Hunt launches 5AM Limitless wheelsets which it says are the fastest its ever made

Hunt has unveiled its latest flagship aero wheelset, the 5AM Limitless Ti_UD Carbon Spoke, pitching it squarely at high-speed road racing, on flat and rolling terrain. At 1212g for the pair and built around a mixed depth, front and rear specific design, the Sussex brand is making a clear play for the very fastest wheels in the market. It already makes wheels which feature heavily in our best selections of course, but they tend to score highest for their strong value.

The headline in this latest launch is the split personality front and rear. We have a 58mm-deep, wider profile rim designed to manage airflow where it’s cleanest and most predictable. At the rear, Hunt pares things back to a 55mm depth with a narrower profile, prioritising weight and drive efficiency in what it describes as a more aerodynamically disturbed environment.

That divergence isn’t new in itself. Just last year Specialized launched new wheelsets that used deeper front than rear profiles, but here Hunt is leaning heavily on the idea that the wheelset is a system, not two identical components.

The internal width is set at 23mm with a hooked beaded, aligning with the now well established shift toward 28-30mm tyres as the performance sweetspot.

Where things get more interesting is in the construction. The use of Venoa Ti_UD carbon spokes which claim to weigh just 1.7g per spoke, signals a continued move away from steel spokes in pursuit of weight savings, despite the difficulties this can present with handling increased loads in the rim or can move them into the hub flanges.

To manage the added stiffness, we discussed the issues with one of Hunt’s engineers back in Summer 2025, who said they had been able to reduce spoke count to offset this impact, and we see a similar approach here. Hidden nipples further reduce drag they claim. They also point to reduced rotational drag, which is something not all wheel manufacturers point to due to the difficulties in measuring it.

At the centre of the wheelset is Hunt’s new Chase SLC hub, although details on internals are sparse.

Hunt’s long-running “Limitless” rim construction returns here, using a low density polymer without the rim structure to allow a wider external profile without a corresponding weight penalty. The idea is to maintain airflow attachment at higher yaw angles – crosswinds in real terms – whilst keeping the rim light enough to remain competitive on paper.

The company is also putting significant weight behind its development process. It refers to it as being conducted in five stages, including CFD modelling, multiple phases of wind tunnel testing, both wheel only and full bike testing, and culminates in real-world validation using sensor-based aero measurement. This is further evidence that brands are increasingly acknowledging that wind tunnel data isn’t the only way to test and deliver on road performance.

Hunt makes some pretty confident claims in the marketing materials. Hunt states that the new wheels are 4.35 watts faster than the Enve 4.5 pro, when tested in the wind tunnel with 30mm tyres fitted, and marginally ahead of both the Roval Rapide Sprint and Scope Artech 6 under the same conditions. More notably, it claims larger gains in outdoor testing – up to 8.5 watts over the Zipp 404 Firecrest and 5.9 watts over the Scope Artech 6 – attributed in part to reduced drag from the spokes.

As ever with cross-brand comparisons, context is key. Differences in test protocol, tyre choice, and environmental setup can all influence results, and while Hunt says a full white paper is available, those figures should be viewed as indicative rather than definitive. Whereas independent validation remains the gold standard, the inclusion of wind tunnel data, and real world testing data is commendable.

At 1212g, the claimed weight is competitive for a wheelset of this depth, particularly with a 23mm internal wheel rim and a hook.

Whilst Hunt has long competed on value, this is a really confident statement about where it thinks its place in the market is now, and it’s clearly gunning – somewhat credibly if it's detailed claims can be verified – for a commanding place amongst the very best performance wheels on the market these days.

We will call a set in for testing and report back as soon as we can.

The wheelsets start from £1999.

Specifications

Weight: 1212g

Wheel Size: 700c

Rims

Front Depth: 58mm

Rear Depth: 55mm

Internal Width: 23mm front & rear

Rim/Tyre Interface: Hooked

External Width: 34.5mm front / 30mm rear

High-gloss finish

Carbon Construction

5AM Limitless rims use a blend of T700, T800 and T1000 UD carbon fibres, combined with high-modulus Mitsubishi Pyrofil HR4012M.

Spokes

15 front, 18 rear Ti_UD VONOA carbon spokes.

Ultralight unidirectional carbon fibre construction.

Titanium Ti6-4AL-4V hardware.

1.7g per spoke.

HUNT Chase SLC Hub System

CNC-machined 7075-T6 aluminium construction

H_Ratchet DBL 48T drive system

7.5° engagement angle for fast acceleration, tested to 100,000 cycles at 250Nm of torque.

Slim hubshell profile reduces aerodynamic drag.

Push-fit end caps.

Bearings

Built with unreleased CeramicSpeed wheel bearings.

Hybrid-ceramic bearing balls with stainless steel races.

Custom light-contact seals for improved protection while maintaining efficiency.

Hand-built in Denmark with lifetime warranty.

Sealed precision stainless steel bearings available.

Tyre Compatibility

Designed around 28–30 mm tyres for maximum aerodynamic efficiency and stable crosswind handling.

Hooked rim is ETRTO compliant with 28–50 mm tyres and supports tubeless or clincher setups.

Pricing

Stainless Steel Bearings: £1999 | $2599 | €2349

CeramicSpeed Bearings: £2489 | $3199 | €2899