Deda Elementi RS4DB Carbon Disc Tubeless Wheels

Deda Elementi's RS4DB wheelset is one of the lightest we've tested here on road.cc – but they achieve that without being one of the most expensive. At 38mm deep they balance a low weight with aero efficiency, making them a very good choice for those who want an all-round, fast race wheelset. And with their great performance, all-round quality and competitive price, they look like serious contenders for our best road bike wheels buyer's guide.

Buy now: Deda Elementi RS4DB Carbon Disc Tubeless Wheels for £1799.99 from Chickencyclekit

Weighing just 1,340g on our scales, including rim tape, the Deda RS4DB wheelset is in an elite club of sub-1,400g wheels we've put through their paces here. The shallow Black Inc Twenty is one of the only non-tubular wheelsets to trump them at 1,230g, but if you're looking for wheels with rims deep enough to match the Dedas, then you're talking big money.

For example, Zipp's 353 NSW wheels weigh the same as the Dedas, although their hookless design limits you to tubeless tyres only and they're a seriously salty £3,376.

Campagnolo's Bora Ultra WTO 45​s are a little heavier at 1,420g, and were cheaper than the Zipps at £2,813.99 when we tested them.

The Disc brake version of the Fulcrum Racing Speed 40C, the 40DB, have a claimed weight of 1,470g and cost £1,899.99.

All those wheels make the Dedas look decent value for money.

At just 1,340g it's going to come as no surprise that the RS4DBs really do feel incredibly light when you're riding. The effort required for acceleration from a standing start feels practically non-existent and when you hit a climb, they just keep on giving.

The overall stiffness is impressive too. Sometimes manufacturers remove material to drop weight, and that can lead to issues with lateral flex, especially if you are a bigger rider. That isn't a problem here, with even hard out-of-the-saddle efforts resulting in no signs of sideways movement.

At 38mm the RS4DB's rims aren't as deep as some, so if you are after a full-on aero wheelset you might want to look elsewhere.

But these do have an advantage at speed over shallower rims, and you get a little boost as the speed increases. The result is a versatile wheelset that is fast on the flats without scrubbing too much speed off when you're in the hills. In effect they're a do-it-all wheelset.

And one of the bonuses of rims of this depth is that they're not deep enough to be affected by crosswinds.

The rims are built from high-modulus, uni-directional and 3K carbon fibre, with extra thick material for reinforcing the nipple area.

The 26mm external width and 19mm internal width aren't as wide as you'll find on a lot of wheels, but they do work well with 25mm and 28mm tyres. I tried both these tyre sizes, and each gave a smooth transition between rim and sidewall.

The Dedas have stuck with a hooked rim, which means you can run them with both tubeless tyres or clinchers paired with an inner tube.

Both sizes fitted relatively easily, in clincher and tubeless setups. Setting them up as tubeless the tyre popped onto the rim using just a track pump, without having to get out the Airshot.

The RS hubs have a 7075-grade aluminium alloy body, and rather than using pawls to engage the hub, they feature a two-ratchet system for the hub engagement.

The resulting lock-in is very quick indeed and the freehub gives only a mild click when you're freewheeling, never being loud or buzzy enough to become irritating. In fact, everything runs very smoothly indeed. As to whether any of that is a result of the ceramic bearings, that is very hard to quantify.

It's great to see that there are plenty of freehub options available. Shimano and SRAM are covered, including SRAM's XDR, while Campagnolo users can choose between the standard Campag option and 13-speed Ekar.

The hubs are laced to the rim by 24-spokes on both the front and rear wheels, while the use of Centerlock makes it easy to fit disc rotors. Deda includes rotor lockrings in the box, which isn't always the case when you buy a set of wheels.

I didn't have any issues during testing. To say the conditions were far from ideal for running £1,799 wheels is an understatement. Ordinarily wheels like this would be tucked away until spring if they were my own wheels, but they shrugged off all the salt and rain that winter generously provided. They remained true and well tensioned too.

The lacquered shiny finish does give the Dedas a high-end look, although if it gets scratched it will show up more than on a matt finish. Thankfully, though, the finish looks to be hardwearing, as there are still no marks on them in spite of the riding conditions.

Conclusion

I found the Dedas a very capable wheelset with, as far as I can see, no real downsides if you're looking for one set of wheels to tackle all types of terrain. They look the business, they roll quickly, they're light enough for climbing and my experience so far suggests they're durable. And compared with other lightweight wheels they're competing with, they aren't silly money either.

Verdict

An impressive weight, wide hub compatibility, a great build quality and all for sensible money.