HUNT 82 Carbon Aerodynamicist Wheelset Review (82/82 Carbon Rim Brake, Clincher or Tubeless Ready)

To set the scene here’s a very quick wheel-related story followed by a detailed review of HUNT’s 82mm beauties.

I’ve had a good year on my TT Bike.

Yes, 2022 has been good for my cycling even if running, swimming and multisport took a back seat. From 10-mile TTs to laps of Richmond Park, I’ve hit PBs at race distances as well as setting PBs on my favourite Strava segments. I’m definitely a less powerful cyclist than the lighter me of 10 years ago but a good level of fitness combined now with some good bike kit and a relatively good bike position has seen records tumble.

The early start to this season was with my 60mm Mavic CXRs and, when needed, a friend’s somewhat old rear Zipp disc.

However, I’ve never ridden 80 or 82-mm front wheels and was super-keen to see how much difference an extra 20mm would make on the right windless day. Thus, I switched to a Hunt 82mm Wheelset in September and the bottom line was that I shaved a few more seconds of various PBs despite putting out a tad less power as a result of a late-season, minor knee injury.

Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ + Fast

4.5

Hunt's 82mm wheels are a proper upgrade for your race-day bike.

One of the fastest wheelsets of its kind for the money.

Key Stats:

• Rim Depth: 82mm front and rear
• Width: 27mm external, 19mm internal
• Weight: 1770g (pair)
• Optimal tyre: 25c (23c and 28c are fine)
• Hub: CeramicSpeed, Shimano/Campag/SRAM options for 8-speed through to 12-speed
• Warranty: 3 years with crash replacement

 

Pros

• Less drag than wheels at twice the price
• Surprisingly good braking for a carbon surface
• Tubeless-ready
• CeramicSpeed bearings

Cons

• Not cheap but could be a lot worse!
• Twitchy in some crosswinds

• Hunt Direct

Price when reviewed: £1,199 (set, excl tyres) direct from Huntbikewheels.com

Background – Kit, Tests & Courses

I’ve had a Cervelo P5six for the last two race seasons and whilst it’s a complete PITA to maintain, it is the fastest bike I’ve ever ridden so long as there’s not a hill involved. But as a relatively old bike, it has hydraulic rim brakes and perhaps cannot handle some of the widest road wheels available today.

Hunt’s tests show better performance from 23mm GP5000 when compared to 25mm so I went with those to save the extra 1watt. Had I planned to use these wheels solely as race-day wheels then I may have bit the bullet and gone tubeless but instead, I went down the latex inner tube route plus an infeasibly long valve extender. I got Michelin latex inners as a Vittoria option wasn’t available. Tubeless may be a tad faster and the sealant might enable you to continue without stopping on race day if you get a puncture. With inner tubes, a puncture is going to cost you 5 minutes or so and hence your chance of glory. That’s the price I chose to pay.

What Makes HUNT Wheels Fast?

Answer: Aerodynamics.

For wheels: Above 12mph, aerodynamic drag is the most important factor assuming you have the right tyres, correctly inflated. There are 3 other factors, some of which vary in importance with external conditions and the type of riding – wind stability, weight, and 3D stiffness.

Cycling: Above 19mph its pretty much all about aerodynamics

Aero Drag – HUNT 82 Carbon Aerodynamicist

It is difficult for recreational riders to access a wind tunnel. If you did get access then you could see how the aerodynamics of the wheel interact with the frame and with your ride position. You would also see the effects of different relative wind directions. These are all significant points but when buying a new pair of wheels you are, to a degree, taking some performance factors on trust.

My Take On Wheel Aerodynamics

When a wheel moves forwards it splits the air to either side of it. In the case of the HUNT 82 wheels, those air flows must rejoin at least 82mm later. The rim wants to minimize drag over its surface but it also wants to trick the airflow into rejoining as late as possible – for the sake of argument let’s say it’s a further 10mm towards the centre of the wheel. Generally the bigger this extra distance, the less air turbulence there will be. And turbulence creates drag.

Let’s start with Hunt’s rim profile compared to my Mavic CXR rim profile – a design from over 6 years ago. Look at the overall shape and then consider the construction supporting the braking surface.

Thus HUNT’s rim profile is not an intuitive design, it’s quite rounded rather than pointed. However, if it came to a point, similar to the Mavic CXR, that’s roughly the point where the airflows would join. (Simplistic)

Also note the HUNT rim’s widest part is a ‘bulge’ about halfway down its profile. Contrast that to the older Mavic wheel that tapers fairly consistently to the point.

The more rounded profile, along with other aspects of rim design like this bulge, reduces drag.

But how does that translate to performance?

Wind Tunel Tests (HUNT)

You can see from the following charts that, in wind tunnel tests, HUNT 82 WHEELS favourably compare to 80mm wheels from DT Swiss, Enve and Zipp. HUNT is notably better at higher yaw angles and slightly worse with more of a headwind. The second chart shows that 23mm GP5000 are marginally better than 25c on these wheels. The final chart shows that it also makes sense to get the best tubeless tyre as the incremental watt-savings from the rolling resistance of slightly better tyres are better than the aero watt-savings between wheel brands!

It’s also worth highlighting Hunt’s test ride speed…it’s pretty quick at 30mph and at your lower speeds there will be less drag!

Take Out:  Similar performance to notably more expensive wheels. Get Conti GP5000 TL 23mm TL tyres for general training and maybe something special as a treat for race day.

More: HUNT White Paper

More: How wind tunnel measurements can be misrepresented

Wind Stability

There’s very little objective data I could find to measure wind stability. All I could find was TOUR Magazine Issue 4, 2019 (via: intheknowcycling) which rates the 50mm HUNT wheels to have better sidewind stability than Zip 404 Firecrest (58mm) but worse than the thinner Zip 302 (45mm) and worse than the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 5 (50mm). #Shrug.

Intuitively I would expect the major factors of wheel design that influence wind stability to be relative bike speed, wind direction and the area of the face of the wheel, the latter of those two is directly related to the rim depth.

Any subjective feelings I might have about wind stability must also factor in the side profile of my bike frame and body position plus also the bike type. Anyone who has ridden a TT bike will know that it is less stable when you use aerobars.

Well, I only tested the HUNT wheels on my TT bike and, surprise surprise, it felt a bit twitchy! I always have either 50mm or 60mm wheels on that bike so I am very familiar with rimmed wheels in moderately windy conditions up to about 20mph. All that I can say on wind stability with HUNT 82 wheels is that, in winds above 10mph, I felt a little more nervous in a crosswind at 25-30mph than normally. I would still use them up to somewhere around 18mph winds.

Edit: Post-publication I used the 82mm front wheel quite a bit on my R5 road bike. It still is noticeably more twitchy than a 50mm wheel even gripping the bars firmly on drops.

With anything that I might call a headwind (approx +/-45 degrees), I didn’t notice adverse wind stability.

One final thing to consider is that I weigh just over 70kgs. I would imagine that heavier riders could be more stable in the wind.

Take Out: Other things equal, they’re probably as stable in winds as equivalent competitor wheels and significantly less stable than your old alloy climbing wheels. You could probably ride with deeper section wheels in, say 20mph winds, but you’d almost certainly be constantly fighting with the wheel. Sure you wouldn’t fall off, but does that fighting make you more tired and less aero?

Weight

If we assume that weight only makes a difference when going uphill or when accelerating then the only other weight-based complexity is that of a spinning wheel. An extra 500g added to the rim is similar to adding 1kg away from the wheel (1, 2). So rim weight makes a difference but it is still small compared to the effects of drag or rolling resistance.

I’ve got rim brakes and so the braking surface has to be able to handle being squeezed and the heat from braking ie the rim requires a bit of strengthening. But compare HUNT’s total carbon construction to that of the Mavic, above. The Mavic is effectively an old-style alloy rim with a carbon fairing on it. You would have thought that Mavic was heavier as a result but I seem to remember that my Mavics are 1800g (pair), so very similar. Perhaps the extra weight and strength in the alloy mean that the fairing can be super-thin and hence a bit lighter? IDK.

Compare again to wheels for disc brakes. These don’t need the same kind of extra strength in the rim and so can be lighter, at least until the disc is added! Good, aero wheelsets now can be lighter than 1500g (pair) and such a 200-300g saving compared to HUNT 82 will make a difference when going up the Tourmalet but we’re not going to use 82mm aero wheels for that are we? So will it make a difference for your kind of riding?

You are more likely to ride a non-stop 10-mile TT or non-drafting standard triathlon and in those, you typically only accelerate at the start. In a Crit or draft-legal triathlon it might be different as you have multiple, hard accelerations.

Take Out: Weight matters. But for the kind of riding you are planning for the HUNT 82, weight becomes trivialised by the importance of aerodynamics.

Stiffness

Ignoring tyres, a faster wheel is more likely to be stiff in the sense that it won’t twist or change its shape when under load.

Compliance: About 15% of a bike’s vibration can come from the wheel and, in extremis, vibration can cause you physical damage but more likely it can make cycling appear to be harder and increase oxygen consumption by up to 5%.

I tend to ride on fairly bumpy roads. However, when training on a TT bike I try to stick to the smoother roads and with only a few exceptions, roads on race day seem alright. Thus with 85psi in my 23mm tyres, I found the HUNT 82 wheels pleasantly comfortable as the majority of the road ‘noise’ was dealt with by the tyre. Sure periodic bumps in the road were still unpleasant enough but I was happy with the HUNTs in this respect

Stiff Spokes: tend to be less aero costing you a watt or two but might save a watt by twisting less when you lay down the power.

When I look at spokes I tend to want aero spokes for my TT wheels but circular (carbon) spokes for my climbing wheels. The theory is that circular spokes are much more resistant to lateral forces like when standing on the pedals whereas aero spokes just sound like they ought to be faster on a straight, flat road! Anecdotally my lightweight MAVIC SLR wheels give me Strava Segment PBs on hills but are not aero and hence relatively slow on the flat. NovemberBicycles found aero spokes to save 1watt of drag but didn’t account for losses of energy from deforming wheels.

Take Out: HUNT 82 wheels are aero and lack a degree of stiffness and hence are suited to TT-style riding. In my local park, there are a couple of 1-minute hills that top out at 12/13% every 10-minutes or so, and for those 1-minute hills, I’d rather have different wheels…that said, for the other 9 minutes the HUNTs win hands-down 😉

Braking

My rear Mavic tubular wheel is slightly out of true and the Magura hydraulic (rim) brakes are not self-adjusting and can feel spongy with a bit of play after lots of braking.

The Brakco Griptec brake track and pads were definitely superior in the dry to the Mavic carbon pads I’d previously used on the P5 with Mavic carbon tubs.

Recently I’ve been using Exalith on the front and carbon on the rear. The Exalith pads and ridged surface are awesome (non-carbon)

Take Out: Better braking than I expected for TT-style riding with a carbon braking surface. I’ve not used the wheelset in the wet.

Versatility & Specificity

These wheels have limited versatility and are performance-focused wheels.

You would definitely use them on race day on a TT bike and for specific training on such a bike as well.

On your road bike, you might consider them for faster training sessions but I wouldn’t use them for riding in the hills. That 82mm front rim is also more likely to cause you issues on windy days.

If you are looking for a more versatile deep-rimmed wheel then I would go for something like the HUNT 52 which will be OK in almost all weather conditions. However, even with a 52mm wheel, you might regret the choice on hillier rides. A 52mm wheel is probably a tad faster over a hillier course it’s just that you’ll be trialling your mates on the uphill bits and your pride might take a tumble as a result.

These wheels love smooth roads but with wider tyres, you’ll be fine on bumpier roads too.

Take out: If all you ever do is train hard on windless days and race hard then buy these! The reality is that these can’t be anyone’s only wheelset.

Responsiveness

The HUNT 82 don’t feel super-responsive when accelerating. To me, they felt slightly heavier than they should do. That said, my times/speeds told me otherwise.

They have more than handled a few relatively minor road bumps and retained the trueness

Cornering: Although my TT times are probably better than average I wouldn’t kid myself that my bike handling speeds allow me to corner quickly, especially on a TT bike. Thus take my statement that ‘cornering abilities were fine‘ with a pinch of salt.

Noise

Noise signals wasted energy. However, it’s super-trivial.

The really important noise-related factor is how good the wheels sound on the road. And they sound good ;-). They sound even better when you go past someone.

Durability

Well, I can only say they are durable enough to last at least 2 months at this stage!

However, bear in mind that other brands’ super light carbon wheels are more prone to crack whereas more durable ones will make them heavier. At 1770g a set these HUNT wheels seem sensibly light rather than overly light and fragile. Either way, HUNT gives a good guarantee.

Hunt Comparison Tests

This video is worth a look at comparing other Hunt wheels to those that are cheaper and those that are much more expensive. the conclusion is that you want to spend around about £1000 on a wheelset but if you area racer looking for tiny marginal gains then some of the expensive ones are for you.

HUNT 82 Carbon Aerodynamicist Wheelset – Detailed Specifications & Contents

This is what you get

In the box, HUNT 82 Carbon Aerodynamicist Wheelset

• Both Wheels with HUNT Black Shield tubeless tape fitted
• A pair of quick-release skewers
• 2 sets of Brakco Griptec carbon brake pads
• Spacer for 8/9/10 speed cassettes
• Spare spokes and nipples

HUNT 82 Carbon Aerodynamicist Wheelset – Detailed Specifications

Here are the specs for each part of the wheelset

Rim Spec

Spokes Spec

• Pillar Wing 20, Aerofoil profile
• 16 spokes front & 21 rear
• Aero Butted 2.0-2.2/0.95-2.0 then PSR section is 2.2
• Straight pull type
• Cold-drawn from high-grade T302 (18/10) stainless steel wire by Sandvik Sweden
• Black stainless treatment

front Hub Spec

Rear Hub spec

Bearing Spec

• CeramicSpeed hybrid ceramic bearings.
• Claimed life of 3 to 5 times longer than other ceramic bearings, and 10 times longer than standard steel bearings.
• Highest quality Grade 3 Silicon Nitride, featuring the highest achievable surface finish and roundness. 15% harder, take 99% higher loads and are more than 100% smoother than other ceramic balls typically seen in the market.
• 6-year warranty

Tyre Spec

Summary

I like the HUNT 82 wheelset. They have given me some of my fastest-ever times…aided by other good bits of kit.

I would class them as a good value performance wheelset and ones that are notably faster than the budget 50mm wheels I’ve used in the past, indeed they perform very similarly to high-end wheels that are 50% more expensive, at least that’s what the specs suggest. They hit the performance/price sweet spot for me.

They also ride well on flat and undulating roads but I’m less keen on them on hillier sections

My initial regret was that I didn’t have an even deeper front rim. In hindsight, I’m unsure I’d be comfortable on anything deeper at the front except in rare, windless conditions. So I probably did make the right call with 82mm for my kind of riding. That said I would gladly pop on a rear disc at the drop of a hat and that would probably offer further time gains.

Another regret is that I haven’t yet put on some race-day tubeless tyres. They will be an even faster option but one that I can switch to as and when I need them (See GPLAMA video below).

Edit: These wheels are not uber stable in strongish crosswinds, and less stable than the 50mm ones I have. With 50mm I can ride in most conditions but these 82 mm wheels are TOO TWITCHY for all conditions. Do NOT get them as your only set of wheels.

Be mindful of tyre choice though. Whilst HUNT’s tests show that 23mm GP5000 are faster than 25mm ones, you might want something a little more comfortable for longer rides on bumpier roads.

Price when reviewed: £1,199 (set, excl tyres) direct from Huntbikewheels.com