A quick look in Cycling Weekly's tech cupboard will confirm that wheel choice is far from limited these days. As well as the giants of the industry, there's a myriad of newer brands coming to the fore, each vying for the attention of consumers looking to upgrade this most influential component. A unique selling point is crucial.
For Parcours, and its new Strade disc wheelset, that USP is a profile optimised specifically for partnering with 28mm tubeless tyres.
It wasn't long ago that we were all still cautiously swapping from 23mm to 25mm tyres. With that progression being almost unanimous amongst roadies after a long transition period, the move to 28mm rubber has been much more openly welcomed.
A wider tyre provides greater contact with the ground, offering security in the corners. They can be run at lower pressure, particularly with the growing trend towards tubeless tyres, boosting comfort - hence why we're seeing more and more 28mm rubber specced on endurance bikes where riders seek compliance and stability. However, on most standard wheels, a 28mm tyre blows up to protrude from the edge of the rim and can be held responsible for greater drag.
To create the Strade, British brand Parcours partnered with the sports engineering department at Nottingham Trent University to offer a wheelset built entirely around optimising for a 28mm tubeless tyre.
In a white paper accompanying the launch, Parcours provides data collected at the A2 Wind Tunnel in North Carolina. The numbers show that the Strade was faster than its existing Passista wheelset, both wearing a 25mm and 28mm Continental GP 5000 TL tyre - with the 28mm option the fastest.
When compared with a baseline wheelset - the Fulcrum Racing 5s - the new Strade fitted with a 28mm GP 5000 TL tyre (at 80psi) was 58 seconds faster over 40 kilometres, with a rider travelling at 50kph. Using a 25mm tyre on the Strade the saving was 56s - more than the Passista with a 25mm tyre (54s) and a lot more than the Passista with 28mm rubber (37s).
We don't have data showing the Strade's performance against competitors or when using different tyres. Arguably, the numbers mainly shoes that Parcours made a faster wheel all round when compared with its existing Passista option - but the gap between the Passista with 25s vs 28s is clearly much greater.
As well as optimising with 28mm rubber at front of mind, Parcours also wanted to create a wheel which would offer stability in crosswinds. As a 58kg female rider, probably outside of the statistical average in wheel testing, this certainly seems like a good idea.
The brand set about collecting wind angle data from sensors located at the front and rear wheel, discovering that the average yaw angle at the front was consistently higher - due to airflow being affected by the rider (legs, feet, pedals). Engineers already know that the more airflow strays from the wheel, particularly at higher angles of yaw (eg, crosswinds), the more instability is created.
To address this, designers developed a wide, U-shaped rim for the front wheel, with a rim depth of 49mm, and an external width of 32mm. At the rear, they stuck with a V-shaped rim and a depth of 54mm and 30.5mm external width - better suited to lower yaw angles.
Again, test data showed that the Strade did its job - offering greater handling stability, even when compared with the 40mm Parcours Grimpeur.
I've been getting out and about on the Parcours Strade wheels quite a lot over the last few months, and will bring a full review after a few more rides.
Whilst watt savings are hard to quantify, testing the deep rims through winter weather has provided ample opportunity to asses the crosswind stability.
Despite blustery days, I've really not found myself pulled to the side at vulnerable points - for example when crossing gates or over bridges. I did get whipped sideways a little by a passing lorry, that was a big ask for a 50mm set of wheels.
Swapping the Strade's onto two different bikes, they notably added to the sprightly nature of the ride - though in both cases the control was really a wheel designed to be upgraded. Handling was spot on, and I've really enjoyed hammering these down descents - even in winter.
The Parcours Strade wheels do have a wide rim, and the 28mm tyres I've tested have all looked pretty massive seated on the stealth black profile - but with reassurance that his is the most aero option, that's not a problem.
The Strade hoops come with own brand, precision machined alloy 4 pawl hubs, fitted with high-grade EZO cartridge bearings. They have in internal rim width of 22.5mm, and use a Centrelock disc fitment.
The hubs are designed for 12mm thru-axles front and rear - though adapter kits are available. Spokes come from Sapim and are the CX-Ray aero model, with 24 in a 2-cross pattern at the front and rear.
A set weighs in a 1520g (690g front, 830g rear) - and at £999 these stats place them within the competitive arena, give or take 50g. By comparison, Cero's RC50 disc wheels (RRP £1000) come in at 1471g, whilst the Hunt 50 aero disc set will set you back £849 and drop into the scales with a claimed weight of 1487g.
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Michelle Arthurs-Brennan the Editor of Cycling Weekly website. An NCTJ qualified traditional journalist by trade, Michelle began her career working for local newspapers. She's worked within the cycling industry since 2012, and joined the Cycling Weekly team in 2017, having previously been Editor at Total Women's Cycling. Prior to welcoming her daughter in 2022, Michelle raced on the road, track, and in time trials, and still rides as much as she can - albeit a fair proportion indoors, for now.
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