Aero wheels - 55 to 65 millimetre high rims

Aero wheels make you faster - that's a fact. But by how much and with what disadvantages? Ultimately, most cyclists want to find the best possible compromise between aero advantages and a relatively low weight and low susceptibility to crosswinds. The "golden mean" here is usually the variants with rim heights between 45 and 55 millimetres. Wheels with 60 millimetre or higher rims are often very aerodynamically advantageous, but can be difficult to control in gusty crosswinds. In this aero wheel test, we therefore focussed on models with rim heights between 55 and 65 millimetres. The price range: from 899 to 2700 euros. All the wheels tested are built with carbon rims and designed for disc brakes. Compromises are also made with these aero wheels: Due to the rim height, for example, they cannot be extremely light. In addition, they are noticeably more sensitive to crosswinds. All in all, however, they are a very good choice for fast tours on flat and hilly routes. We carried out the aerodynamic measurements in the GST wind tunnel in Friedrichshafen. The two parameters that took centre stage: Aerodynamic drag and crosswind sensitivity. The main question was: "How much faster are you with these aero wheels?" That's why we also compared the test models with a "normal" reference wheelset: the DT Swiss E 1800 Spline with 23 millimetre high aluminium rims and a weight of 1697 grams. These wheels are often fitted to road bikes in the mid-range price segment around 3000 euros. This is also the case with the Canyon Endurace CF SL, which we used for the basic measurement. The rider took the position "forearms extended in the lower link". The bike was fitted with the standard reference wheels. We used a 25 millimetre wide Continental GP 5000 tyre for all wind tunnel tests. We always fitted the same tyre, as the differences in the measurements can cause differences of up to one watt with the same tyre models. The measurement tolerance of the wind tunnel is +/- 0.2 watts.