The best aero wheels for road bikes can provide aerodynamic gains over shallower wheelsets. They can offer fairly low weights too, while saving energy for the rider.
Aero wheelsets have become a go-to upgrade to the best road bikes, with their deeper profile augmenting the aerodynamics of modern aero bikes. While many road bikes are sold with a quality wheelset, it may not be deep enough for optimum aerodynamics so a wheel upgrade may help bring out the best in your bike.
In this guide to the best aero wheelsets, we’ve made a cut-off at 45mm or deeper. Although you can expect some aero gains from shallower wheels, we reckon this is the depth at which you can expect aero benefits to dominate over the advantages of lower weight.
Read on for our pick of the best aero wheelsets based on our reviews.
Reviews of the best road bike wheels
- Enve SES 6.7: RRP £3,750 — Read our full review
- Parcours Strade: RRP £1,099 — Read our full review
- Shimano Ultegra R8170 C50: RRP £1,200 — Read our full review
- VeloElite Carbon Wide 180-50mm Disc: RRP £1,450 — Read our full review
- Zipp 303 S: RRP £1,090 — Read our full review
- Zipp 858 NSW: RRP £3,570 — Read our full review
- Parcours Passista: RRP £799 — Read our full review
Why trust Cyclist’s advice?
Aerodynamic performance has become a major consideration in road cycling over the last few years and, here at Cyclist, we’ve been at the fore of reviewing and writing about aero bikes and aero components. We’ve reviewed a wide range of wheelsets and are well placed to advise you on the best wheelsets for aero performance that don’t sacrifice bike feel and handling.
We’re not paid for our reviews or product placement, so you can trust Cyclist to provide unbiased advice.
Best aero road bike wheels reviewed
Enve SES 6.7
£3,750 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,475g
- Depth: 60mm F / 67mm R
- Rim width: 23mm internal, 30mm external
Enve claims a balance of aerodynamics, stability and rolling efficiency in the SES 6.7, in a wheelset that’s a reasonable weight for the deep section. It says it’s the fastest wheelset in its road range, although it’s aero optimised the wheels not just at 45kmh, but also at 32kmh, so there are aero benefits at a slower pace too.
The 23mm hookless rim is designed around 27mm to 28mm labelled width tyres and Enve’s Innerdrive straight pull hubs, now fitted to the wheels, offer interchangeable ratchets with between 3.6° and 9° engagement angle.
Despite their depth, the SES 6.7 wheels felt stable and handled well, being a great choice for rolling roads. The comparatively low claimed rim weight of 430g front, 449g rear made for efficient climbing too.
Parcours Strade
£1,199 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,520g (F 690g, R 830g)
- Depth: F 49mm, R 54mm
- Rim width: Int 22.5mm, Ext 32.0/30.5mm
As with Enve’s SES wheels, the Parcours Strade wheelset has differential front and rear rim profiles to pair handling with power delivery and compensate for the difference in wind conditions experienced by the front and rear wheel. Parcours developed the wheelset alongside Nottingham Trent University, with a wider 22.5mm internal rim width designed for 28mm tyres.
Selling direct, Parcours is able to offer the wheels at a competitive price and we found them both stiff and responsive. They’re stable in crosswinds too, despite their depth. They’re a little heavier than some pricier wheelsets, but their performance and handling are on a par.
Shimano Ultegra R8170 C50
£1,200 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,607g
- Depth: 50mm
- Rim width: Int 21mm
Shimano’s lower priced Ultegra wheels are easy to overlook, although the Dura-Ace wheels have pro team endorsement. But the Ultegra C50 wheels offer the same rim profile as Dura-Ace and a spec that’s similar. It’s mainly the 109g extra weight concentrated in the hubs that separates them, along with a pawl-based freehub in the Ultegra wheels versus a ratchet freehub in Dura-Ace.
Although the 1,607g weight sounds quite high, we found the wheels to feel lighter than this, which we put down to the concentration of the weight in the hubs, rather than the rims. Although fast, the Ultegra wheels are a little more sensitive to sidewinds than some other deeper section aero wheels though.
VeloElite Carbon R50
£1,550 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,429g (claimed)
- Depth: 50mm
- Rim width: Int 21mm, Ext 28mm
VeloElite builds its rims onto a range of DT Swiss hubs, including the top spec DT 180 reviewed, which results in a 1,429g claimed weight. The brand builds the wheels one by one to your needs, altering spoke choice and tension based on ride speed, weight and other factors.
The result is a wheelset tuned to you, with the aero rim and low weight leading to a fast ride. VeloElite’s pricing is competitive for a hand-built wheelset on top spec hubs as well.
Zipp 303 S
£1,090 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,530g (claimed)
- Depth: 45mm
- Rim width: Int 23mm, Ext 27mm
The lowest-priced offering in the Zipp 303/353 range, the S cedes a little weight and doesn’t include the 303 SW‘s in-built pressure sensor. At 45mm, it’s 5mm deeper than the newer, pricier 303 SW. It’s also 2mm narrower than the SW at 23mm, but still has Zipp’s hookless rim and is aero optimised for 28mm tyres and rated for tubeless running at under 73psi only.
The wheels are easy to set up tubeless with a range of tyres, with Zipp’s own measuring almost 31mm. They were impressively fast, as well as comfortable, at the lower recommended pressure from Zipp’s tyre pressure calculator and the weight is competitively light for the wheels’ depth and price.
Zipp 858 NSW
£3,570 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,563g
- Depth: 82/85mm
- Rim width: Int 23mm, Ext 27mm
Moving up Zipp’s aero road wheel range, both in depth and price, the 858 NSW benefits from the brand’s wavy rim profile, which it claims provides the aero benefits of the deeper section with the handling of the shallower depth. At under 1,600g, the wheels are light too and Zipp has upgraded the hubset since we reviewed them, dropping the claimed weigh to 1,500g and adding ceramic bearings.
With their depth, the 858 NSW wheels feel fast and they’re light enough to climb well too. They’re not as twitchy as we’d expected either. We reckon they’re a great option for time trials as well as fast-paced road rides where it’s flat or rolling.
Parcours Passista
£799 | Buy here
- Weight: 1,525g
- Depth: 56mm
- Rim width: Int 19.0mm, Ext 27.5mm
The only rim brake wheelset on this list, the Parcours Passista has a 19mm internal rim width and is tuned for the 25mm tyre width that’s more likely to fit between rim brake callipers, although it’s a good idea to check that the 27.5mm external rim width will fit. There’s a choice of steel bearings or a ceramic bearing upgrade.
The handling is good in crosswind conditions, they feel fast and the ride is comfortable, even on the narrower tyres. We did find tyres tricky to fit though.
How to choose the best aero wheels
Rim depth
Rim depth is a major determinant of wheelset aerodynamics and the deeper the rim, in general the more aero it is. This starts to kick in at around 40mm or 45mm depth. An aero rim can generate a sailing effect in a wind with a higher yaw angle, potentially assisting forward motion, rather than adding drag.
On the other hand, deeper wheels can be harder to handle in crosswinds, so they may not be the best option if you’re riding somewhere breezy. That’s one reason why some wheelsets have deeper rear than front wheels, as the front is more prone to instability in crosswinds.
Rim width
As the trend in road bike tyres is to greater width, so rim widths have increased to accommodate them. A wider rim will increase tyre stability. It may also improve the aerodynamics around the wheel-to-tyre interface, as the tyre may have a flatter sidewall profile.
Some wheels with have rims with a hookless bead, which may also assist with a smooth wheel-tyre transition. A hookless rim does limit tyre choice though, so many brands have reverted to mini-hooks, which allow a wider range of tyres and tyre widths to be used.
Wheel brands will specify the tyre width for which their rims are aero tuned, which is usually around 28mm. On a wider rim, this nominal tyre width may equate to a real width of around 30mm though, so tyre pressure should be reduced accordingly.
Weight
There’s a trade-off between the potential aero benefits of a deeper rim and the usual increase in wheelset weight that comes with this. This may not be an issue if you usually ride somewhere flat or undulating, where the aero benefits will usually be greater than the weight penalty. It’s worth thinking more about weight if you spend more time on hillier country though.
Aerodynamics
Every brand will publish numbers for watts saved by its aero wheels. It’s nigh-on impossible to compare like with like though, as each will test in slightly different conditions. As we suggest in our overall guide to the best road bike wheels, you’ll get greater benefits from working on your position and how long you can hold an aero tuck than from choosing a wheelset based on potential aero savings.
Spokes
Pretty much every aero wheelset will have bladed spokes to improve its aero performance. Many now have carbon spokes. These may be even wider than steel ones. They’ll also be lighter and, since they’re stronger, there may be fewer of them in a wheel. This not only saves weight, it may improve wheel aerodynamics too.
Hubs
Less significant than rims, hubs will often be designed to improve their aerodynamics too. They’re another opportunity to save weight, while ceramic bearings may be an option to reduce rolling resistance.
Freehub
Not a factor in aerodynamics, but consider the freehub too. Your freehub needs to match your cassette, with four standards possible: Shimano HG, SRAM XDR, Campagnolo N3W and Shimano Micro Spline, which is used by some Shimano gravel bike groupsets.
Also important is engagement angle, which will determine how fast pick-up is when you start to pedal after freewheeling. Many freehubs now use a ratchet mechanism rather than pawls, as this increases the engagement surface. Several brands, including Enve and DT Swiss, offer ratchets with different numbers of teeth, so you can swap out the ratchet that comes with your freehub to fine-tune the engagement angle.
