website with free shipping.

The price on the website is £1,155.37, which goes up to £1,386.45 with UK VAT added, or £1,882.32 (including VAT) for the CeramicSpeed bearing option. Included in the price are tubeless valves and rim tape, plus a 10-speed Shimano spacer ring.

That's more expensive than the similarly performing Hunt 54 Aerodynamicist wheelset which I found very impressive when I reviewed them a couple of years back. They are £999 now and lighter than the Scopes, too, with the pair we had tipping our scales at 1,620g. The R5.As do have the edge on handling in a crosswind, though – I found the Hunts a bit on the twitchy side.

Hunt's 48 Limitless Aeros perform more like the Scopes although they are shallower (but still very fast). They cost £1,299, or £1,649 with CeramicSpeed bearings.

Reynolds' Blacklabel 60 Expert DB wheelset impressed George recently, and they are a similar depth to the R5.As. They're lighter at 1,540g, but don't have the gravel versatility of the Scopes. Their price is much higher at £1,800 and there is no mention of ceramic bearings either. Trust me, if brands use such, they want you to know.

Conclusion

The R5.As are a tough set of wheels, and they're quick, too, which means you can ride fast pretty much anywhere without worrying about them taking a whack.

They aren't the cheapest or the lightest out there, but as an all-round package there is very little to fault. Basically, it's a performance-orientated wheelset you can ride all year round.

Verdict

Highly durable wheelset that delivers on the performance front and is capable of dealing with crosswinds better than most