Reynolds

SDV66 Tubular Wheelset

These days, savvy riders pull out the deep dish tubulars for road races of any terrain, not just flat time trials and triathlons. The Reynolds SDV66T fits very well with this new tradition. No, they’re not the lightest wheels around, but with a rim weight of 430g and a wheelset weight of 1365g they’re still pretty light. You can bet that the rims are a good bit lighter than the clincher rims you’ve been using for racing and training. The 16 front and 20 rear spokes are bladed and light gauge and offer less to beat the wind with, which makes the wheels even faster.

The great thing about the SDV66T is how stupendously aero they are. They’re saving you effort every time the speedo goes past 15mph. The faster you go, the more energy you save. Even in mountainous races, you spend plenty of time on the flats and descending. Probably more time on the flats than anything else. You’ll be cooling your heels while riding these wheels, saving your effort for the hills. That’s a smart way to race.

If time trials are your bag, the 66mm deep rims are fast while being pretty easy to handle in crosswinds while hunkered down on the aerobars, and we’ve found this to be true even for smaller riders. Weight? Not a worry when you only are accelerating a few times in an event. Once at the start and once at the turnaround.

Reynolds recommends using specific tubular adhesives. They prefer Vittoria Mastik 1, Continental rim cement, and Tufo Extreme Tape. They also recommend riding tubular tires that are no narrower than 22mm. Follow manufacturer guidelines for inflation pressure. In terms of brake pads, they recommend Swiss Stop King Carbon pads and Kool Stop carbon-specific pads. They specifically do not recommend cork brake pads and using them will void the warranty. There is a two-year warranty on the wheels.

The Reynolds SDV66T has 66mm deep by 20.8mm wide carbon tubular rims. The rims weigh 370g each. The spokes are DT Aerolite (15 gauge) for all the spokes. The nipples are internal and can be adjusted with a Reynolds-specific internal spoke wrench included with the wheels. DT makes the hubs for Reynolds. They are the 240s model. The skewers have titanium shafts and alloy hardware. The wheels come with valve extenders. The wheels come with Reynolds carbon-specific pads. The front wheel is 610g, the rear 740g while total wheelset weight has a published weight of 1365g per set. Weights are without skewers.