Edco Brocon disc brake wheels

The new Edco Brocon Disc Brake wheelset certainly pushes the boundaries when it comes to the design and use of carbon fibre pretty much throughout. The wheels are light, strong and offer a wonderful ride feel, but you do have to pay nearly three grand for them.

• Pros: Carbon spokes give a smooth feel, durability
• Cons: Recommended max tyre width of 28mm could be offputting for some

For the Brocons' construction, Edco has used a 10k carbon weave design rather than a uni-directional one (woven, rather than all the fibres travel in one direction), saying that the higher shield strength of the woven material increases the impact strength. It's certainly a strong set of wheels and they feel absolutely solid.

> Email: info [at] edco-wheels.co.uk (info [at] edco-wheels.co.uk ) to place an order

The Brocons are based around 28mm-deep, tubeless-ready carbon rims, which means they are more of an 'all-rounder' than a deeper pure race wheel, although that does keep the weight down. (Ignore the name on the rim – we were sent an early set, incorrectly labelled.)

The pair weigh just 1,500g including the supplied tubeless rim tape, which is pretty impressive for a disc brake wheelset. They are generally heavier than a rim brake design, often needing more spokes and beefier hubs because of the higher braking forces.

With an inner rim width of just 17mm they aren't the widest wheels we've seen, especially with the way rim width is continuing to grow. It's not a massive issue unless you are a big fan of fat tyres, as on the paperwork I received with the wheels Edco recommends tyres up to 28mm wide.

What really sets the Brocons apart from many other wheels is the use of carbon fibre for the spokes.

Edco says that the wheel is built in exactly the same way as one using alloy or steel spokes, and unlike other carbon spoked wheels I've ridden in the past they are easily replaceable rather than being bonded to the rim.

The spokes themselves are made from a single piece of carbon fibre with a threaded steel end added to allow it to be screwed into a standard 14g nipple. This makes the wheels easy to true should you have any issues after hitting a pothole or suchlike.

A lot of top end wheels that we see use carbon fibre for the hub shells, but Edco has gone down the aluminium alloy route.

It's a brand new design for Edco, with a special drilling pattern to work with the straight pull carbon spokes. With NBK bearings and water resistant o-rings they roll very smoothly indeed.

Most frame manufacturers have settled on 12mm thru-axles front and rear on disc brake-equipped bikes and Edco has followed suit with the Brocons, although you can get adaptors for quick release and 15mm thru-axle setups.

The freehub has some options too, with Campagnolo 11 and 12-speed compatible offered alongside the standard Shimano/SRAM version supplied.

So, that's the technology – but how does that translate to the road?

Very nicely indeed is the answer.

The Brocons are a very stiff set of wheels and there is absolutely no feeling of lateral flex when you are absolutely giving it everything in a sprint or on a climb. This stiffness doesn't translate to harshness, though, as the carbon fibre spokes give a plush ride taking out any road buzz.

The Edcos are solid and feel very strong. I didn't go out of my way to try to destroy them, but I was taking rougher lines through broken tarmac and small potholes than I would have if I'd just landed this much money on a set of wheels myself, and they stood up to all of the abuse, remaining true.

The hubs feel very smooth and the freehub pawl engagement is brilliantly quick – exactly as I'd expect for a top-end set of wheels.

After 500 miles of testing, removing the cassette showed minimal indentations into the body, helped by the steel insert added to stop the cassette digging in under hard efforts.

Value

There is no getting around it, £2,900 for a set of wheels is a very large outlay, but how do they stack up against the opposition?

Against the eye-wateringly priced Lightweight Meilenstein C Disc wheelset (£4,779) the Edcos don't look so bad. They offer loads of stiffness like the Lightweights and are only 130g heavier, plus the Edcos are user-serviceable.

> Buyer's Guide: 34 of the best road bike wheelsets

For nearly half the money, though, you could get the Acros Road Disc C 28 wheelset if you're happy to forgo the carbon spokes. The Acros weigh 10g less and I was very impressed with their stiffness too.

Conclusion

On the whole, the Edcos are a very good set of wheels and although the price is high, because of the technology and materials, it's not necessarily excessive for what you are getting.

The ride from the carbon build is very impressive, but I'm not sure the extra outlay over other builds with standard spokes would swing it for me personally.

The Brocons will be available from early April, but you can place an order now.

Verdict

Excellent ride comfort and overall performance from a very top-end set of wheels