Scribe Cycling Core Superlight 60-D

To deliver deep-section wheels at just over 1,400g, and for less than a grand is a pretty impressive achievement. But that's what you get from the Scribe Cycling Core Superlight 60-D wheels, which are handbuilt in Belfast. They're solid, stiff, durable and offer that 'swooshy' sound when you up the pace. A cracking set of wheels at a wallet-friendly price.

> Buy now: Scribe Cycling Core Superlight 60-D wheelset for £999 from Scribe

With 60mm-deep carbon rims Scribe's Core SLs are aimed primarily at fast riding, where the benefit of an aerodynamic shape becomes most effective – and they certainly feel efficient in real-world scenarios. At speeds nearing 20mph they feel as though they cut through the air smoothly and they also make that lovely swoosh sound as they roll along. Scribe also shares the wind tunnel data on its website, which is worth a glance if you like your data.

Rims with this sort of depth can be twitchy on blustery days – but I didn't find that was the case with the Scribes at all. One day I was riding had gusts up to 38mph – according to the Met Office – and while I could feel the wind on the rims when cornering, it didn't affect the steering to the point where I'd considering swapping them for wheels with shallower rims.

On our office scales the Core SL – the SL stands for superlight – weighed in at 1,486g including the tubeless rim tape they are supplied with. So, knock that off at say 20g per wheel and we are talking 1,440g or so.

This puts them around 50g lighter than the likes of Reynolds' Blacklabel 60 Expert DB wheelset and the Cadex 65 Disc Tubeless wheels Matt reviewed last year. Those were also weighed with the tubeless tape fitted as, like the Scribes, this is how they are delivered.

This makes the Core SL a decent climber, and they feel quick from a standing start and accelerate well when you're already rolling.

I consider myself to have pretty powerful legs and I'm not exactly a whippet-thin racer, both of which can give wheels a hard time laterally – and I had no issues whatsoever. These felt tight and stiff when I was banking the bike from side to side when climbing or sprinting. Straight out of the box everything was running true, and my first ride didn't see any pinging noises coming from spokes and nipples settling.

There's nothing groundbreaking about the build – which isn't meant as a criticism. Scribe hand picks components from around the world and builds them into wheels in its own Northern Ireland premises. The carbon and bearings come from Japan, the hubs from Taiwan and the grease... from Germany. Why not?

My previous experience has found Scribe wheels well made, reliable and offering a great performance, and their construction is backed up with Scribe's Infinity Warranty, which covers them for three years against material or workmanship defects. In the event of a crash Scribe offers a 50% discount on all replacement parts on carbon wheels, while alloy rim replacements will only incur a nominal charge.

The 60mm rims are made from uni-directional Toray T1000 carbon fibre and have an internal width of 21mm and a 29mm external width. They're optimised for 25-28mm tyres but will still work very well with tyres up to 40mm in width.

I'm glad that Scribe has stuck with a hooked rim design, which means that you can run both clincher (non-tubeless) and tubeless tyres. Hookless rims only work with tubeless tyres and are limited to 75psi.

Because of the number of wheels I've been testing recently I was running the Scribes with tubeless tyres but with inner tubes fitted – to save the faff of constantly swapping tyres and sealant. Both 28mm and 30mm tyres from various brands fitted relatively easily, just requiring a tyre lever to pop the last bit of bead over the rim edge when using a track pump. This was the case using a tube or as a dry-run of a tubeless setup.

And while the tyres were a snug fit removing them didn't prove to be an issue, so I wouldn't be worried about getting a puncture in the middle of nowhere.

The front wheel has 21 spokes laced 1x on the disc side and radially on the other; the rear has 24 spokes laced 1x on the driveside and 2x on the driveside.

The Sapim CX Ray spokes are used on a number of the brand's wheels, they have a flat, aero profile and are connected to the rim by Sapim's square-headed nipples. These are external, which makes them a good choice for fettling by the home mechanic.

The rear hub has a ratchet-style drive system rather than pawls, and it providesa a crisp and quick engagement. Two options are available: a 36T design that gives 10° between engagement points or a 54-tooth for a 6.6° engagement. Freehub bodies for Shimano, SRAM XDR and Campagnolo cassettes ranging from 9-speed to 12-speed.

When you're freewheeling the ratchet freehubs can be quite 'buzzy' which, personally speaking, I like – but if you like a bit more stealth Scribe can provide you with grease (from Germany!) to quieten things down.

The TPI hub bearings run very smoothly indeed. It was wet for a fair amount of the review period, but that didn't cause any issues – though it is of course ealy days. Popping off the freehub after a long, wet ride showed no signs of water ingress, so the long-term prospects are positive.

Value

Pricing is an area that Scribe is always strong in – and it's the same here. This wheelset costs £999, and if you go for the 54T ratchet they're 50 quid dearer at £1,049.

The Reynolds Blacklabel 60 wheels mentioned earlier come in at £1,800 and don't offer a Campag freehub as standard, while the Cadex 65 wheels come in at just a shade shy of £2,500.

Hunt's slightly shallower 54 Aerodynamicist wheels are around 150g heavier and I was very impressed when I reviewed them back in 2022. The price has inevitably gone up since then, but they're a still very competitive £1,099.

Our best road wheels buyer's guide looks at quality hoops from £370 (Scribe again) to over three grand for some snazzy Zipps.

Conclusion

The Scribe Core SLs perform solidly through every aspect of performance and reliability – and frankly I'm struggling to find a single quirk or fault with them. It makes me wonder, why would you want to pay more?

Verdict

Stunning performance, great durability and a very competitive price

> Buy now: Scribe Cycling Core Superlight 60-D wheelset for £999 from Scribe