We got a tiny tease of Hunt’s latest aerodynamic road bike wheels over the summer, but now the new 48 & 60 Limitless UD wheels are here, combining mid-depth aero rim profiles with light & stiff carbon fiber spokes. Hunt’s widest and fastest aero road wheels are even quicker now, plus the dropped 71-118g.
Hunt 48 & 60 Limitless Aero UD Carbon Spoke wheels
It’s not a big surprise to see Hunt combining the most popular and versatile 48mm and 60mm deep Limitless Aerodynamicist tubeless-ready road rim profiles with the UD Carbon Spoke tech. Their low-profile 32mm Aerodynamicist rim already got the carbon spoke upgrade earlier this year to come in at just 1213g for the set.
Now, the deeper wider Limitless rims get lighter, stiffer & faster too!
What’s new?
Carbon spokes of course. The wide Limitless carbon rims were already known for low aero drag and crosswind stability. Now Hunt Taper Lock unidirectional carbon spokes shed weight and boost wheel stiffness for improved responsiveness, while retaining conventional spoke serviceability.
Are they more aero?
Hunt tested the new 48/60 LAD UD wheels against the original 48/60 LAD wheels with aero steel spokes to see how they stack up – and against industry-leading competitors’ wheels. Even though on its own one UD carbon spoke is slightly less aerodynamic than one bladed stainless steel spoke, Hunt says the wind tunnel data shows that the overall performance is effectively unchanged.
“Compared to their steel spoke counterparts, both the 48 and 60 Limitless UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheelsets perform very similarly (within the margin of error for standardised wind tunnel testing), suggesting there is no material aerodynamic penalty associated with the bladed UD Carbon Spokes.”
Tech Details
The new Limitless Aero UD Carbon Spoke Disc wheels (Hunt shortens that, somewhat out of order, to LAD UD for simplicity) come in two versions – both optimized aerodynamically for 28mm road tires with extra wide outside Limitless rims that mix a low-density polymer in with the carbon to keep total rim weights low.
The 48 LAD UD wheels features a 48mm deep, 35mm wide external, 22.5mm hooked internal width rim laced with 18 front & 20 rear UD carbon fiber spokes (just 2.7g per spoke). Complete Hunt 48 LAD UD wheelsets weigh a claimed 1511g.
The 60 LAD UD wheels feature a 60mm deep, 34mm wide external, 21mm hooked internal width rim laced with 18 front & 20 rear UD carbon fiber spokes. Complete Hunt 60 LAD UD wheelsets weigh a claimed 1551g.
Both wheelsets feature the same 12mm thru-axle, 7075 alloy Hunt Sprint SLC 7.5° engagement multi-point pawl hub with a centerlock disc brake interface and premium Japanese steel EZO bearings standard. CeramicSpeed ceramic bearings are available as an upgrade. Freehubs are available for Shimano, SRAM & Campagnolo.
Hunt 48 & 60 LAD UD – Pricing, options & availability
The new Hunt 48 & 60 Limitless Aerodynamicist UD Carbon Spoke wheels are available to pre-order now direct from Hunt. The 48 LAD UD wheels with steel bearings are shipping already today for £1449 / $1669 / 1889€.
And the 60 LAD UD wheels with steel bearings will ship from next week for £1499 / $1729 / 1949€.
Ceramic bearing upgrades will add a £350 / $350 / €450 premium and push delivery back to the last week of March 2023 in Europe or mid-April in the USA.
