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review

Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset

8
£1,380.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Premium wheels with excellent stiffness, a great ride and impressive speed – but spendy and not the lightest
Excellent build quality
No issues with crosswinds
More expensive than similar sets
Heavier than many similar sets
Weight: 
1,780g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset's build is absolutely top quality, while also offering a noticeable aero advantage as your speed increases. The hubs are smooth, as is the overall ride feel, and they do well in crosswinds. Being tubeless and thru-axle compatible they're up to date and should suit any new build, though they're neither the lightest nor the cheapest option out there.

Miche hasn't gone quite as extreme with width or bulbous profiles as many manufacturers of late, instead sticking with a 19mm internal rim width and a more traditional tapered aero section – albeit with a rounded edge where the spokes exit, rather than a sharp V-section.

> Find your nearest Miche Test Wheel dealer here

For road use it works, though. I may be a dying breed, but I'm happy with 25mm tyres for fast road riding and am not fussed with going any wider. The transition between 25mm tyres and the SWR rim is spot on, especially as it stretches the tyre to just over 26mm for a smooth, rounded profile.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rim bed.jpg

Our set came tubeless ready with tape and valves, and the majority of the tyres I tested – in 25mm and 28mm widths – required very little effort to fit. That includes the Michelin Power Road Tubeless tyres I ended up carrying out the majority of testing on, tyres which, at least when brand new, aren't the easiest to get on a rim.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rim detail.jpg

The Miche wheels have a smooth ride quality, with harshness from the road only making its way through the deep section rim on the roughest and most broken surfaces.

Some deep section wheels can be a handful in crosswinds, but here the SWRs do well too. If you catch the odd unexpected gust passing a gateway or something, the front can take a bit of a slap, but during general riding I never found the steering becoming a handful.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rim graphic.jpg

Spoke tension is top notch, and when paired to the 50mm deep rim, stiffness is very impressive. This is probably one of the best attributes of the SWRs – they're a real powerhouse of a wheelset. Hard efforts see no flex, and you can really smash the power through them when sprinting or climbing hard.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rear hub.jpg

The Miche hubs, machined from 7075-T6 grade aluminium, add a touch of class to the build. If you like a subtle tick to your freehub you'll love these, as there's very little noise from the rear when you aren't pedalling.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rear hub 2.jpg

The EZO bearings run very smoothly indeed, and never wavered throughout testing in what has been a bit of mixed bag for weather. Should any play develop, there's an adjustment ring on both hubs for twiddling it away with a small hex key.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - spoke nipple.jpg

Miche have gone for a 24 spoke pattern on each wheel, which is quite common. The front gets eight spokes radially laced on the drive side (DS) and 16 crossed x2 on the non-drive side (NDS).

At the rear that's reversed: eight on the NDS and 16 on the DS.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - front hub 2.jpg

The brake rotors are Center Lock, rather than the traditional six-bolt option, so that gets a thumbs up – they're much quicker and easier to change or fit. The rotors slide over splines, and are held in place with a lockring similar your cassette's one.

> Buyer's guide to tubeless tyres — find out all about new technology rubber

The SWRs come in at 1,780g with tubeless tape and valves (around 40g) fitted. That's fairly high: I've ridden plenty of wheels of this rim depth that are a good 300g lighter, and had no issues with reliability or durability.

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rim detail 2.jpg

Nevertheless, the SWRs aren't exactly heavy, and unless you spend all your time in the mountains they certainly don't feel that way on the roads. Everywhere else, the aero advantage wins over weight anyway.

The upside of that mass is a really solid-feeling set of wheels which promise to stand up to plenty of abuse.

The 38mm version of the Miche SWR RC wheels are over 100g lighter than the 50mm version we've reviewed here. Miche also offers lighter DX carbon wheels: Supertype DX 38mm in tubular (claimed weight of 1,430g) or 44mm in clincher (1,545g).

2020 Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset - rim detail 3.jpg

Deep section carbon fibre wheels cover a large spectrum for price, and the market is very, very competitive. At £1,380 the SWRs are pricier and a bit heavier than most others. For instance, the Fulcrum Wind 40 Disc wheelset is £1,099.99, and offers impressive stiffness and ride quality at 1620g.

Meanwhile the Halo Carbaura RCD wheels at £1,099.95 are very similar to the SWRs in rim shape and depth, but weigh 1,629g with tape.

Direct-sales operations such as Hunt are even more competitively priced, with the very, very good 4050 Carbon Aero Disc wheelset clocking in at 1472g and just £819.

> 44 of the best road bike wheels — reduce bike weight or get aero gains with new hoops

Miche's own 38mm-deep Revox DX carbon wheels are £999 (with a claimed weight of 1,660g).

None of this means the SWRs are overpriced, though. They absolutely look and feel like a premium wheelset, and carry the 'Made in Italy' label that always brings extra kudos to cycling components.

If you're driven purely by price or weight, the SWR RC DX 50/50 wheelset will not be your first choice. But, if you want an exceptionally well built set of Italian wheels that really deliver on strength, stiffness and speed, you won't be disappointed.

Verdict

Premium wheels with excellent stiffness, a great ride and impressive speed – but spendy and not the lightest

road.cc test report

Make and model: Miche SWR RC 50 DX OLT Disc wheelset

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the wheel is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Miche says, "The new collection of SWR wheels further enhances the already excellent level of performance. New options of profile allow the cyclist to choose the most suitable one to be used on various types of routes: from fast, flat circuits to hilly stretches, to the long climbs of the Dolomites.

The careful choice of materials and the method of construction ensures high rigidity at very low weights: particularly the carbon fibre and the use of next-generation HTG resins ensure excellent braking and rideability in all conditions.

The innovative "Optimised Layout Technology" (OLT) with differentiated thickness combines increased performance with maximum lightness.

The SWR DX Hub is made of AL 7075 T6 with high smoothness bearings and a freewheel body in AL 7075. Adjustment of the front and rear hub smoothness through a special ring nut, this can even be acheived mid-ride."

I agree that they are a high quality wheelset that delivers on speed and stiffness.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel?

COMPATIBILITY: CA / SH / XDR

HUBS: AL 7075 T6

FREEWHEEL BODY: AL 7075 T6

RIMS: OLT carbon fibre, 622-19C

SPOKES: 16+8 / 16+8 Stainless steel black/ flat/ straight pull/ double butted

NIPPLES: AL 7075-T6

Rate the wheel for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the wheel for performance:
 
8/10

Stiffness under high loading is very good indeed.

Rate the wheel for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the wheel for weight
 
5/10
Rate the wheel for value:
 
4/10

Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension?

Trueness was impeccable throughout.

How easy did you find it to fit tyres?

Very easy to fit a range of tubeless tyres.

How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform?

The tubeless tapes and valves worked fine. You also get wheel bags included, plus weights to offset the valves.

Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Bring a noticable speed advantage to the majority of your riding.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel

Feel very stable at speed in the wind.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel

Could be lighter.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They're a chunk more expensive than many of the wheels we've recently tested from Fulcrum and Halo, and around £500 more than equivalent direct-sales wheels from the likes of Hunt.

Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes

Would you consider buying the wheel? Yes

Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

These are very well made and deliver everything you want when it comes to performance, with high levels of stiffness and noticeable aero gains on the flat. They could be lighter, but are very good wheels anyway, and an eight.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 41  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

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