Enve launches new aluminium hubs for rim and disc brake wheels

Always wanted Enve wheels but put off by the big price? The US company has just launched its own aluminium hubs for rim and disc brake wheelsets which undercut its own carbon hub and Chris King options. But at £2,700 they’re still not what you’d call affordable. To put that in context, an SES 4.5 clincher/Chris King R45 wheelset costs £3,100.

The new wheels, which will be raced by the Dimension Data squad this year, are offered in rim and disc brake variants. The hubs are machined from aluminium and feature a paired spoke flange design to lower the weight, and lateral stiffness has been optimised by pushing the flanges out as wide as they’ll go.

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The disc brake version weighs 126g for the front hub and 250g for the rear hub, with 24 spokes per wheel and is compatible with 12mm thru-axles and conventional quick releases.

The rim brake hub weighs just 100g and 252g for the front and rear hubs respectively. Each wheelset can be specced with Shimano/SRAM, XDR or Campagnolo freehubs.

These are very light hubs and part of the weight saving is down to the flange design. It has paired spokes which means more material can be removed from the flange, with shorter spokes used compared to a traditional 3x lacing pattern. Enve also says the flange design maximises torsional stiffness.

Enve has also developed Perfect Preload, a design comprising a tuned wave washer that applies consistent and even forces onto the bearings to prevent play. It’s said to prolong bearing life and requires no adjustments or tools.

“The ENVE Aluminum Road Hub is designed and engineered to raise the bar of rim brake specific road hub performance by delivering more efficient wheel builds, improved power transmission, and reliability via a low maintenance design. Our mission to create a better ride experience with our aluminium road hubs is achieved by combining premium grade materials with technologies such as Perfect Preload that guarantee to deliver ENVE worthy performance for thousands of miles without the need for tedious maintenance,” explains Enve.

The new hubs are available now and cost £2,700 for both Road and Road Disc hubs with a choice of rims from the SES 2.2, SES 3.4, SES 4.5 AR, SES 5.6 and SES 7.8, with clincher and tubular versions.

www.enve.com/en/products/alloy-road-disc-hub/