Vel 50 RL Carbon Tubeless Disc Wheelset

The Vel 50 RL Carbon Tubeless Disc Wheelset is really good value for money. Its £699 price tag is the first thing that catches your eye, and Vel has achieved that price without scrimping on quality or performance. If you fancy an upgrade and you value durability and an aero advantage over a superlight weight then these are definitely worth a look.

What you get for your £699 is a quality set of 50mm-deep tubeless-ready clinchers rims, Pillar Wing spokes, brass nipples (less chance of corrosion damage in the winter compared with aluminium alloy) and aluminium hubs that run unbelievably smoothly.

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Pulling the wheels out of the box, it was great to see they were running true and the spoke tension felt taut throughout. Tubeless rim tape comes fitted (double wrapped) as standard, and the valves are supplied too, so provided you have tyres and sealant you are ready to get them set up and head straight out of the door.

By using a 20.3mm internal rim width (27.5mm external), Vel hasn't alienated the use of narrower rubber and reckons the wheels are best suited to tyres ranging from 25mm up to 34mm.

I tried 25mm, 28mm and 32mm tyres, and all were a snug fit, requiring the last section of bead to be edged on with a tyre lever, which is reassuring when running lower pressures.

All of the tubeless tyres popped onto the rim first time with just a few quick blasts of a track pump, so if that's the route you are going to take then you should have no issues setting them up. The hooked rims will also take a standard tube and clincher tyre.

As for the rest of the setup, that's easy too. They come in Shimano/SRAM or SRAM XDR freehub options, so it's just a matter of sliding or screwing your cassette on, although if you are a Campagnolo user you're out of luck.

The disc rotors are held in place using the Center Lock system rather than faffing with six bolts, although you don't get rotor lockrings and six-bolt to Center Lock adaptors as standard like you do from Hunt. You do get spare spokes and nipples, though.

Right, so now they are on the bike, how do they perform?

Well, if you are switching from a shallow alloy rim, you are going to notice a bit of an aero boost over about 18-20mph. They aren't the fastest wheels I've used, but once up to speed they are noticeably easy to keep rolling regardless of terrain.

They also aren't affected by crosswinds at all, regardless of yaw angle, and at low speeds you don't get any feeling of the wheels 'stalling', which can happen on some more aero wheels.

I'd say these are a great set of all-rounders. You are getting the performance boost without any of the drawbacks of faster hoops.

At 1,660g (claimed 1,610g without tape) they aren't the lightest wheels we've seen, but as I've said many a time before, weight isn't the be all and end all. The Vels feel responsive to accelerations and certainly don't feel a hindrance when climbing. Stiffness levels are good when you find yourself doing either of these things, and hard efforts out of the saddle don't highlight any flex issues at all.

> Buyer’s Guide: 58 of the best road bike and gravel bike wheelsets

Durability is looking really good as well. These will happily take a knock or two without any issues, and I even bunged them on the gravel bike for a bit of extra abuse to see how they'd fare. No issues whatsoever hammering over firm, rocky gravel surfaces and bouncing over tree roots.

Pickup at the freehub is quick – there is no gappiness between the engagement points at all. The Vels use a 102-tooth engagement ring along with six pawls so there is very little rotation needed before the pair bite together. The only downside is that when freewheeling, the hub sounds like it's screaming or you've trapped a bumblebee in a jam jar – it won't be to everyone's taste!

Value

Value is really where the Vels can make a noise – to everyone's taste.

They compare very well with wheels from the likes of Hunt and Scribe, which always tend to score highly for quality, performance and price.

A set of Hunt 4050 Carbon Aero Disc wheels is a bargain – for £869. They do weigh just 1,472g, though.

And while Scribe's Aero Wide 50-D wheels are even lighter at 1,449g, and don't struggle at all when it comes to durability or stiffness, they're £870.

Conclusion

The Vels are a really great way to upgrade your standard wheels, which are typically the main component scrimped on when big brands are speccing bikes.

For £699 you are getting a solid wheelset with noticeable aero gains in the real world. While they're not the fastest or the lightest wheels out there, if I'd laid down my own cash on these I really wouldn't be disappointed at all.

Verdict

Quality set of performance road wheels that'll take some abuse and won't break the bank