DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT DB 38 Wheels: Stiff, light...and expensive

DT Swiss was started 30 years ago in 1994 in Biel, Switzerland. In its own words, it “meticulously develop high-performance cycling components that provide a competitive edge to every ambitious cyclist.” 

Its wheels, like these ARC 1100 Dicut DB 38s, can be seen on the bikes of the UNO-X cycling teams, while their hubs have long been used by wheel builders. It also created the star ratchet freehub system, which since the patent ran out the technology has been adopted by many other of the best road bike wheels.

The construction

The DT Swiss ARC 1100 Dicut DB 38 are DT Swiss’s top of the range line of wheels. The main difference between the 1100 and the cheaper 1400 are the hubs. While the 1400 uses DT Swiss 240 hubs with standard bearings, the 1100 uses the Dicut 180 hubs with SINC Ceramic bearings. DT Swiss claim these are superior ceramic bearings to competitors thanks to tolerances or within a few thousandths of a millimetre with the hubs they are made with. The idea is improved durability and reduced friction. 

The 180 hubs are also lighter than the 240. The hubs use Ratchet EXP 36, which has a 10 degree angle of engagement, so to engage the freehub you need to pedal at most 10 degrees. This is designed with a single spring to allow the freehub to turn or engage, helping reduce the number of moving parts, improving durability as well as repairability. The ratchet also has a huge engagement contact point, reducing any chance of slip and reducing wear on specific components. 

One thing I did notice however was that when spinning the wheel in a stand to get sealant spread over the inside, the cranks spin when the wheel is spinning quickly. This can be an issue with larger contact points and more teeth for engagement - essentially the freehub is more draggy. This is only an issue when coasting, and the front wheel spins like a dream with the SINC bearings. 

The rims are carbon and hooked for use with tubeless tyres with an internal width of 20mm and external of 26mm, making them a little on the narrow side by some of the more recent super wide tyres with 21-23mm internal widths and 28-30mm external. 

DT Swiss use its AERO+ approach with these wheels, designed in conjunction with aero experts Swiss Side, which includes looking at performance as a whole package. There is translational drag, the wind hitting the wheel directly as well as the sailing effect from wind coming at wider yaw angles. There is rotational drag looking at the spokes and the effect they have, while Steering Moment is considered to optimise the wheel performance in cross winds. Finally rolling resistance, with the 20mm internal width with a 28mm tyre producing a smaller contact patch than narrower wheels and tyres while maintaining grip.

The wheel also comes equipped with DT aerolite® II t-head spokes for the front wheel, also for the rear wheel on the non-drive side. DT aero comp® II t-head are used on the rear drive-side. 24 are used front and rear in a 2-cross 1:1 lacing pattern. This is to optimise stiffness both in terms of keeping the wheel universally round, but also maintaining torsional stiffness when braking, accelerating or cornering.

All this puts the wheels at 1348g on our scales, slightly above the 1299g claimed weight. However disc rotor lockrings and tubeless tape were installed when we weighed, which accounts for the extra grams.

The ride

The first part of any wheel review is fitting the tyres. I’ve been using the Pirelli PZero RS Race TLR 28mm tyres across a range of wheels, and I have to say the DT Swiss were one of the harder rims to get the tyres installed onto, but not the worst by some way. Getting them seated was very easy though, with valve cores still in and just using a track pump they seated nicely. 

However I did have issues with air seeping out so the wheels tended to sit at 70 psi as seepage stopped. The valve holders are not rubber sealed so even with several rim protector plastic rings, it was difficult to get a full seal even when adding more sealant and checking the rim tape. Often it settled at 70 psi, however having added another load of sealant, it seems to be holding better, but still not consistently. 

Spinning the wheels in the frame also did show they were universally round and had no lateral oscillation, something that I have found in some mid-high end wheelsets still. 

Riding the wheels they were instantly very happy to accelerate up to speed nicely. This was most noticeable from slow speeds where they picked up speed quickly, but was also good at higher speeds as well. When travelling 45-50kph I was still able to get the speed up nicely when sprinting, normally something that isn’t as strong a point for shallower wheels. The stiffness of the wheels likely helped with these accelerations along with the low rotational weight. This stiffness also helped with cornering confidence as the wheels felt planted and very in control when taking fast or technical corners. The spoke lacing pattern and number likely helps out here, as sometimes in the pursuit of aero gains spoke count is reduced, which negatively impacts cornering and torsional stiffness in my experience. 

In terms of aero performance I can’t say exactly how they fare against other wheelsets. I’ve been testing a lot of deep section wheels recently, 50-60mm, and in terms of flat performance the DT Swiss 38 is a wheel of two halves. In headwinds with low yaw, they do feel very fast, and I would say comparable to a deeper section wheel. However in crosswinds they are stable but do not feel as fast, likely due to the reduced sail effect of a shallower wheel in crosswinds. Average speeds are not the most accurate way to gauge things, but generally these have been slower than a deeper section wheelset over routes with 80-120m/10km of elevation. However, I’ve always felt that shallower wheels feel more fun and lively to ride because of this, and the DT Swiss certainly do. The high stiffness and low weight do make these superb for climbs, but also throwing around a bit and fast handling. If I was racing, even on hillier terrain, I would use a 50-60mm wheelset. However for day to day riding and maximising fun, these wheels are superb.

Value & conclusion

At $2,999.80 / £2,499.98 these are an expensive set of wheels and place them firmly in the higher end spectrum of wheelsets. Weight and depth are similar to the Zipp 353 NSW, but those are $4,422 / £3376. The Hunt 32 Aerodynamicist UD wheelset comes in at $1,829 / £1499 and 1213g claimed weight, but lacks ceramic bearings and the reduced spoke count may impact overall stiffness based on personal experience. The ENVE SES 3.4 wheelset is another similarly spec wheelset but is $2,850 / £3350.

When looking at wheels with similar weight, stiffness, and aero specs, the DT Swiss actually comes out pretty well against the competition. There are cheaper options available that present better overall value, but better overall performance is questionable. 

The DT Swiss ARC 1100 DICUT 38 DB wheelset is a really fun set of wheels to use. The low weight combined with the brilliant stiffness makes them super responsive to every bit of pressure that you put through the pedals. Add to that great handling, stability, and a fast wheelset that is decent when compared to deeper competitors and it really is a great overall package. It’s not as ‘fast’ as a deeper wheelset over most courses, but it is subjectively more fun. However, with some tyres it appears to struggle to hold above 70 psi and at $2,999.80 / £2499.98 they are very expensive.