The road.cc Recommends Wheels of the Year 2025/26

How we chose these wheels

Wondering how these wheelsets made the cut? Every month, the team behind road.cc – and our sister sites off.road.cc and ebiketips – pick the best bikes, components, accessories, and clothing for road.cc Recommends, a curated collection of products that deserve special recognition.

Earning a spot in road.cc Recommends is tough. Really tough. Even a 9/10 overall score doesn’t guarantee entry. A panel decides which products earn their place based on performance and value.

We’ve now been back and looked at everything that made it into road.cc Recommends in 2025 and picked the best of the best for our annual awards.

You’ll notice that there are several wheelsets in here from UK brands Hunt and Scribe. That’s not down to favouritism, it’s simply because each of these brands sent us a range of great wheels to review in 2025. 

Our award categories

Unlike bikes, we don’t rank components, accessories, or clothing into top-10 lists. Instead, we give out three different types of awards:

• Bargain Buy This goes to products that offer exceptional value for money on a bangs-for-your-buck basis.
• Money No Object Forget the price; this one is for pure, uncompromised performance.
• Editor’s Choice The best combination of performance and value.

Not every category necessarily features all three awards — we only hand them out when products genuinely deserve them. If there’s no standout candidate for a particular award, we don’t present it.

A note on prices

All prices shown reflect the full RRPs at the time we first published our reviews. In some cases, that was several months ago. Prices may have risen since, but we’ve kept the original figures because those were the basis for our comments and scores. You might even find a few of these wheelsets on sale. If so, lucky you.

Right, let’s roll into the best road and gravel wheels that we’ve reviewed over the past year.

Van Rysel VR 50 Wheelset £749.99

If you’re carbon-curious but your bank account is adamantly not, the Van Rysel VR 50 wheelset might just be your gateway drug. At £799.99, they sneak under the psychological four-figure barrier while serving up a ride that feels far posher than the price suggests.

Out on the road, the VR 50s strike that sweet spot of “stiff enough to sprint on, comfy enough not to rattle your fillings out.” The 50mm rims dish out free speed on the flats yet somehow avoid behaving like sails in a crosswind—always a relief when you’re clinging to the bars in a gust. At 1,604g (with tape), they’re not the featherweight champs of the world, but they’re certainly no boat anchors.

Durability? Spot on. After miles of abuse in British weather and a bit of gravel cheekiness, they stayed impressively true. Credit goes partly to the dependable DT Swiss 370 hub, complete with the famed ratchet system. It’s quiet—maybe too quiet if you prefer your hubs to roar like an angry wasp—but undeniably reliable.

Tubeless setup is laughably easy, tyre sweet spot sits around 28–30mm, and the overall package feels reassuringly well-made.

In short: fast, fuss-free, great value, and a cracking way to step into carbon without selling a kidney.

Why it’s here A high-quality, well-made and well-performing wheelset at an impressive price
Read the review 

Fulcrum Wind 42 Carbon SRAM XDR T/L Disc Brake Road Wheelset £1,449.99

Fulcrum’s Wind 42 Carbon SRAM XDR wheelset is a versatile, mid-depth carbon option that balances aerodynamics, stiffness and comfort at a reasonable price. These wheels offer lively acceleration, impressive handling, and stability in crosswinds, making them a strong do-it-all upgrade – especially as they can handle light off-road duties too.

At 42mm deep, they hit that Goldilocks sweet spot: aero enough to be fast without slapping you around in a crosswind. In fact, stability is the headline here; these stay perfectly composed in blustery conditions.

The 23mm internal width is bang on trend, and Fulcrum reckons it’ll happily work with anything from racy 25mm tyres to a whopping 69mm, assuming your frame has the clearance. Paired with 28mm S-Works Turbo tubeless tyres run at around 65psi, reviewer George Hill found the ride to be smooth, confident and surprisingly comfy, with enough snap to keep climbing and sprinting lively.

The rear wheel offers a solid, planted feel when you jack up the power, and the whole setup carries speed well. The freehub is whisper-quiet, which is a plus point for some.

At 1,534g (not including rim tape and valves) and £1,449.99, Fulcrum’s Wind 42 Carbon SRAM XDR wheelset isn’t featherweight or bargain-bin, but as a do-it-all option with genuine road-to-light-gravel talent, it delivers an impressive blend of speed, stability and everyday usability.

Why it’s here Impressive and fast wheels that are punchy, hold their speed well and you can take them off the tarmac too…
Read the review 

Ere Research Tenaci GT25 Wheelset £900

Ere Research’s GT25 gravel wheels make a strong first impression. The high-gloss black rims give them real presence, and they back up their looks with a solid performance. At 25mm deep with a 26mm internal width, the carbon rims work with tyres from 32mm, although 36-54mm is the recommended range, and the 24-spoke build front and rear keeps things feeling sprightly yet reassuringly stiff.

You’ll need to supply your own valves, but we found the setup to be drama-free with just a track pump… pop, you’re good to go. Throughout testing, from dusty bridleways to soggy winter mush, the bearings stayed smooth and the wheels shrugged off abuse without drifting out of true. Comfort and responsiveness strike a sweet balance – no harshness, no vague wobbliness, just tidy handling throughout.

Reviewer Matthew Page found engagement to be slow through Ere’s 36-tooth ratchet, especially noticeable on awkward climbs and techy stop-start singletrack, and while you can upgrade to a 54-tooth ratchet for £70, it really should come standard on a £900 wheelset. Mind you, if you ride primarily on the road or smoother tracks, the difference will be negligible.

The 1,600g weight is reasonable rather than feathery, but the ride quality, durability and head-turning finish keep the GT25s firmly in the game. They’re stylish, tough and competitively priced – just budget for that ratchet upgrade if your gravel riding veers towards the spicy stuff.

Why it’s here Tough, stylish and solid carbon wheels, but should come with a faster-engaging ratchet
Read the review 

DT Swiss GRC 1100 Dicut wheelset £2,398

DT Swiss’s GRC 1100 Dicut wheels are what happens when a road racer gatecrashes a gravel party and refuses to leave. They come with 50mm rims that bulge out to 36.5mm at their widest point in search of improved aerodynamic efficiency; DT calls the design “Aero+”. Paired with DT 180 hubs and bladed spokes, the whole package looks and feels like it was stolen from a road race bike and told to behave on gravel.

Weighing in at 1,600g (745g front, 855g rear), the DT Swiss GRC 1100 Dicut wheels in this 50mm depth aren’t the lightest gravel option around, but they are rapid. Reviewer Matthew Page found that 45mm WTB Vulpine S tubeless tyres snapped into place without drama and held air faithfully – unless left sulking in the shed for a week.

Out and about, the GRC 1100s are unapologetically stiff and responsive, turning every hint of power into forward motion. They’re not overly harsh, but comfort takes a back seat to stiffness and speed. 

The DT Swiss 180 hubs come with the EXP 36 ratchet, featuring a 36-tooth freehub. While this setup is sufficient for most gravel riders, DT Swiss offers 54-tooth and 90-tooth ratchet options. The 54-tooth upgrade is a practical choice if you’re after faster engagement and improved performance, and it is surprising not to see one fitted as standard.

Aesthetically, the raw carbon finish and reflective graphics are classy. The internal nipples mean you’ll need to remove the tyre and rim tape for any spoke tension adjustments, and that’ll annoy some, but the wheels never wandered out of true during testing, a testament to DT Swiss’s build quality.

The GRC 1100s push the boundary between road and gravel, feeling fast and responsive while maintaining a gravel identity. Most of us won’t be able to justify the spend, but the GRC 1100 offers cutting-edge design and top-tier performance for racers and performance-focused riders.

Why it’s here Fast, and strong wheels that prioritise speed above other areas
Read the review 

Scribe Gravel Carbon 40 Berd Spoke Wheelset £1,449

Scribe bills the Gravel Carbon 40s as “the ULTIMATE wheelset for mixed on/off-road conditions,” and after a couple of months trying (and failing) to find their weak spot, reviewer Stu Kerton was inclined to believe the hype. Light, lively and built with Berd’s Dyneema spokes, these wheels are seriously impressive, and although not cheap, the price is a little less than you might expect.

Let’s talk about those white spaghetti-looking spokes. Dyneema is an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene – a material that Berd says has 15 times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel.

They are completely flexible when not under tension. But once laced up, they deliver a supple ride that noticeably smooths out the high-frequency chatter of surfaces like gravel. It’s not massively different to a steel-spoked wheel, but enough to be noticeable. Our man Stu said he’s never ridden a set of wheels with such a good ride quality.

Lateral stiffness? Still very much present. Sprint, climb, or rumble across washboard surfaces, and they stay composed.

The carbon rims (40mm deep, 24mm internal width) are hookless, so you’ll need to use them with tubeless tyres. All the options that Stu threw in their direction seated easily with nothing more exotic than a track pump.

Downsides? The white spokes show dirt and replacements aren’t cheap. But fast and smooth over various terrains, the Gravel Carbon 40s are seriously impressive – and seriously fun.

Why it’s here Some of the most comfortable wheels on the market, with the weight and performance needed for gravel racing
Read the review 

Scribe Inception 50+ Disc Wheelset £649

A sub-1,500g deep-section carbon wheelset at this price might sound too good to be true, but Scribe’s Inception 50+ Disc is the real deal. Handbuilt at Scribe’s Belfast factory, these wheels deliver a mix of stiffness and speed, plus that all-important whoosh when you get up to about 20mph.

Scribe’s secret? Well, there are no gimmicks. No dimpled aero wizardry or exotic hub voodoo, just tried and tested components built into a durable wheelset. The hooked rims are 50mm-deep Toray T700/T800 carbon, compatible with tyres from 28-50mm, though optimised for 38mm. You get 24 Sapim D-Light spokes front and rear, corrosion-resistant brass nipples, and Scribe’s own hubs with TPI bearings, all backed by a three-year warranty and crash replacement policy.

Reviewer Stu Kerton found the setup to be free of drama: tyres (tubed or tubeless) mounted with no need for swearing, and both of our review wheels arrived perfectly true. Out on the road, the ride was composed: no twitchy crosswind scares, no buzzy harshness, and no noticeable flex when stomping on the pedals.

The Inception 50+ Discs aren’t the lightest or flashiest wheels out there, and Scribe doesn’t make claims about them being the fastest – but if you’re upgrading from the stock hoops that came fitted to your bike, they’ll likely save weight. And let’s be honest, the satisfying “swoosh” when you get up to speed is worth at least 50 watts of smugness.

Why it’s here Excellent upgrade wheelset for aero gains on a budget
Read the review 

Hunt 44_46 Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke Disc Wheelset £1,579

If you’re after a wheelset that can do it all without rinsing your life savings, Hunt’s 44_46 Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke Disc is a winner. Light in weight – just 1,297g on our scales – and big on real-world aero gains, they hit that sweet spot between climbing agility and flatland speed.

Hunt has been refining its Aerodynamicist range for years, and this latest evolution is the best yet. The differing front (44.5mm) and rear (46mm) rim depths are well thought-out for combining stability with speed, and the hooked design allows you to run both tubeless and standard clincher tyres.

The build oozes precision – tight, true, and ready to roll – and reviewer Stu Kerton found that fitting tyres was painless. On the road, they felt fast, smooth and impressively composed in crosswinds; no white-knuckle moments here.

The Hunt 44_46 Aerodynamicist wheels are stiff and lively when you’re sprinting or climbing, and they glide beautifully on rough tarmac. Add in Hunt’s H-Ratchet 40T DBL dual-sided ratchet freehub mechanism (with the 40-tooth drive rings giving 9-degree engagement), Enduro ABEC 5 stainless steel cartridge bearings and carbon spokes, and you’ve got a high-quality setup.

At £1,579, these wheels undercut plenty of similarly specced rivals. In short, they’re light, fast, versatile, and drama-free; Hunt has nailed it again.

Stu summed it up like this: “They are basically fit and forget, covering all kinds of ride styles and terrains, and the performance per pound is up there with the best.”

Why it’s here Great all-rounder performance and one hell of a lot of bang for your buck!
Read the review 

Scribe Cycling Elan SL 50 Carbon Wheelset £1,199

The Scribe Elan SL 50 Carbon wheels are a serious contender in the lightweight aero game, blending performance, versatility, and value with aplomb. Out of the box, our test wheels – with 50mm-deep high-filament 12k/18k Toray T1000 carbon fibre composite rims – were perfectly true, with spoke tension that was spot on and AITA ceramic bearings in the straight-pull aluminium hubs. The Ratchet Drive system – a 54-tooth ratchet ring in the freehub engages a 54-tooth plate (threaded into the hub shell) by way of an internal leaf spring – is instant, reliable, and only mildly buzzy.

Weighing in at 1,348g with rim tape, these wheels accelerate eagerly and climb like they’re on a mission. The 29mm external, 21mm internal rim width is optimised for 25–28mm tyres but can stretch up to 40mm, making them versatile for both road and gravel setups. The hooked rims can be used with both standard clincher and tubeless tyres, and roadside tyre swaps aren’t a headache.

On the road, the Elans impress with loads of lateral stiffness, a firm yet comfortable ride, and toroidal rims that shrug off crosswinds better than older aero profiles. Wind tunnel data may show marginal gains over rivals, but real-world performance is where they shine—quick to accelerate, stable, and fun to ride day in, day out.

At £1,199 a pair, Scribe’s Elan SLs deliver serious performance at a good price. These are great wheels in terms of how they ride and respond, backed up by an excellent build quality.

Why it’s here Light, stiff, well built with ceramic bearings and real-world quick – and all at a very decent price
Read the review 

Scribe 365 Disc Wheelset £299

If you’re after a wheelset that performs way better than its price would suggest, the Scribe 365 Disc might be the right option for you. Out of the box, these wheels are impressively made by Scribe’s in-house wheelbuilders—true and well-tensioned, with corrosion-resistant brass nipples to aid durability.

Reviewer Stu Kerton threw them into harsh winter testing: snow, salt, freezing temperatures, you name it. The 365s handled everything just fine. No creaks, no wobbles, no bearings gone rogue.

Their 24 Sapim D-Light spokes and stiff aluminium rims deliver a confident, responsive ride whether you’re climbing in the saddle or sprinting for the line. Engagement is snappy thanks to Scribe’s six-pawl hubs, while compatibility is broad with Shimano and SRAM – even with Campagnolo, if you message Scribe in advance.

The hooked rims measure 21mm internal and 26mm external, meaning tyres up to 35mm sit just right, whether standard clinchers or tubeless, and our man Stu found the setup to be painless. At 1,654g for the pair (including rim tape), they aren’t overly heavy, and certainly don’t feel it when you are accelerating or climbing.

There’s not much to criticise here. All told, you get a wheelset that’s tough, reliable, and surprisingly sprightly. They’re also competitive in terms of weight and, above all else, price, and that’s why they take our Bargain Buy award.

Why it’s here Robust and durable wheelset for very little money
Read the review 

Hunt 25 Carbon Gravel X-Wide Wheelset £950

If Hunt had launched the 25 Carbon Gravel X-Wide a few years ago, it would’ve worn a “lightweight cross-country” badge, but today this wheelset is aimed squarely at drop-bar riders who like to push into adventurous terrain. The well-judged spec gives an impressive balance of performance and durability.

“X-Wide” isn’t marketing froth: a 27mm internal width and 32mm external mean you get some serious carbon real estate here, with a hookless rim and a shallow 25mm depth.

Hunt claims these are the strongest gravel rims on the market and resists the temptation to chase grams with fragile spokes. Instead, you get J-bends, brass nipples, and just three spoke lengths across both wheels, which is great news for bikepackers who need to carry spares. The hubs come with Center Lock rotor fittings and a 36-tooth ratchet system that offers 10° engagement – slightly slower than some alternatives, but reliable.

On the tracks and trails, these wheels are a delight: light, responsive, and quietly composed over rough ground. They also stay reassuringly calm on technical descents. No drama – just smooth, confident progress. Lateral stiffness is good too, and even the heaviest, most powerful riders on fully loaded bikes should be comfortable. 

They’re also very good value. You don’t need to be lining up for something like the Silk Road Mountain Race to get the most out of them, but it’s nice to know they’d cope if you did.

Why it’s here A comfortable, dependable and thoughtfully designed wheelset that’s ready for adventure
Read the review 

Corima 45R Wheelset £1,399.99

Corima’s 45R wheelset hits the sweet spot between all-around road performance and long-distance comfort, and it does it with a distinctly French handmade flourish. At 45mm deep with a 22mm internal width, the rims are happy running anything from racy 25mm tyres to plush 34mm – and they feel absolutely in their element with the 28–30mm tyres that most of us are using these days.

Corima sticks with hooked rims and a gorgeous matt 3K carbon weave, and the whole package has a boutique vibe. The 20 Sapim J-bend spokes are light, easily replaceable and give the wheels a wonderfully lively spring.

The new 36-tooth ratchet hub offers 10° engagement when you start to pedal, and the 45Rs surge forward eagerly on the road, hold speed beautifully, and stay impressively composed in crosswinds. They climb better than their mid-pack weight (1,454g on our scales) might suggest, and corner with the kind of quiet assurance that makes you push a little harder just for fun.

No, they’re not the lightest, cheapest or flashiest wheels in the bunch – but they feel special. Smooth, fast, stable and quietly confident, the 45Rs are superb all-rounders for those who appreciate craftsmanship as much as outright speed, and the price is thoroughly reasonable.

Why it’s here Very well-made and responsive carbon wheels that perform really well across the board
Read the review

Hunt Sub50 Limitless Aero Disc Wheelset £1,479

Hunt’s Sub50 Limitless Aero Disc wheels are the British brand’s latest flagship offering, and they’re a serious contender in the fast-wheel stakes. Aimed squarely at being the “absolute fastest all-around racing wheel up to 50mm”, they mix speed and stability, and will set you back far less than many rivals. The Sub50s feel planted in crosswinds and agile enough to attack on climbs or sprints.

Although the front and rear rims are both 49.5mm deep with a 23mm inner width, their shapes differ. Whereas the front is 34mm wide externally, the rear is 30mm, saving weight from an area that contributes less to handling and steering moments.

Taken as a whole, the wheelset drops 260g compared to its predecessor. That’s partly because the rims are hookless, which might put some people off, although that’s the way the market has been heading. We found tubeless setup to be painless, tyres snapping into place without fuss using just a high-volume track pump.

Out on the road, the Sub50s feel lively, fast, and just as stable as many shallower wheels, even in gusty conditions. Judging aero efficiency is difficult without a wind tunnel, but Hunt has published data to back up its lofty claims. Add Hunt’s H_Care, offering “Lifetime Crash Replacement for the first owners”, and you have a really strong proposition here. This wheelset can compete with the best in the business for, in some cases, less than half the price.

Why it’s here All-round winning recipe, now lighter and even faster
Read the review 

Farsports 2025 Evo5 S Series Wheelset £1,271.29

Who needs a big-name logo when your wheels spin this well? The Farsports Evo S5 wheelset is a super lightweight 50mm-deep option that proves quality and class-leading performance aren’t exclusive to the best-known Western brands. At just 1,205g, these hooked, carbon-spoked Chinese wheels are lighter than most rivals while being half the price.

The solid rim bed means no faffing with rim tape, the hubs are a visual treat in gunmetal grey, hiding silky-smooth CeramicSpeed bearings (or Enduro stainless ones if you’d like to save some cash), and the carbon spokes—yes, replaceable ones—keep things feeling snappy and precise. You can even mix depths: go 50mm front and rear, or spice things up with a 58mm rear or a shallower 35mm option up front.

In terms of performance, these wheels climb beautifully and they hold speed well, everywhere. The 50mm rims are a great depth that can do it all, whether that’s a high-speed chaingang, local hilly loop or criterium race. Crosswinds do nudge them a touch more than the class-leading Rovals or Hunts, but never alarmingly so.

Add a three-year warranty, crash replacement scheme, and real-world aero credentials, and you’re left wondering why you’d pay double for a fancy sticker.

Reviewer Jamie Williams concluded, “If it wasn’t for a few weeks’ wait to receive the wheels, and the crosswind stability being just a tiny bit less than the best in the business, these would have been getting my first ever perfect score. The new wheel order is here sooner than expected.”

Why it’s here Superlight premium wheels that are probably laughing in Mandarin
Read the review