Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset by Mat Brett September 22 2016 9 Comments Verdict: Lightweight alloy clincher wheelset that's hardwearing and tubeless-ready out of the box Weight: 1,530g Contact: primebikecomponents.com 1 / 7 The Prime Race Road Alloy Clincher wheelset is a lightweight and hardwearing tubeless-ready choice for general road use and even gravel/cyclo-cross riding. Prime is a new brand from Chain Reaction Cycles with a range that covers everything from 155 alloy clincher wheels up to 879.99 carbon tubular wheels. The Race wheels feature tubeless-ready aluminium AT01 rims from Alexrims. They have an internal width of 17mm, an external width of 22mm, and a CNC-machined brake track. I used them with the excellent Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyres (28mm width), which inflated first time with a floor pump and a little Stan's sealant. No fuss at all. I tried inflating from flat a few times. Sometimes the bead popped into place easily, sometimes it required soapy water to seal the deal.
Prime Road Race alloy wheelset - rim detail.jpg Prime's R020 hubs are forged and CNC-machined 7075 alloy, very low profile in the case of the front one. They contain sealed cartridge bearings so there's no particular skill required during maintenance. The sealing isn't elaborate but I've used these in all conditions over several weeks and no water has got inside.
Prime Road Race alloy wheelset - front hub.jpg The alloy freehub body Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11-speed compatible is lighter than steel options often found at this price point, while durability is good thanks to an Anti Bite Guard spline insert that stops the sprockets digging in. The freehub has four pawls and 26 teeth.
Prime Road Race alloy wheelset - rear hub.jpg The front wheel is built with 20 DT Swiss double-butted J-bend spokes and DT Swiss Pro Lock alloy nipples, while the rear wheel is laced with 24.
Prime Road Race alloy wheelset - nipple.jpg The Prime Race wheels have put in an excellent performance out on the road, offering plenty of stiffness and durability, and braking is as firm and reliable as you'd expect on an aluminium surface. I've been using them for general road riding and I also put them on a cyclo-cross bike and hit the local gravel roads and byways a few times. They've done a great job throughout. They're light too. Ours weighed in at 662g (front) and 868g (rear) a total of 1,530g (without skewers or valves). That's exactly the overall weight that Prime claims. > Checking them post-test, both wheels are still as round and true as they were to start with, the spoke tensions virtually unaltered. That augurs well for long-term durability. The brake tracks show signs of wear, obviously, and there are marks on the freehub from the sprockets, but they're not at all deep. I imagine the stuck-on graphics will eventually start to look tatty but they're doing fine so far.
Prime Road Race alloy wheelset - decal.jpg The wheelset is supplied with Prime Quick Release skewers, tubeless valves (installed), and three spare spokes and nipples. Although the valves on our test wheels are silver, they're black on the production version to match the rim finish. If you want to ride tubeless, all you need are the tyres and sealant and you're good to go. Verdict Lightweight alloy clincher wheelset that's hardwearing and tubeless-ready out of the box Best Deals for Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset: All the deals displayed on our review pages are pulled from a constantly updating database feed of the best affiliate deals available. The criteria for deciding on what are the best deals is who is offering the lowest, delivered price. In most cases we will be showing the very best deal available online, but sometimes you may be able to find an item cheaper. If you can please feel free to post a link in the comments box below. To find out more about affiliate links on road.cc click here. If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website road.cc test report Make and model: Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset
Size tested: 700C 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? Prime says, "The Prime Race Road features a super light build and will be the perfect wheelset for everything from daylong rides to cyclocross racing. The Race features our tubeless ready Pro rim with R020 hubset and is hand built with DT Swiss Double Butted spokes and DT Swiss Pro Lock nipples." Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the wheel? Prime lists these features: Prime Quick Release skewers Tubeless valves x 2 (installed) Tubeless tape (installed) Spare spokes x 3: 1 front, 2 x Rear (1 drive side / 1 non drive side) Nipples x 3 Total Wheelset Weight: 1530g Rim Specifications: Material: Alloy CNC machined brake track Tubeless ready Spoke count: 20 hole & 24 hole Rim width: 24mm (17mm internal width) ERD: 582 Weight: 440g Hub Specifications: Rear: Material: Superlight Forged & CNC machined 7075 alloy hub body Spoke type: J Bend Bearings: Premium Japanese sealed cartridge bearings x 4 Axle: 130mm x QR Pawls: 4 Points of engagement: 26
Freehub Body: Light weight alloy with ABG (Anti Bite Guard), Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11 speed Freehub Body Option: Campagnolo freehub body available for purchase separately Hole count: 24 Weight: 228g Front: Material: Superlight Forged & CNC machined 7075 alloy hub body Spoke type: J Bend Bearings: Premium Japanese sealed cartridge bearings x 2 Axle: 100mm x 9mm QR Hole count: 20 Weight: 60g Rate the wheel for quality of construction: 8/10 Rate the wheel for performance: 8/10 Rate the wheel for durability: 8/10 The Anti Bike Guard spline does a good job of stopping the sprockets digging deep into the freehub. Our review wheels are virtually as round and true after several weeks of testing as they were initially. Rate the wheel for weight 8/10 This is a very good weight for alloy wheels at this price. Rate the wheel for value: 9/10 The value is very high, especially as Chain Reaction is selling them at 224.99 (a saving of 10% over the list price). Did the wheels stay true? Any issues with spoke tension? They've stayed absolutely true. I've not had to get the spoke key out once. How easy did you find it to fit tyres? Easy enough. Running them tubeless, they've inflated with some Stan's sealant and a floor pump
sometimes easier than others, but that's the way with tubeless. How did the wheel extras (eg skewers and rim tape) perform? They worked fine. Haven't really noticed them, and that's a good sign. Tell us how the wheel performed overall when used for its designed purpose No complaints at all. It's a well-built wheelset that cracks on with its job without fuss. Tell us what you particularly liked about the wheel The light weight, and the fact that they've stayed true. Tell us what you particularly disliked about the wheel Not a lot. Did you enjoy using the wheel? Yes Would you consider buying the wheel? Yes, for general road use, including rough road use. Would you recommend the wheel to a friend? Yes Use this box to explain your score These are very good wheels at an exceptionally good price. They're a clear 8 out of 10. If value is a key consideration, they're especially attractive. Overall rating: 8/10 About the tester Age: 43 Height: 190cm Weight: 75kg I usually ride: My best bike is: I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset 2016 Prime Race Road Alloy Wheelset Prime 2016 Prime