Vel 38 RSL Carbon Tubeless Disc Wheelset

Vel's 38 RSL Carbon Tubeless Disc Wheelset has proved a reliable, durable and impressive performer during a month or so of testing. It weighs a respectable 1,490g (on our scales) and the £999 price isn't bad – it's not the cheapest, but you can pay a lot more for similarly specced wheels from other brands.

As the name suggest, it's the 38mm-deep version of Vel's top-of-the-range RSL wheels. Vel offers two ranges, the RL and RSL, which share the same Toray 24/30T carbon rims, but while the 38 RL uses Vel's own hubs and Pillar Wing spokes, the 38 RSL has DT Swiss 240 S hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes with brass nipples.

Vel claims a weight of 1,550g for the RLs and 1,460g for the RSLs (the difference with the road.cc scales more than likely being a double-wrap of tubeless tape). The RLs are £699, the RSLs £999 – that's a £300 premium for a 90g weight reduction, and better hubs, spokes and nipples.

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The RSLs' 38mm carbon rims measure 27.5mm wide on the outside, and have an internal width of 20.3mm. That is wide enough to see some aerodynamic benefits from a smoother surface for air to pass where the tyre and rim meet.

Vel doesn't provide any aerodynamic testing data for these rims; if you're looking for an aero wheelset you'll probably be looking at deeper rims anyway. I think 38mm is a good compromise between having some aero benefits without affecting weight much and, more crucially, without affecting bike handling in crosswinds. Going deeper than about 40mm is where I start having to be a bit more careful when the wind is up, and there was no such issue with these.

As I mentioned above, the hubs are the lovely DT Swiss 240s, using Center Lock discs. These wheels will fit bikes with a 12x100mm front axle and 12x142mm on the rear, which is the most common standard for road disc wheels, but you can buy aftermarket adapters for almost any standard to fit the 240 hubs. Vel clarified it also offers 15mm front axle compatibility, but only 12mm axles are available as part of the normal checkout process as far as we can tell from the product page on Sigma Sport's website.

The front wheel is built up with 24 two-cross-laced Sapim CX-Ray straight-pull spokes with brass nipples. It's the same two-cross lacing on the back with 28 of the same spokes and nipples. You get spare spokes and nipples in the box.

Tubeless installation

The Vel 38 RSLs come with tubeless rim tape installed, and tubeless valves in the box. I tried all the tubeless tyres I had available, and all went on more or less hassle-free. These were 28mm Schwalbe Pro Ones, 30mm Schwalbe G-One Speeds and 43mm Panaracer GravelKing SKs. I did notice after running the GravelKings without issue that Vel specifies a maximum tyre size of 34mm. Meh.

When I say hassle-free, I don't quite mean they'll pop on easily and all you need is a track pump. What I do mean is they go on (and off) with mild use of a pair of tyre levers, but don't require swearing. I used a compressor to get them up initially, and they mostly seated just fine without taking the valve cores out. For the GravelKings, I did have to take the valve cores out for a couple of attempts, and they then went on fine.

Obviously, I haven't tried every tyre out there, but this is about on a par how I'd expect an 'easy' tubeless installation to go. For reference, I had two Hunt wheelsets, one carbon and one alloy, to hand that I was rotating those tyres on, and tubeless installation was about the same.

How they ride

The first few 100 miles of testing were on my Ribble Endurance SL and they really made the bike come alive. They really make such a difference from the Aksiums the bike came with, putting a smile on my face on every ride. The understated looks of the Vels made the bike look better too, which for me is almost as important as performance in a wheelset. They have to make you want to go out on your bike every time you look at it.

When you put the hammer down, they are there, responding quickly and transforming power into speed. There are no issues with flex losing some of what you put in.

They work equally well on those slightly downhill roads that make you go into time trial mode, especially when there's a bit more wind from the side than would be ideal.

Through the corners on a fast descent they are surefooted and inspire confidence to push the pace a bit, with the disc brakes giving you the stopping power to leave braking a bit later too.

On long descents is where I noticed the only negative point I can think of, and it's quite a small, subjective one. The sound the freehub makes at speeds around 50kph is high pitched and a bit piercing, to the point where I tried to slow down or speed up to change the pitch. It wasn't bad enough to make me stop enjoying these wheels, or to mark them down for it, but worth mentioning.

They are billed as a road wheelset, but I thought taking them out gravelling would be a good test for their durability, so they've seen a long day out to Wales, and even a bikepacking trip over Exmoor and the Quantocks.

That last trip, particularly, was a real test; the route took us over some pretty 'interesting' terrain where a full suspension mountain bike would have been more at home. The Vel 38 RSLs stoically just got on with it, staying true and round.

When I took the cassette off, there were some indentations in the freehub body, but not deep enough to stop the cassette coming off smoothly. That's about what I'd expect to see based on experiences with other wheelsets.

After 1,300km of testing on a variety of surfaces, I can say with some confidence that these are well built and should last you a long time.

Value

These cost £999, which is a fair bit of cash, though you can spend a lot more. The DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 50 DBs cost £2,199 and weigh about the same at 1,468g, but they do have deeper rims. The Princeton CarbonWorks Wake 6560 Disc Tune wheels are even more expensive at £3,199, weigh 1,540g, but are much deeper.

The FFWD RYOT44 wheelset is closer at £1,549, but quite a bit heavier at 1,680g.

Hunt's 35 Carbon Aero Disc Wheelset costs less than the 38 RSL at £859. It's 100g lighter and is available for different axle standards, with aftermarket adapters available. The hubs are Hunt's own, so don't have the brand reputation of DT Swiss, but Stu reviewed the 30mm version of these (no longer available) last year and liked them a lot.

You can spend less too, the most obvious candidate being Vel's own 38 RL. As I said, it costs £699, though it's a bit heavier and uses cheaper hubs and spokes.

> Buyer’s Guide: 33 of the best disc brake road wheelsets

So, in this price bracket, between the two sets of Vel wheels and the Hunt wheelset, you can decide how much you want to spend and what is important to you: weight, brand reputation and cost. If it's the combination that the Vel 38 RSLs offer, I reckon you're getting decent value for money.

It's also worth noting that Vel offers help with crash replacement. It says that if you've registered your wheels within three months of purchase and you have an accident, it'll replace them with an equivalent product up to 40% off within the first three years of ownership for the original purchaser.

Conclusion

Vel's 38 RSL wheelset is a reliable partner for any road or gravel ride. The wheels are a joy to ride, perform well and, if the test period is anything to go by, they'll go the distance.

Verdict

A fast set of wheels for any road or gravel ride