ENVE

SES 4.5 Carbon Tubular Road Wheelset - ENVE Ceramic Hub

With discipline-specific wheelsets running the market, which feature incremental differences to make them unsuitable to certain types of riding, ENVE's SES 4.5 Carbon Tubular Road Wheelset with ENVE's carbon Ceramic Hub stands out. Created as an all-around training option, the SES 4.5 is suited just as well for climbing as it is for slicing through the wind on the flats. The 4.5 allows us to invest in a do-it-all set of hoops, with all of the sleek design and meticulous construction that our neighbors in Northern Utah are known for.

Adapting a wheelset to be at home on everything from winding climbs and sweeping descents to tempo day on the flats is a tall order, evidenced by the limited number of wheelsets that occupy this category. ENVE hasn't made its name being conventional, of course, so the brand's engineers turned their focus towards reducing lateral forces that often make deep rims inconsistent across different terrain. Aiming to cut drag and achieve stability across a wide range of yaw angles, ENVE's engineers based their ideal wheel dimensions around depth requirements, then molded the front and rear rims to different dimensions to account for their individual behaviors on the bike. The resulting shape includes a front wheel measuring 48mm deep and 27mm wide and a deeper, slimmer rear wheel shaped to 56mm deep and 25.5mm wide. This design enables the front wheel to provide stability while the rear wheel, tucked away from the wind, takes advantage of its position's relative stability to deliver significant aerodynamic gains.

This year didn't bring major changes to the relatively new SES 4.5, but ENVE did introduce a brand new brake track known as Gen 2. The brake track first appeared on the SES 2.2, and according to ENVE, it was worth keeping around, boasting a 30 percent increase in braking power and almost no difference in stopping power on wet or dry roads. Aside from the new brake track, ENVE's construction process remains reassuringly static, consisting of carbon fiber carefully wrapped around a removable bladder. The carbon fiber is individually routed around each hole to create a completely intact, precise design that shows exactly why ENVE continues to be an industry leader in strength-to-weight ratio.

It's also worth acknowledging ENVE's use of a generous interior rim width on the SES 4.5. It enables you to enjoy a lower rolling resistance while running a lower PSI for faster and more comfortable riding than on narrower rims. While cornering, the tires will deform less so you'll be able to maintain a better grip on the road while still carrying more speed through turns. Since the rims come laced to ENVE's genetically-blessed carbon hubs, they'll be spinning on DT Swiss' revered star ratchet system, complete with CeramicSpeed bearings that take them to the same level as DT's top-tier 180 hubs.