Enve SES 4.5 wheelset

The Enve SES 4.5 wheelset is designed to be fast everywhere, whether you’re climbing, descending or sprinting. In fact, this is the wheelset that Tadej Pogacar used for every road stage on his way to 2024 Tour de France victory. During testing, I’ve found the wheels to be not only fast, well made and competitively light but also stable and easy to live with. In my opinion, this is the best hookless wheelset on the market right now – as you’d hope, with this price tag…

Enve has an enviable reputation when it comes to carbon wheels and the 4.5 can be seen as something of a hero product, designed to be one wheelset that can do it all. For pure climbing, Enve makes the shallower SES 2.3 and 3.4 wheelsets, and for flat courses there are the deeper 6.7 and 7.8 wheelsets. As the name suggests, the SES 4.5 sits right in the middle with rim depths of 50mm and 56mm front and rear respectively.

As part of Enve’s flagship line-up, the SES (Smart Enve System) wheels are said to not only get the stamp of aerodynamic approval but also ‘stability and a holistic approach of how the product interacts with both the bike and rider’.

Wider than wide

Pulling the wheels out of the box, the first thing you notice is just how wide the rims are. Wheels have been getting wider and wider in recent years, but the Enves take this one step further with an internal width of 25mm. For reference, the Zipp 454 NSWs are still considered wide at 23mm internally, and many pro-level wheels still feature 21mm internals, such as the Roval Rapide CLX ii.

Both rims measure 32mm externally at their widest point but differ in their profiles. This has long been a trait of Enve wheels, with a shallower U-shaped rim at the front and a deeper, more V-shaped profile at the rear. Personally, I really like this approach. I think it enables riders to benefit from a deeper, more aero rim without the usual drawbacks in windy conditions – a deeper V-shaped rim at the front would be less stable and harder to control, so this is like the best of both worlds: aero at the back, stable at the front. In fact, many of my favourite wheelsets from the likes of Roval and Hunt follow this same strategy.

According to Enve, the external width has been aero-optimised for the Enve SES 29mm tyre; that’s wider than many of its competitors, who can still be found optimising their rims around 25 and 26mm tyres. Multiple brands have told us that for maximum aerodynamic performance and stability, the wheel at its widest point should be around 105% of the tyre width, backing up the fact that these should work well with 28-30mm tyres.

For me, that’s perfect for UK riding. I’ve slowly but surely upped the width of the rubber that I use, now choosing 28mm tyres for racing and 30 or 32mm for training. During the testing period, I fitted several pairs of tyres but settled on a set of 30mm Continental GP5000 S TRs, the same setup as Pogacar has been using this season. Thanks to the width of the rim they don’t balloon, and the transition between rim and tyre is very smooth.

I received the wheels taped, and tubeless valves are supplied – in the fanciest pencil case you’ve ever seen! – with valve caps that double as valve core removers, which is a nice touch.

In each and every case of fitting tyres (four sets in total), I was seriously impressed. The tyres didn’t exactly fall onto the rim but needed only a little persuasion, and required no more than a track pump to inflate. If only tubeless installation was always this easy!

Age-old hookless debate

I glanced over the fact earlier that the rims are hookless. This is sure to put some riders off, and while we’ve come a long way in a relatively short amount of time, this does still limit tyre compatibility.

For example, Enve says not to use the rims with anything narrower than a 27mm tyre, the tyres should be tubeless ready (these are usually more expensive), ISO tells you not to use anything narrower than 29mm on a 25mm internal rim, and the Goodyear Eagle F1 and Panaracer Agilist tubeless tyres that I had lying about don’t feature on Enve’s compatibility chart.

Although you won’t be spoilt for choice, there are plenty of top tyre options that are compatible – Continental GP5000 S TRs, various Vittoria Corsas, Schwalbe Pro Ones, Michelin Power Roads and Specialized S-Works Turbo RapidAirs, to name just a few, all get the green light.

I am also still on the fence when it comes to the advantages of hookless. Yes, it enables a lighter and simpler rim, and should allow for a higher strength-to-weight ratio, but we’ve all seen the high-profile incidents, and there’s no getting away from the fact that brands will like that they’re cheaper to manufacture. One thing for sure is that Enve takes hookless safety very seriously, and I find it reassuring to know that Team UAE and Total Energies have been using these wheels for the last few seasons without issue. The pros put an insane amount of miles in and will push their wheels and tyres far harder than I ever could; if they’d had issues, we’d have seen them.

Weight

The hookless rims have undoubtedly been used to save weight, and on the road.cc Scales of Truth, the 4.5s weighed in at 1,469g with tape fitted and an XDR freehub. That’s competitive for wheels of this depth; the Roval Rapide CLX ii wheels (£2,250), for example, are a claimed 1,520g (we reviewed the lower tier CL ii wheels with exactly the same rims).

The Zipp 454 NSWs mentioned earlier are lighter, though, at 1,420g, likely helped by the narrower rims requiring less material. But the Hunt 48 Limitless wheels that took the top spot in our recent best road bike wheels buyer’s guide weigh significantly more – 1,690g – despite being shallower.

> Buyer’s Guide: Best road bike wheels

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: low weight is by no means the be-all and end-all when it comes to wheel performance but the Enves are light enough that you won’t be disadvantaged on climbs and they feel fast to accelerate, but if you’re looking for a weight-weenie wheelset there are lighter options out there.

Spokes and hubs

You might be reading this review thinking that we’re a bit late to the party – haven’t the SES 4.5s been out since 2022? Well, not with these hubs they haven’t; our review set is one of the first to be built up on these new Enve hubs in the UK, courtesy of Saddleback.

Enve has completely overhauled its hub design with this latest ‘Innerdrive’ design, featuring oversized ratchets, threaded end caps for preload adjustment and the ability to lace a wheel with just one length of the spoke – that promises to make keeping spares just a little bit easier.

In use the hubs have been faultless. I’ve been pressure washing (to try to speed up the weathering process), riding through potholes and generally abusing the wheels and they still run as true and smoothly as the day they arrived – which is to say, very true and smooth!

I’ve also disassembled the hubs and the servicing promises to be simple. There are relatively few parts in the hub, and fewer parts means less to go wrong. The other interesting thing about the hubs is that they’re available with 40, 60, 80 and 100T ratchet rings, more than anyone could ever want for road use. The wheels ship with the 40T ratchet, which results in near-instantaneous pickup, though Enve did let on that some pro sprinters prefer a 60T ratchet for an even smaller engagement angle.

As for the 80T and 100T options, I can’t see them ever being necessary in a road environment, but I would love to hear what noise they make while freewheeling!

Speaking of freehub noise, the Enves aren’t quiet, producing a high-frequency buzz similar to that of Chris King hubs when freewheeling. You can, of course, mute most freehubs with grease if this isn’t to your taste.

The wheels are laced with 24 spokes both front and rear; that’s a few more at the front than many performance wheelsets, especially those reaching for lower weights. Enve says that the 4.5s were ‘originally designed for the cobbles and crosswinds of Paris-Roubaix to provide an aero benefit with high-volume tyres’ and this gives some indication as to the motivation behind that spoke count. Considering the width of the rims and this added spoke count, it’s impressive that the Enves are as light as they are.

At a quick glance, the Enves do look similar to just about every other carbon wheel on the market, but the more you research them, the more you notice the unrivalled attention to detail. Take the spoke holes, for example – they’re moulded rather than drilled, with each one claiming to be able to withstand over 700lb of pull before failure; the holes are designed to prevent the spokes from twisting, to preserve spoke tension; every wheel is laced by hand and the spokes have a small gap between them where they cross to ensure that they never creak.

It sounds simple, but it’s this attention to detail that sets them apart from cheaper wheelsets. As part of the review process I actively try to find faults with whatever I am reviewing – and when it comes to wheels usually do! – but after three months of testing, the 4.5s haven’t missed a beat.

Ride feel

Out on the road, the Enves performed exceptionally. They feel laterally stiff, they feel fast on flat roads and they’re incredibly stable – more stable than many wheels that are significantly shallower, in fact. During the three-month testing period there has been no shortage of windy days, sideways rain and typically British conditions, but at no point have I felt it necessary to switch to something shallower; these truly have been a fit-and-forget solution to going fast (you will still need the legs).

Although my level of racing is somewhat below what the 4.5s are used to, I have been taking to the start line using these wheels, which isn’t always the case with sets I’m reviewing.

I’m well aware that the difference between wheels is small, but I will always fit those that I think will give me the biggest possible advantage. Usually, this is a set of Roval Rapide CLX wheels with latex inner tubes for flat to rolling races, and a set of carbon-spoke Scribe Elan 40s for hillier parcours. For the Enves to dislodge either of these wheelsets is impressive, but for them to be more than capable in both scenarios is the highest praise I can give the wheels.

The 50 and 56mm rim depths are, I think, perfect; they never feel out of place, whether on a hill climb or bunch sprint at the end of a flat crit, and the stability means you can focus on getting the power down or nailing those lines through the corners without having a ‘snap’ in the back of your mind.

Unfortunately at road.cc we do not own a wind tunnel so it’s impossible for me to say exactly how fast these wheels are, but I am confident that they are right up there with the best, and you know you’re doing something right when a competitor (Hunt) publishes graphs showing the wheels to be this quick!

Value

The wheels’ performance is class-leading, but how does the astronomical price tag stack up against the competition?

Well, as you probably already know there are some absolutely great wheels for a lot, lot less. The Hunt 48 Limitless wheels mentioned earlier, for example, have now been superseded by the Sub50 Limitless, which start at £1,479.

The Enves aren’t winning any prizes for value for money then, but compared with other über-premium wheelsets the price is where you would expect it to be. The Zipp 454 NSWs, for example, have an almost identical price tag of £3,376; they’re slightly lighter than the Enves but aren’t as stable and our review set didn’t feel as well made.

I also had the pleasure of using the Princeton Carbonworks Peak 4550 Evolution wheelset, which were very good but not as stable or as fast on the flat as the Enves. They also blow the price of just about every other wheelset out of the water at £4,899.99…

Top-end components always come with diminishing performance gains, and unless you’re very, very serious about marginal gains it’s impossible to justify the price on performance alone. Realistically, a lot of the price tag is paying for the research and development costs and that big Enve logo on the side, but if I did have just over three grand (that had to be spent on road bike wheels) burning a hole in my pocket then this is where my money would go.

Another plus point for the Enves is their “incidental damage protection’. As long as you register the wheels within 60 days of purchase, they will be protected against accidental damage whether that’s racing, riding or other mishaps, such as on the roof of a car. Within three years of purchase, this includes free replacement rims and/or hubs (buyer to pay shipping and labour), 50% off in year three, 40% off in year four, and 30% off thereafter. It’s also worth noting that a second owner can benefit from this. This should give a bit of peace of mind if you do make this very expensive purchase.

Conclusion

Carbon wheels have seen some rapid development since disc brakes became mainstream – they’ve been getting wider, they’ve been optimised for larger tyres, they’ve got faster and they’ve got more stable. The Enve SES 4.5s turn this up one notch further and I’m pretty confident that this is what most carbon wheels will look like in a few years’ time.

The performance is exceptional and every detail has been meticulously analysed. For me, they’re the perfect depth, perfectly made, optimised for the right size of tyre and as fast as the best in the business without sacrificing durability or robustness.

If you’re looking for the one ultimate road bike wheelset and aren’t put off by hookless then these are the wheels to go for. It’s no wonder they’re the choice of Pogacar.

Verdict

The best hookless wheels on the market right now – for a price…