The 6 Best Lightweight & Aero Road Bike Wheels Under $1000 for Disc & Rim Brakes

Cyclists Hub is supported by its readers. We may receive a commission if you buy products using our links.
All content on Cyclists Hub is written by humans, not robots. Learn More

These are the best road bike wheels for under $1000, including lightweight and aero wheelsets for rim and disc brakes. I chose them based on my experience and the experience of others around the world.

If this will be your first wheelset upgrade, take advantage of my buyer’s guide.

What Are the Best Road Bike Wheels Under $1000?

Best Budget

Use this Wheelsfar (Farsports) discount code CYCLISTSHUB50 at www.wheelsfar.com during checkout to get 50 USD OFF your purchase. Share this code via email.

CHECK PRICE

Read More

Best Overall and Most Lightweight

Use this Elitewheels discount code CYCLISTSHUB at elite-wheels.com on the checkout page to get 15% OFF your purchase. Share this code via email.

CHECK PRICE

Also available for rim brakes

Read More

Best Aero

Use this Winspace discount code CYCLISTSHUB10 at winspace.cc or lunwheels.cc during checkout to get 10% OFF your purchase. Share this code via email.

CHECK PRICE

Also available for rim brakes

Read More

Skip to the comparison table…

The best road bike wheels under $1000 are mostly carbon, but you will also find high-quality, lightweight aluminum wheels at this price point. Depending on your riding style, choose shallow or deeper rims to maximize their performance benefits.

To learn more about choosing road bike wheels under $1000, check out the buyer’s guide section.

Elitewheels DRIVE (Best Road Bike Wheels Under $1000 Overall)

Responsive, lightweight, and crosswinds-stable wheels for a surprisingly low price…

My DRIVE wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind Stability 5/5 | Stiffness 5/5 | Riding Comfort 3/5 | Speed Maintenance 4/5 | Tire On 3/5 | Trueness 4/5 | Spoke Tension 4/5 | Dishing 5/5 | Price 3/5 | OVERALL 4.0/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

If you’re looking for lightweight, responsive, and affordable road bike wheels, the Elitewheels DRIVE are worth considering. These are my go-to climbing wheels I used in the Dolomites.

Fun fact: Their disc brake option is lighter than the rim brake option!

I tested the 45mm version, which has since been discontinued to simplify their lineup. You can now choose from 40mm, 50mm, or 65mm options. The 50mm disc brake version weighs only 1300g (1315g for the rim brake version), making them extremely agile and responsive, perfect for punchers, climbers, or crit racers. They feel like sports cars. (I am guessing here because I’ve never ridden one.)

DRIVE wheels come with in-house-designed hubs, carbon spokes, and ceramic bearings. You’ll appreciate their unique raw-carbon finish if you like to stand out.

Another thing I like about them is the wider external rim width of 28mm, making them more suitable for the increasingly popular 28 and 30-mm tires.

I find them stable in crosswinds, almost as stable as the heavier YOELEO SAT PRO (2022). However, they don’t maintain speed as well due to their lower inertia, so they’re not the best choice for time trials, steady efforts, or flat roads. Moreover, the quality of their bearings is questionable because mine stopped rolling smoothly after 3000 km. Some people suggest cleaning the factory grease and adding a new one. I am about to try this tip. I will update this section once I know the results.

They come with pre-installed tubeless rim tape to save you some time installing it, valves, and spare spokes.

They are a little above the $1000 mark, but with my ‘CYCLISTSHUB’ discount code, you get much closer to it.

Farsports Wave (Best Budget)

Stand out from the crowd with the wave-like rim shape – for under 1000 USD…

My Wave wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind Stability 5/5 | Stiffness 3/5 | Riding Comfort 4/5 | Speed Maintenance 5/5 | Tire On 5/5 | Trueness 5/5 | Spoke Tension 4/5 | Dishing 3/5 | Price 4/5 | OVERALL 4.2/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

I had no idea what to expect from Farsports Wave wheels. Due to the wave-like rim pattern, I wondered if I could notice any riding specifics. Theoretically, they should be as fast as 50mm wheels but more stable. I didn’t notice any specifics, but they pleasantly surprised me when I reviewed them.

These wheels are stable in crosswinds, hold their momentum well, and are comfortable. They don’t excel in any of these categories but score high in all of them.

I enjoyed riding them on flats and in rolling terrain. However, I would avoid them for serious climbing due to their higher weight and lower responsiveness than carbon-spoked wheels like Elitewheels DRIVE.

Wave wheels are the sure bet. They have Sapim CX-Ray spokes and widely available DT Swiss 350 (or DT Swiss 240s) hubs, and they are easy to service worldwide. It’s a shame they don’t come with pre-applied tubeless rim tape. I believe tubeless wheels should have the tape installed to save you time and money.

The last feature I want to highlight is the external rim width of 31mm. It ensures a relatively smooth transition between the 28mm tires, contributing to better aerodynamics.

Lún HYPER SE (Best Aero Road Bike Wheels Around $1000)

Wheels that provide the best price-value ratio from Lún offer…

My HYPER SE wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind Stability 4/5 | Stiffness 5/5 | Riding Comfort 3/5 | Speed Maintenance 5/5 | Tire On 5/5 | Trueness 5/5 | Spoke Tension 5/5 | Dishing 4/5 | Price 3/5 | OVERALL 4.3/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

Following the enormous success of the HYPER 2020 wheels, Lún introduced HYPER 2023 and HYPER SE in 2022. The SE 2020 are already discontinued, but these new ones, SE 2023, are slightly lighter, have wider rims, and different F/R wheel depths.

The HYPER SE wheels offer the best features of the HYPERs, such as stiffness, carbon spokes, and unique rim finish, at a more affordable price point. However, they come with steel bearings instead of ceramic ones.

Is this a significant drawback? Not necessarily. Many people doubt the longevity of ceramic bearings, so the HYPER SE wheels may be a better choice for them. But I recommend reading this article examining the pros and cons of steel vs. ceramic bearings if you want to learn more.

You can choose from rim or disc brake options and various rim depths. The original 65mm deep HYPERs are among the fastest wheels on the market, according to independent testing by Hambini Engineering. And the HYPER SE D67 should be even faster.

Since nothing except the hubs has changed, you won’t be able to notice the difference. I’ve tested the HYPER SE 23 D45, and they are fast. I recommend choosing the D67 if you live in a flat area or want TT wheels. The main drawback of these wheels is their worse crosswind stability compared to their alternatives, like Elitewheels DRIVE.

PS: They cost slightly over $1000, but with my 10% discount, you pay just a little extra while getting excellent carbon wheels.

Elitewheels Edge (Best Budget Chinese Carbon Wheels)

Affordable carbon pro wheels with surprisingly low weight and price…

My EDGE wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind stability 4/5 | Stiffness 3/5 | Ride comfort 4/5 | Speed maintenance 3/5 | Tire on 3/5 | Trueness 3/5 | Spoke tension 5/5 | Dishing 4/5 | Price 5/5 | OVERALL 3.8/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

The Elitewheels EDGE are good for beginners or those who want comfortable training wheels at a good price. The price is a big enticement, especially if you buy them on sale, such as during Black Friday, as I did. They often sell for around $500, discounted from up to $1000. However, this is just a marketing trick. Their real price is definitely not that high. Aim for a price below $600 and use discount coupons if available.

Their weight is impressively low. Unfortunately, however, the weight distribution doesn’t have much effect on the response. For example, Elitewheels DRIVE wheels respond much faster. It’s just that they have carbon spokes and lower inertia.

At the same time, EDGE wheels don’t have as good momentum as heavier wheels, so they don’t find them as fast on flats or hilly terrain. However, they have good crosswind stability and are easy to service, thanks to wide-spread Pillar Wing 20 steel spokes and standard hubs.

I can recommend them mainly to beginners, less performance-oriented riders, or those who want light and comfortable bikes. On the other hand, I think you should avoid them if you want fast and stiff bikes for flats, tempo riding, and racing.

You can read my Elitewheels EDGE review for more info.

By the way, I also tested the cheaper Elitewheels ENT. They are too heavy for my taste. You can read about my experience in this review.

YOELEO NxT SL2 (Excellent Price-Value)

Surprisingly capable yet affordable wheels…

My SAT PRO 2022 wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind Stability 4/5 | Stiffness 3/5 | Riding Comfort 4/5 | Speed Maintenance 4/5 | Tire On 4/5 | Trueness 5/5 | Spoke Tension 4/5 | Dishing 5/5 | Price 4/5 | OVERALL 4.1/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

YOELEO produces UCI-approved, quality, easily serviceable, and reasonably priced wheels that you can use in official UCI events. I tested the C50|50 PRO wheels with DT Swiss 350 hubs and the PRO 2022 with YOELEO 230 S hubs. My experience with these wheelsets was that they were almost perfectly true and well-made.

Then, YOELEO introduced NxT and NxT SL2. They lowered the weight and increased the rim width. I’m awaiting the delivery of the NxT SL2 50mm, so the above rating is for the PRO 2022 wheels. However, I expect the NxT SL2 will surpass it. Thanks to an average 200g lower weight, they will feel more lively and accelerate faster.

Unlike many other Chinese manufacturers, YOELEO kept the steel Black Pillar WING 20 Aero spokes. I guess this is because of better serviceability, lower costs, and better riding comfort.

If you are interested, you can watch my review of the previous generation wheels below.

I hope the current YOELEO hubs won’t be as loud as the previous generation. They had the most annoying hub sound I’ve ever heard. Stay tuned; I will update this text once I try these wheels.

Don’t mind spending a little bit more? Check out this selection of the best road bike wheels on the market.

Superteam All-Carbon Ultra 2023

Cool-looking wheels with surprisingly good riding characteristics…

My All-Carbon Ultra wheels scoring at a glance:
Crosswind Stability 4/5 | Stiffness 4/5 | Riding Comfort 5/5 | Speed Maintenance 5/5 | Tire On 5/5 | Trueness 5/5 | Spoke Tension 5/5 | Dishing 5/5 | Price 3/5 | OVERALL 4.6/5
More about this road wheels scoring.

Honestly, I’ve hesitated to include these wheels in this article for a while. Although I was very pleasantly surprised by their handling characteristics, they failed at the least opportune moment – just as I was riding up the Col de la Loze ahead of stage 17 of the 2023 Tour de France.

So what happened? Superteam sent me wheels from one of the first production batches for review. Unfortunately, their QC failed, and after about 800 km, a problem with the rear hub showed up. It was not allowing me to continue riding. You can watch my video review to learn how it all turned out.

I immediately contacted Superteam. They sent me a new rear wheel and parts to replace the old one. I have not experienced any problems since.

I was one of the first to review these wheels. Subsequently, Cam Nichols published his review. He was also impressed with the wheels and did not encounter a similar problem. However, we both agreed on the great ride characteristics and build quality.

All-Carbon Ultras are stiff yet comfortable. I find them fast on flats but responsive in climbs. They are also more stable in crosswinds than HYPERs, for example. They came well-assembled and achieved the highest score possible in my in-house testing… Feel free to read my All-Carbon Ultras review for more info.

Superteam has assured me they have taken every step to ensure the hub issues do not happen again. So far, it seems they kept their promise. Considering the price and ride characteristics, All-Carbon Ultra are wheels you should know about.

My Verdict

How to Choose the Best Road Bike Wheels Under $1000?

In this part, I will guide you through the features you should consider before buying wheels for under $1000 to get the most value for your money. Choose the type of wheels depending on what brakes you use. This will narrow down the available options.

Clincher vs. Tubular vs. Tubeless

So, which one should you choose? Nowadays, tubeless wheels are the most popular, and you can use them with tubeless tires but also with normal tires and tubes. Tubular and clincher non-tubeless wheels are on the decline. The following table summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each type.

Rim Depth: The Deeper, The More Aero, but Less Stable

Another important feature to consider when choosing road bike wheels under $1000 is the depth of the rims. It affects the aerodynamics, stability, and weight of the wheelset.

Generally, deeper wheels are more aerodynamic and thus faster but less stable in crosswinds. The most versatile wheels have a rim depth of around 45mm, balancing aerodynamics, weight, and stability.

So, if you live in a mountainous area or prioritize a lightweight bike, consider shallow rims with a depth of around 25mm. For mixed terrain, wheels around 50mm are the best choice. For flat areas, I recommend 60mm wheels or deeper.

Watch the following video to understand how bike wheels’ aerodynamics work. Aerodynamics expert Hambini explains how factors like rim depth, wind, and other elements impact aerodynamics.

You can also read my in-depth comparison of aluminum vs. carbon wheels for more info.

Rim Width: The Trend Is Clear, Go Wider

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, riding 30 to 32-mm tires and, therefore, wider rims started to become trendy.

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: Lighter Doesn’t Always Mean Better

What is a good weight of a road bike wheelset for under $1000?

Based on my market research, the weight varies between 1350g and 1650g, mainly depending on rim depth. However, I have seen a trend of weight reduction over the years. Wheels 50mm deep and weighing under 1300g have long since ceased to be the preserve of premium wheels.

However, weight distribution is also important. Wheels with low inertia and centered weight distribution take less energy to spin, making them feel livelier and have better response. On the other hand, I feel they don’t maintain momentum on flats as well as heavier bikes.

When speaking of weight, lighter wheels usually have lower weight limits. These also vary but rarely go below 100kg (220lb).

Hubs: Choose Wisely!

The hub is the heart of a wheel, so it must be of high quality. Established and experienced companies like DT Swiss or Novatec make quality hubs, so you can’t go wrong with them.

However, many wheel brands have started designing their hubs in-house. If a brand takes this step, it says much about its expertise and experience. However, eventual repair or bearing replacement might be more difficult.

Another question is whether paying a premium for ceramic bearings is necessary. Based on this comparison of the pros and cons of ceramic vs. steel bearings, I don’t think so, but I will leave the final decision up to you.

Stiffness: Responsivity or Comfort?

Stiffness is one of the most abstract features. It can be quantified, but how do you know if one wheel is 5% stiffer than the other without measuring it? Can you really notice the difference?

When it comes to stiffness, if you ride on a super smooth racing circuit-like surface, the stiffer, the better, but most of us are unlucky, and our local roads are bumpy and full of potholes.

In that case, it’s good if the wheels aren’t too stiff. They can better absorb vibrations, making the ride more comfortable.

Ultimately, it also boils down to your weight and personal preference. Heavier riders should go for stiffer wheels so that when they ride out of the saddle (or accelerate), the wheels won’t flex.

My experience is that carbon-spoked wheels are stiffer and less comfortable than steel-spoked ones. Read more below.

Spokes: Rounded or Bladed? Steel or Carbon?

There are multiple spoke types shape- and material-wise.

Read my in-depth article comparing the benefits and disadvantages of carbon vs. steel spokes, or watch the following video for more info.

Nipples: From Exposed to Hidden

Once marginal gains stack up, they make a difference. One of these marginal gains is how much the spoke nipples are exposed.

There are 3 basic types of spoke nipple exposures:

1. Fully-exposed nipples are the most common and great for maintenance but are the worst for aerodynamics.
2. Half-exposed nipples are less common than fully-exposed nipples. They are good for maintenance and aerodynamics. It’s a great compromise between the other two.
3. Hidden nipples are the best for aerodynamics but worst for maintenance (you have to take off the tire if you want to adjust spoke tension).

What’s in the Package?

When buying rim brake wheels, ensure they come with four braking pads and quick-release skewers. Deep-section wheels should come with tubeless valves or valve extenders for inflating the tubes/tires.

Wheelsets should also come with rim tape and spare spokes. The spare spokes can be handy if one or more spokes fail, such as when hitting a deep pothole.

Double-check the cassette compatibility. Shimano and SRAM 11spd cassettes are interchangeable, but 12spd cassettes are not. If you plan to use the Campagnolo groupset, ensure the hub is Campagnolo-compatible.

Other Extra Services (Warranty, Crash Replacement, etc.)

When spending up to $1000 on new wheels, it’s important to have a warranty. Most manufacturers offer at least a 2-year warranty, with some offering extended warranties of up to a lifetime. (Source)

Crash replacement programs, which provide a discount on your next wheelset if you crash with the current one, are a nice bonus if available.

Choose a brand with helpful and reliable customer support in case you need assistance, submit a warranty claim, etc.

Road Bike Wheels Under $1000 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.