Bespoke Blog

Enve has just made available a rim brake version of the SES 5.6 carbon wheels, with a choice of tubeless clincher or tubular, both built with Chris King hubs.

The new wheels are intended to replace the previous SES 4.5 rim brake wheel with a 54mm front rim that measures 29mm wide, and a 63mm deep rear rim with a 28mm width. The thinking behind the mixed rim depths is to offer the best aerodynamic and crosswind stability performance possible.

"With the first generation SES wheels, both the front and back rims have the same rim shape from front to back. By further manipulating the rim shapes to perform in their given air-flow fields, front of the bike versus back of the bike, we can make wheels more efficient, stable, responsive and confidence inspiring."

Because the new SES 5.6 rims are extremely wide, ENVE is still providing the previous SES 4.5 wheels, ideal for older frames that aren't designed with the modern wide rims and tyres in mind.

In addition to the aerodynamic improvements that accompany the SES 5.6, the new wheelset is also road tubeless compatible. Given the racing bias of the wheelset, it has been optimized around labelled 25mm tyres. By replacing the SES 4.5, all ENVE SES wheelsets are now road tubeless compatible.

"While the bulk of SES development has swung towards disc brakes in recent years, we've spent the better part of the last 11 years refining the art of carbon brake track design and continue to do so today," explains Jake Pantone, VP of Product and Consumer Experience.

"As such, we believe that for riders, who are on the fence about a disc brake upgrade, should consider the additional performance available by upgrading to an ENVE SES rim brake wheelset versus buying a new disc bike without ENVE wheels. Specifically, the SES 5.6 offers more speed, more stability, and inspires confidence unlike any other wheelset we've produced to date, it's the pinnacle of road racing rim technology."

The clincher and tubular versions weigh 1,550g and 1,372g respectively, built with Chris King R45 hubs.

The new Enve wheels cost from £2,900 for tubular and £3,100 for a clincher set. If you're interested in the new wheels please get in touch with us to arrange a closer look.