Mercury Wheels

S1C Road Wheelset - Clincher

Wide rims have been enjoying a lot of attention lately. We'll recap the highlights of a broader wheel/tire interface below, but suffice it to say that the benefits have prompted even the weight-conscious pros to adopt the new standards for training and racing. Mercury Wheels' race-ready carbon rims have long been registering in the 23mm range; however, the brand took its time developing an alloy training version for everyday use and abuse. Now that it's here, though, we expect the S1C Road Clincher Wheelset to make a splash in the self-sponsored cycling world that's every bit as big as the rim's impressive 24mm-wide rim.

A big part of the reason we see the S1C taking off as the training hoops of choice is price. When you're already committing upwards of $2,500 to deep dish carbon tubular wheels, it's hard to justify the high price tag that many training wheels in the 23 to 25mm category carry. The S1C doesn't have the fancy third party hubs of other brands, nor does it come with the prestige of being yet another logo on a Euro pro team jersey. What it does have is a price point that's a couple hundred dollars below the competition and an 18mm bead-to-bead internal width, which lets tires of 25 to 28mm sit nice and fat.

The expanded tire volume means you can run lower air pressure, which makes for a cushier ride that rolls through obstacles rather than bouncing over them. That in turn keeps the increased tire patch in more constant contact with the ground, effectively reducing rolling resistance and maximizing every watt expended during training intervals. Higher tire volume also increases the sweet spot for grip, providing a more generous platform while cornering at speed — a definite plus considering that our training wheels see the most use during spring and fall, when the road's shoulders are often littered with shoulder seasonal flotsam.

Despite the S1C's increased width, the wheelset weighs in at a claimed 1,450g, which is anywhere between 10 and 200g lighter than more expensive alloy clinchers with similar rim widths. Given that low weight and the properties of higher volume tires, the S1C transitions between flat, chip seal intervals and days spent doing hill repeats (and the subsequent high speed descents) with relative ease.

Finally, a note on rim and tire width. We suspect that Mercury opted for an 18mm internal width because that's pushing the ISO's recommended max width for 25mm tires. Because of this, we recommend running the S1C with tires at least 25mm wide, with 28mm being perhaps preferred. Running them with 23mm tires could create dangerous clearance issues while cornering.