3rd best alu race frame ever made - 1st goes to the Caad 10, 2nd goes to the Colnago Dream. Absolutely no need to be spending high 4 or 5 figure sums to get a great bike. Great content David!

Thank you so much for doing this series. It's exactly what I wanted to see! Some time ago I complained in a comment about both my inability to improve my own performance due to health reasons and for the lack of videos about more obtainable bikes. Not only have you delivered on the latter, but I'm finally starting to see some progress in my own training. Good news all around 🙂

I have the Hunt alu wheels. Hunt often have sales so I had them for £375 👌🏻👍🏻 i don’t see the point on super expensive carbon wheels….people forget that we are talking grams NOT KG’s. The cheapest way to lose weight is to lose weight from yourself!!! Total system weight (bike and rider) is key. You can have the lightest bike in the world but if you’re carrying a few extra pounds it will make very little difference…….

I did the exact same thing last July with the Hunt carbon on my CAAD12, which I purchased new in 2019. No time testing, but it was absolutely night and day in ride experience. I finally understand what an amazing machine the CAAD12 can be. So nimble, so much more fun. (And I did set a lot of new PRs on Strava.)

Great video - I was surprised by the smaller difference between the new alloy and carbon wheels. Looking forward to your drivetrain video

Good on you! This type of video helps people in these tough times. There a loads of nice used bikes around and the mid-grade upgrade is the sweet spot.

Awesome video and well done for braving the cold.Safe riding.💯🚴‍♀️✌🏻

As a 2019 CAAD12 owner I am in love with this project. Can’t wait till you do the groupset.

Miss my rim braked CAAD12; a great bike. I fitted DT Swiss PR DiCut alloy wheels on mine at 1.3 kg a set to keep it all aluminium. Awesome wheels.

I put a set of of the ali rim brake Hunt wheels on my £100 giant OCR-3 last winter, along with a full 105 groupset (which was only £299 at the time). Fantastic upgrades for what is a fairly decent light frame. I think Hunt are a really impressive British company and I'd definitely buy from them again.

Really good video, David. Especially in describing the ride quality feel. Interesting that the deep carbon aero wheels were just a little 'firmer'/ harsh on rough roads than the more box sectio alu- understandable. This shows the deep carbon aero are not an improvement across all areas (including worse in side winds). But you saying how the deeper carbon wheels made the bike almost as fast as modern aero bikes is mouth-watering!

You read my mind. I have a 2018 Tarmac with stock metal wheels. I've been thinking of upgrading to Hunt carbon wheels. This video sold me. Thanks David. Love your videos.

Hi David. Could you specify which tires were used on which rims during the test please? Please correct me if I'm wrong but if you used old Schwalbes on stock rims then time gains on new rims with new Continental tires might have been achieved mainly thanks to those new tires, right? Love your content. Thank you.

Thank you very much David for such a useful video!

Nice video! Useful info on Hunt wheels.😊

Good test David. As others have pointed out though it's best to use the same tyres for each wheelset - ie only ever test one variable at a time. I was close to buying the Hunt Aero 34s (alloy ones) but got the VEL 28 RL instead as they had a really good sale on. Similar weight. The 500g saving over the stock Mavics is really noticeable in terms of responsiveness - especially on climbs. Feel a bit faster on the flats too. Seems a great upgrade.

Seems like the aluminium wheels are a much better value: you get a lot more grams per pound!

Love this video series. Would love to see a modern bike on the same course now to see how the old CAAD12 compares. I recently built a CAAD10 with Force22 and it's a real weapon. Noticeable difference over the CAAD9 I was riding and I swapped the same wheels, stem and bars over.

I had a CAAD 12 105 Disc, and replaced the heavy stock wheels with Hunt 4 Season Gravel wheels, and Fulcrum 5 wheels, depending on the type of ride I was doing. Both were a massive improvement over the Maddux 2.0 wheels - which I used in winter with 30mm CX tyres.

Awesome video, Great content, always enjoy your videos. Thank you.

Nice test but the tires seems different on each of them.

This is exactly the video series I needed. Looking to replace the stock Mavic Ksyrium wheels on my 2013 Cannondale SuperSix with a carbon fiber rim brake wheelset. Also, planning to add a power meter (crank arm, crank set, pedals). Not sure which option is best. Groupset is great, SRAM Red but lacking power meter.

I definitely liked my upgrade to Hunt 4 seasons on my Gravel bike, mainly so I could run tubeless as winter in particular with tubes just wasn’t much fun!

The luganos on the std wheels may already weigh almost twice as those on the expensive wheels.

I always prefer aluminium as the right material for the bike frame. At the beginning of this year I bought a Cannondale CAAD13 Disc 105. I rode it without any problems the whole season this year. Great bike. I'm happier with it than with carbon models.

I bought some mtb XC race wheels for my mountain bike and had the same impact and were only £360 in recent end of season sale- Hunt wheels are fantastic!!!

I LOVE the Hunt wheels!

I upgraded my Litespeed C1 2012 and HD the same results, first change was a set of Mercury alloys, then Mavic Ksyriums (no difference) then went yo 38mm carbon wheels (pointy aero) noticeable improvement. Now have 38mm x 25 mm modern profile , slightly heavier. Slower on climb, but downhill and flats are much faster. Especially when I went to tubeless setup.

Thanks for the video. I also got a project caad 12 105 disc. My first upgrade was 38 cm handlebars, carbon post and seat, and then lighter wheels (but also thinking about the alu hunt as the ones i have a very narrow). It would be nice to know the tire setup. Was it consistent between the 3 wheelsets? Did u run tubless?

Perhaps carbon rims with stainless steel spokes are the best compromise in terms of speed and comfort

I'vehad a set of aluminium Four Season Gravel wheels on my old Boardman ADV 8.9 for a few years and they've been superb so far with 1000's of miles on them. I have been considering some aluminium HUNT wheels for my Synapse Carbon 4 I got a couple of months ago.....Hmmmm ?

As I said on your video about your rim brake Cad 12 David, you should try and get a set of Hunt Aero Wide aluminum wheels for that bike. Compared to your deep carbon wheels you've been running, you'll have better braking, a lighter weight, they'll look better, and as you have now proven to yourself the difference in speed will be minute.

I love the look of the older frames and have been wanting to do a restomod using a steel frame with modern components but I already have 2 nice bikes that I want to keep so it’s tough justifying a 3rd

The caad looks great , great video, I love my rim brake caad12

Great video @justridebikes although for the same price as the Hunts, you could have bought similar hand-built wheels from a wheelbuilder like Spin on these etc. Honestly, there's not that much difference in price, but you would have more hub options, and (probably) better quality wheels and spokes.

The problem with the test is that it's a time trial test, not a real world scenario for a road bike rider. If your just doing solo rides, saving a minute every ten miles doesn't really matter., the stock wheels are fine untill they break when durability cost would be the main considerations for replacements. If riding with competitive pals or in a sportive,sleeping up at short key moments is the thing, probably on a hill, weight is the key factor then. So the test is only really relevant for someone good enough to go for a long solo break in a road race. Other than to show that the upgrade is not worth the money unless aesthetics is important to you.

This is great David do you the difference between the alloy aero hunt wheels and the 4 Season version they do they also do a gravel version. Great series.. ❤Pete

I bought alexrims rxd3 - very similar to yours alu hunts. The same weight, 30mm rim but around 250£. I'm still not sure if this is placebo but its easier to climb, easier to speed up from traffic lights and overall bike looks a lot nicer. And if, on stock bike I was driving 27-28kmph then on new ones it went up to 32 with the same effort. Oh and I have quick release and thru axle adapters so they will be on my next bike as well.

Do you think the £500 Hunt wheels might have been faster than they were, if they had the tire pattern turning in the right direction? I think the mid depth aluminum wheels were looking rather smart on your bike :)

You don’t even need carbon, alloy hunts will do. They are nearly as light are carbon. Personally I find carbon a bit jarring, especially on. Carbon frame In terms of tangible difference… your max speed and general cruising speed it up one or 2 gears. That’s it… you get to go a bit faster, acceleration is a bit quicker.. and after 3 weeks, you don’t notice it Is it worth it… yes. For a £350 pair of hunts. They are great

what tyres were on each wheel-set? I enjoy the vids. Cheers,

Deep dish carbon 80mm rims turn pretty much any 2010s bike into an aero apex predator, particularly if you're in fighting form as those bikes were designed around athletes and the ideas of "comfy" and "superior breaking" hadn't yet become so pervasive in the performance road cycling lexicon

Put $400 Chinese carbon wheels on instead.... still way better than stock; I did on both mine and my wife's bike. Great weight and handling improvements plus the aero.

What’s your view on Scribe and Swiss Side wheels?

David, could you, please, do a comparison between Cannondale Supersix last generation and your CAAD12 on the same carbon wheels and tyres to understand what is the frame difference?❤

I recently did a similar, but opposite experiment. I daily drive my 2019 Gallium Pro (disc). Previous wheels were White Industries CLD hubs laced 2x both sides to Whisky 50D carbon rims with brass nipples. Rebuilt them with same hubs, same spokes but different lengths of course, 2x lace, to DT 470 skinny, shallow, aluminum rims. Same tires were used from wheelset to wheelset. Over my same known loops, I'm faster with same power on the shallow wheels, and they are far more comfortable. The carbon wheels were more responsive, I didn't feel spoke wind up so to speak, but getting blown around in the wind was annoying. I'm about over the hoax of the bike industry, this was as close to direct swap as I could get, so no bearing variables, no tire variables, and cheaper. The only thing I see is that the aluminum rims aren't as wide, and thus balloon the tire more, so it could be less aero if you're into that, but even if so, they are still faster. Nothing against or for any particular brand here either, it was just a rebuild because I was tired of the 50mm rims blowing me around and riding harsh.

I just appreciate the classic design on the cannondale

The tires on the shallow Hunt wheels are on backwards mate

go my caad 12 dura ace customized , my best bike ever.

This is great! I’m faced by a tough question. To upgrade my 2016 steel framed bike with wheels, gruppo, fork etc, all in about about 2,500. Then put the old stuff on an even older frame. - or sell it and get something new for about 3k?

since the tyres are different, how much of the time saving down to tyres rather than wheels?

£800 extra to save 200g is crazy, much cheaper to save that weight on reducing the size of your arse 😂

What did they climb like was it improved?

I wonder how much of the improvement is down to the wheels and how much to the tyres. The stock wheels had Schwalbe and the Hunt’s Conti?

Think I'd just keep the stock wheels and keep my money. Unless your a bike snob who would get them just because, the few minutes you save is lost at coffee shops or traffic light's anyway.

Please! Which exact model of alloy wheels did you use? And how did you make it work for qr? edit: i think i got it. You have to buy their QR for disc brake wheelsets. Oh and the adapter.

Great video I have the Hunt carbon wheels and love them for my Look roadbike - But, I have a clothing question buddy - I love that green Castellli jacket (I am a former Commando) which one is it? I am looking for a new jacket/top Thanks

Are you still friends with the mountain biker who talked you into doing that?

I'd argue that if you want high quality wheels and aren't bothered about ultra bling setup ... Go to a lbs and get them to build you a wheelset they will love you for it and they are so good for the moneyb

5:35 to 5:36 well done sir.

Those Tan walls are on back to front. Check the direction arrow.

Is it true that different tires can make a lot of difference when it comes to speed in relation to rolling resistance?

No mention of hubs? Makes no difference?

I just picked up some brand new alloy wheels from Wiggle for £100 and they come in at 1400g.

Hi mate, on your alloy wheels the tyres are the wrong way round.

Isn’t that bike quick release? How did you put those modern thru axle wheels onto that bike? Did you use an adapter?

Tyres? Tyre pressures? Good test otherwise

Doesn’t aero improvement increase exponentially with speed so there’s more benefit at 40kmph but that’s faster than most ordinary riders ride at? I’m running Mavis Ksyrium SL disc alloy wheels which weigh 1575g and give a great ride comfort, I’m not sure a set of 44mm carbon disc wheels would give me much benefit other than the looks?

Can you make the same video whit a 29er 500 uk pound xc hardtail mtb

I have a 2012 road bike with dt swiss pr 1600 wheels that I want to swap for carbon wheels and I was looking at Hunt but the feedback is very mixed. It's either extremely happy or extremely upset.

When comparing these you should test the same depth for a better apples to apples comparison

you are simply not able to test something like this with only one test per tire. The difference might be close to nothing with more testing. You also need to turn the tire the right way on the 500-pound wheel and the stock wheel are simply not comparable with the way slower tire and what is the inner tube situation across the three?

Every carbon wheel out of the factory in China is probably different in quality plus cheap carbon is as heavy or heavier than a good aluminum wheel.

Did you measure power when doing test. There little point in test if your not comparing apples with apples.

Come on! Different tires on the cheap aluminum rim

For £500 could pick up some carbon Vel or Prime wheels only bother

You can actually buy such bike with 500gbp? It 50% more in most countries.

I’d be very interested in your opinion on how much of the time improvement is due to the weight vs the aero. I’m currently running a Cannondale Topstone Gravel bike with Wtb Kom Light i23 wheels (as a single bike to do everything). 700*37 gravel tires. The biggest improvement for Road would be switching tyres, but it’s obviously a bit of work and to save swapping I thought about getting a second wheel set and cassette for ease of use. However, those Hunt carbons would actually be a lot heavier than the wheels I currently have……I’m wondering would the aero benefit offset that?

Lightweight, durable and inexpensive - tick!

1m 3s for how much ££? We have a problem. It's a mindset. Strava is a huge part of it. Club rides used to be a social thing. The engine was more important than the bike. It used to be fun, and open to all. We've lost a lot of that in the pursuit of ever better data. Losing sight of the fact that we're not pro riders and that it really doesn't matter.

Cero ar30 and two gp5000.

Not sure but at 5.50sec we can see the tyre are not positioning in the right direction on alloy wheels! don't now if it can change the result!

the tires on the aluminium wheels are mounted the wrong way btw😂

very much slower if get run over for being in the middle of the road ?

Disc brake CAAD12 🤮 tyres are on backwards and alloy hunt wheels are a nightmare to keep true..

£1300 for a wheelset would never be good value if for the same price you can actually get a great full road bike to ride. No matters any comparison, Could we just stop justifiying those ridiculous market-prices?

When you can buy a whole new bike for a pair of wheels. 🥲