Parcours Strade wheelset review
The Parcours Strade wheels may have been around for a few years now, but they still offer incredible performance for the money, explains Jack Sexty in his review...
The Parcours Strade is the British brands’ flagship all-round aero wheelset, with rim depths of 49.2mm at the front and 54mm at the rear.
Developed in-house with the help of experts at Nottingham Trent University and plenty of wind tunnel time, Parcours boldly claims the Strade is “quite simply the fastest mid-depth disc brake wheel”, optimised for wider tyres and also tough enough to withstand plenty of year-round abuse.
Does the Strade back up those claims and make it onto our list of the best triathlon wheels? It’s time to find out…
Design and setup
The Strade wheels have a 22.5mm internal rim width and are said to work best with 28mm tyres, which is what I used for my test rides.
A hooked rim means you can go down to 25mm tyres, so you still have a wide choice of tyre options if, say, you suffer a bad puncture somewhere unfamiliar and need to make an emergency tyre change.
My tyres went onto the rims very easily with no fighting or extreme tightness, and I pumped them up to 80psi for my test rides.
As is becoming standard nowadays, Parcours supplies rim tape already affixed to the rims and a pair of tubeless valves, plus lockrings that need tightening and loosening with a BBT-9 bottom bracket tool.
The wheels are laced with Sapim CX-Ray spokes, 24 at the front and rear in a two-cross formation, a well-renowned and high-quality choice at this price point.
The total weight for the pair is 1,520g, not the lightest on the market but very competitive and again, decent for the money.
Customisation
Parcours goes the extra mile with its options for customisation, offering custom graphics and coloured hubs from an extra £75 ($100) and £50 ($70) respectively.
You can upgrade your Strade wheels with Parcours’ ceramic bearings for an extra £220 ($290), though that’s a luxury that most won’t want or need when buying wheels at this price point.
Parcours now also works with Classified, who make the nifty Powershift hub system that gives you access to extra lower gears within the hub body, great for triathletes who prefer to run 1x for simplicity and small aero gains.
You can simply choose the Powershift hub option at checkout when buying Parcours’ Strade wheels online if you’re a recent convert.
Ride performance
To ride, the Strade wheels have a great balance between speed, smoothness and stiffness.
They’re very responsive when laying the power down, but when freewheeling or coasting at speed they feel luxury, and far more so than the price would suggest.
There’s none of the industrial feeling I sometimes sense with lower-priced carbon wheels, just higher average speeds and hardly any compromises when it comes to stability and handling in crosswinds.
They’re very stiff too, with little to no flex evident when taking on sub-standard British country lanes at speed.
The bottom line
The Strade wheels have been around for some time now, but in my opinion there’s still little out there that is this good when taking performance and that all-important value for money factor into the equation.
They’re quick, very responsive and just a joy to ride, and would make a great set of fast all-round wheels for your triathlon bike or road bike.
220 Triathlon verdict
Fast, buttery smooth performance at a great price. Score: 91%
Pros
- Incredible value for money
- Great balance of speed, smoothness and stiffness
- Customisation options
Cons
- Been around for a while
Parcours Strade wheelset specs
| Price: | £1,099 / $1,449 |
| Available from: | Parcours |
| Spokes: | 24 Sapim CX-Ray spokes |
| Rim depth: | 49mm front, 54mm rear |
| Internal rim width: | 22.5mm |
| Tyre type: | Tubeless (recommended) or clincher |
| Weight: | 1,520g |
Jack Sexty
Editor at road.cc 
