Reynolds Solitude wheelset

The four hundred pound mark is a competitive price point for wheels: If you're looking to upgrade it's the kind of money that'll buy you something decent, and the Solitudes are certainly that. They're a well-built, good quality racing wheel that'll suit if you're aiming for racing or TTs. For more general riding, the all round appeal isn't quite as wide as some similarly priced offerings.

The Solitudes are hand built from quality parts. The nicely finished semi-deep alloy rim is laced with DT spokes to Reynolds' own slimline hubs, and the overall impression is very sleek. There's plenty of metal in the rim, and the weight at 1560g is about average for wheels at this price. The rim is noticeably narrower than many: the Solitude is designed as a race wheelset so the expectation is that they'd be sporting at biggest a 700x23c. Anything wider than that balloons a bit, so I wouldn't recommend them if you routinely run a bigger tyre for whatever reason.

The deep rim and narrow profile mark these wheels out as a semi-aero design, and this may have had some bearing on the decision to run internal nipples on the spokes, recessed inside the rim. This certainly makes the wheelset look nice and tidy but I'd need some persuading that it makes any aerodynamic difference, and to true the wheel you'll have to take off the tyre, tube and rim tape. Luckily so far this hasn't been necessary, they're still slide-rule straight after many miles of testing. Durability overall has been excellent, although one thing to note is that it's a good idea to make sure the cassette is on nice and tight, as it's possible to notch the Aluminium freehub body.

Out on the road the Solitudes roll well and they feel assured, especially on smooth tarmac. When the surface breaks up a bit the depth of the rim means they're quite stiff in the vertical plane, transferring more road shock than a shallow rim might. Laterally they're middle of the pack, with a 4mm deflection for a 15kg load at the rim: Not as stiff as a Fulcrum 3, stiffer than an RS80. Out on the road I got the odd bit of brake rub but generally there were no problems.

They're not the fastest wheels out of the blocks, possibly due again to the fact that a fair bit of the weight is in the rim. Once up to speed they crack along, but on hillier courses the small weight penalty (100g over an RS80) comes into play more. They're small differences, but the wheels are where you'll notice them most.

I'd been riding the Solitudes for a month or so on varied terrain and to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed, but then I found their true spiritual home: Castle Combe racing circuit. I completed a duathlon there, and out on the smooth, flat tarmac they fairly buzzed along, slicing through the wind and feeling every bit the race wheel they're designed to be. They excel in those conditions, so if you're looking to upgrade to roll a bit quicker in circuit races or fast TTs then they're well worth a look. Similarly, if you're keeping your old wheels for training and want some Sunday best hoops, they look and feel the part. If you want to sink £400 into some decent all-purpose wheels for all your riding, however, these wouldn't be my first choice.

Verdict

Good budget race wheel for fast, smooth rides but there are better all-purpose hoops at this price.