{"id":39375,"date":"2022-07-20T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-20T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=2325"},"modified":"2022-07-20T11:13:21","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T09:13:21","slug":"best-road-bike-wheels-in-2022-32-road-wheelsets-tried-and-tested-by-our-experts","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/best-road-bike-wheels-in-2022-32-road-wheelsets-tried-and-tested-by-our-experts\/","title":{"rendered":"Best road bike wheels in 2022 | 32 road wheelsets tried and tested by our experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Simon von Bromley\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Keith Bontrager famously said of bicycle parts: \u201cStrong. Light. Cheap. Pick two.\u201d It\u2019s a saying that still holds true when it comes to road bike wheels and they\u2019re often a component brands look to save money on when you buy a new bike.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve got a quality frame, wheels are arguably the best upgrade you can give your steed.<\/p>\n

As the means to keeping you rolling, wheels must offer smooth and dependable hubs for drive; high stiffness for accurate tracking; be able to hold a tyre at great pressure; provide a surface for consistent braking if your wheel is rim braked; support ever-wider tyres; and achieve all of this while still being as lightweight and aerodynamically efficient as possible.<\/p>\n

Upgrading to a wheelset that hits these marks more accurately than what you\u2019re currently riding can inject some serious new life into a road bike<\/a> or gravel bike<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Improvements can include improved ride quality, faster average speeds or just a lower weight \u2013 something that helps with both acceleration and deceleration.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the switch to tubeless tyres<\/a> and disc brakes<\/a> has also shaken up the market substantially, with new designs pushing the boundaries of what was previously possible on road bikes. Wider rims support wide road and gravel tyres a lot better and improve aerodynamics by smoothing the interface between the tyre and the rim.<\/p>\n

But with hundreds of bike wheel brands offering thousands of options, buying new wheels can be a confusing task. Luckily, our expert testers put dozens of wheels through their paces every year so you don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n

For road and gravel, we\u2019re generally talking about 700c wheelsets<\/a> and to make things easier, we\u2019ve split them up into disc brake and rim brake options, but take a look at our round-up of best gravel wheels<\/a> for some 650b<\/a> options.<\/p>\n

And while there are some phenomenally expensive wheels in this list, we\u2019ve also included a few top-rated cheaper options that come perilously close to finally proving Mr Bontrager wrong.<\/p>\n