Wide tires are great, but they can destroy the aero benefits of many a carbon rim. ENVE designed their SES 4.5 AR Disc Chris King Ceramic Tubeless Wheelset to allow you both wide tires and excellent aerodynamics. AR stands for All Road. Yes, they can do gravel, yes they can do dirt, yes they can do cyclocross. But the race that got them designing these wheels was actually Paris-Roubaix, where riding fast over stones is critical to winning, but 80% of the race is on asphalt roads. Racers routinely run 27-30mm tires on their carbon rims, providing an essential air cushion but hurting the aero benefits of those rims.
The exterior widths of the 4.5 AR are 31mm in front and 30.5mm in back. Depths are 49mm and 55mm respectively. These shapes are optimized for 700c by 28mm wide tires. Run 28mm, or possibly a narrow 30mm, and the aerodynamics are excellent. The widest tires they recommend with these rims are 32mm wide, acceptable for cyclocross, and still decent aerodynamically.
Rim weights are 440g front and 450g rear. Wheels build up to 708g front and 836g rear. Which are pretty light for a wheelset built to handle the rigors of non-roads.
The rims are also tubeless compatible. You don’t have to install tubeless tires, but they’re ready if you want to. The rim wall height and internal shape has been designed to work with tubeless and the wider rims make tubeless tires easier to install.
The hubs are Chris King R45D Centerlock Disc Brake design. These hubs are preferred by custom wheelbuilders because they’re light, durable, and look great. They come installed with King’s own ceramic bearings, which are assembled in house. 12mm thru-axles come standard, but they can be converted to quick-release easily. The cassette body comes with SRAM/Shimano-compatible eleven-speed splines only. The hubs are 24-spoke front and rear, built up with Sapim’s super-fast CX-Ray J-bend spokes and secured via ENVE-specific internal brass nipples.
The wheel that first merged aero with high volume tires, designed to make you faster on all road surfaces. Proven on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.
• Intended Use: Road, All-Road
• Inner rim width: 25mm
• Aero Optimized Tire Size: 27 – 32c
• Tubeless-only
