I was searching for an aero wheelset for my rim brake bike build, a 2009 Giant TCR Advanced SL, and HED wheels were the best option by far. When it comes to rim brake aero wheels, HED stands out as the best choice. They undergo rigorous aero testing, provide excellent customer service, and feature a black aluminum brake track that offers braking performance comparable to disc brakes. While they are slightly heavier than all-carbon wheel sets (these have a carbon faring over an aluminum rim), I believe the brake track and optimized aerodynamics compensate for this in my opinion. Additionally, the 60mm depth of the wheels is surprisingly stable in crosswinds. Initially, I was considering the slightly shallower version, but I'm glad I opted for the 60mm. One unexpected aspect is the slight noise they produce due to the carbon faring. When you encounter obstacles like rocks, you can hear a distinct pinging and echoing sound. Despite this minor inconvenience, these wheels are truly exceptional.
The thing is, enve consistently produces quality products, so I expected these to be quite good and honestly they really are. Hookless has been nothing but reliable to me for years now and in my opinion I think most people who have had hookless issues are not the problem with the wheels but user error, either pumping too much air, using incompatible tires, using too narrow of tires.
As far as cross wind stability, they are pretty good. Expect to feel them on windy days, though for this depth that is fairly normal of a problem to deal with. They spin up pretty well on most climbs, only really starts to get difficult around 8% gradient and beyond. They are not the lightest wheelset but not the heaviest either. I think in this day and age many brands are going carbon spokes, so I think in this day and age mid 2025 it is lacking weight wise compared to the likes of vision, specialized and some other brands when it comes to weight for 50-60mm deep wheels but i have to imagine enve has a carbon spoke version in development.
The build quality is exceptional. Enve products always are built really well and consistently well however enve wheels compared to other brands have always felt much nicer to the touch. I don't know if its the physical build of the carbon, I don't know if it is the paint finish they use but whatever it is, when you hold these in your hands they feel incredibly well built. I recommend the ses line, regardless of which wheel depth you choose. I own the 4.5 and the 2.3 and both are built incredibly well and would happy recommend any of them.
This is my first set of carbon wheels so I can't really compare them to other brands. I'm upgrading from aluminum DT Swiss e1800 Splines. I've been out on a few rides now and I'm very happy. I've been consistently cutting off a 2-4 minutes of my normal ride times so, either it's a great placebo effect or these wheels are really helping.
The wheels look great on my Canyon Endurace. I set them up tubeless with some Conti GP5000 and they are silky smooth. I haven't been in any serious crosswinds yet, but they seem very solid. Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase and would recommend them.
These wheel ride like a dream and exceeded my expectations of ride quality, comfort, speed and braking performance. But, it didn't come with out major hassles along the way. Really hoping the warranted rear wheel will be free of issues when it returns. Read below.
1) The rear wheel came to me flexing and would rub on the brake track with 4mm of pad clearance on each side when I got out of the saddle when needed. Brake is dead centered. Wasn't my bikes frames fault as the wheel sat square in the rear triangle with no rubbing on the chain stays. I'm 65 years old, 175 lbs.
2) Took me 2 different compounds (new pads each time) to find one that wouldn't squeal. Sanding pads, cleaning pad and rim with alcohol, toeing in, toeing out, tightening brake mounting bolt to spec, pads engaging rim in the perfect location. Nothing would stop the deafening noise and vibration. Spent hours trying to resolve this. Finally installed Koolstop black pads with success.
3) after a few months of very light usage and riding. a clicking sound developed. Spent a couple hours isolating the problem to the rear wheel and specifically the wheel orientation where the noise occurred. After consulting CS at HED ( they're really good) the tech dept came to the conclusion the alignment pin that is used during the welding process and popped out of place. HED warranted the rim and laced up a new one for me. The warranted wheel is en route back to me as I write.
All luxurious and wonderful light bike tech always comes with a price. The durability and integrity with these wheels seem to be of no exception. Fingers crossed problems will be behind me now. Not holding my breath.
