Mauro Schmid’s victory on stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia on Wednesday was a remarkable achievement for the 21-year-old rider, all the more so in that he was using a pair of 50 Carbon Aero Disc wheels from British brand Hunt that retail for just £879.
Hunt began providing Team Qhubeka Assos with wheels at the start of the current season so this is the first Grand Tour in which the brand has been represented. Obviously, Mauro Schmid has done the heavy lifting here, but we thought that Hunt – set up in West Sussex in 2015 by brothers Tom and Peter Marchment – deserved a pat on the back too.
The 50 Carbon Aero Disc wheels, which Schmid was running tubeless, are by no means the top-end option in Hunt’s range. There are plenty of £1,100-£1,300 wheelsets available, including the Limitless aero range which we followed through development. In fact, as far as Hunt’s carbon wheels go, the 50 Carbon Aero Discs are closer to the bottom of the range than to the top.
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Okay, for many of us £879 is still a lot of cash to lay down on a set of wheels – we realise that and it’s not as if these guys are buying them anyway – but most wheels that are ridden to Grand Tour stage victories are considerably more expensive than this. For instance, second-placed Alessandro Covi was using Campagnolo Bora WTOs. Even the non-Ultra versions are approaching £2k…Each.
So why didn’t Schmid go for any of Hunt’s higher-end wheels?
“It’ll be down to a couple of factors,” says Hunt’s brand manager Ollie Gray. “First, as Mauro is a neo-pro, he’s pretty much last in line for the Limitless wheels the team have at the Giro.
“Also, Michael Gogl rode these to sixth at Strade Bianche, so from Mauro’s perspective they probably came with a pretty glowing reputation from one of the team’s more senior riders.”
Check out wheels of the Tour de France
The Hunt 50 Carbon Aero Disc wheelset uses unidirectional T24/30 rims (19mm internal width, 27mm external width) and a 50mm-deep U-shape profile.
“The strong yet lightweight rim features… 3K weave reinforced spoke holes for added durability,” says Hunt. “The addition of our V:Absorbe resin blends in the carbon layering, curing at a lower temperature which promotes greater resistance to impacts and damps vibration more effectively.”
The Race Season Sprint straight-pull hubs use leaf-sprung, multi-point pawls and 48 ratchets in the hub shell, engaging in 7.5° when you start to pedal. They’re built with Pillar PSR reinforced spokes. The claimed weight for the wheelset is 1,487g.
Although it’s a long-standing member of the range, we’ve not reviewed this exact wheelset on road.cc, although we have reviewed the Hunt 4050 Carbon Aero Disc wheelset, with a 40mm front rim and a 50mm rear. We now have a Hunt 50 Carbon Aero Disc wheelset on the way.
www.huntbikewheels.com
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15 comments
Q-A now have Giro 3 stage wins as of Stage 15. Great for Hunt's profile.
Hunt, If you are reading this (and I'm sure you are) Congratulations! You must be chuffed to bits. Can I just ask two things please.... Firstly, with all this coverage please don't put up your prices and secondly when are the track wheels coming out? - I would love a pair. You only need 2 pairs, 50mm tubs and clinchers. And yes, get some bigger decals printed. I dont mind driving over (for a pair of my choosing) and putting them on the pro bikes. I live pretty close to you and work is pretty quiet at the moment... Well done again, keep flying the flag.
As a surprise present for a mate we upgraded the wheels on their' bike with a pair of hunt alloy wheels and vittoria tyres. Not one of us involved in the project didn't want to steal them, they really are fantastic bang per buck wheels. The recipient of said gift had been a bit of a luddite / nay sayer about wheel upgrades making a difference, but is the first to admit now it is like riding a completly different bike. The weight difference was 1/2 a kilo, but more than that he is a big chap now riding 5mm wider tryes at 40 psi less, doesn't complain about his bum and back anymore and is riding far further and faster. The tyres cost a bit though....
Mat - I would love to know where you go shopping if you're claiming that Campag Bora WTO's are £2k each! You can pick up a rear in a 60 for just over £800...
That will no doubt be full retail price which of course you never have to pay. A pair of Bora Ultra 60 WTO are just under £1500 but the retailers are happy to tell us that is with a £435 discount.
Where do you buy single Campag wheels btw, I thought they were only available in pairs?
Yeah, £1,500 a pair - not each!
Swinnerton Cycles & Probikekit both have singular for sale.
Cheers for the info
I suspect the fancy-pants wheels ridden by some of the pro tour teams make less difference than the manufacturers would have us believe. There is undoubtedly a significant diminishing marginal return over and above a 50mm section wide carbon wheel like this; as indicated by the excellent research by Hambini.
What?!
Next you'll be telling us that the £175 Silca titanium dildo for, err, mounting a Garmin is a bit excessive.
Most modern rims (generally wider and U-shaped) have very similar profiles so naturally there's very little between them, even in a wind tunnel. And once you go beyond ca. 50mm the difference that rim depth maks is smaller.
On a hilly stage with gravel sectors tyre choice and pressures used will have made a significant difference as grip and confidence, both up and downhill, make a huge difference.
I wonder what Giacomo Nizzolo will have to say about the wheels he was using today (Friday).
Hunt need a bigger, bolder logo on their rims, to get the maximum out of their sponsorship. It would be nice to see higher visibilty for a UK brand in the pro peleton.
I have a set of these exact wheels. They are brilliant. I actually like the subtle low key decals. I prefer that to big flashy graphics like some brands offer.
I agree and it is one of the things that attracts me to the brand. I have 3 sets for 2 bikes (including the excellent 30mm disc carbon) and hope to add these wheels next when I can afford it.
I can add that when a previous pair of carbon wheels (on rim brakes) developed a fault the service was the best I have experienced in the industry. Fellow cyclists at Hunt were eager to talk and fix the problem and sourced a replacement very quickly. Really pleased to see this success for them.
Yeah but i think justDave means for TV coverage rather than as a general standard design item.
Indeed, but the point being made by justDave is that they don't help to get them noticed on TV, so for pro races perhaps a bolder logo would help.