Hunt 54 Aerodynamicist Carbon Disc Wheelset

Hunt's 54 Aerodynamicist Carbon Disc Wheelset employs the aerodynamic thinking behind some of its top-end wheels. The result is a hugely fast yet reasonably light pair of wheels with some amazing windcheating effects. They're also solidly built and well priced.

Back in 2020 I spent plenty of time on Hunt's 48 Limitless Aero Disc wheelset. These, it claimed after spending a huge amount of time in the wind tunnel, were the fastest disc brake-compatible road wheels up to and including 50mm in depth; Mat wrote about them here.

After riding them in all kinds of conditions I had no reason to doubt that claim, and now Hunt offers those aerodynamic benefits in wheels like these 54s, which are deeper and a bit cheaper.

> Buy now: Hunt 54 Aerodynamicist Carbon Disc Wheelset from Hunt for £869.00

Wheels above 50mm were mostly used by time triallists or triathletes, with the added depth and material increasing the weight but offset by the aerodynamic advantage when at racing speed. The roads and routes tending to be used for these two pursuits were often not very hilly, either.

With modern materials and build techniques Hunt has managed to bring this set of deep-section hoops down to a claimed 1,524g (1,620g on the road.cc scales with tubeless rim tape fitted), which would be impressive for even a set of wheels at half the depth.

With that in mind, they don't hamper you on the climbs, and you get that aero boost on the descent so they can sit happily on your road bike with all of the advantages and none of the trade-offs.

Well, there is one small one. They can make the steering a bit twitchy in a crosswind.

Personally, it wasn't a big problem for me, but if you are a light rider then you might find yourself getting buffered about a bit. If that's the case then you might be better off with the slightly shallower 44mm-deep versions that Liam tested recently. He is a lot lighter than me and found no issues in windy conditions.

Hunt also offers an option of 44mm front/54mm rear, giving the best of both worlds.

Out on the road the 54s feel noticeably fast, especially once you get the bike above 22-23mph where the aerodynamic gains start to take effect.

Maintaining that sort of speed feels like a breeze once you are cracking along, and thanks to the low overall weight, they don't produce any lag as you hit the lower part of a hill or tackle undulating terrain.

The level of stiffness is impressive too. Using this much material without accumulating weight often sees stiffness being the first thing to vacate the party, but that hasn't happened here. Hard efforts out of the saddle didn't seem to promote any lateral flex at all.

I went with a 25mm tyre for the majority of testing, pumped up to 90psi, and after swapping the Hunts around on a few different test bikes that stiffness didn't translate into harshness or discomfort. In fact, they are quite a pleasant wheelset to ride on all but the worst of road surfaces.

The Limitless wheels I mentioned earlier were wide, almost bulbous at 34.5mm externally, but that is what Hunt found worked from plenty of wind tunnel testing. The Aerodynamicist's rim follows a similar theme, just not quite so extreme.

They have a 29mm external width which Hunt says has been optimised for 25-28mm tyres, yet will happily work with much bigger, up to 50mm.

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By keeping the internal rim width at just 20mm the Aerodynamicists don't lose the ability to be able to cope with those narrower tyre widths either – 23mm anyone?

Fitting the 25mm Continental Grand Prix 5000 Transparent tyres required a bit of thumb work, but nothing over the top, and once in place they pinged sweetly up to the hook of the rim.

These tyres aren't tubeless, but running tubes isn't an issue on the Hunts.

For tubeless duties I went with Goodyear's 28mm Vector 4Seasons, what with it being winter and all that. Using the included valves, and with tubeless tape already fitted, the whole process of setting them up was a breeze with just a track pump.

Hunt offers various packages if you need tyres at the same time as ordering the wheels, with your wheel/tyre combination turning up ready to roll.

Material-wise, it's a mixture of T700 and T800 grades of uni-directional carbon fibre, with a stronger ratio of the T800 fibres to achieve what Hunt says is a greater strength-to-weight ratio. The spoke areas and rim bed are reinforced with a 3K weave.

Linking the rims to the hubs are Pillar Spoke Re-enforcement PSR XTRA spokes with an aero profile, laced using 20 on the front wheel, and 24 on the rear. The nipples are alloy with a black anodised finish.

The Sprint hubs use a 6061-T6 aluminium alloy body with 7075-T6 axles, which, while not massively flash, should give plenty of reliability over the coming years and miles.

The hubs are adaptable to various axle standards including quick release, and are easy to swap out. You also get a Center Lock disc mount which makes swapping rotors quicker and easier than the six-bolt standard.

Hunt has used Japanese EZO bearings and they've continued to run smoothly throughout the test period, which started at the tail end of last year. They have seen salt, plenty of rain, and mud-coated lanes. Even though three months is a short time for testing durability, a quick look inside shows no signs of ingress by the elements.

A range of freehub options are available, and they're easy to switch between or replace.

On the Shimano bodies you'll find a stainless steel insert to stop the cassette biting into the splines of the body under load.

Internally, the Sprint hubs use three multi-point pawls with three teeth each, paired up with a 48-tooth ratchet ring. Engagement is achieved in 7.5 degrees, so feels snappy when diving into a sprint or a quick surge away from the lights. The freewheeling noise is noticeable, but not irritating.

Value

The Aerodynamicist wheels are £869 a pair, which I think is impressive value for money, especially at a time when we are seeing some huge increases in price. As I write there looks to be decent availability too, something else that is impressive.

In the box, on top of the itted tubeless tape you are also getting a cassette spacer for 8/9/10-speed cassettes, spare spokes with nipples and washers, plus some tubeless valves.

The build quality is great, with no issues of durability at all, including remaining well tensioned and true.

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As for competition, the Hunts are easily as fast as the deeper Reynolds AR 58/62 X DB wheelset I tested in the summer of last year. As the name suggests, they come with a 58mm-deep front rim, and a 62mm rear. They are a bit heavier at 1,711g, and pricier too at £1,500 – up £150 from when I tested them.

Scribe offers its Aero Wide+ D wheelsets in both a 50mm depth (which I tested in 2020) and 60mm. The 50mm version weighed just 1,463g on our scales with rim tape fitted, which is impressive, and both options cost £870.

Conclusion

Overall, I really can't fault these wheels as long as you don't mind getting buffeted about a bit on windy days. They offer real world performance gains while being light enough to be used as an all-rounder, even on the climbs. You can't knock the price either.

Verdict

Fast and light aero wheelset at a great price