When the Astral Luna wheelset launched, I called them a perfect all-rounder road wheelset that would deliver years of drama-free performance, and that about sums up my time with these wheels.
Quick background: Astral is the rim brand sister company of White Industries, and these come with your choice of several White Industries hubs. And they’re built in Eugene, Oregon, and the hubs are made in the USA while the carbon rims are made for them elsewhere (Astral is making their own alloy rims in house, but not carbon yet).
The Luna wheels range from $1,899 to $2,099 for the pair depending on whether you choose the base Approach hubs or White’s CLD hubs. Functionally they’re the same, but the CLD hubs get titanium freehub bodies and a bit more machining to save weight. They also have slightly lighter Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes, making the CLD wheelset 80g lighter.
I tested the CLD version, but the rims are the same (~420g, 40mm deep), so overall ride quality should be about the same.
Actual Weights, Widths & Details
With tubeless rim tape installed, the wheels weighed 681g (front) and 857g (rear) for a total of 1,538g. Claimed weight is 1520g, so the tape likely makes up the difference. The included valve stems are 16g.
Claimed rim dimensions are 25mm internal and 31mm external, and these measured very close to that.
The rims have a semi-gloss finish with UD fibers. It’s not matte, and it’s not glossy, which should match up with a lot of unpainted carbon frames out there. And it blends in with painted frames, too. Astral showed it on steel road bikes for the launch, and unlike some racier-looking carbon rims, these seem to look right at home whether on a carbon or metal bike.
They don’t make any specific aerodynamic claims, but it’s a generally aero shape that worked well in my testing.
They use mini-hooks rather than go hookless. A broad bead shelf with minimal hump made tires easy to seat and setup tubeless, but getting the tires initially on was a bit tight.
I tried two different brands of tire throughout my test period and it was the same for both, so it wasn’t the tires…but, once the tires were on there, they popped into place quickly and easily and held air well. I didn’t need to remove them during riding (to fix a flat or insert a tube), but if you typically struggle to mount tires, it could be an issue.
The hubs are all Center Lock with Enduro stainless steel bearings, alloy bodies, and steel axles. Both versions uses bladed Sapim spokes, and the CLD model simply uses higher end versions of them.
As one would expect from White Industries, the hubs are fantastic. It’s hard to put into words other than to say White’s hubs are some of the smoothest rolling hubs I’ve ever ridden.
The only limitation on the Astral wheels is that you can choose black, or black. If you want White’s more colorfully anodized hubs, you’ll have to build up a set of hoops on your own.
Ride Review
The thing that stands out about the Astral Luna wheels is… nothing. And I say that with the biggest of compliments.
In fact, I talked to Alec White about this during testing because I was struggling to come up with any superlatives, and we agreed that there are a lot of great wheels out there now. And these are great, too.
So while they’re not the lightest, or stiffest, or most affordable (nor most expensive), there were a few things I liked about them that might appeal to you, too:
- The freehub isn’t too loud, but also not silent, hitting that sweet spot of coasting noise.
- They roll ultra smooth thanks to White’s excellent hub design.
- They look great on just about any bike.
- They’re optimized for 28-32mm tires but can handle up to 52mm.
Importantly, there’s nothing I disliked about them. They’re a great wheelset that’s versatile, smooth, and is backed by a solid company with a history of making great products. And the price is fair, IMO, especially considering you get White Industry hubs as part of the package.
If that sort of “really good without screaming it” thing appeals to you, the Astral Luna should be on your list.
