These custom wheels are built around hubs from Shimano’s budget Sora groupset. The single contact seals don’t offer the same level of weatherproofing as their higher end cousins, but they still do a decent job of keeping out water and gunk.
The cup-and-cone bearings span well at the beginning of testing, although the front one needed some adjustment by the end.
The eyelet-less alloy rims from Italian brand DRC aren’t the lightest ever but, stitched to the hubs with 32 three-cross spokes front and rear, they stay pretty rigid during out-of-the-saddle stomps with hardly any brake rub.
They weren’t that true laterally or vertically, but they got no worse as we got the miles in. Weighing in at just over 2kg the pair, they’re never going to produce a lightning-quick turn of speed, but for no-frills performance they’re a sound investment.
