If your bike has rim brakes, you’re not locked out of the best new wheel tech, with many brands offering rim brake carbon wheels with low weight and deeper aero sections, often with the choice of ceramic bearings as an upgrade or ready-specified.
As well as aero-optimised rims, you’ll find rim braked road bike wheels with carbon spokes to help lower weight and increase the wheels’ reactivity. Almost all are tubeless-ready and can be run tubeless with our pick of the best tubeless tyres.
Braking tech has also improved enormously, with many wheelmakers treating their rims to ensure consistent brake performance in wet and dry conditions. High melting point resins ensure that your rims won’t melt on a long descent.
Below, you’ll find our pick of the best rim brake carbon wheelsets, but there are also shallower, less aero alloy options available from several of the brands here if you’re looking for a set of everyday workhorse wheels.
Our pick of the best rim brake wheelsets
- Boyd Podium: RRP from £1,536
- Cadex 36 Tubeless: RRP £2,500
- Campagnolo Bora WTO 45: RRP €2,455
- DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut: RRP $2,999
- Fulcrum Wind 40C: RRP €1,349
- Hunt 50 UD Carbon Spoke: RRP £1,399
- Mavic Cosmic SL 40: RRP €1,299
- Parcours Passista: RRP £799
- Scope S Series: RRP €998
- Vision Metron 55 SL Clincher/TL: RRP €2,019
Why trust Cyclist‘s advice?
It’s not so long ago that Cyclist was mainly reviewing rim brake bikes, so we’ve all ridden with rim brakes and carbon wheels.
We understand how rim brake wheels have developed and just how effective the best rim brake wheels now are. We understand what to look for in a wheel for rim brake bikes and aren’t paid for product placement, so you can trust Cyclist to offer the best advice.
The best rim brake wheelsets for road bikes
Boyd Podium
From £1,536 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 44mm, 60mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 27mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,511g, 1,750g (claimed)
Body Cycling sells two depths of its rim brake carbon Podium wheels, plus the alloy Rouleur rim brake wheelset. The Podium has a laser cut brake surface and is designed to work with Boyd’s Argent brake pads.
The South Carolina-based brand suggests the 60mm depth for its aero benefits if you’re riding at faster than 21mph or the 44mm wheelset as an all-rounder. There’s a choice of Shimano, SRAM XDR or Campagnolo freehub. There’s an 80mm depth currently available too, as well as the 44mm depth Prologue, although both are on close-out and discounted, with limited stock.
Cadex 36 Tubeless
£2,500 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 36mm
- Rim width: 22.4mm int, 26mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,254g (claimed)
Riders of rim brake bikes don’t have to be left out from the latest wheel tech, with Cadex selling its 36mm deep wheelset in both disc and rim brake versions with aero carbon spokes that ensure a low wheelset weight. It uses Giant’s Dynamic Balanced Lacing system to ensure even spoke tension under load and a stiff wheel.
The rim is hookless, which Cadex says ensures a more aero wheel-to-tyre interface, while the carbon layup is designed to ensure durability. Cadex also includes ceramic bearings and there’s a low friction 30 tooth ratchet freehub.
Campagnolo Bora WTO 45
RRP £2,000 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 45mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 26.5mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,496g (claimed)
Campagnolo’s sole all-carbon rim brake wheelset has its wind-tunnel-optimised 45mm depth rim profile, along with aero shaped hubs with ceramic bearings. It uses its distinctive G3 clustered spoke pattern in the rear wheel, with 21 elliptical spokes and 18 symmetrically arranged radial spokes in the front wheel.
Campagnolo claims compatibility with 23mm, 25mm and 28mm tyres, while the two-way fit system allows both tubeless and tube-type tyres to be fitted and the absence of spoke holes means no rim tape. The laser-treated brake track is designed to improve stopping performance when used with Campagnolo’s supplied red brake pads. Together, they’re claimed to improve dry condition braking by 20% and wet weather performance by 40%.
DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut
£2,400 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 48mm, 62mm, 80mm
- Rim width: 17mm/19mm int, 25-28mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,527g, 1,587g, 1,697g (claimed)
DT Swiss sells three rim depths of its top spec ARC 1100 Dicut wheels for rim brakes. Aerodynamics, as with DT’s disc brake wheels have been fine-tuned in collaboration with Swiss Side, with slightly wider rims as the depth increases.
All use straight-pull DT Aero Comp II and Aerolite II spokes with hidden nipples. The wheels spin on DT’s premium 180 hubs, offering low weight and fast engagement, with ceramic bearings and a 36-tooth ratchet EXP freehub. DT also sells the ARC 1400 Dicut in rim brake form with the same depths and a slightly lower price.
Fulcrum Wind 40C
€1,349 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 40mm
- Rim width: 17mm int, 24.5mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,555g (claimed)
The 40mm depth Wind 40C is a little narrower than some alternatives here, but nevertheless Fulcrum claims it will provide aero gains with the wider 28mm tyres now preferred. It uses Fulcrum’s fully closed rim bed without spoke holes, so there’s no need for tape to set the wheels up tubeless.
The brake track is laser treated, which Fulcrum claims improves braking by 6% in dry conditions and up to 30% in the rain. While the front wheel has 18 radial spokes, the rear has 21 laced 2:1, with an oversized drive side flange, designed to improve power transfer.
Hunt 50 UD Carbon Spoke
£1,399 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 50mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 26mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,358g (claimed)
Hunt offers these 50mm depth wheels, for which it claims a 30% reduction in lateral flex thanks to the replacement of steel with bladed carbon spokes that are less extensible and weigh just 2.7g each.
There are Hunt’s Griptec brake tracks, which it says it’s tested in the Alps to ensure consistent function even on the longest descents and which are lab tested for heat-stability up to 200deg C. Hunt recommends fitting 28mm tyres and running tubeless. There’s a 36mm depth also available with a 1,295g claimed weight.
Mavic Cosmic SL 40
€1,299 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 40mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 26mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,600g (claimed)
Mavic’s reputation for producing robust wheelsets extends to its Cosmic SL 40 rim brake, which is says is designed for all-rounder performance on flat or hilly terrain. There’s compatible with tubeless or tube-type tyres, Mavic’s iTgMax laser treatment of the brake tracks to ensure good stopping performance wet or dry and heat treatment of the rims to ensure durability.
Mavic uses its Infinity hubset with its low friction Instant Drive 360 ratchet freehub and laces the wheels with 18 front, 24 rear aero straight-pull stainless steel spokes.
Parcours Passista
£799 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 56mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 27.5mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,525g (claimed)
Parcours offers three different rim brake road wheelsets with 41mm, 56mm and mixed 77/86mm depths, as well as a rim brake disc time trial wheel.
The Passista is a mid-depth all-rounder designed for 25mm tyres and with a hooked rim that’s a fairly standard 19mm internal width. They’re not prone to twitchiness in windy conditions, comfortable even with narrower tyres and the textured brake surface ensures consistent braking performance.
Scope S Series
£900 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 30mm, 45mm, 55mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 26mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,485g, 1,555g, 1,629g (claimed)
While Ineos wheel sponsor Scope’s latest tech is used in its Artech wheels, the Sport series wheels carry over its older wheel design features, with a 3-pawl freehub and a more affordable pricetag.
The rims are aero-optimised for 25mm tyres, which may be a better width for many rim brake framesets than the 28mm-plus now more normal on disc brake bikes, and the wheels are tubeless-compatible. There are three depth options, although the shallowest 30mm rim brake wheels are currently showing unavailable.
Vision Metron 55 SL Clincher/TL
€2,019 | Buy here
- Rim depths available: 55mm
- Rim width: 19mm int, 25mm ext
- Material: Carbon
- Weight: 1,483g (claimed)
Vision sells a few rim brake wheelsets, including this 55mm depth option in its premium Metron range. Vision claims that its CFD and wind-tunnel analysis ensure aerodynamics and sidewind stability. With 16 front and 21 rear bladed spokes with brass nipples, the wheels should be free from corrosion.
The braking surface comprises laser etched microdots that Vision says work with the supplied brake pads to ensure all-weather performance. There’s also an 81mm depth option and tubular versions available.
How do I choose the best rim brake wheel?
Rim depth
If you’re looking for the best aerodynamic performance, a deeper rim will usually be better. There are options here with depths of around 80mm, although these are best suited to time-trial use. 40mm to 50mm is generally considered a good all-rounder depth that will keep weight down while still providing aerodynamic benefits. At this depth, wheels are also more stable in crosswinds.
Rim width
Rim brake users have been largely shut out of the switch to wider rims and tyres, due to the limited clearance offered by many rim brake bike frames and particularly by rim brake callipers. While you may be able to squeeze in a 28mm tyre, 25mm is still a more typical width.
Wheels designed for rim brakes will typically have an internal rim width of 19mm or less, which is fine for these tyre widths.
Brake track
Improved braking has been a critical driver of the switch to hydraulic disc brakes on road bikes, but the best rim brake wheelsets are not far behind.
Carbon brake tracks used to offer notoriously poor braking, particularly in wet conditions. Dragging your brakes on long descents could result in the resin holding the wheels together melting. Hybrid wheels with alloy brake tracks fused to carbon rims were a thing to address these problems.
Both issues have been addressed in newer carbon wheels, with brake tracks typically laser treated to etch the resin and improve both wet and dry weather braking. Heat resistant resins reduce the risk of the resin melting or the rim deforming on prolonged braking, although it’s still prudent to practise pulsed braking to give the rims time to cool. Always use brake pads designed for carbon rims.
Weight
Deeper section wheels often weigh around 1,600g, but choose a shallower wheelset and you can see that drop to below 1,300g, putting a wheelset in the lightweight category, making for rapid climbing.
Opt for wheels with carbon spokes and you can see a slice of weight removed, maybe up to 200g and typically without affecting serviceability, thanks to separate metal nipples.
Hubs
Rim brake wheels for road bikes usually come with quick release hubs with 10mm x 130mm rear and 9mm x 100mm front spacing, to suit the typical configuration of rim brake bike frames.
There’s a mix of sealed and cup-and-cone bearings, the latter preferred by Campagnolo, Fulcrum and Shimano. Some wheels will come fitted with ceramic bearings, while these may be available as an upgrade in other wheelsets.