The DealCatcher's been thoroughly taken over today by the folks over at Cycle Surgery who have some fantastic deals for you lot today.

We kick things off with a deal on Giant's 2017 Defy Advanced 3, which is followed by a great offer on Fox bib shorts.

We then feature two deals on women's cycling clothing, specifically Mavic shoes and Proviz jackets.

Our final three deals are a bargain Fabric track pump, and a nicely discounted Garmin 820, with a buy-one-get-one-free deal on Muc-Off spray rounding things off.

20% off Giant's 2017 Defy Advanced 3
WAS £1549.00 | NOW £1249.00

Giant Advanced 3.jpg

So you're after a new set of wheels. You're looking for a comfortable quick ride at a reasonable price. Well, you can stop looking.

Giant's Defy Advanced 3 is the bike you're looking for if those are your criteria.

A carbon fibre frame, Shimano's Tiagra groupset, Giant's SR 2 disc-ready wheels and Shimano's BR-RS405 disc brakes cover the main points of componentry interest.

If you want to know even more and see a close up of what the Defy Advanced 3 has to offer, check out our Video Just In below:

- Watch: road.cc's Video Just In: Giant's 2017 Defy Advanced 3

42% off Fox's Ascent Comp Bib Short
WAS £119.99 | NOW £70.00

Fox shorts.jpg

Not usually the brand you'd expect to find in a road cycling deal round-up, but Fox's Ascent Comp Bib Shorts fit the bill for road cyclists.

With a large rear pocket, reflective detailing and premuim italian fabrics, these shorts are an excellent option if you're looking for performance shorts at a reasonable price point.

- Read more: road.cc's Best Cycling Bib Shorts Buyer's Guide

20% off Mavic's Women's Ksyrium Elite Shoes
WAS £99.99 | NOW £80.00

Mavic shoes.jpg

While the Giant Defy above strikes a comfortable balance between performance and, well, comfort, the Mavic Ksyrium Elite Road Shoes hit a high performance balance between the two factors.

Inside the shoe there's Mavic's Endofit tongue. Designed to give the shoe a glove-like fit while the Ergo ratchet system on the outside does an excellent job of keeping your feet secure and ready to lay down some serious power.

40% off Proviz's Switch Women's Reflective Jacket
WAS £99.99 | NOW £60.00

Proviz jacket.jpg

Sure, summer's on the horizon, but if you're like us living in the UK you'll know that the last thing we can expect is a dry summer.

So, if you're going to protect yourself from the elements, why not tick off a couple of other boxes too? Namely, style and safety.

Proviz's reversible jacket will keep you safe and dry in the daytime with the hiviz yellow shell, and by simply turning it inside out it'll keep you safe at night with its silver shell.

30% off Fabric's TP02 Floor Pump
WAS £50.00 | NOW £35.00

Fabric Pump.jpg

If you're after some accessory deals, Fabric's entire range over on Cycle Surgery's website has seen some serious discounts.

We've picked out one deal in particular: the TP02 Floor Pump.

It's got a 140psi capacity with a convenient extra long hose and a big diecast aluminium gauge.

We like Fabric pumps, too. Check out our review of the R200 below:

- Read more: road.cc's Fabric R200 hi-pressure road pump review

11% off Garmin's Edge 820
WAS £370.00 | NOW £330.00

Garmin.jpg

While it's seen the smallest discount here, we liked the Garmin Edge 820 so much when it came our way for review we thought we'd pop it in.

In an already feature packed system, it was difficult for Garmin to upgrade the fantastic Edge 810, but they managed it.

The 820 is simple to use, the GPS connectivity is strong, and our man George Hill called it the "best performance and navigation computer I have used."

- Read more: road.cc's Garmin Edge 820 review

Buy-one-get-one-free on Muc-Off Bike Cleaner
WAS £18.00 | NOW £9.00

Muc Off Spray.jpg

Finally, Muc-Off's fantastic Bike Cleaner spray is currently flying out of Cycle Surgery HQ at double rate.

Buy one today, and you'll get another free.

Not sold on the kit? Check out our review below, it might change your mind.

- Read more: road.cc's Muc-Off Bike Cleaner review

The DealCatcher's here this afternoon with more wonderful cycling deals to help you upgrade your riding experience.

Today's deals come to you from Cycle Surgery, Ribble Cycles and Cycle Surgery and they'll kit you out from head to asphalt.

We'll start from the bottom.

Our first deal, or technically our first two deals, are front and rear wheels from Mavic. The Cosmic Carbone 40 wheels have seen some hefty discounts - 40% for the rear wheel and 28% for the front.

Next up we've got your torso covered, literally. Assos's SS.Mille_evo7 Short Sleeve Jersey is a wonderful summer jersey, and with it's one blue sleeve it looks fantastic!

Finally, keep your head in one piece - as well as well ventilated and comfortable - should the worst happen this summer with a bargain helmet from MET.

Cycle Surgery

40% off Mavic's Cosmic Carbone 40 Rear Wheel
WAS £949.99 | NOW £569.99
28% off Mavic's Cosmic Carbone 40 Front Wheel
WAS £849.99 | NOW £700.00

Mavic Cosmic Rear and Front.jpg

Mavic introduced its first ever set of carbon fibre clincher wheels to us back in 2013. We liked what we saw then, and still do now.

Our tech editor Mat Brett covered the launch and highlighted the 40mm rim designed to handle the heat from prolonged braking as a particular area of interest. 

Should you take Cycle Surgery up on this offer you'll find those long summer descents more comfortable than ever.

- Read more: road.cc's Mavic Cosmic Carbone 40 launch coverage

Ribble Cycles

41% off Assos's SS.Mille_evo7 SS Jersey
WAS £138.99 | NOW £81.95

Assos SSMille_evo7 jersey.png

Looking for an upgrade to your summer cycling wardrobe?

Assos and Ribble Cycles appear to have you covered with this excellent and heavily discounted number.

When we had the complicatedly named SS.Mille_evo7 in for review, we liked what we saw - even if we didn't like how the it sounded when it came out of our mouths. Do you pronounce the underscore?

It got an 8/10 and our tech editor David Arthur called it a "comfortable and nicely fitting jersey that copes very well with the heat and looks good too."

- Read more: road.cc's Assos SS.Mille_evo7 Jersey review

Chain Reaction Cycles

50% off MET's Inferno UL Helmet
WAS £89.99 | NOW £44.99

Met Inferno Helmet.png

When the summer actually properly starts (if* it actually properly starts), some of you might want to distance yourselves from the helmets that saw you through the winter months.

If that's the case, MET's Inferno UL Helmet might be a very suitable alternative. The 'UL' in Inferno UL stands for UltraLite. At 242g, we'd say that the helmet is just that, ultra light.

The big vents will also keep your head nice and cool. So, it's a great option for summer rides.

Mavic's new £900 Comete Ultimate shoes offer unrivalled performance for racing, but the limited size range and the massive price tag are going to be stumbling blocks for many (most?) cyclists.

An all-new approach to shoe design

Mavic has thrown out the rule book that most cycle shoe manufacturers have adhered to for generations, and taken inspiration from the ski footwear market. It's designed a two-piece shoe: a carbon outer shell with a separate one-piece bootie.

Mavic Comete Ultimate shoes - 4.jpg

Development began back in 2011/12 to meet requests from Mavic sponsored rides for a stiffer shoe, and countless prototypes later the Comete Ultimate was born. The aim was to create the most rigid, light and stable shoe possible without going down the full-custom route.

> To test & buy, find your nearest dealer

The carbon shell provides the stiffness and low weight, the inner bootie the comfort. It's a carbon shell in the most minimum sense. There's very little to it, with large holes not only contributing to the low weight but also to ventilation for hot weather cycling. Inside is a small removable metal mounting plate, something to attach cleats to, and the heel rubber bumper is replaceable. It's a thin shell but Mavic has impact tested it to ensure its toughness.

The carbon shell also provides a very low stack height – the distance between the bottom of the shoe and the pedal axle – of just 4.5mm. It's generally considered to be a good thing to have the shoe as close to the axle as possible, and in this regard the Mavics come out trumps compared with most other high-end shoes on the market.

Mavic Comete shoes - instep.jpg

The bootie fits into the carbon shell. The tongue is padded and ventilated, and the bottom has a grippy material to stop it slipping inside the shell. A winter bootie is being produced that will provide more insulation for the colder months.

Mavic Comete Ultimate shoes - 6.jpg

An inner sole is placed inside the bootie and is used to tune the fit: a thicker version for smaller feet, a thinner one for bigger feet. And this is where the Mavic differs from other cycling shoes. Instead of one shoe for each foot size, the Comete Ultimate comes in just six sizes, with the inner sole used to adjust the fit. I'm a 45 so used the thinner of the two supplied inner soles. A size 44 would have required the thicker inner sole to provide the right fit.

Mavic Comete Ultimate shoes - 9.jpg

In an age of custom mouldable shoes and half sizes, it could be a potential limiting factor for some people. You'll definitely want to be trying them on first and Mavic is operating a fitment and trial scheme through select dealers for this very reason.

As luck would have it, the shoes fitted my feet well. The most immediate observation is that the toe box is shallower than most other shoes I've tested recently (Sidi, Fizik, Giro), so that's something to be aware of, but in all other areas the fit is excellent.

Impressive performance but long distance comfort isn't the best

The design and technology set the shoes apart from everything else on the market, and it's the same story when it comes to riding in them. They are unlike any other cycling shoe I have ever tested.

A few impressions are very quickly formed. They're incredibly stiff, stiffer than any other shoe I can recall testing in recent years. Press down on the pedals and there's no hint of flex from the one-piece carbon shell, and that translates into a phenomenal feeling of speed and acceleration. You feel like you have any extra 80 watts at your disposal.

Mavic Comete shoes - sole 2.jpg

Ankle movement is the other big factor and a key differentiator to almost all other high-end shoes. Ankle movement is unhindered compared with other shoes. Because of the low cut ankle of the carbon shell and the flexible tongue of the bootie, my pedalling stroke – which does have a reasonable degree of ankling – felt freer and less restricted than with other high-end shoes that wrap higher and closer to the ankle. This freedom of ankle movement is the biggest takeaway for me of the Mavic shoes and goes some way to supporting Mavic's claims for 'rounder' pedalling.

Mavic Comete Ultimate shoes - 3.jpg

So they feel more efficient and smoother through the full pedal stroke than other shoes I've tested, but is me feeling faster just a psychological benefit of wearing £900 shoes?

Mavic claims the Comete Ultimate shoes improve pedalling efficiency by reducing 15% of the energy cost of the calf muscles with a rounder pedal stroke. It says there's less variation in the power output at the dead point and the power phase of the pedalling cycle, as Nicolas Gregoire, the man in charge of biomechanics testing for Mavic, explains: "The goal of one of our tests was to maintain 250 watts for the duration of the test. If we look at the instantaneous power during the pedalling cycle, there is a variation between 70 watts (through the 'dead point') and 400 watts (when the crank is around 90° – in the power phase). With the Comete Ultimate shoes, we discovered less variation (4.2 watts less) due to a more efficient stroke through the dead zone. So, to maintain 250 watts, you require less effort through the power phase."

You can read more explanation and see some graphs on Mavic's website here.

Keen to get some numbers from real-world rather than lab testing, I bolted a power meter to my bike and set out for some comparison testing. I rode the same stretch of road and a set loop, with a few climbs, in various shoes including the new Sidi Shot, Specialized S-Works and Fizik R1B, and then the Mavic Comete Ultimate.

Mavic Comete shoes - detail.jpg

And having collected some data... well, to be honest it was difficult to accurately and consistently produce figures that backed up my sensory feedback. In a few places, notably on the climbs, I saw higher average power figures with the Mavic shoes, but the difference was too slight to call out as a significant performance benefit without factoring in a margin of error due to other uncontrollable variables. I did feel faster wearing the Mavics throughout the testing, but it's difficult to put an absolute figure on it.

They're also surprisingly comfortable, to a degree. The bootie and carbon shell combine to provide an excellent fit, and the two rotary dials, easy to micro-adjust in either direction on the move, keep the shoes nicely in place. So good is the fit that only light tension is needed on the dials. There were no pressure points or hotspots during longer rides, and no heel lift during even the hardest bouts of pedalling or climbing out of the saddle.

Mavic Comete shoes - ratchet 2.jpg

Where the comfort does fade away compared with other shoes is on longer rides. The shoes are hard on your feet. That's because there's very little cushioning between the fleshy underside of your foot and the pedal axle, and all vibrations from the road surface are felt through your feet. On a stiff race bike it can be rather tiring; I certainly found them fatiguing on a six-hour ride. They're shoes for racing not for cruising.

Conclusion

Can a pair of cycling shoes be worth £900? Is that good value for money? Difficult questions to answer, but the performance is definitely there, even if it's difficult to measure and quantify.

Whether they're worth two or three times more than other high-end shoes is another question, and you've probably already made your mind up about the answer. If you're after the best racing shoes and have deep pockets, the Mavic Comete Ultimates are at least worth trying because, if they fit, there is no doubting their performance.

> Buyer's Guide: 14 of the best performance road cycling shoes

For everyone else, well, it'll be interesting to see where Mavic takes this technology. There's something highly appealing about the radical design and certainly some encouraging benefits over regular shoes, but there are a few issues that need resolving to broaden their appeal. They also need to lower the price, but the trickle-down effect will most likely take care of that, eventually.

Verdict

Some definite performance benefits but not without their issues, the biggest of them being that massive price tag

Mavic's Vision knee warmers are windproof and water repellent, and certainly live up to the name in being effective at protecting your knees and lower thighs from the elements. But they're also not very breathable, not very comfortable, and didn't fit me well.

> Find your nearest dealer here

Being available in sizes from XS to XL, there's enough scope that most people should be able to get an appropriate size. Fit-wise, though, there was excess fabric around the knee. This meant it bunched up behind the knee and caused chafing.

Mavic Vision Knee Warmer - on bike.jpg

On the plus side, they are left and right leg specific and have useful labels indicating which is which, and with silicone gripper and elastic at the top, they didn't ride up or fall down. However, they were quite tight around the thigh, partly because of the lack of stretch in the main Warm Shell fabric.

Mavic Vision Knee Warmer - grip.jpg

I didn't find the material to be very breathable, either. It struck me that there is only a very small window of weather in which these are appropriate. Too hot and you'll overheat, too cold and your shins will freeze. Riding down an Alp, perhaps...

Mavic Vision Knee Warmer - front.jpg

One thing they are good at is keeping light showers off. But... the pair I tested being white and black, the white part, once ridden in the wet, didn't ever return to sparkling white, more a dull grey. They are available in full black which would be more appropriate for British weather.

> Read more road.cc reviews of arm and leg warmers here

I'm also a big fan of the reflective portions, which did increase visibility in low light.

Mavic Vision Knee Warmer - cuff.jpg

At £37.50 and with a lack of versatility, these strike me as pretty poor value for money, though you can find them cheaper online. I would certainly expect a higher level of construction for the RRP. Castelli has a competing product in its Nanoflex Knee warmers which, in my opinion, offer much higher performance and a better fit for a similar cost (also available for less online). There are many other brands who offer cheaper products that will do a similar job.

Verdict

Windproof knee warmers that keep you warm at the expense of breathability

Your choice of tubeless tyres is still a bit restricted, but you have far more options in tubeless-compatible wheels and the range is growing all the time. We found almost 100 different models listed by manufacturers, though they’re not all available in the UK yet. Let’s take a look.

Bontrager

Bontrager Affinity Elite Road Disc wheelset

Trek’s wheel and component brand was early to get on board with tubeless mountain bike tyres, so it’s no surprise there’s a wide range of Bontrager tubeless-ready wheels, from the entry level Affinity Comp right up to the all-carbon Aeolus range of racing wheels.

Read our review of the Bontrager Aura 5

Read our review of the Bontrager Affinity Elite Disc wheels

Find a Bontrager dealer

Campagnolo & Fulcrum

Fulcrum Racing 3 wheelset - rim and valve

Campagnolo and subsidiary wheel brand Fulcrum call their tubeless system 2-Way Fit as it works with both standard tyres and tubeless tyres. Campagnolo says this allows a rider to “test which of the two solutions suits them best or use the clincher for training and the tubeless tire for the day of the race”.

There are five models in the two marques’ ranges from the Campagnolo Zondas to the Fulcrum Racing Zeros.

Read our review of the Fulcrum Racing 3 2-Way Fit wheels

Cero

Cero ARD23 Aluminium Disc Clincher Wheelset - rim bed.jpg

The wheel brand of Derbyshire cycle shop Cycle Division, Cero has a range of seven tubeless-compatible wheels with aluminium or carbon rims that represent very good value for money for the weight and performance on offer.

Read our review of the Cero ARD23 Aluminium Disc wheels

DT Swiss

DT Swiss R24 Spline wheelset - rim bed 2

All DT Swiss’ wheels appear to be tubeless-ready, a sensible move by the wheelmaker to broaden the appeal of its hoops. The range covers every imaginable road and cyclo-cross application and a huge price band from the budget R24 Splines at under £200 up to the RC 28 Spline db, which nevertheless look like good value for disc-brake carbon wheels at £1,200 per pair.

Read our review of the DT Swiss R24 Spline db wheels

Easton

EC90SL_Clincher_Wheelset.jpg

With a starting point at almost £700, Easton's tubeless offerings are very much pitched at the high end and racing, and include three models with carbon fibre rims for speed demons.

Find an Easton dealer

Edco

Edco Roches Tubeless Ready Wheelset

Swiss wheelmaker Edco has a large range of tubeless wheels, not all of which seem to be available in the UK, but which includes the startlingly light Supersport Neggias at a claimed weight of 1,179g.

Find an Edco dealer

Halo

Halo Evaura 6D 700c wheelset

Some of your best-value options in tubeless come from British brand Halo whose range includes the Evaura 6D wheels we reviewed recently and two Uni models that can be used with either discs or rim brakes.

Read our review of the Halo Evaura 6D wheels

Find a Halo dealer

Hunt

Hunt Race Season Aero Wide wheelset

New British wheel contender Hunt specialises in tubeless — in fact, it doesn't make anything else. The range comprises twelve models at the time of writing , six for disc brakes and six for rim brakes. We've been very impressed by the performance and value of the wheels we've reviewed so far.

Read our review of the Hunt 4Season Dura Road wheels
Read our review of the Hunt Race Season Aero Wide wheels

Kinesis

Kinesis Crosslight CX Disc

To go with its well-regarded road and cyclo-cross frames, Kinesis has a range of four tubeless-ready wheels, two for cyclo-cross use and two for road, with disc- and regular-braked versions of the latter.

Read our review of the Kinesis Crosslight CX Disc wheels

Mavic

Mavic Ksyrium Elite Disc All Road.jpeg

Mavic was surprisingly late to the road tubeless party given its wide range of mountain bike tubeless wheels, but as of June 2017 has gone all in with a 14-model line-up of wheels that use a road-specific version of the UST technology Mavic pioneered for mountain bikes back in the 1990s.

Mavic says its UST wheels work best with its own UST tyres because the manufacturing tolerances of  tyres and rims are very tightly controlled, but other manufacturer's road tubeless tyres will work.

Mavic Road UST cross-section

Mavic Road UST cross-section

Some of the range is available now, the rest are expected to hit the shops in August 2017.

Novatec

Novatec 30 Alu Clincher wheelset - Main

We've liked the Novatec tubeless wheels we've reviewed. As well as tubeless compatibility they have lots of thoughtful features such as compatibility with both Shimano and Campagnolo cassettes and a steel strip in the aluminium freehub body that stops sprocket splines from digging into it.

Read our review of the Novatec CXD wheels

Read our review of the Novatec Thirty wheels

Find a Novatec dealer

Prime

Prime Road Race alloy wheelset - decal.jpg

A component brand backed by the mighty buying power of Chain Reaction Cycles, Prime has a range of tubeless-compatible wheels ranging from workaday alloy wheels at £140/pair to disc-compatible aero carbon wheels at £782. Prices below are nominal RRPs, but Chain Reaction's actual prices are all currently 10 percent cheaper.

Read our review of the Prime Race Road Alloy wheels

Pro Lite

Pro-Lite Bortola A21 wheelset - rim

Pro Lite has a big range of tubeless wheels, with at least seven models, but we've only been able to find a UK source for one of the, the light but sensibly priced Bortola A21W.

Read our review of the Pro-Lite Bortola A21 wheels

Find a Pro Lite dealer

Reynolds

ASSAULT_Disk.jpg

Acclaimed US carbon fibre specialist Reynolds has one of the larger range of tubeless-ready wheels, with a pair of aluminium-rimmed wheels kicking the range off.

Shimano

Shimano WH-6800 wheelset.jpg

Despite partnering with tyre maker Hutchinson to develop tubeless tyres for the road in the early 2000s, Shimano hasn't gone all in, and just offers four models. They're good value, though with the Ultegra model wheels a particular bargain at the time of writing.

Read our review of the Shimano WH-6800 Ultegra wheels

Find a Shimano dealer

Stan's No Tubes

Stans NoTubes Alpha 340 Wheelset

Tubeless pioneer and sealant maker Stan's NoTubes was quick to get on board when tubeless tech crossed over from mountain bikes to the road. Stan's claims the Bead Socket Technology used in its rims gives a more secure seal between tire and rim and a proper tire profile for lower pressures, faster cornering and less rolling resistance.

Read our review of the Stan's NoTubes Alpha 340 wheels

Find a Stan's No Tubes dealer

Syntace

Known for its lightweight mountain bike wheels, Syntace also offers a model of road tubeless wheel.

Read our review of the Syntace W21R wheels

Velocite

Velocite RT50 tubeless carbon wheelset - rim

This Taiwanese carbon fibre specialist offers a range of keenly priced carbon wheels and an aluminium-rimmed model, all ready for tubeless tyres with the right rim strip and sealant.

Read our review of the Velocite RT50 wheels

Zipp

Zipp 30 Course Disc-brake Clincher wheels tight.jpg

Famous for aero wheels, Zipp only recently made the leap into tubeless wheels with two models of aluminium-rimmed wheels one for disc brakes, and one for rim brakes. It's bang up to date with a 25mm rim (external width) and there's an optional SRAM XD freehub body so you can fit a 10-42 cassette if you want to use a single-ring gear system.

For 2017 Zipp has announced a tubeless, disc-compatible version of the 303 carbon clincher wheels, though they don't yet seem to be shipping.

Read our review of the Zipp 30 Course Disc wheels

Mavic's Vision Arm Warmers are a good versatile option for changeable weather – something to put in your pocket when venturing into mountainous areas, or for use in the fickle spring and autumn months in the UK. With a water repellent treatment and fleecy backed material, they provide plenty of protection – much more than a traditional Lycra or wool sleeve.

I thought these warmers were a great option for wet mornings when the weather was expected to clear up, or the inverse – where it's glorious at the start of a ride but there's a chance of rain. Keeping the worst of wet weather off really helps you stay comfortable in changeable conditions, and protective arm warmers are much easier to put on or take off than a convertible jacket.

Mavic Vision Arm Warmer - cuff.jpg

Even in summer, when temperatures can reach into the 30s on Alpine valley floors, it can be a completely different story at the top of the high passes. These arm warmers would be a valuable thing to have in your pocket if you get caught out in cold, wet or foggy weather at high altitude.

In warm but wet weather they were usually breathable enough, but I did find myself overheating during fast rides or high intensity training sessions, and if you sweat heavily these don't do an amazing job of wicking moisture to the surface.

Mavic markets these arm warmers as being visible and the white fabric in conjunction with well-placed reflective portions contribute to good visibility from all directions. This makes them a great choice for commuting, or when setting off early on an all-day epic and when you may have stayed out long into the evening.

Mavic Vision Arm Warmer - cuff 2.jpg

White does seem an odd choice for a product designed to be used in wet weather, but I didn't find the colour dulled much after multiple washes and wet rides following my considerate riding buddies with no mudguards on mucky lanes... (They do come in black as well.)

The main fabric isn't the stretchiest, so what you gain in windproofing and water repellency, you lose slightly in terms of flexibility. That said, the rear of the sleeve is a stretchy Lycra and is shaped to fit in a normal riding position, and because of this I didn't feel it restricted movement at all.

Unlike many, the Mavics come in five sizes, XS to XL. Even so, if you have skinny arms then you may find the elastic grippers aren't sufficient to keep the warmers in place at the top of your arm. Those with actual muscles shouldn't find this as much of a problem.

Mavic Vision Arm Warmer - material.jpg

At £37.50 they are at the more expensive end of the market, cheaper than Gore's £39.99 Universal warmers but a lot more than basic Lycra sleeves, such as the £16 dhb Regulates. The extra weather protection is a valuable property, though, and I'd expect them to look smarter for longer than budget options. Even so, you can get cheaper rain-repellent designs for less, such as Sportful's similar NoRain warmers at £25, and dhb's Aeron Rain Defence Arm Warmers at £22, so in comparison the Mavics aren't great value.

> Find more road.cc reviews of arm (and leg) warmers here

In conclusion, the Mavic Vision arm warmers are a good product to get you out of sticky situations and to have in your pocket 'just in case', as well as for day to day use when it's not quite bad enough to wear a full waterproof jacket or rain jersey. They're pricey, though, and you do need to make sure you get the right size.

Verdict

Decent weather protection and good visibility, but not that breathable and pricey compared with some

• One of the most popular upgrades, better wheels (and tyres) can dramatically improve your bike’s ride.

• Stock wheels are often heavy and of mediocre quality — upgrading can reduce weight and improve reliability.

• If you want to go faster, choose wheels with deep-section rims; aerodynamics is far more important than weight.

• You’ve a choice of clinchers, tubulars or tubeless, with matching tyres; each system has pros and cons.

• Wheels benefit from the human touch; the best handbuilt wheels are still superior to wheels built entirely by machine.

Upgrading the wheels is one of the first changes many people make to their bikes. Why are wheels so important and how do you choose a better set of hoops?

It's one of the bike industry's guilty secrets: the wheels on even quite pricy road bikes are often a bit ordinary. That means upgrading your wheels can make a big difference to the feel and performance of your bike.

There are several reasons why you might want better wheels. If you're doing a lot of commuting on bad roads (the potholed streets of just about any UK major city for example) you might want a set of beefy wheels for weekday riding, and to switch to something lighter or more aerodynamic for the weekend.

Or you might have decided to keep the run-of-the-mill wheels your bike came with for training and to fit better-performance wheels for sunny days and important events.

>> Read more: All wheel reviews on road.cc

Wheel construction

The basics of wheel construction haven't changed in decades because, quite simply, they work extraordinarily well. A bike wheel can carry hundreds of times its own weight; pretty remarkable structural efficiency.

Your basic tension-spoked wheel consists of a hub that houses bearings so the whole thing can turn easily, a rim for the tyre to sit on and steel spokes under tension that hold it all together.

The tension in the spokes is the vital factor. When you load a wheel, the tension goes down in the spokes between the hub and the ground. As long as it never hits zero, the wheel can support you and your bike.

Nevertheless, wheels have evolved in the last couple of decades, and now usually have fewer spokes and deeper rims, both changes that improve aerodynamics. The spokes themselves may be flattened to better cut through the air too.

Perhaps the biggest change is the use of carbon fiber for rims. That's made possible deep, highly aerodynamic rims with minimal weight penalty. Carbon wheels are still more expensive than wheels with aluminium rims, but prices have been steadily decreasing for the last few years.

Tubulars, clinchers and tubeless

In terms of how tyres mount, there are three types of wheel rim. Rims for tubular tyres — which have the inner tube sewn into the carcass — have a shallow dip where the tyre is glued on. These are the lightest rims, and tubular fans say their soft floaty ride is unparalleled. However, for the vast majority of people the faff of gluing, and the difficulty of fixing a punctured tubular makes them too much hassle.

Clincher or wire-on rims have raised sidewalls with a hook where the tyre bead engages, and the tyre has a separate inner tube. In other words, this is the standard bike rim and tyre we all know and love. Fixing a flat is a simple matter of changing the tube and swapping tyres just requires tyre levers and a pump.

Tubeless tyres are a special case of clinchers. Tyre and rim are manufactured to precise tolerances to enable an airtight seal. The rim has no holes and the tyre is coated internally with rubber so there's no need for an inner tube. Some manufacturers forego the rubber coating and base their tubeless systems around use of sealant. That has the advantage of making them more resistant to penetration punctures, in addition to their natural resistance to pinch punctures.

Weight vs Aerodynamics

If performance is your aim, there's strong evidence that you should put more priority on aerodynamics than weight. Way back in 2001 bike engineer Kraig Willett analysed the forces on wheels and concluded:

"When evaluating wheel performance, wheel aerodynamics are the most important, distantly followed by wheel mass. Wheel inertia effects in all cases are so small that they are arguably insignificant."

That goes against the long-standing conventional wisdom that wheel weight is vitally important to performance because wheels have to be spun up to speed as well as moved along the road.

But you don't do much accelerating when you ride a bike, and even when you do the speed changes involved are relatively gradual. That means you spend most of your time, and therefore effort, simply shoving the air out of the way, and you should choose wheels accordingly.

Pro teams have drawn similar conclusions, which is why you now see far more deep-section wheels in the peloton than you did even ten years ago. Aero wheels are free speed in a breakaway or sprint.

The big disadvantage of deep-section wheels is the effect of crosswinds, which can blow you off track. Some wheels are less affected than others. Zipp's Firecrest shape is widely considered to be among the least problematic thanks to its bulged sidewalls.

Rim width

Just as tyres have become a bit wider in recent years, with the previously ubiquitous 23mm size giving away to 25, 26 and even 28mm tyres, so rims have spread out too. All other things being equal, a wider rim makes for a stiffer, stronger wheel and also makes the tyre effectively a bit fatter.

Wider rims are also claimed to be more aerodynamic because air flows more smoothly between tyre and rim if they are about the same size. Wheel maker Mavic has taken this to its logical conclusion with its CX01 Blades, plastic fairings that fill the groove between its Yksion CXR tyre and Cosmic CXR wheel. The UCI won't let pros use them, but that doesn't affect triathletes and UK time trial riders.

Can we build it?

Wheelbuilding (CC BY-NC-ND Cory Grunkemeyer:Flickr)

If you want your wheels to be durable, then how they were built is just as important as the components that went into them. For wheels to be durable, the tension needs to be high and even. If it's not high then spokes can come loose as you ride because the tension can drop to zero under load. If the tension is not even then the wheel is unlikely to stay round and true, even if it's that way out of the box.

A step in the wheel-building process called 'stress-relieving' also improves wheel longevity by preventing fatigue failure at the spoke heads. If your relatively new wheels start breaking spokes it's a good bet they weren't stress-relieved properly when they were built.

Most wheels these days are built by machines. It's possible to set up wheel building machines to get all of these things right, or very nearly right, but sometimes factories take short-cuts, especially when the objective is to build inexpensive wheels. The less time each wheel spends in the machine, the more wheels the factory can build.

Spokes (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Jon Bowen:Flickr)

That's why machine-built wheels have a poor reputation, but if a wheel builder doesn't know what he or she is doing, humans can build poor wheels too. The most efficient way of mass-producing high-quality wheels seems to be to let machines quickly do the spadework and then finish them by hand, as Joe Graney found when Santa Cruz decided to build its own wheels.

Alternatively, you can get top-quality wheels that have been built by hand from start to finish, either off-the-peg or custom built. Barnoldswick parts-meisters Hope have been making well-regarded wheels for years, including road wheels, while Hunt Bike Wheels is a new entrant in the field. You'll find wheels built by several others in the selection below.

If you want something truly special, a wheelbuilder who really knows their stuff can help you choose exactly the right combination of hubs, rims and spokes for your needs. The doyen of this approach in the UK is probably Liverpool's Pete Matthews whose resume includes building wheels for Tour de France King of the Mountains Robert Millar, legendary rouleur Sean Yates and comedian Alexei Sayle. Many good bike shops have a similar if less storied figure lurking in the workshop, quietly crafting wheels that last until the rim sidewalls wear out.

Names to look for

The major wheel brands nevertheless produce good wheels, by and large. Riders report thousands of happy miles on wheels by Mavic, Bontrager, Shimano, Reynolds, Zipp, DT Swiss and many others. Here are some of our favourite wheels from the last couple of years.

Fast Forward F3R Full Carbon Clincher Wheels — £1,000-£1,100

Fast Foward F3R Full Carbon Clincher Wheelset.jpg

Fast Forward F3R Full Carbon Clincher wheels are a lightweight option that provide excellent acceleration and a high level of stiffness, although the lack of aero credentials might put off some who aren't pure climbers.

Fast Forward bills the Full Carbon Clincher as a wheelset that's particularly suited to climbing. The carbon rims are 30mm deep and 22.4mm wide with quite a rounded profile and a blunt inner edge – far more U-shaped than V-shaped.

Read our review of the Fast Forward F3R Full Carbon Clincher wheels
Find a Fast Forward dealer

Knight Composites 65 wheels — from £1,648

Knight 65 Wheelset.jpg

The Knight 65 Carbon Fibre clinchers offer very good stiffness, but their real skill is in cutting through the air at high speeds and feeling stable with it.

These wheels – Knight's own rims laced to DT Swiss 240 hubs – have a whole lot going for them. Okay, at 65mm deep they're never going to be particularly light, our pair coming in at 1,680g (including rim strips and skewers), but that's not unusual. For comparison, Zipp's 404s are a claimed 1,505g (you also need to factor in the weight of the rim strips and skewers) and Bontrager's 70mm-deep Aeolus 7s are a claimed 1,610g.

It's when you fire the Knight 65s up to speed that things get impressive. As tester Mat Brett put it: "I have a few routes that I ride regularly as personal time trials for reviewing bikes and kit – rolling rather than hilly – and I've used these wheels to help achieve consistently fast times over several weeks and in a wide variety of conditions. I measure power every ride and my view is that these wheels are offering impressive speeds for the wattage I'm putting out. It's unscientific and highly anecdotal, so take it or leave it, but this is my experience."

Read our review of the Knight Composites 65 DT Swiss 240 wheels
Find a Knight Composites dealer

Prime Pro Road Wheels — £314.99

Prime Pro Road Wheels.jpg

We've not reviewed Prime's lightest aluminium-rimmed wheels, but we were very impressed with the now-unavailable Race Road Alloy Clincher wheels, so we expect these to be as good. Being lighter, however, they might not be as well uited to heavier riders.

Read our review of the Prime Race Road Alloy Wheels

DT Swiss RRC 65 Dicut clinchers — £1,999.98

DT Swiss RRC 65 Dicut C - 1.jpg

They might be a lot of money but these DT Swiss RRC 65 Dicut clincher wheels are fast and stable, and they offer a good braking performance too.

These wheels are at their best when slicing along at high speed. They maintain pace beautifully with an appreciably lower resistance than shallow section rims. The RRC 65s also accelerate well, especially considering their 65mm rim depth. Weighing 745g (front) and 885g (rear) – excluding skewers; combined weight is 1,630g (DT's official total weight is 45g lower) – they spin up to speed with little fuss. For comparison, Zipp's 58mm deep 404 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers have claimed weights of 725g and 895g (1,620g total).

Some people might consider 65mm a little deep for general road use but we rode with these wheels on both a road bike and more occasionally on a TT bike for six weeks and they were superb. We really rate these wheels highly, and not just for racing against the clock.

Read our review of the DT Swiss RRC 65 Dicut clinchers 
Find a DT Swiss dealer

Vision Team 35 — £269.99

Vision Team 35 Wheelset .jpg

Vision's Team 35s are competent and durable entry-level race wheels, with the added bonus of being very comfortable for a set of semi-deep-section alloy clinchers. The black anodised finish gives them a cool stealth look too.

The Team 35s are a revamped version of Vision's long-standing T35 model, and with a recommended retail price of £229.95 they sit right at that level of a first serious performance upgrade for a lot of bikes.

At first glance they seem a bit porky at 1,820g, especially considering the quoted weight is some 100g less than that, but the good thing is they never feel sluggish out on the road. You notice it a little if things get really steep or you ask for some rapid acceleration from a standing start, so if you're searching for a climber's set of wheels, look elsewhere.

Otherwise, the Team 35s are hard to knock. Considering the depth of the alloy rim, you'd expect them to feel harsh, but they don't.

Read our review of the Vision Team 35 wheels
Find a Vision dealer

Swiss Side Hadron 625 — around £1,200

Swiss Side Hadron 625 wheelset.jpg

"Hur hur hur your wheels are called Hard... oh no, wait, it's Hadron." To Swiss ears, the name may well conjure up the crowning peak of European scientific endeavour, but it's perilously close to something that provided regular amusement to the Sunday morning crew back at home. That's as may be, but the Swiss Side Hadron 625s are stonkingly good wheels, offering arguably the best performance in this price bracket on the market today.

They use a hybrid aluminium-carbon rim to give aluminium-rim brake performance and class-leading aerodynamic performance, at a price way below the big players like Zipp and Enve. And by god they sound good.

Read our review of the Swiss Side Hadron 625 wheels

Superstar Components Pave 28 wheels — £239.99

The least expensive wheels we've ever given four and a half stars, the Superstar Pace 28s demonstrate that custom handbuilt wheels can be competitive on weight and reliability with any factory wheels. They have wide rims in the modern style and are built on reliable Icon hubs. They're comparable to substantially more expensive wheels from other manufacturers; light enough to race on while still managing to be as tough as old boots, and look how shiny they are.

Read our review of the Superstar Components Pave 28 wheels

Hunt 4Season Aero V2 — £349.00

Hunt 4Season Aero V2 wheels

Hunt's entry-level road clinchers look like an excellent choice. They succeed the now-discontinued 4Season Dura Road wheels which we liked a lot, and like those wheels, these look to be a good first upgrade over heavy stock wheels, or as a good quality winter or all-round option, they're right on the money.

The 4Season Aero V2 wheels have the same hubs. We had no issues with the 4-pawl freehub, nor with the sealed EZO bearings. Everything ran smoothly in spite of being subjected to some biblical conditions. The supplied skewers are an external cam, with a nylon insert instead of the brass one you get on the more expensive Hunt wheels, but they do the job without any fuss.

Read our review of the Hunt 4Season Dura Road
Find a Hunt dealer

Pro-Lite Bortola A21 wheels — £389.98

The 1,540g weight of these wide, tubeless-ready wheels is impressive for an aluminium wheelset even if that is about 65g over the claimed weight. With the Bortolas Pro-Lite haven't sacrificed strength or durability to achieve it, it's more of a by-product of well chosen, proven components.

On the road, they're smooth and comfortable, but light enough to reward a little out of the saddle dig on a steep section while climbing.

Overall the Bortolas are perfect all rounder wheels that only really lose out in terms of aerodynamics due to that shallow rim.

Read our review of the Pro-Lite Bortola A21 wheels

Pro-Lite Revo A21W — £399.99

Pro-Lite Revo A21 Disc Clincher Wheelset.jpg

Road disc and gravel wheels are getting better, lighter and cheaper, and right at the forefront of that trend are the Pro-Lite Revo A21s. At 1,650g, with a Centerlock option, thru-axle compatibility and a wide track rim, they're a bargain, and pretty future-proof too.

Pro-Lite builds all its wheels by hand and the Revos arrived nice and true, with even spoke tension. The spokes are bladed and triple butted, and Pro-Lite uses a brass washer at the spoke head to better distribute the forces there.

The Revos use a 21mm deep rim (hence the name), which is 23.8mm wide externally and 19mm internally. That makes it ideal for 28-32mm tyres, although 25mm rubber and bigger chamber tyres will be fine too.

Read our review of the Pro-Lite Revo A21W
Find a Pro-Lite dealer

Stan's NoTubes ZTR Grail Team — £457.95

Stans NoTubes ZTR Grail Disc Wheelset.jpg

We've been hugely impressed with these wheels. With 25mm slicks at high pressures they're fast on the road, and bombproof when riding with knobbly tyres at low pressures off-road. They're a decent weight, the hubs are easily interchangeable to different axle standards, and the company's Bead Socket Technology (BST) means getting a tubeless tyre inflated is a cinch.

The Grail rims are wide: 24mm on the outside, 21mm on the inside. The rims are also quite deep, 24.5mm, making them the company's deepest – and therefore more aero – rim to date. They're constructed from aluminium and weigh a claimed 460g apiece. The BST rim profile features a shallow seating area so the tyre bead locates right up against the side of the rim. Getting a Schwalbe One tubeless tyre to inflate was ridiculously easy – a slosh of sealant inside and a track pump to inflate the tyre.

If you want a disc- and tubeless-ready wheelset with a wide rim profile to make the most of the growing number of wide tubeless tyres, the Stan's NoTubes ZTR Grail Team wheels combine a competitive price, decent weight and impressive performance. Add in the easy tubeless compatibility and axle versatility, and they're seriously worth considering.

Read our review of the Stan's NoTubes ZTR Grail Team
Find a Stan's NoTubes dealer

Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels — £469

The original factory wheels, Mavic Ksyriums have come a long way since their first appearance in 1996, and remain extremely popular upgrade wheels. In their latest incarnation they boast a claimed weight of 1550g and have slightly wider rims than before, following the current trend. Mavic claims the resulting fatter tyre shape is worth a 13% reduction in rolling resistance or you can drop the tyre pressure 20psi for a comfier ride at the same rolling resistance. Your £420 also gets you a pair of 25mm Mavic Yksion Pro tyres.

Find a Mavic dealer

Edco Optima Roches (22mm) Tubeless Ready Wheels — £599.99

Traditional looks meets modern width in these wheels from Swiss-based Edco, which have 22mm wide rims and are ready for Tubeless tyres like those offered by Hutchinson, Bontrager or Schwalbe.

There are a lot of clever touches to these wheels like the MultiSys freewheel body, designed to accept both Shimano/SRAM and Campagnolo cassettes so you don't need new wheels if you ever change gearing allegiance.

These wheels ride well, are a sensible 1571g and come with a whopping eight-year guarantee.

Read our review of the Edco Optima Roches (22mm) Tubeless Ready Wheels
Find an Edco dealer

Spada Stiletto wheels — £699

With the Stiletto wheels, Spada's emphasis is on minimum weight, but not at the cost of strength or stiffness. Stilettos are surprisingly good all rounders — we tested them on a winter training bike on a variety of fairly rough roads and they didn't flinch — but we'd probably still reserve them for riding fast, smooth roads in decent weather.

Spada markets the Stilettos as its 'regular use' wheel option, and they're certainly tough enough We'd still put them part way between regular use and 'special rides only' simply because they'll suffer if you don't treat them well. Aluminium spoke nipples need keeping clean, an aluminium cassette body soon starts burring on the splined edges under regular duress and ceramic bearings aren't exactly cheap to replace.

Nevertheless these are lovely, light wheels that make a bike feel a bit more sprightly under acceleration, thanks to their low weight.

Read our review of the Spada Stiletto wheels
Find a Spada dealer

Swiss Side Hadron 485 — around £1,200

Swissside Hadron 485 wheelset

Hadron wheels (named after that big circular tunnel near Geneva, of course) are available in rim depths of 48.5mm, 62.5mm and 80mm (front)/85mm (rear). All share the same fundamental construction, with aluminium rims and carbon fairings. Swiss Side says it's done an enormous amount of work to perfect the aerodynamic design of these rims, focusing on aerodynamic drag and also minimising the sensitivity to side-winds.

they've performed well in a wide variety of riding. We won't pretend that we can accurately determine the difference compared with other quality aero wheels of a similar depth, but they certainly feel like they're in the same ball-park, holding speed really well and making a rather satisfying hum in the process.

Read our review of the Swiss Side Hadron 485
Find a Swiss Side dealer

Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon DB — £849.99

Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon DB wheelset.jpg

The Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon DB wheels could well redefine the modern bicycle wheel. They're bang on trend for a broad range of today's disc brake-equipped bikes and promise the trinity of light, fast and strong.

First, they're the right material: carbon fibre, with a 3k core and unidirectional surface. And while Fulcrum doesn't tout them as tubeless ready, they are, with only the valve hole in the bed of the 40mm-deep aero section rims.

The broad carbon rims are laced with 18 spokes in the front and 21 in the rear – a number low enough to keep the weight down, but high enough to make the wheels feel bombproof.

Paradoxically, they ride like function-specific race-day wheels, all revved up and raring to rip up the road, and so, naturally, you expect them to be fragile and delicate, with a need to be guarded from harm and children's sticky fingers. In reality, they're street tough and ready for couple of pints and a scrap.

Read our review of the Fulcrum Racing Quattro Carbon DB
Find a Fulcrum dealer

Profile Design 38/TwentyFour Clincher wheels — around £1,150

The shallowest of three rim options in Profile Design's Twenty Four carbon fibre wheel range offers very good performance for the money.

The wide rims make for extra cushion from whatever wheels you fit, and the shape provides good aerodynamics and stability; they would be ideal as an everyday wheelset or for UK sportives and road races.

Braking has been the Achilles' heel of carbon rims in the past, but with Profile's own brake blocks the braking performance is highly impressive with consistent and progressive stopping.

Read our review of the Profile Design 38/TwentyFour Clincher wheels
Find a Profile Design dealer

Spin K2 Carbone XLR38 25mm Fat Boy Clincher wheels — £990.00

The closest equivalent to these wheels in the current Spin range is the DM8 Custom Shop Pro ThirtyEight Super Fly Boy. They're still 38mm deep, but now wider to give better support and shape to 25-28mm tyres.

The XLR38s offered bags of speed with a fat rim profile reminiscent of a Zipp or Enve but at a fraction of the price. We expect theSuper Fly Boys to be just as good, making them an ideal upgrade for anyone looking to invest in their first deep section carbon wheels.

Spin offers a choice of rim depths, laced to its own SPN Precision hubs. With the 38mm rims, they weigh 1500g per pair. That's a very competitive weight, certainly for the price. You won't get much lighter unless you're prepared to spend quite a lot more money. Braking with the supplied QuickStop Black Shadow brake blocks was excellent.

Read our review of the Spin K2 Carbone XLR38 25mm Fat Boy Clincher wheels

Reynolds Aero 58 clincher wheels — £1,784.99

The ultimate in aero wheel performance comes with the combination of a deep rim, a wide tyre bed and a shape that's not affected badly by sidewinds. The Reynolds Aero 58s fit the bill.

On the road, the Aero 58s are discernibly fast and easily give you a 2km/h speed increase over a high profile wheel such as a Mavic Ksyrium. Reynolds claim best-in-class stability is sidewinds and out testing bore this out. Consistent, high cross winds proved no problem whatsoever, it was only in really gusty conditions, such as when passing a gap in a hedgerow, that the 58s could be unsettled.

Braking performance in the dry is very good, not so great in the wet, but no worse than most carbon rims, and while the 1601g weight isn't feathery, it's pretty good for such deep wheels.

Fast, quick-accelerating and superbly stable in crosswinds, the Aero 58s are our benchmark in carbon clincher performance.

Read our review of the Reynolds Aero 58 clincher wheels
Find a Reynolds dealer

Lightweight Meilenstein tubular — £3,549.00

Lightweight Meilenstein wheelset

Yes, they're very expensive, but the Lightweight Meilenstein carbon tubulars are superlight and equally stiff, resulting in an exceptional performance out on the road.

As the name suggests, Lightweight makes very light wheels. Our Meilensteins, with 47.5mm-deep and 20mm-wide rims, hit the road.cc Scales of Truth at 480g for the front (Lightweight claims 475g) and 640g rear (Lightweight claims 625g). That's a total of just 1,120g. The skewers add 44g.

You might expect that because they weigh so little the Meilensteins will flex about all over the place as soon as you jack up the power. That would seem logical, but the biggest surprise in their performance is that they're very, very stiff.

From the first pedal stroke you can feel that these are light wheels and acceleration is little short of superb. Really, you'll be astonished.

Read our review of the Lightweight Meilenstein tubular
Find a Lightweight dealer

Want to go tubeless? Here are all your options in tyres.

Tubeless tyres are gradually gaining popularity as more riders become convinced that their improved ride and increased resistance to punctures are worth the cost of new wheels and tyres and the sometimes problematic fitting process. If you’re about to make the switch, here’s a look at your tyre options.

When tubeless tyres for road wheels first appeared you had very few choices. Hutchinson made tyres, Shimano and Stan’s NoTubes made wheels and conversion kits and, er, that was it. Now many tyre makers offer tubeless options, though Michelin and Continental are notable hold-outs.

Read more: How to fit a tubeless tyre
Read more: Road tubeless: everything you need to know — including how to convert

Bontrager

Bontrager R3.jpeg

Bontrager R3

Bontrager offers a range of three tyres badged Tubeless Ready, which means what you need to get them working is sealant and either Bontrager’s special rim strips if you have Bontrager wheels, or other tubeless compatible wheels and valves. In ascending order of raciness, they’re the AW2, R2 and R3. We’ve tested and liked the latter as part of the Bontrager Road TLR Upgrade Kit.

Read our review of the Bontrager R3 Tubeless Ready
Read our review of the Bontrager Road TLR Upgrade Kit
Read our review of the Bontrager CX3 Team Issue TLR Cyclocross Tyres

Find a Bontrager dealer

Hutchinson

Hutchinson Sector 28 tubeless tyre

Hutchinson Sector 28

Hutchinson launched tubeless tyres for road bikes back in 2006, so it’s no surprise the French tyre maker has a fairly big range. While most tyre makers have gone down the Tubeless Ready route with lightweight tyres that need sealant to keep the air in, Hutchinson also makes tyres to the original Road Tubeless spec, sealed with a coating of rubber inside the tyre.

Read our review of the Hutchinson Intensive Road Tubeless tyres
Read our review of the Hutchinson Fusion 2 tubeless tyres
Read our review of the Hutchinson Sector 28 tubeless tyres

IRC

IRC Pro Tubeless.jpg

IRC Formula Pro Tubeless

IRC makes several tubeless or tubeless ready tyres, but they’re very rare in the UK; we’ve only been able to find one source. That’s a pity as IRC has been pushing road tubeless technology to make tyres lighter and faster. The Pro Tubeless tyres have internal coating based on latex rubber rather than synthetic butyl. That makes for lower rolling resistance, just as a regular clincher tyre is faster with a latex inner tube than a butyl one.

Read our review of the Formula Pro Tubeless RBCC
Read our review of the Formula Pro Tubeless X-Guard

Mavic

Mavic Yksion Pro UST Clincher Tyre

Mavic Yksion Pro UST

Mavic jumped into the road tubeless sector with both boots in summer 2017, announcing a new standard — Road UST — and a big range of wheels. The accompanying tyre offerings are a bit thin at the moment — the Yksion Pro UST in 25mm and 28mm widths — but Mavic clearly anticipates other manufacturers adopting the standard when it's been ratified by the relevant international bodies.

Mavic still offers its all-purpose/gravel tyre in the old Road Tubeless standard, the 30mm Yksion Elite Allroad.

Find a Mavic dealer

Panaracer

Panaracer Race A Evo 3 tubeless tyre.jpeg

Panaracer Race A Evo 3 tubeless tyre

Panaracer has joined the tubeless fray with the Race A Evo 3 Tubeless. The Japanese tyre maker has developed a brand new bead which it claims allows the tyre to be inflated using just a hand pump and claims this tyre increases puncture resistance by 24% compared to the previous Evo 2 tyre, thanks to a new Protite puncture proof material. The tread compound is also claimed to improve cornering performance.

Read our review of the Panaracer Race A Evo 3 tubeless

Find a Panaracer dealer

Schwalbe

ProOne_Close_up

Schwalbe ProOne

Schwalbe says “The future will be tubeless” in its latest blurb for the Schwalbe Pro One tyre, which it claims is its best tubeless tyre ever. We tested the slightly less advanced One Tubeless recently and found it rode brilliantly and, unlike many tubeless tyres, it was easy to get on the rim and to then pop into place on the bead seat.

Schwalbe offers a total of six ‘Tubeless Easy’ tyres, from the Pro One, which is being reliably reported as having a super-low rolling resistance, to the aptly named Big One, a 60mm tyre intended for mountain bike beach racing but which we’ve included in case anyone’s thinking of building up a ‘monster-cross’ bike.

Read our review of the Schwalbe One Tubeless
Read our review of the Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless
Read our review of the Schwalbe S-One Tubeless

Find a Schwalbe dealer

Specialized

Specialized Roubaix Road Tubeless.jpg

Specialized Roubaix Road Tubeless

Until recently, Specialized has focused on endurance and cyclo-cross riding with its Tubeless Ready tyres, which it spells 2Bliss because — well, who knows. Californians, eh?

Specialized also makes a Road Tubeless version of its S-Works Turbo tyre. The 26mm version of this tyre recently won a rolling resistance test against a range of standard and tubeless tyres, and looks promising as a fast tyre for UK riding.

Read our review of the Specialized Trigger Pro 2Bliss Ready

Find a Specialized dealer

Vittoria

Vittoria Corsa Speed (Open TLR).jpg

Vittoria makes the big claim that this graphene technology tyre is the fastest ever independently measured, and the lightest tubeless-ready tyre too.

Find a Vittoria dealer

[This article was last updated on September 1, 2017]

It might still be early November but Christmas is on the way so we’re running a series of articles here on road.cc suggesting gifts for cyclists, and if you really want to shell out on someone special here are some money no object ideas.

When we say ‘money no object’ we’re not implying that everything here is luxury, but our suggested items do tend to be priced towards the higher end of their respective categories, and they demand that you dig quite deep into your finances – very deep in some cases!

Mavic Comete Ultimate shoes £900 

Admittedly, £900 is a ridiculous amount to spend on cycling shoes but this is the ‘money no object’ gift guide! These offer lots of interesting tech and an amazing performance for racing. If you want some slightly more sensibly priced footwear, check out our other shoe reviews. But if you're heart's set on these, they're only available at Sigma Sports, so head on over there to pick up a pair.

Read our review. 

Artful Kicks custom painted shoes £various

If £900 shoes lack the personal touch, Artful Kicks will custom paint cycling footwear of your choice so you can have something unique.

Read our story. 

PowerTap P1S Single Side Powermeter Set £550
Buy now for 12% off at Evans Cycles

PowerTap P1S power meter pedals 2.jpg

All the kool kidz are training with power these days and, despite costing £550, the PowerTap P1S pedals are actually among the less expensive options. They're easy to set up and to swap between bikes, they work well and are compatible with a wide variety of head units. They’d make a great gift for anyone with a focus on fitness and/or racing.

The aforementioned discount over at Evans Cycles brings the price of these pedals right down to £439.99 - Buy now!

Read our review. 

Here’s our advice on choosing a cycling power meter.

Hill and Ellis Professor Bike Bag £195

Hill and Ellis Professor bike bag - worn.jpg

The Hill and Ellis Professor is a beautifully made satchel you can attach to your rack, and it performs as well off the bike as it does on. You’re worried about what happens when it rains, right? It comes with a high-vis rain cover. road.cc’s Simon loves his, and he’s a man of taste and refinement. That’s what he told me, anyway. 

Read our review.

Silca T-Ratchet Kit + Ti-Torque Kit £100 
Buy now over at Evans Cycles

Silca T-Ratchet Kit and TI-Torque Kit - inside.jpg

This is a beautifully made, superlight, and multi-functional set of tools that would make a great gift. The tools live in a beautiful waxed canvas cloth case that’s magnetically closed, snapping shut for compact storage in a jersey pocket. 

Evans Cycles currently has stock of the kit, so head on over there if you're looking to make the bike fettler in your life very happy. 

Read our review. 

Prologo CPC Airing Nago Evo Nack saddle £249.99 
Buy now for 16% off at Tredz

Prologo 2017 CPC Airing Nago Evo Nack.jpg

The name is arguably too long, but with carbon-fibre rails and CPC (Connect, Power, Control) polymer on the upper, the Prologo CPC Airing Nago Evo Nack saddle does have the advantage of looking expensive. Bonus! Even more important, reviewer George found it to be super-comfy.

Read our review. 

Rapha Leather Race Bag £595

Rapha Leather Race Bag.jpg

Rapha offers a water resistant Cordura race bag (currently out of stock) but if you want to go all in, this version “is constructed from a fine full-grain leather sourced from an artisan French tannery”. Well, of course. You wouldn’t expect anyone to rock up at a race with anything less, would you? 

See it here. 

Brooks Pickwick Leather backpack £340

Brooks Pickwick Leather.jpg

If you’re buying for someone who uses their bike for commuting or urban riding, Brooks’ Pickwick Leather backpack is a high quality bit of kit that’s “designed by André Klauser in London and manufactured in the hills of Tuscany by Italian artisans”. 

What is it with all the artisans? They’re cleaning up these days. 

Of course, heading over to Brooks and shelling out on the artisan leather isn't your only option. If you've been swept away by the design, but £340 is a little outside of your budget, you can buy the water-resistant canvas edition for £139.50 over at Tredz.

Get more info here.

CycleOps Hammer direct drive smart trainer £1,000
Buy now at Wiggle for 11% off

CycleOps Hammer Direct Drive SMART Trainer - from back.jpg

This is a fully-featured indoor trainer to use with Zwift and similar apps, and it’s especially welcome at this time of year when the weather’s cold and damp. It has a smooth, realistic pedalling feel, accurate power measurement, high maximum resistance, and an air of reassuring solidity. It even folds away for more compact storage. The Hammer is a doddle to set up and, despite it’s name, is also quiet. The price has just been reduced from £1,200 to £1,000

Read our review. 

Chpt3 The Rocka 1.61 £300
Buy now for 13% off at Sigma Sports

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David Millar's Chpt3 brand describes its clothing, made by Castelli, as “premium cycling apparel”. The Rocka is based on Castelli's existing Gabba, but it comes in less of a race cut with extra features added, such as a front pocket and a buttoned flap at the collar.

Find out more.

Specialized S-Works Womens Prevail II helmet £175
Buy now over at Hargroves Cycles

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The Prevail  has long been a popular helmet with performance-focused cyclists because it's comfortable, well ventilated and seriously lightweight. This new version retains everything that was good about original but has a much lower profile. It not only looks better but offers improved ventilation and sweat management as well as reduced wind noise.

Read our review. 

Roval CLX 50 Disc wheels £1,870 
Buy now over at Evans Cycles

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The Roval CLX 50s (with 50mm-deep rims) combine the aero performance of deep section rims with the lightness of shallower rims, coming in at 1,415g with disc brake hubs. They put in an excellent performance across the board, proving fast and stable with impressive handling. There are more aerodynamically efficient wheels and there are lighter wheels, but these strike a really good all-round balance that works well in most situations.

Read our review. 

Castelli Idro Jacket £260 
Buy now over at Wiggle 

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The Idro is made of the waterproof, amazingly breathable and highly packable Gore-Tex Active fabric, as are the 7Mesh Oro and the Gore Bike Wear One that we’ve also reviewed here on road.cc. None of these jackets are cheap – largely thanks to the high-tech fabric used – but they perform superbly and pretty much any rider would be delighted to receive one. 

Read our review. 

Gore Power Windstopper long sleeve jersey £179.99 
Buy now for 5% off at Wiggle

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If you’re thinking of buying someone a Christmas jumper this year, here’s a little tip: don’t. Wacky doesn’t equal funny. Instead, get them a top they’ll really appreciate like this brilliant three-season Windstopper jersey that provides very good protection against wind and rain. It’s also lightweight and slim fitting with excellent breathability, and there’s not a snowman or reindeer in sight. A top pick!

Read our review. 

Barbour x Brompton Merton Wax Jacket £299
Buy now at John Lewis

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Brompton, of folding bike fame, has teamed up with luxury outdoor fashion brand Barbour to offer a range of different jackets for both men and women. This is the women's Bromley which boasts features like reflective tape in the collar, a dropped hem at the rear and venting. It looks good off the bike too.

Find out more. 

Exposure Strada 1200 £289.96
Buy now for 10% off at Rutland Cycling

The Exposure Strada 1200 is a well-made and durable light that offers all the illumination you could need on the road and very good battery life. With an aluminium shell and a good mount, it has an air of quality and should last ages.

Read our first review.

Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset £3,097.99
Buy now for 37% off at Wiggle

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The new version of Shimano’s top level road groupset offers a stunning performance without any real weakness: superb braking, excellent shifting and a more integrated design than previously. We always quote RRPs, but shop around and you’ll find it cheaper.

Read our first ride. 

Colnago Concept frameset £3,499.95
Buy now for 5% off at Merlin Cycles

The Concept is a stunning aero road bike with awesome speed and the excellent handling that is synonymous with the celebrated brand. It offers a slice of Italian exotic fused with ultra modern aero design. That's what Dave said in his review, anyway. And it looks cool!

Read our review.

Shand custom frame and fork £various

If you want to give someone the perfect bike, how about getting it made to their exact size and requirements? There are a lot of frame builders out there who can do the job. Shand, for example, specialises in steel frames. A custom bike more expensive than buying off the peg, of course, but you'll end up with something special. 

Check out our feature on great custom handbuilt frames.

Storck Fascenario.3 x Aston Martin £15,777

Okay, this is getting a little out of hand now, but if you do happen to have a friend who’s just had a big win on the horses, maybe they’ll get you one of these for Christmas. Storck has teamed up with Aston Martin to produce a limited run of 107 Fascenario.3s in this finish, built up with a mainly Sram Red eTap wireless groupset, Zipp 303 NSW wheels, THM brakes and cranks and Pirelli PZero Velo tyres. The weight is a claimed 5.9kg. Not a bad little setup, eh?

Read our story. 

We all know one don’t we? If you get them some socks they’ll not only be the wrong colour, but the wrong length, the wrong wool/polyester mix and most likely the wrong brand. And that’s just socks, everything they own has gone through a long and exhaustive selection process that involves exclusivity, style, and an exacting and personal combination of criteria that you can only blindly and hopelessly guess at emulating. Ensure whatever you get that awkward, difficult, fussy, picky and critical cyclist (although they would just say they’re particular) in your house isn’t on ebay by the time the Queen's Christmas Message is on by picking from the list below. There are no socks.

Reynolds 753 T-shirt £25.00

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Uninspired by the perpetual cycle of motivational and witty (maybe) bon-mots that grace the usual cycling t-shirt or don’t feel the need to have a map of a mountain on your chest? Then this less cloying way of showing your cycling allegiance down the pub might be more your style. Harking back to a time when a steel bike was all there was rather than somehow justified by being more real than anything else an embroidered version of a Reynolds 753 steel tubeset frame sticker oh-so-subtly graces the front of this 100% cotton t-shirt. A Reynolds 531 t-shirt is also available, but show that you’re thinner, lighter and just a little more sophisticated than anyone that might wear one of those with this one. From alwaysriding.co.uk

Fassa Race-Day Bag £175

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Race days can be a bit of a panic.  Where did I put my shoes? Where are my gloves? Do you have a spare safety-pin? The Fassa Race Day Bag has been designed to help you arrive at the start line stress free with a unique 6 bottle holder tray (two for pre-race, two for race and two for recovery, replace any with beer as necessary), and room for your helmet, shoes and race kit. Made in limited numbers in Dorset the roll-top opening and bright orange interior ensures kit and kipple are quickly accessed and found. Made from a hardwearing 600 Denier Polyester with a PU coated internals it’s easily cleaned of mud, sweat and disappointment. From fassa.cc

Knob of Happy Bottom Bum Butter £3.50

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Looking for a stocking-filler for that picky person in your life? This works on a couple of levels. A weekend away of riding, or going to a race and just need to take a finger or two of chamois cream? This 10g knob of Happy Bottom Bum Butter is just the thing when you don’t want to pack a bit pot of lube. Made just up the road from Charlie The Bikemongers in Dorset from 100% natural ingredients Bum Butter is also vegan friendly. Packed with clove oil to help with pain relief, Egyptian geranium oil to repair any damaged skin and with tea tree oil to act as an antiseptic and keep things downstairs anti-bacterial, we liked it. Speak to Charlie.

A bespoke saddle

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Does the dearest in your life have an old, much ridden and worn, loved but tatty saddle that’s sadly detracting from the look of their bike? Grafton Saddler can reupholster it into something beautiful. Using traditional shoemaking techniques and quality natural leather each piece is designed, hand cut, punched and stitched in their Shoreditch workshop and if you can’t quite stump up for a saddle renewal they can also do you a bespoke wrap of bar-tape. Your cycling  bae could be the only person on the ride with a saddle covered in stingray leather, imagine that. Grafton Saddler

Mavic neutral service replica car £40.00

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It’s not a toy if you keep it in its box and call a collector’s item right? This is a replica 1/43 scale model of the original Renault 504 car as used by Mavic when they first provided mechanical support to the professional peloton. It is a toy if you spend the EastEnders omnibus on Christmas afternoon driving it all over the Col de Sofa. From rouleur.cc

Cactus Tongue SSL-ROADIE Bike Hanger £129.99        

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The discerning cyclist requires something as elegant and beautiful as their bike to hang their pride and joy out the way, or more likely to make it a feature of a wall as it’s obviously a work of art. A plastic coated hook from B&Q just won’t do. The Cactus Tongue bike hanger is made in the UK from gracefully formed stainless steel, combining strength and timeless looks that will fit with any décor and it comes with a choice of hand stitched leather contact pads available in a variety of colours to suit the bike/saddle/bar-tape. This Roadie version is designed with minimal projection from the wall in mind. From cactustongue.co.uk

Lezyne Classic Chain Drive £44.99

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Buying tools for a cyclist at Christmas isn’t as much of a faux-pas as offering a power-drill or iron as gifts (ahhh – that happy year a car-vacuum was unwrapped) especially when they’re like this resplendent Lezyne chain tool. Made something special by that classic wooden handle the working part of the tool is a contrasting steel body that’s 10/11/12 speed compatible and with a Campagnolo peening point. The Chain Drive works with any style of chain and there’s even a hollow handle to store spare pins. Available via Upgrade Bikes

Coloured BOA Dials £ 12.00

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That little princess in your life has already got the swanky fancypants racing slippers that cost as much as most people’s bikes, but the trouble is everybody else has got similarly spangly shoes too so they don’t feel so special any more. Ensure they maintain their precious levels of exclusivity with some coloured BOA dials so they can customize their kicks beyond their particular level of what is lowly and ordinary. Available from Sigma Sport amongst others.

Pave Cobble cheese £9.75 (200g)

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Cyclists don’t need much to get them excited about food, and give it a tenuous cycling link and they get positively giddy. Pavé Cobble is so named as a homage to the famous cobbled Spring Classics of the Paris-Roubaix and Tour Of Flanders by goat­herder and cycling fan Roger Longman, one of the pair behind Somerset’s White Lake artisan cheese makers. It also looks a fair bit like a cobble. It’s a lactic style ewes milk cheese which is ashed then formed in the shape of a flat-topped pyramid and offers a creamy slightly citrus flavour. If you’re in any doubt Pave Cobble won the Supreme Champion award at the 2017 British Cheese Awards, the Tom Boonen of cheese, if you will. Blessed are White Lake.

GODS, ROCKSTARS and THE COBBLES - Karen M. Edwards 40€ plus p+p

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While we’re on cobbles… Karen M. Edwards is a relatively new name on the cycling photographer scene and comes from a background in art and design with a career in fashion as well as being a cyclist so she might see things with a different eye to other snappers sat backwards on a motorbike. “GODS, ROCKSTARS and THE COBBLES” sees three races from the 2017 cobbled classics season - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix through the Irish photographers lens. Heavy laden with pictures and light on words each book comes with a poster of both GOD and ROCKSTAR Peter Sagan. Available from karenmedwardsphotography.com

Cross Spikes $17.99 - $125.49

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Any fool can stride into a bike shop, slap down four grand on a CX bike and another £150 on a skinsuit and pretend they know what they’re doing on a cyclo-cross race course, the true mark of a discerning cxyclist is knowing what’s makes the difference and what doesn’t. A condition specific set of shoe studs for your cyclo-cross loving friend will make that difference, probably. But more discerningly, no-one can see you have them on, and that’s the difference. Made (amongst other aerospace and other high tech doodads) by Horst Engineering in Connecticut “Cross Spikes” are the only cyclo-cross toe spike system in the marketplace, apparently. They come in durable and corrosion resistant stainless steel or titanium and are available in a range of shapes for running traction in all the miserable conditions you’ll encounter on a CX course. Available in sets of four for a pair of shoes, or if you’re anticipating a full season they come in boxed selection kits so you can faff with your stud choice after you’ve faffed with your tyre pressure before the start. If you needed an excuse they’re used by ‘cross luminaries Katie Compton, Adam Myerson, Ellen Noble, Jeremy Powers and our own Helen Wyman. Sure you could go down Sports Direct and buy some studs for £2, but you know, football. From Horst Engineering

Domestique Gin £45.00

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Once you’ve worked your way through all the bicycle related beers and bottles of wine tenuously linked to cycling but eagerly bought because they have a bicycle artfully scribbled on the label you might be stuck for somewhere to go for a gift for the cyclist in your life that likes a recovery tipple. But fear not, the answer to this (as to so many of life’s questions) is gin. Premium cycling-clothing brand Ashmei have paired up with Puddingstone Distillery to produce Domestique Gin, a drink that’s steeped in the very spirit of cycling. With botanicals that produce a fruity, citrus and juniper nose with a subtle palate that blends sweet and savoury this limited edition booze comes in a laser engraved, stainless steel bidon that handily fits in your bottle cage. From puddingstonedistillery.com

[This article was last updated on March 29, 2018]

French brand Mavic makes some of the most popular bike wheels out there. It doesn’t produce anything super-cheap, its road bike options starting at £150 and going right through to over £2,000.

Apart from the cheapest Aksiums, Mavic’s road wheels come equipped with tyres because the brand sees them working together as complete systems.

The range is large and could be somewhat confusing, so we’ll try to break it down as logically as possible. To muddy the waters even more, Mavic has recently introduced Road UST, which is its take on Road Tubeless. There are UST versions of many of Mavic's most popular wheels, and the venerable, much-loved Open Pro rims will also be available in a UST version.

Fact of the day: Mavic is actually an acronym coming from Manufacture d'Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel, Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel having founded the company well over a century ago.

Without further ado, here's the essential data on the full range, plus links to the cheapest sources we've been able to find.

Road UST

Mavic Road UST cross-section

Mavic Road UST cross-section

As you can see from the listing, many of Mavic's clincher rims are now Road UST, and conventional versions are gradually disappearing as shops run out.

You can learn more about Road UST in our news story about the launch of the system: Mavic introduces Road UST tubeless system covering huge section of wheel range.

The executive summary for Road UST is that the combination of rim and tyre bead design makes it easier to get tyres on and off, and to seat them, according to Mavic. A Road UST tyre on a Road UST rim will seat with a standard floor pump with as little as 47psi.

However, only Mavic currently makes compatible wheels and tyres, which are designed together with there’s tight control over production variances. The Road UST standard is being approved by both ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) working groups, so other manufacturers will be able to make Road UST wheels and tyres when that process is complete.​

Endurance wheels

Aksium

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​Aksiums— no, they're not Aksia, Latin pedants — are Mavic’s entry level road wheels, specced as original equipment on countless bikes. They have 21mm high pinned aluminium rims that were widened for the 2016 model to 17mm internal width to better accommodate increasingly popular wide tyres. Mavic reckons Aksiums are best suited to tyres from 25mm to 32mm.

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Like the rest of the range, Aksiums are built with straight pull spokes which the brand says are stronger than J-bend options, and they run on the brand’s QRM sealed cartridge bearings. That keeps maintenance down to a minimum. The hub bodies are aluminium while the axles and the freewheel are steel.

Aksiums are reasonably light for the money (a claimed 865g front, 1,015g rear) and we’ve found them to be quick and generally reliable. These are good, solid all-rounders, though they're not yet available in Road UST.

Check out our Mavic Aksium review.

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The Aksium Disc uses the same rims and bearings but with either a Center Lock or six bolt disc hub, and more spokes: 24 front and rear as opposed to 20 front and rear. The front hub is convertible from a standard quick release to a 15mm thru-axle design.

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Aksium Elites are a bit lighter than standard Aksiums at a claimed 1,735g (800g front, 935g rear) because Mavic joins the two ends of the rim using a sleeve rather than a pinned joint.

Unlike the other Aksiums, the Elites come with Mavic’s own all-season Yksion Elite Guard tyres with a 120TPI (threads per inch) casing and a nylon anti-puncture breaker that runs from one bead to the other.

Buy if: You're looking for reliable training wheels that aren't too expensive.

Ksyrium range

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Mavic’s Ksyrium wheels have gradually evolved since 1999, building up a reputation for combining light weight with loads of strength. You might see the cheaper models as workhorse wheels but the higher up the range you go the higher the performance you get for your money.

Ksyrium

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The lower priced models are made with box section aluminium rims, in the case of the most basic Ksyrium they’re 25mm high with recommended tyre sizes of 23mm to 25mm. Mavic use the same QRM sealed cartridge bearings as you get with the Aksiums, and Yksion Elite tyres come as part of the package.

The claimed wheelset weight is 1,690g (77g front, 920g rear), which is pretty light for this price, although it’s combining that with a bombproof performance that makes this a popular choice.

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The Ksyrium Disc is essentially the same wheel but with disc hubs and four extra spokes per wheel. Neither the rim-brake nor disc versions of the base model Ksyrium are Road UST compatible yet.

Buy if: You're after something that's reasonably light and very sturdy.

Ksyrium Elite UST

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The Ksyrium Elite UST is made of a different material from the cheaper wheels in the range: an aluminium alloy that Mavic calls Maxtal. It has a higher strength to weight ratio than the 6106 aluminium alloy commonly used in rim manufacture. Mavic reduces the rim weight further by milling away material between the spokes. It uses this technique, which it calls ISM 4D, on all of its higher end aluminium rims.

The spoke nipples are screwed directly into the rim as the holes are ‘pushed’ through the inside wall rather than drilled, the pushed up material then being threaded to allow the nipple to be secured.

To make the Elites user serviceable, Mavic has installed steel double sealed bearings that are fully adjustable, even chucking in the tool you need to do it.

When we reviewed the original Ksyrium Elites we said, “Great mid-range wheels for the all-rounder, as happy to race as they are to cruise, but the tyres are average.”

With an RRP of £529, these are the cheapest Road UST wheels in the Ksyrium range.

Read our review of the Mavic Ksyrium Elite.

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In 2017 Mavic added a disc-compatible version of the Ksyrium Elite; that's now the Ksyrium Elite UST Disc.

The Ksyrium Elite UST Disc uses a similar rim to the regular Ksyrium Elite UST with a disc-compatible hub. There are versions to take six-bolt rotors or those with Shimano's Center Lock mount. They weigh a claimed 770g and 900g for front and rear respectively and come with Mavic's Yksion Pro GripLink and PowerLink tyres.

>>Read more: Everything you need to know about road tubeless

Buy if: You want solid all-rounders that are light enough to race.

Ksyrium Pro

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The Ksyrium Pro UST is built with spokes made from Zicral, an aluminium alloy, which Mavic says are stiffer, stronger and lighter than traditional stainless steel spokes.

We’re getting down to some very light weights now; the Ksyrium Pros come in at a claimed 1,410g (590g front, 820g rear).

Buy if: You want a lightweight wheelset that doesn't compromise on durability.

Ksyrium Pro UST Disc

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The Ksyrium Pro UST Discs are, you won't be surprised to learn, the disc-compatible version of the Ksyrium Pro USTs. The hubs on the Ksyrium Pro Discs are compatible with the increasing number of axle standards that are available for road disc. Standard quick release is covered, as is QR15 at the front and 142x12 at the back.

Buy if: You're after light disc brake wheels for endurance riding.

Ksyrium Pro Exalith

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Exalith is a technology that Mavic has been using on some of its aluminium rims for a few years now. The combination of a chemical treatment and a file-like texture that’s machined into the rim is claimed to reduce braking distances by 20%. You have to use specific pads that are supplied with the wheels.

The other advantage of Exalith is that it reduces rim wear. If you ride in grotty conditions and find road crud rapidly chews through your rims, these wheels are a solid choice. Mavic hasn't yet produced a Road UST version though.

For 2017 the Ksyrium Pro Exalith got a new, wider ISM 4D rim — 17mm across instead of the previous 15mm. Claimed weight is 1,475g/pr which splits out as 630g for the front wheel and 845 g rear.

Buy if: Powerful braking is your first priority.

Ksyrium Pro Carbon SL

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These carbon-rimmed wheels are designed for climbing although a lot of effort has been put into making the braking performance as good as possible. What goes up must come down, after all.

When this wheel was first introduced Mavic gave it an alloy insert that formed the bed and the hooks for the tyre bead. This was designed to ensure an even fit for the tyre and to dissipate braking heat through the structure of the wheel. However, this insert disappeared when Mavic developed better carbon curing technology, called TgMax, which could support high temperatures on the braking surface. This surface is also laser finished.

There are four versions, with either clincher or tubular rims and with or without mounts for disc brake rotors. The rim-braked Ksyrium Pro Carbon SLs weigh a claimed 1,390g (front 615g, rear 775g) while the £1,099 disc-compatible version is 130g heavier.

The Pro Carbon SL Tubular is the lightest Ksyrium wheelset at a claimed 1,190g (515g front, 675g rear). The tubular disc version comes in at 1,320g (625g front, 695g rear)

Check out our story from the product launch.

Buy if: You want a superlight wheelset with a good braking performance.

Allroad wheels

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For 2018 Mavic has split out these beefed-up wheels from the main Ksyrium range, although they still have a lot in common with Ksyriums. All three use a new Road UST rim with 22mm internal width. Mavic says they work with 28mm-62mm tyres.

Allroad Elite UST

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The rim-braked Allroad Elite UST is the cheapest of the range. It's only available with standard 9mm quick releases, so it's suitable for making older bikes a bit off-road capable if they have the tyre clearance, and they'll make great super-tough commuting wheels.

Claimed weight for the pair is 1,590g, which splits 685g/905g front and rear. That's only a little more than the Ksyrium Elite USTs with which they share features like steel double-butted spokes. They come with 30mm Yksion Elite Allroad tyres.

Buy if: You want light but beefy do-everything wheels

Allroad Elite UST Disc

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The Allroad Elite UST Disc wheels sound like they're the disc-braked equivalent of the Allroad Elite UST, but there are lots of differences aside from the disc compatibility. For a start they have 24 spokes in both wheels where the Allroad Elite UST has just 18 in the front wheel.

Like the Ksyrium Pro UST Disc wheels, the Allroad Elite UST Discs are compatible with a wide range of axle and quick release designs, including 12mm through-axles and 15mm front axles. These are wheels designed for versatility.

A pair of Allroad Elite UST Discs weighs 1,720g (F:795g, R:925g). They come with 30mm Yksion Elite Allroad or 40mm Yksion Elite Allroad XL tyres.

Buy if: You want off-road-capable disc-braked wheels

Allroad Pro UST Disc

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The top model in the Allroad range, the Allroad Pro UST Disc saves weight with details like a 20-spoke front wheel, carbon fibre front hub body and Zicral spokes. That pushes the price up, but at 1,610g per pair (F:730g, R:880g) they're a respectable weight for wide-rim disc wheels.

Like the Allroad Elite UST Disc wheels, this pair comes with your choice of 30mm Yksion Elite Allroad or 40mm Yksion Elite Allroad XL tyres.

Buy if: You want light wheels for gravel racing and endurance riding

R-Sys SLR

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The R-Sys SLR uses hollow carbon-fibre spokes that allow Mavic to build a wheel that’s extremely stiff laterally. Mavic calls this Tracomp technology because the spokes work in both traction and compression to maintain the wheel’s shape whatever forces you throw at it.

R-Sys spokes.jpg

The R-Sys SLR also features Mavic’s Exalith technology (see Ksyrium Pro Exalith, above) to improve braking and reduce rim wear.

Available in a clincher version only, the R-Sys SLR wheelset weighs just 1,295g (555g front, 740g rear). They're Mavic's lightest clinchers.

Buy if: You want a light weight combined with an excellent level of stiffness.

Aero wheels

Cosmic Elite UST

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Cosmic is the name that Mavic gives to its mid-depth wheels that are designed with aerodynamics in mind. The Cosmic Elite UST is the most accessible model, with 30mm-deep aluminium rims, aluminium hub bodies, and bladed steel spokes. In terms of materials, this is essentially an aero version of Mavic’s basic Ksyrium, except that, unlike the Ksyrium it has a Road UST rim, making it Mavic's cheapest tubeless option.

Buy if: You want a tubeless-compatible aero wheelset at a budget price.

Cosmic Elite UST Disc

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Mavic has added several disc-compatible models to its 2018 range, including these accessible aero wheels. They're largely the same as the rim-braked version, but with 24 spokes per wheel.

Buy if: You want your value-for-money tubeless aero wheels disc compatible

Cosmic Pro Carbon

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Tweaked for 2017, the Cosmic Pro Carbon is an entirely different design with 45mm-deep rims that feature elliptical sidewalls. Those rims are Maxtal aluminium with carbon-fibre flanges bonded on to improve the aerodynamic performance.

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The extra material does add to the weight. A pair of Cosmic Pro Carbons comes in at a claimed 1,650g (735g front, 915g rear).

For 2017, Mavic introduced a disc-compatible version of the Cosmic Pro Carbon. The disc mounts unavoidably add weight, bringing the total to 1,770g (835g front, 935g rear)

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The Cosmic Pro Carbon Exalith is the same rim-braked wheel except that the rim has been given Mavic’s Exalith 2 treatment (see above) to improve durability and braking performance.

The combination of an aluminium brake track and a carbon fibre fairing isn't the lightest way to build an aero wheel, but it does keep the price under control while delivering almost all of the speed benefits of deep rims.

Buy if: You want aero performance while retaining good braking on an aluminium brake track.

Cosmic Pro Carbon SL

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The Cosmic Pro Carbon SL family have 40mm deep full carbon rims and again there are versions for rim and disc brakes and for clincher and tubular tyres. For 2018 the clincher versions have Road UST rims.

We were very impressed by the Cosmic Pro Carbon SL when we reviewed them. They weigh what they supposed to (and for more than most people spend on a complete bike, they'd better), they're fast and Mavic's new brake track treatment means stopping in the wet is almost as good as in the dry, an area that traditionally been a weakness of carbon rims.

Read more: Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL clincher wheels review

As you'd expect, they're light. The rim-braked Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST weighs 1,490 g/pr (645g front, 805g rear), while the Pro Carbon SL Tubular comes in at just 1,410g (620g front, 790g rear).

The disc-brake versions are a little heavier as you'd expect. The Pro Carbon SL Disc UST pairing weighs 1,570g (750g front, 820g rear) while the Pro Carbon SL Disc tubulars are 1,540g (730g front, 810g rear).

Cosmic Ultimate Tubular

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The Cosmic Ultimate Tubular also has a full-carbon 40mm deep rim. The spokes are carbon too, as is the front hub body. This all drops the weight down to a claimed 1,250g for the wheelset (555g front, 695g rear).

The Cosmic Ultimate is the wheel that you’ll see used most frequently by Mavic sponsored pro teams because of its light weight and a depth that’s suitable for a variety of terrains and conditions.

Buy if… You want a professional level wheelset that's light and versatile.

Hyperaero wheels

​Mavic refers to wheels with rims deeper than the Cosmic's 30mm and 40mm as Hyperaero, and has replaced the old CXR wheels with four new models under the Comète name, formerly reserved for a time trial rear disc.

Comète Pro Carbon SL

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These are very much Mavic's most modern aero wheels, with 64mm deep, 26mm wide NACA profile rims. They're reasonably light too: the Comète Pro Carbon SL UST comes in at 1,635g per pair, a few grams less than rivals like DT Swiss PRC 1400 Spline wheels.

Since there still aren't many people using disc brakes in time trials and triathlons, we suspect the most popular wheels from this group are going to be the tubular and UST versions.

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At 1,490g a pair the Comète Pro Carbon SL Tubular is the lightest model in the range, which is as you'd expect: with no mounts for a disc rotor or hooks for a tyre bead, a rim-braked tubular is still the lightest way to make a wheel.

Nevertheless, as we mentioned, the Comète Pro Carbon SL UST's 1,635g is pretty impressive for a clincher wheel with a rim this deep. That splits out as 740g for the front wheel and 895g rear.

If you're looking for an extra turn of speed for a [modern endurance bike, then the Comète Pro Carbon SL UST Disc could be for you. A pair weighs 1,755g (F:845g, R:910g).

Finally traditional and modern collide in the Comète Pro Carbon SL Tubular Disc. A pair weighs 1,630 (F:765g, R:865g). Both these wheels and the UST version are compatible with quick-release and through-axle systems.

Buy if: You want Mavic's fastest aero wheels

Comète Road

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The Comète time trial/triathlon disc wheel, available only as a tubular, is carbon fibre with an aluminium rim body and a Mavic Exalith brake track for improved braking and durability. The walls are asymmetrical: convex on the driveside and lenticular on the non-driveside.

Buy if: You're after a disc wheel that offers a top-level braking performance.

For more info go to www.mavic.co.uk.