Hunt Enters the Super-Wheel Segment with Its New SUB50 Limitless
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Hunt has steadily built a solid reputation over the last several years by providing riders with a strong performance per dollar proposition. Its carbon wheels often feature well-thought-out designs that test well in the wind tunnel and ride well on the road. But unlike some high-end peers, Hunt’s prices (usually) don’t break the bank.
Now, Hunt set is aiming higher, both in performance and price. From looking through the SUB50 Limitless specifications, it is clear that Hunt wants to play in the premium wheel space. And to some extent, the wheels’ price matches those aspirations.
HUNT SUB50 Limitless UD Carbon Spoke Disc Wheelset
huntbikewheels.com
$2279.00
The new SUB50 wheelset is built around asymmetrical front- and rear-specific rims. As the SUB50 name suggests, the depth is a tad shy of 50mm, with both rims coming in at 49.5mm deep. The rear rim is 30mm at its widest point, while the front is even wider at 34mm.
Both front and rear rims are 23 mm internal width and adhere to the latest 2023 ETRTO standard for hookless rims. This means the wheels are safe to use with 28mm tubeless tires.
Hunt offers the SUB50 wheels with your choice of steel spokes or the brand’s TaperLock UD carbon fiber spokes, which Hunt has used on its more premium wheels for a few years. Hunt’s new hub set—using a 40T double ratchet—is at the center of the wheels. The new H_Ratchet DBL hubs drop a bit of weight while aiming to maintain reliability.
The total weight of the wheels varies depending on whether you go with carbon or traditional steel spokes. The claimed weight for the steel spoke version is 1,428 grams. The carbon spoke version is much more impressive at 1,378 grams for the pair. On the scales at Bicycling HQ, the carbon spoke test sample I received weighed 1,399 grams (with tubeless tape and valves installed).
Diggin Into the Aerodynamic Data
The headline aero news of the new SUB50 is that the wheels are aero-optimized for both 28- and 30-mm tires. It’s the first aero road wheel optimized around the larger 30mm tire width. With Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates racing most of their road season on 28mm labeled tires that measured 31mm wide on the team sponsor Enve’s wheels, it’s perhaps too early to say that a 30mm tire is the new 28mm tire, but it would not surprise me if we end up there in a short time. So, depending on how you see it, the SUB50s are on trend or slightly ahead of it.
Hunt’s main aerodynamic claim is that the SUB50s are the fastest wheels tested (up to and including 50mm depth) when averaging the wind tunnel results of both the 28mm and 30mm tire labeled tires. The SUB50 offered a 1.33-watt drag savings at 28mph in this format. Tested with just the 30mm tire, the SUB50 was the fastest 50mm deep wheel with a 1.85-watt drag savings.
I give Hunt kudos for providing specifics on this testing when asked. Ken Rodriguez-Clisham, Hunt’s brand manager for North America, said, “The SUB50 was tested against Hunt’s own 48 Limitless Aero Disc, Roval Rapide CLX II, Enve 4.5 SES, Zipp 454 NSW, Princeton Peak 4550, Zipp 303 S, Shimano Dura-Ace C50. Each wheelset was fitted with the same tire, Schwalbe Pro One, in a 28 and 30mm ‘labeled’ size.”
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the new SUB50 tested faster than Hunt’s previous 48 Limitless wheels by 1.4 watts. But impressively, this watt savings was achieved with the SUB50 using a 30mm tire while the 48 Limitless used 28mm rubber. Although compared to itself, the SUB50 is still 0.92 watts faster with a 28mm tire compared to the 30mm.
Hunt provided me with the actual test data behind these claims. And while Hunt’s claims are technically true, the numbers are certainly a little massaged. The data works with Hunt’s claims because technically, the Roval and Enve wheels are deeper than 50mm—this makes the SUB50 the quickest in the test “up to and including 50mm.”
The test data shows that the Roval Rapide CLX II and Enve’s SES 4.5 wheels tested faster with 28- and 30-mm tires than the SUB50. The Rapides were 0.9 watts quicker with a 28mm tire, while the 4.5 SES were just 0.15 watts ahead of the SUB50 with the same tires. With 30mm tires mounted, the Rapides were still about 1 watt faster, while the Enves got a little bit quicker and now sat 0.52 watts ahead of the SUB50.
It seems that Hunt is banking on the SUB50’s being impressively light compared to the wheels that outperformed them in the wind tunnel. The SUB50 is the only wheelset in the bunch with a claimed weight below 1,400 grams and is quite a bit lighter than the Rapides, which are 1,520 grams. The combination of low weight and solid aerodynamics (although not pack-leading) is certainly appealing for riders looking for a do-it-all racing wheelset.
As a journalist, I appreciate Hunt’s openness in sharing its test data—Many brands won’t provide such specifics. But I also found the wheelset’s performance impressive, especially when factoring in the SUB50’s low weight.
One final note when looking at this kind of test data: While it makes sense to standardize the tires used across every wheelset, different wheel and tire combinations can have dramatic outcomes on the results. So, while we know how these wheels perform with Schwalbe tires, running the test with a Continental GP5000 S TRs or Vittoria Corsa Pros might produce entirely different results. In other words, comprehensive aero testing is difficult and time-consuming and usually raises as many questions as it provides answers.
Ride Impressions and Hands-On with the Wheels
Carbon spokes make for a much stiffer and more responsive riding wheel than a similar wheel with steel spokes. Just like wheels with steel spokes, there will be some variation between wheels depending on the number of spokes, lacing pattern, and the specific spoke used.
With that said, if you slap a sub-1,400 gram aero wheelset with carbon spokes onto a bicycle, you feel the difference from the first pedal stroke. The SUB50s make a dramatic difference on any bike. It’s a big enough change that any rider used to a similar depth, steel-spoke wheel will feel it immediately.
It’s not just the SUB50’s stiffness you feel—the wheels are also very lightweight for their depth. Very few 50mm wheels feel like climbing wheels. The SUB50s are absolutely in this fun club of super wheels.
However, like other wheels with carbon spokes, the SUB50s feel much stiffer than steel-spoke wheels. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it is worth remembering if you prioritize comfort. The upshot of the added stiffness and low weight is that the SUB50's feel amazing uphill.
While it’s difficult to quantify a wheel’s aerodynamics accurately, I’ve ridden enough wheels to know when one feels fast—the SUB50 does. And perhaps more importantly, the SUB50 feels incredibly sure-footed at speed. Even on a ride with gusty winter winds, the SUB50 never felt grabby or particularly affected by the wind. It was a pleasant surprise for wheels almost 50 mm deep.
Hunt’s new ratchet road hubs are also worth some attention. Riders who prefer quieter freehubs will be pleased with the new hubs. But if you prefer a loud and buzzy hub, you might miss the previous hubs’ pawls.
The ratchet inside the new hub will look familiar to riders who have opened up DT Swiss hubs. And like DT Swiss, the Hunt hubs can be disassembled without tools. Unfortunately, Hunt’s hubs are not cross-compatible with DT Swiss parts. But Hunt has excellent rider support—spare parts and freehubs are easily sourced directly from the brand.
The hubs also feature a clever design element that might not result in any performance gain but is a quality-of-life improvement. If you’ve ever pulled apart a DT Swiss hub, the first time you did both ratchets and some springs likely went flying. To solve this problem, Hunt put the ratchets and the spring on a small carrier that holds all three together as a single unit. It’s a small detail that many riders might not even notice. But it will be appreciated by your bike mechanic when the time comes to service the wheels.
Prices, Competition, and Conclusions
Hunt offers two versions of the SUB50. First is the steel spoke version; it retails for $1,850 and weighs 1,428 grams. Then there is the SUB50 with carbon spokes priced at $2,280 with stainless steel bearings (or $2,790 with a CeramicSpeed bearing upgrade).
Both wheels are available with Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, and Campagnolo N3W freehubs. Hunt is accepting pre-orders on the wheels with stainless steel bearing options for shipment at the end of February. The CeramicSpeed upgrade wheels are expected in mid-April.
There are increasingly more carbon spoke wheel options on the market, and it seems likely that the segment will continue expanding. The SUB50’s most direct competition is the Cadex 50 Ultra wheels. The 50 Ultras are slightly lighter at 1,365 grams, although the weight difference isn’t earth-shattering. The Cadex wheels, however, are quite a bit more money at $3,500 for a pair.
The Syncros Capital SL Aero is another carbon spoke wheel competitor. They are a very light 1,300 grams (claimed) and might even be a bit more aero at 60mm deep. But the Syncros wheels’ $4,200 price tag is nearly double the SUB50’s cost. If you open up your search to traditional spoke wheels, Roval’s Rapide CLX II is heavier and more expensive, as is Enve’s 4.5 SES.
The best alternative I found to the SUB50 in weight and price is the FarSports EVO6 wheelset. It also uses carbon spokes, which are a bit wider and flatter (similar to the aero spoke used by Cadex on the 50 Ultra). With 56mm deep rims and a claimed weight of 1,370 grams, they initially seem appealing at $1,900.
The FarSports are, on paper, a good deal—but the devil is in the details. The EVO6 is a much narrower wheel, with a 26mm external width and a very narrow 19mm internal dimension. The SUB50 is a few hundred dollars more and 10 grams heavier, but they are decidedly modern wheels designed around being fastest with a 28 or 30-mm tire.
Riders decide what constitutes good value for their money, but Hunt hits impressive numbers for both price and weight with the SUB50s while staying aerodynamically competitive with the road market’s premium wheels. At $2,280, I cannot say the SUB50 wheelset is “cheap,” but when comparable alternatives cost over $1,000 more, the Hunts provide good value for the price. It doesn’t make the SUB50 more affordable, but its performance-to-dollar ratio is quite good.
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