Kokbok rim
There is one surefire way to unlock performance in your road bike, it's with a new set of the best road bike wheels. Recent developments in materials technology have unlocked freedoms within wheel engineering that just haven't been possible before. Disc brakes have been a big catalyst for this jump-forward-in-wheel performance, along with the wide adoption of tubeless tyres. That said, there are still millions of rim brake road bikes out there, road bike wheels designed for clincher tyres and those that like the simplicity of an inner tube.
Including one or two of the Cycling Weekly team. With so many depths, widths and compatibilities to consider, buying a new set of road bike wheels can be a bit of a minefield. We've tried to make things simple with our pick of the best road bike wheels. All of the wheels featured below have been reviewed by one of our team for either our magazine or directly for this site.
Although not an exhaustive list it does include both disc and rim wheelsets. For more advice on choosing the right road wheels for you, head to the bottom of this page. If you're looking for new wheels for an allroad or gravel bike, we have a selection of those over on our best gravel bike wheels guide. Best all-rounder.
Best road bike wheels reviewed and rated: disc and rim wheelsets to supercharge your ride
Lightweight, stiff, fast-rolling wheels, well-suited to varied terrain. Hookless rims do need compatible tyres though. Best value all-rounder. A five-star rating leaves it hard to find anything not to like about this versatile and great-value wheelset. Best aero. The s hit a sweet spot between price and performance, proving incredibly agile and responsive for a wheel nearly 60mm in depth.
Julklappsrim för Kokbok
Best value aero. Best lightweight. Weighing under 1,g, these are a high-quality, lightweight all-rounder but expect to find a price tag to match. Best rim brake wheels. Competitively priced aero rim brake wheels that are unstoppable once you have them moving. Wide internal rim widths and tubeless-ready make for great tyre compatibility. You can trust Cycling Weekly.
kokbok rim4
Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test. Zipp's current focus is on producing wheels designed to be run with wide, tubeless tires and at lower pressures. These are hookless rims with a 25mm internal width, so need to be run with rubber over 28mm and below 72psi.
The hookless set up does mean you are slightly limited on the tires which you can use, be we found the ride quality absolutely excellent, with these being one of the best you can currently buy - so we'd very happily accept that slightly narrower choice of tires for the benefits it brings. The lower tire pressure requirement does deliver a softer ride feel - not to be confused with a slower one.
KSYRIUM SL
The smoother ride delivers an almost blood like connection with your bike, coupled with the broader rim profile, allows for impressively balanced and confidence inspiring on bike capabilities. A low rolling weight and a 66 point engagement hub also means these pick up fast and are capable of showing a clean pair of heels in any sprint. Popping a set of Tangente Course G40 tires gravel tires on the rim the wheels really came into their own.
Capable of taking up to 50mm tires and, over a km three day adventure, they only lost around 2psi. Read more: Zipp Firecrest Carbon road bike wheelset full review.