Scribe Race-D wheelset

The Scribe Race-D wheelset proves that aluminium still has a place in cycling components; weighing in at just 1479g, it could easily be mistaken for a much more expensive wheelset. The wheels feature a 'modern' 19mm internal width and are tubeless-ready out the box, which happens to include tubeless valves, spare spokes and all the adaptors you could ever need. Overall, it's a very impressive package from Scribe and a great set of wheels for upgrading heavy stock wheels or for year-round training.

The Race-D wheelset features a 26mm-deep aluminium rim but takes aim at more expensive carbon hoops. The initial unboxing is a positive experience – in the box you'll find not only the wheels but also: tubeless tape (already installed), tubeless valves, spare spokes, spare nipples, six-bolt adapter (converts Centerlock to six-bolt), a lockring for 15mm axles, slim-fit lockring for tight clearing forks and a 10-speed spacer. This is all worth bearing in mind, as many alternative wheels won't include such luxuries and can mean large hidden costs to what initially appeared a simple wheel upgrade.

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Having a nosey around the wheels and the green freehub body immediately grabs your attention. Sadly, this can't be seen when a cassette is fitted but the freehub body has substance as well as style, with an integrated steel bite guard. Making a freehub body out of aluminium rather than steel is an easy way for wheel manufacturers to shed some weight off their products, but aluminium is a relatively soft metal and can get 'chewed up' by a cassette, as could be seen when we tested the older Scribe 365 wheelset. The addition of this bite guard means that weight can be kept down while preventing the cassette from digging into the soft metal. After 1,500km I'm happy to report that it's doing its job nicely.

Up front you'll find 21 spokes and 24 on the rear. These are straight-pull Sapim CX-Rays, a very common choice for wheelbuilders and for good reason: they're lightweight, offer some minor aerodynamic benefits and, in my experience, are very durable. The nipples are alloy Sapim double square head; I'd have loved it if brass nipples had been used but that's a bit of a rabbit hole, and nonetheless, alloy ones should last a good few years and also help to reduce rotational weight.

I decided I'd take advantage of the wheels being tubeless-ready, and set about fitting various width tyres. I realise that all tyre/wheel combos will varying degrees of difficulty in fitting, but I was amazed at how easily all the tyres I tried went on and seated. Not once did I have to reach for a lever to fit a tyre, and the 28mm tubeless Hutchinsons that I've been using the majority of the time literally fell on to the rims and yet could be inflated with just a standard track pump.

With a 19mm internal width and 24mm external width, the rims suited 28mm tyres well, fitting nicely without ballooning like they do on narrower rims.

Out on the road the Scribes feel stiff and spin up nicely, and after accidentally finding myself plummeting into several caverns – sorry, potholes – it's nice to see them still spinning true, and that stiffness or durability hasn't been sacrificed in the name of weight saving.

The Race-D wheelset takes advantage of Scribe's patented ratchet drive hub which looks pretty similar to the new (and significantly more expensive) DT Swiss ratchet EXP design. Both systems aim to minimise the number of moving parts to improve durability. The ratchet ring has 36t engagement which, if you do the maths, is every 10 degrees – in other words, instantaneous. During sprinting I can't say that this was actually noticeable as by this point the wheel is usually spinning so fast already that the difference between 10 degrees or a typical 20 degrees is negligible. Where it is noticeable is when riding at slow speeds – for example, around town where accelerating from stationary or slow speed is more common. This really helps to make the Scribes feel even faster at accelerating.. 

It is worth noting that this freehub has quite a distinctive noise, and although not as loud as a Chris King freehub, for example, it certainly isn't quiet. You won't be sneaking up on anyone, put it that way. Personally, this isn't something that concerns me, but I know that others feel very strongly about the noises their wheels make!

Scribe offers to fit either the standard 'endurance' bearings – as I've got on test here – or swap them out for 'race' bearings, which it claims to be faster but not recommended for long periods of wet weather. In all honesty, I was perfectly happy with the endurance bearings that seemed perfectly fast and have coped well in some mixed weather conditions; unless you're going to use the wheels purely for racing then I'd say the endurance bearings are fine.

Having ridden around on the wheels for over a month now, I've been asked multiple times if the wheels are carbon and it's an easy mistake to make especially if you pick up the bike they're on. Their 1,479g claimed weight (1,546g on our scales, with tape) is really competitive at this price point, and the lack of braking surfaces makes them look deeper than they actually are.

Value

Let's be honest, there are a lot of aluminium disc brake wheels out there that perform well, and the Scribe race-Ds are certainly among them; what really sets these apart is how good value they are. For example, Stu recently tested the Halo Devaura Disc RD2 wheelset, which is by no means a bad set of hoops – they scored 8/10, after all! – but despite costing nearly £200 more than the Scribes, they weigh in at 1,733g; that's 254g difference, which is noticeable when riding. Finding a lighter set of aluminium wheels with a 105kg rider limit and bite guard and that I'd actually trust, without getting a set custom built, seems very difficult at this price point.

> Buyer’s Guide: 20 of the best disc brake road wheelsets

I feel like this wouldn't be a proper aluminium wheelset review without mentioning Hunt, and so... The Mason X Hunt 4 Seasons are a little cheaper at £329, and the rim width is the same as the Scribes, but they come in slightly heavier at 1,593g. 

If these are a little out of your price range then the Prime Baroudeur wheelset (£250) is only a little heavier at 1,586g. 

Conclusion

Scribe has managed to create a seriously competitive package that provides all the durability, robustness, lightness and speed that most riders could ever wish for. This shouldn't be too surprising – the 365 Disc wheelset I mentioned earlier that we tested back in January also impressed, and now with an improved ratchet rear hub and bite guard in a slightly lighter guise, the Race-D wheelset is even better!

Verdict

Light, stiff and excellent value aluminium disc wheelset that can be used for a lot more than just racing