Halo Aerotrack wheelset

With super smooth hubs and superb lateral stiffness, Halo’s Aerotrack wheels are undeniably fine, bombproof wheels for daily road and/or winter service but weighing 993g and 1030g (front and rear respectively) you wouldn't put them on a lithe track or TT mount.

The garish neon green and black colour scheme topped off with pink 25mm courier rubber is certainly eye-catching and a touch out of place aboard my 1950’s Road Path bike but those with more conservative tastes will be pleased to note they come in a choice of three alternative colours. Our test pair featured powder-coated rims that are de rigeur amongst the brakeless fraternity and distributors Ison confirmed my suspicion that regular pad contact would result in the ultra durable coating eventually flaking or peeling.

To some extent pairing them with a mid range side-pull misses the point but it's a necessary evil when testing on public roads. In this context, the sidewalls were passable braking surfaces in the dry and positively scary in the wet. Lloyd at Ison suggested a tendency for road riders to opt for the marginally shallower machined front rims and full colour rear. This is fine so long as you're not tempted to flip the wheel round to take advantage of the freewheel side.

On the subject of hubs, these large flange solid axle beauties are amongst the smoothest and best sealed of the 120mm spaced track variants I’ve come across – especially at the affordable end of the market – and would probably stand up to a bit of off-season single-speed cross or grass track if the mood took you. The trade off for their rugged charm and durability that shrugs at poorly surfaced roads and lanes is slightly ponderous climbing. There’s no doubt the Areotracks are a fantastic off the peg wheelset but those desperate to blast along would be better served by buying a set of hubs and lacing them to lighter hoops

Verdict

Great value, ultra dependable but hefty fixed/single-speed wheels.