Scribe Elan Ultra 6 wheels review: premium road racing wheelset that climbs as well as they roll

Scribe has been making headlines for its wind-tunnel test data, with lofty claims about its Tempus Disc/100 wheelset. And while the Tempus wheels are genuinely rapid - we tested them in a few 10- and 25-mile time trials and came away mighty impressed - the Northern Ireland-based company reckons the new Elan Ultra 6s are among the fastest UCI-compliant wheelsets on the market.

The company has worked tirelessly over the past few years to win over new customers and reverse brand cachet opinions often associated with start-up brands. Having personally tested nearly every Scribe offering since 2019, I’ve always been impressed by the quality, service and support, and the way the team checks in and asks how my testing and racing are going – it’s the personal touch that goes a long way in securing lifelong customers.

Without access to a wind tunnel, my testing comprised real-world, anecdotal experiences in all manner of situations, including road bike time trials, chain gangs and general riding around Hampshire, Surrey and West Sussex. Again, Scribe has created a near-perfect, quality product that can be used throughout the year, not just for racing.

Technical details

Scribe's range comprises three distinct wheel lines: Ultra, Performance and Gravel/Off-road. As the name suggests, the wheels pictured here form part of the Ultra line and feature the same stealthy, black-on-black graphics as the Tempus wheels. The Scribe and Ultra wordmark logos are matte in execution and contrast the glossy, unidirectional carbon-fibre aesthetic quite superbly – the wheels look very refined and on par with the incumbents that comprise the best road bike wheels segment. This look and feel should find favour with users across the road riding spectrum, as the neutral aesthetics will complement most bike colourways. That said, I would have appreciated an ‘Elan’ logo somewhere on the wheel to help with uniformity and model consistency.

The wheels are manufactured from high-modulus T1000/T1100 carbon fibre claimed to balance strength and stiffness with low weight. The hubs feature ceramic bearings and come with Alpina-sourced wavy spokes laced in a 20/20 front/rear pattern. Scribe calls these wavy spokes OSL8, owing to the 5.7mm width that oscillates left to right – they look good and are claimed to enhance aerodynamics and compliance while remaining stiff and responsive.

Scribe carried out its independent wind tunnel testing at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub, and the publicly available results suggest these are the fastest bladed spokes compared to a flat 5mm bladed carbon equivalent. We won’t go into any of the numbers (they’re not insignificant but are less than one watt across 0-15-degree yaw angles) as we’re not able to quantify the claims, but the company is going to great lengths to collect data and test its products in the tunnel, which is appreciated.

Scribe has designed the Elan Ultra range with contemporary 24mm (internal) and 30mm (external) hooked rim profiles, built to play nicely with 28-30mm widths in terms of tyre support.

Performance

I’ve been testing the Elan Ultra 6 wheels for a few months now, taking in the latter end of winter and through autumn and summer, putting them through some wet, windy and cold rides. While it’s not possible to quantify the aerodynamic claims without the use of a wind tunnel, the all-round performance boost they add to the riding experience is tangible and hard to refute.

The wheels are designed around a 65mm-deep profile, with a 24mm internal (32mm external) rim width and a hooked bead optimised for 28mm tyres (the wheels can play nicely with widths of 28-35mm). All this makes for an impressively low system weight of 1,289g for the pair. I weighed the pair at 1,294g, which is impressively close to the claimed weight of 1,289g.

For this test, I requested a Shimano HG freewheel body to ensure compatibility wth my Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-equipped Cannondale SystemSix. After just a few kilometres you can feel the responsive nature of the wheels. They are incredibly light for their depth and dropped the system weight of my bike by 321g – a significant saving over the Shimano Dura-Ace C60 wheels I normally use. Straight-line performance on the flats is impressive, with the bike getting up to speed fairly quickly thanks to the low rotational inertia and stiffness, which subsequently translates well to the climbs.

While the new spokes look great, I can’t quantify whether they have indeed improved aerodynamics. What they have done, however, is make for a very stiff wheelset, which gets even firmer if you match them with harder tyre pressures. It’s not a dealbreaker, though – if anything, it helps with communication and feel. Handling is very predictable for a wheelset of this depth, even in challenging crosswinds, which adds to the all-round appeal.

Scribe's signature double-disc ratchet drive hub system might make for near-instant engagement, but it is also very loud. While I quite like the buzzing freehub - it's akin to a swarm of angry wasps ricocheting around in a tin can - it can be off-putting for some. That said, the noise can be softened by adding extra grease in the ratchet ring and engagement mechanism.

While they feel fast (on the flats, climbs and descents) and are stable in windy conditions, the Scribe Elan Ultra 6 wheels are not perfect – particularly when it comes to ride quality. While this can be attributed to the thicker carbon spokes, the firmness can be softened to a certain extent by running lower pressures or even fitting wider tyres.

Value

There’s no such thing as a bad product anymore, and it's becoming hard to fault products as a result. One thing that isn't improving, though, is pricing, and the onslaught of Chinese components is forcing the hand of the consumer – more so for frames and bikes at the moment, but wheels are coming to the fore, too. One thing Scribe has going for it as a brand is that its wheelsets are designed and hand-built at its operations centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. That also means great aftersales support and quick, easy shipping for UK and European customers.

The Elan Ultra 6 wheels are a superb performance offering for the racer. They are super-lightweight, well-behaved in windy conditions, and feel as fast as the segment’s best options. While aerodynamics is always going to be hard to quantify on feel alone, they do feel quick and have elevated the performance of my bike overall. Perhaps that’s partly down to the 1,294g weight, which has boosted rolling inertia and climbing efficiency, but Scribe’s testing does also claim the Elan Ultra 6s are among the fastest UCI-legal wheels on the market.

Rival-wise, the Elan Ultra 6s go head-to-head against the Roval Rapide CLX III and Enve SES 6.7, both of which are premium options. The Rapides are mixed-depth in execution and configured 63/58mm front-to-rear; they also employ carbon spokes and ceramic bearings but have a narrower internal width, weigh more, and come up steeper at £2,998/ $3,500/ €3,499.

The Enve SES 6.7 has a 60/67mm front-to-rear split, which translates to a broader, more blunted rim on the front and a deeper, sharper rim at the rear. They’re arguably more refined in look and feel but lose out to the Elan Ultra 6’s 24mm internal width, not to mention costing upwards of £3,750 based on the specified hubset.

At £1,999/ $2,599/ €2,299, the Scribe Elan Ultra 6 wheelset is still a significant outlay for a brand that lacks the history and WorldTour success of Roval and Enve, but based on the three months of testing and what I've put them through, I remain impressed by the quality and performance and highly recommend them.

Tech specs

• Price: £1,999/ $2,599/ €2,299
• Weight: 1,294g (actual)
• Hubset: Scribe Ultra, ceramic bearings
• Freehub options: Shimano HG11/12, SRAM XDR, Campagnolo
• Rim depth: 65mm front/rear
• Rim width: 24mm internal, 32mm external
• Spoke count: 20/20 front/rear
• Rim: Hooked