Enve launched its first AR or 'all-road' wheel in 2016 with the SES 4.5 AR, a tubeless and disc-only road wheel designed around wide tires to optimise the aerodynamics of using bigger rubber.
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Now, the brand has added a shallower and lighter SES 3.4 AR to better mesh with 28–32mm rubber.
Claimed to weigh 1,417g with the Enve's own Alloy Disc CL hubs, the wheelset features a 25mm internal width and a tubeless-ready inner rim profile, even coming with an approved/recommended tire list which the brand says results in the best aerodynamics and safety — all of which are tubeless ready.
ENVE does point out that you can still run a tube if you're so inclined, but these wheels are safest with a tubeless-ready tire. The wheels also come with a roll of tubeless tape and two valves.
Enve SES 3.4 AR highlights
- Claimed to weigh 1,417g with the Enve's own Alloy Disc CL hubs
- Disc only
- Hookless bead wall
- Asymmetric rim profile
- Starting at $2,550, international pricing TBC
These recommendations are likely due in part to the new hoops featuring a not often seen, on the road at least, hookless bead wall. With this, the Enve says the new SES 3.4 ARs get the same Anti-Pinch flat technology that was first introduced on its M-Series MTB wheels and then adapted for the G-Series Gravel wheels.
As these wheels get the SES delineation they retain the asymmetric rim geometries for the front at 39mm deep and 31.2mm wide outside the bead and rear wheel, which measures 43mm deep and 30.5mm outside the bead.
ENVE says the reasoning behind this is to have each wheel best suited to the airflow at either end of the bike. ENVE also says the extreme width of the SES AR rims, when compared to other aero road wheels on on the market, is to optimize drag reduction and stability for high-volume, performance-oriented tubeless road tires.
Jake Pantone, ENVE’s VP of Product said of the new wheelset: “A little over three years ago, we stood on the side of the Arenberg Forrest sector of Paris-Roubaix as the new official wheel sponsor of what is now Team Dimension Data, watching our wheelsets be put through the paces in this environment for the first time. During this test session, our conversations turned to aerodynamics and the question of whether we could recover the aero losses of high volume tires with a radical rim shape was raised.
“Ultimately, the answer was yes, and the SES 4.5 AR was born. It has taken a few years for frame manufacturers to produce the bikes with tire clearances required to accommodate these wheels, but the bikes are here now, and the SES 4.5 AR has become our most popular wheelset in North America.”
The new SES 3.4 AR is available in three builds: with the Enve's own Alloy disc hubs ($2,500), Industry Nine's Torch hubs ($2,500), Chris King's R45 hubs ($3,000) or just rims ($3,000). They are available now through the ENVE website. International pricing is to be announced.