Posted on April 25, 2022 by Tyler Benedict

Spotted behind the scenes at Sea Otter Classic, the upcoming Hunt Alloy SL Disc wheelset starts shipping May 1 and start at just $599.

With a claimed weight of 1,443g, the shallow yet modernly wide wheels could be a budget climber’s dream. Built on their Center Lock Sprint SL hubs with a reasonably quick 7.5º engagement, they should roll smoothly with Japanese EZO bearings with upgraded low-friction interior seals on the rear hub.

They’re laced with 20 spokes up front, 24 in the rear, using Pillar Aero Butted stainless steel black spokes and matching black alloy nipples.

The new addition to their family are the asymmetric 6061-T6 rims which are are heat treated then micro-peened to toughen them up further. They’re tubeless ready, with their H_LOCK bead seat for secure tire installation.

The rims measure 25mm deep with a 19mm internal width (24mm external), and you can get them with Quick Release or standard 12mm thru axles (with your choice of 142 or 135mm spacing for the rear).

Pre-order now, shipping starts in early May.

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for 14 years. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves finding new travel adventures to share with his family and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter. And, he’s totally gone down the NFT rabbit hole.

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Looks like a beautiful wheel, but I wonder why they stuck with 19 mm internal? (I used to regard Hunt as a trendsetter for internal widths but I guess that is no more?)

Because they’re super light road wheels? I only run 28h wheels because I beat the heck out of them and the roads here aren’t the best. They’re rough, they have potholes, and they have yet to go even slightly out of true. If I were to run light wheels like this I wouldn’t throw a giant tire on them.

They have other wheel sets already aimed at what you seem to want. Variety is a pro, not a con.

It’s probably an off the shelf rim rebranded

Doubtful, Boyd is making his alloy rims in SC.

Yep, looks like an Alex Rims Draw 1.9P/S to me!

I have extremely wide rims. There are some downsides to them. Current tires are not designed for them. Many race tires are just opened tubulars, which effectively have a 0mm rim width.

Well in the end its all down to marketing. Here they wanted to offer one of the lightest alloy wheelsets, so you need a light rim. A narrower one will always be lighter than a wider one. So it’s only 19mm internal width. .

Maybe optimized for a 25-28mm tire?

Probably weight. If you make an aluminum rim in a modern carbon size and shape they would be a weight too scary for most people.

19mm is a sweet spot for 25-32mm road tires and decent even for up to 35c for CX. It’s also a sweet spot for rim section vs. weight. As they’re marketing this primarily as a road wheel, this size is pretty appropriate.

Hunt wheels are solid. I’ve got their rim brake version of their aero wide alloy on my All-City Mr Pink. It’s very light (I think 100 grams lighter than these) and feel great on a steel frame. $500. Definitely not a rebranded rim, hunt does a great job of striking a nice balance of enough performance for the right price which a lot of other wheel companies don’t hit.

I’ve also got their aero race alloy gravel set. Same story there. But also on a steel frame.

I can’t speak for their carbon offerings or how their alloy wheels feels on stiffer (carbon) bikes.

But for steel they are pretty perfect IMO.

Wait until yours spokes start breaking or the nipples seize up. Or better yet when your rear axle snaps. Also the bearings are absolute junk.

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