The 5 Best Budget Road Bike Wheels for Rim & Disc Brakes

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In this roundup, you will find the best budget road bike wheels. It includes wheelsets for around $500 (if you have a larger budget, check out these road bike wheels for up to $1000), wheels for rim and disc brakes, alloy, and even carbon wheels.

You will also learn how to choose the right wheelset for your riding style and the area you live in.

What Are the Best Budget Road Bike Wheels?

Best Carbon Wheels

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Best Aluminum Wheels

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Also available at jensonusa.com

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Best for Disc Brakes

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Skip to the comparison table…

The best budget road bike wheels offer a balance between durability, stiffness, and weight. They will last you for years, support heavier riders, and weigh 1400 to 1700g.

To learn how to choose budget road bike wheels, visit the buyer’s guide section.

Superteam Road Bike Wheels (Best Budget Carbon Wheels)

The Superteam wheels are the best budget-friendly carbon wheels available, and they are ideal for those looking to try carbon wheels without breaking the bank. With a rim profile of 50mm, they suit both flat and hilly terrain, offering UCI-approved and non-UCI-approved options with minor differences.

The non-UCI-approved version features colored decals weighs approximately 70g less and boasts a narrower rim width of 23mm. Riders mainly highlight their excellent value, sturdiness, and smooth rolling, thanks to their Powerway hubs.

However, it’s important to note that these wheels aren’t tubeless-ready and only work with Shimano or SRAM cassettes, excluding Campagnolo-compatible hubs. One drawback of Superteam is its poor customer support and underperforming brake pads.

Superteam carbon wheels come with a two-year warranty, as well as skewers, brake pads, rim tape, extra spokes, and nipples.

TIP: Check out this Superteam wheels review to learn more about them and their wheels.

Shimano Ultegra WH-RS500

Shimano is a top manufacturer of groupsets, and its wheels are among the best on the market. The Ultegra WH-RS500, released in 2019, are excellent aluminum wheels for climbers and riders who want durable, high-quality wheels.

Thanks to their well-designed construction, these wheels not only look great, but they will also last for years with minimal maintenance. They are also tubeless compatible, so you can use them with tubeless tires and keep up with the latest trends.

Considering their price and the positive reviews from riders who have used them for thousands of miles, it’s hard to find better wheels than these.

Also available at jensonusa.com

Don’t mind spending a little bit more? Check out these road bike wheels for under $1000.

HUNT 4 Season Disc

HUNT, established in the UK in 2015, is gaining popularity due to its direct-to-consumer model. This allows them to offer quality products at competitive prices. One of their most popular models is the Hunt 4 Season Disc wheelset. It’s affordable, versatile, and durable.

This wheelset is compatible with tubeless tires and is also used on gravel bikes. It can fit up to 45mm tires and is durable. The extended warranty, 60-day ride, return policy, and crash replacement program are nice bonuses.

Another noteworthy feature is the reflective decals, which improve visibility and safety in low-light conditions. The main drawback of this wheelset is its weight limit of 100kg (220lb). The wheels include tape, valves, spare spokes, and axle adapters.

You might also be interested in my roundup of the best road bike wheelsets.

ICAN 50mm Clincher Road Bike Wheels

The ICAN clincher wheelset is surprisingly light for its affordable price. Its 50mm profile also makes it quite aerodynamic, making it a great choice for flat or hilly terrain.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive carbon wheelset, I highly recommend this one. ICAN is a reputable brand with extensive experience in carbon manufacturing.

When ordering from ICAN’s website, you can select a freehub body compatible with either Shimano/SRAM or Campagnolo cassettes.

You can also choose between Sapim CX-Ray spokes (for weight-conscious riders) or Aero CN 494 spokes (for those who prioritize speed and aerodynamics).

The biggest downside to this wheelset is that it is not tubeless-ready. However, it comes with quick releases, brake pads, and rim tape.

Also available at amazon.com

My Verdict

How to Choose the Best Budget Road Bike Wheels?

This budget road bike wheel buyer’s guide will help you decide which wheelset for around $500 to buy.

I’ll cover the different types of wheels, their features, and other factors to consider before purchasing.

Wheels for Disc or Rim Brakes

The first decision you’ll need to make is whether you want a wheelset for the rim or disc brakes. Nowadays, most road bikes use disc brakes as they offer superior stopping power. (Source)

Rim brake wheels typically use a quick-release mechanism, while disc brake wheels require a through-axle (also known as a thru-axle) for proper installation.

Check out your bike’s manual or measure the thru-axle with a caliper and meter to find out your thru-axle.

Clincher vs. Tubular vs. Tubeless

Wheels exist in three basic types.

1. Clincher
2. Tubular
3. Clincher (tubeless-ready)

Budget road bike wheels (around $500) are almost always clinchers, sometimes clincher tubeless-ready.

I summarized their advantages and disadvantages in the following table.

Clincher

Clincher wheels are the most common type. They use a rubber or latex inner tube to support the tire in the rim bed.

Clincher wheels are easy to maintain because you can easily replace the inner tube when you get a puncture.

Road bike tires for clincher wheels are also cheaper than tubular or tubeless tires. However, they are heavier than tubular wheels, and you cannot inflate them to as low pressures as tubular or clincher tubeless tires.

Tubular

Tubular tires have no inner tube inside. They are glued onto the rims and inflated directly. They are popular among pro riders, but few hobby cyclists use them.

Tubular wheels allow you to inflate lower pressures, which provides better riding comfort and puncture resistance. They are also lighter than clincher wheels because they don’t have a rim sidewall.

The main downside of tubular wheels is that replacing the tire is more complicated and messy than replacing a clincher tire or inner tube.

Tubeless

Tubeless tires are becoming increasingly popular (feel free to check out the best ones here). They do not use an inner tube like standard clinchers.

Instead, they use a tubeless tire that ensures the air won’t leak when the rims are tubeless-ready.

They are also filled with a sealant that seals any possible gaps and fills out small holes that may occur after a puncture.

Tubeless tires are lower-pressure friendly, which makes them more comfortable and less prone to puncture. However, they are more expensive than standard clincher tires.

Rim Depth

The shape and depth of a wheel’s rim can greatly affect its aerodynamics.

Generally, deeper rims are more aerodynamic and faster. However, other factors, such as spoke shape and wind direction, can also impact the wheel’s aerodynamics.

Climbers often prefer shallower rims due to their lower weight. A rim depth of around 45mm is a good compromise for most riders.

If you’re interested in learning more about wheel aerodynamics, check out this informative video by Hambini. I’ve included a time stamp so you don’t have to watch the whole thing.

You can also read my article to learn the pros and cons of carbon vs. aluminum wheels.

Rim Width

The rim width also affects, among other things, how wide the tires you can fit on the bike and the tire-rim transition (aerodynamics).

In general, wider tires with large air volume are more comfortable. Previously, narrow tires (19mm or 20mm) were used on the road. However, studies have shown that wider rims and tires (25 and 28mm) are faster, more comfortable, and more efficient. From about 2023 onwards, it started to become trendy to ride 30 to 32-mm tires and, therefore, wider rims.

I can’t get enough of the transition from 25mm to 28mm. In the future, I want to try 32mm and see their effect on comfort and speed. Greater ride comfort with wider tires is mainly due to more air volume and lower pressures. Remember that a more pressurized tire does not necessarily mean lower rolling resistance! This is a widespread myth. You can learn more about the benefits of wider tires here. I also recommend the Silca tire pressure calculator to determine the ideal pressure.

Weight

Good-budget road bike wheels (e.g., wheels around $500) should weigh between 1450g and 1700g.

Check out my research on road bike wheel weights, where I gathered data from more than 400 wheelsets.

Remember that a lower weight doesn’t always mean a better choice. You should sacrifice a few grams for better stiffness and rigidity if you are a heavier rider.

Additionally, lightweight wheels can’t maintain their momentum on flats and rolling terrain, and heavier wheels can’t. So, choose wheels based on the terrain you ride in most often.

Cassette Compatibility

Make sure your cassette is compatible to avoid the unpleasant surprise that it doesn’t fit the freehub body of your new wheelset.

Shimano and SRAM cassettes are interchangeable. But if you plan to use a Campagnolo groupset, you have to opt for a Campagnolo-compatible hub.

Other Features to Consider

If you’re a heavier rider, make sure to choose a wheelset with an appropriate weight limit.

Budget wheels often come with heavier, lower-end hubs and cheaper bearings, so it’s important to consider whether the quality of the hubs is important to you.

Finally, be sure to check what’s included in the package; carbon wheels often come with extras like rim tape, valve extenders, brake pads, and extra spokes.

Budget Road Bike Wheels FAQ

This post is regularly updated to provide the most up-to-date product tips. If you find a product that is not up to date, please contact me.