ENVE has announced the release of its new AR40 wheelset, the latest addition to the value-focused Foundation line-up.
Featuring 40mm-deep and 32.2mm-wide carbon rims, the Foundation AR40 wheelset features hookless rims and is designed to work across road, all-road and gravel bikes.
According to the American brand, the Foundation AR40 wheelset “borrows” from knowledge gleaned during the development of ENVE’s pricier wheelsets, and is claimed to be more aerodynamic than Reserve’s 42|49 wheelset with a 29mm tyre.
Priced at £1,800 / $1,400 / €1,649 and claimed to weigh 1,515g, ENVE says it “represents the highest quality wheelset on the market” at its price.
ENVE still believes in hookless
Despite jumping on board the ‘mini-hook rims’ bandwagon last year, with its SES 4.5 Pro wheelset (as used by Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France and beyond), ENVE says it still believes in hookless rims when optimising for tubeless tyres.
Rather than citing potential cost savings, ENVE says using a hookless profile “allows the rim’s critical tolerance at the bead seat diameter to be both consistent and accurate”, which helps “deliver a safer and more reliable tubeless system”.
As with other hookless rims, this means the Foundation AR40 wheels are only compatible with tubeless tyres between 27 and 50mm wide, and ENVE’s spec sheet notes that riders should only use models listed as “Approved/Recommended” on its website.
Beyond this, ENVE says the AR40 rims use its ‘wide hookless bead’ technology, which helps reduce the chance of pinch flats from rock strikes, and its patented moulded spoke holes.
These are said to create a lighter and stronger rim compared to drilled spoke holes because the carbon fibres remain intact and enable them to withstand higher spoke tensions with reduced risk of failure.
The Foundation AR40 wheels are specced with ENVE’s own alloy hubs, with steel bearings and an “oversized 42mm ratchet drive system”. The design prioritises “low maintenance and easy serviceability”, according to the brand.
Optimised for road, but off-road capable
Although the Foundation AR40 wheelset is optimised for use on road bikes first and foremost, and has been designed around road bike tyres, ENVE says it has been designed to withstand the rigours of riding and racing off-road.
In terms of performance, ENVE says it pitted the Foundation AR40 wheels against its own SES 4.5, 4.5 Pro and 6.7 wheels, as well as Reserve’s 52|63 and 42|49 wheelsets, at the Mercedes-Benz Formula One wind tunnel.
ENVE used its own Melee road bike as a test mule.
With a 29mm tyre, the results show the AR40 wheelset outperforms the pricier SES 4.5 Pro wheelset (£4,100 / $3,750 / €4,499) at 32kph / 20mph, and is competitive with the deeper-rimmed alternatives.
It’s fair to say the increased scale on the Y-axis exaggerates the difference significantly, though, given the actual difference appears to be less than 0.5 watts, and no margin of error is quoted for the figures.
At 48kph / 30mph, the differences are a little clearer and the 4.5 Pro wheelset pulls ahead by around 2.5 watts. The data shows the AR40 wheelset outperforms the Reserve 42|49 (£1,599 with DT Swiss 350 hubs) by a little more than one watt, though.
All things considered, then, these are small margins, but it’s encouraging that the AR40s ought to offer competitive aero performance even when compared to options costing significantly more.
