At 940g, Schmolke has made the world’s lightest 50mm-deep aero disc wheelset and the ride impresses as much as the light weight.
The traditional build, albeit with exotic components, proves there’s plenty of life left in classic wheel construction.
Over the years, many brands have tried to push the weight boundaries when it comes to road bike wheels. Lightweight’s bonded carbon construction peaked with the 1,280g Obermayer Evo.
Syncros’ Capital wheels used a similar all-carbon bonded design to hit 1,170g, and Partington’s looped-spoke design was similarly light at 1,218g.
The huge surprise with Schmolke’s TLO is not the frankly astounding 977g weight including tubeless kit; it’s the fact that they are made relatively traditionally and perform as they do.
Schmolke also makes the even lighter 37mm-deep option, the TLO 37, at a claimed 895g.
No wheelset that’s priced around £3,000 can be called good value. However, compared to lightweight mainstream rivals, the TLOs are priced keenly.
Cadex’s Max 40 wheels are £3,400, Partington’s R-Series MKII R39/44s are £5,500 and Lightweight’s Obermayer Evos cost £7,060, while Zipp’s 353 NSW wheelset comes in at £3,200. Simply put, the Schmolkes are lighter than all of them and less expensive.
Schmolke TLO 50 specifications
Unlike some of their ultra-light rivals, the Schmolke TLO wheels are made traditionally, albeit from very lightweight parts.
Straight-pull hubs are paired with carbon-bladed spokes. The spokes have standard threaded ends bonded to them, meaning the TLOs can be maintained as you would any standard wheels.
The 24 front and rear spokes lace to a 50mm-deep hooked tubeless carbon rim.
The hubs aren’t your average road hubs, though. The combination of Extralite’s 66g CyberFront SPD-3 and 146g CyberRear SPD-3 with Hyper Ceramic bearings makes this one of the lightest hubsets available (212g total).
In comparison, a pair of DT Swiss’ lightest hubs, the 180 EXPs, weighs in at 92g for the front and 187g for the rear (279g total).
The rim is a thoroughly progressive shape; Schmolke hasn't made it slim to bring the weight down. The rims have a 50mm depth, with 32.5mm external and 25mm internal width.
It’s a bang-up-to-date profile suited to modern wider road tyres of 28mm and above. I tested them with Pirelli’s 30mm P Zero TLRs.
The carbon spokes use standard threaded metal ends and weigh only 2g each, compared to a conventional metal spoke such as DT Swiss’s Aerolite, which weighs between 4 and 4.5g depending on length.
My test pair weighed in at 448g front and 529g rear.
The wheels come with a generous 115kg ‘system’ weight, which means bike and rider. In comparison, Lightweight’s Obeymayer EVO has a 100kg limit, as does Partington’s similarly light R-Series MKII R39/44.
The 50mm-deep Unidirectional carbon fibre rims weigh in at a claimed 315g.
In comparison, a 40mm-deep Zipp 303 rim weighs around 365g. ENVE’s equivalent SES 4.5 Pro rims weigh in at a claimed 369g for the front and 383g for the rear. Having a lighter rim should yield ride improvements thanks to lower rotational weight. Schmolke’s complete wheel weights are lighter than both (Zipp 303 SW 1,440g, ENVE SES 4.5 1,538g).
Schmolke TLO 50 performance
Fitting tyres to the TLO 50 wheels was a breeze. The 30mm Pirelli slipped on easily and sealed the first time, and the system has maintained pressure since.
They replaced a pair of Mavic Cosmic SL45s on my Specialized Tarmac SL6 – a fine wheelset and one I have had no trouble with in many years of use. They do, however, weigh in at 1,575g a pair. This is reasonably light, but by switching to the Schmolkes, I’ve cut more than half a kilo from the rolling stock (598g), and that’s a difference you can feel.
I expected the lightness to shine through, but what I didn’t expect was just how good the TLOs feel on the road.
With weight this low, I was wary they wouldn’t have the stiffness in the system to avoid flex when sprinting out of the saddle – or that they’d feel fragile, creaking or groaning over poor surfaces or potholes.
What I got, however, was a set of wheels with impressive stiffness. They feel a lot like the similarly carbon-spoked Cadex Max 40, albeit lighter – and lighter on the pocket than those tech-laden carbon wheels.
The Extralite hubs spin smoothly and freely, and the 32 points of engagement give an 11.25-degree engagement, which is great for the road, although some might want something a little quicker to pick up.
While they're stiff when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle in normal seated riding, they feel smooth and fairly compliant. On some particularly poor road surfaces, scarred by winter frost and rain, the wheels – in combination with the 30mm tyres – create a smooth platform for fast road rides.
The obvious advantage of wheels this light is plain to see when climbing. The lack of mass means they react quickly and encourage big out-of-the-saddle efforts. However, over the crest of a climb and into descents, the TLOs feel planted and unwavering, yet not harsh.
Schmolke TLO 50 bottom line
I like that the Schmolke TLO 50 wheels are built traditionally. Should anything go wrong, any professional wheel builder should be able to replace a spoke or rim, or service the hubs – unlike some of the more proprietary designs, where the wheel would need to be returned.
Would I buy the TLOs simply for their light weight? Absolutely not. However, I would definitely purchase them because they combine performance and low weight.
The Schmolke TLO 50s are a genuine surprise in that their gobsmacking low weight is matched by such an impressive ride. They also undercut more established lightweight options price-wise, which is another compelling reason to buy them.
They are, truly, something special.
