CES Sport PT26 wheelset

The CES Sport PT26 wheelset is built to cope with whatever the weather is throwing at you, thanks to a reliable build of well-specced parts. With plenty of stiffness and a ride feel that belies their 1,700g heft, they can cope with speed work or long leisurely rides, as well as seeing duty on your winter trainer. They are priced towards the upper end for an alloy wheelset, but the handbuilt quality offsets that.

Fun fact: The 'PT' in the name stands for Pedwar Tymor, which is Welsh for Four Seasons. Why Welsh? Well, that's because CES Sport is based in South Wales and the PTs are handbuilt there. The 26, meanwhile, refers to the rim depth in millimetres (not the wheel diameter in inches – these are 700c).

> Buy now: PT26 Wheelset from CES Sport for £400

The build is typically classic for a rim-braked training or all-round wheelset, with a shallow rim and plenty of spokes to create a strong, stiff and durable set up. The rims are 26mm deep; perfect for avoiding crosswinds during the winter, and they help keep the weight down too.

At 19mm wide internally (24mm externally) they are perfect for 25mm and 28mm tyres, although you can obviously go smaller or larger if your calipers will allow it. Note that this rim width broadens a tyre by up to 1.5mm, which is worth bearing in mind if your frame is tight on clearance.

Tubeless tape is included and arrived fitted on these test models, which explains the 1,720g on our scales compared to the claimed 1,670g – tape adds about 20g per wheel. The hooked rims mean you can also run standard clincher tyres and inner tubes.

I fitted both 25mm and 28mm tyres, tubeless and tubed, without issue. It was a bit tight popping the final bit of the tyre over the rim, but it still only required a bit of extra thumb pressure. All setups easily pinged onto the rims, and neither would be an issue to repair on the side of the road should the need arise.

The PT26s use 20 radially-laced Sapim Leader J-bend spokes on the front wheel, and 24 on the rear in a two-cross build. They're connected to the rims using brass nipples which is good to see. Aluminium nipples are lighter, but can corrode on winter roads and split. There is no issue with that happening on this build.

This particular wheelset had already seen plenty of miles before arriving, and I put another 400 miles on them in all kinds of weather. It had no bad effects on the Bitex hubs.

The pickup from the freehub is very quick, and when freewheeling you get a subtle click from the pawls; it's loud enough to let people know you are coming, without being distracting. What all this means is that the performance is pretty decent.

True, at around 1,700g they are far from the lightest in this price range, but they don't feel sluggish when accelerating and they climb well enough too.

Lateral stiffness is very good too. Hard efforts out of the saddle see minimal flex, and that was with running the pads around a millimetre from the rims.

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You get a set of brake pads thrown in (although I didn't receive them), but with standard Shimano pads I found the machined braking surface gave a smooth feel at the lever, and the pads never grabbed the surface.

Ride quality is good as well, and even with the tyres pumped up to my preferred high pressures there was no harshness even on broken surfaces. All in all, the performance is better than expected and everything is backed up with a fairly hefty 130kg weight limit and a two-year warranty.

Value

At £400 (£510 including Continental GP 5000 clinchers or £545 with GP 5000 TL and tubeless kit), the PT26s are at the upper end of the scale for a set of shallow alloy wheels.

That's the same price though as Hunt's Race Aero Wide wheelset, give or take a quid. Dave was massively impressed with them, and a lot of that came down to the weight – just 1,507g. That was with tubeless tape fitted and a 5mm deeper rim of the same width as here. With the Hunts you're limited to a 100kg weight limit, though you do get a three-year warranty.

If you want to match the 130kg weight limit of the CES's you'll want the similar Hunt Race Aero Superdura wheelset at £429 and 1,595g.

Scribe's Race Wheelset has a virtually identical build to the PT26s for rim size and spoking, but also lighter at 1,520g. They are currently £410.

Last year I tested the BORG31 Disc wheelset and was very impressed. BORG31 also offers rim brake versions like the All Weather Aero wheels, which come with the same spoke count and rim measurements. They will set you back £540.

Overall

The PT26s are a solid all-round wheelset, and I was impressed overall with their performance and durability. They are heavier than most (not that that is a deal breaker) but on price they still sit well against other high quality competitors.

Verdict

High quality all-rounders and priced competitively, though a little on the weighty side