In The Know Cycling

The saying “light, strong, cheap, pick 2,” attributed to cycling gear innovator Keith Bontrager, became a product design truism and a shorthand way to tell bike consumers that you can’t have it all.

Elitewheels gets pretty close to being the exception with its Drive 50D wheelset, which we’ve rated as one of the best-value carbon wheels that doubles as a light climber and stiff all-arounder for about US$1000.

With its latest Drive Helix SS line, Elitewheels appears to be going after a trendy, blingy, budget combination with its wheelsets in climbing, all-around, and time-trial depths.

Each one has a shallower average front wheel depth than its rear, a trend ENVE started, and many wheelset manufacturers have now copied.

The Drive Helix SS wheels also have a wavy spoke edge with varying depths within each rim that mimics the Zipp sawtooth design, another trend showing up in other brands of wheels.

Add to these trends Elitewheels’ unique marbled carbon fiber rim finish, appealing graphic and logo, and glossy top coat, and you’ve got a wheelset that’s hard to look away from.

At least, that’s what I saw from others after pulling up to group rides and at café stops with the Elitewheels Drive Helix 57D SS on my bike. The wheels look like the most expensive models from other brands and appear to bump your bike up a price tier or two without upstaging it.

And all this comes at about the same price as the Drive 50D.

I call this bling on a budget. If that’s what you’re looking for, this wheelset is for you.

Just don’t expect the same level of performance from the Drive Helix SS wheelset that you get riding the leading models from others whose front and back and wavy rim depth variations it emulates.

Instead, these Elitewheels hoops ride more like the average value carbon wheelset in the sub-US$1500/£1250/€1400 price range.

While they don’t have any obvious flaws, something I can’t say about all the wheels in this category, the Drive Helix 57D SS also doesn’t stand out on any of the performance characteristics we use to evaluate and rate wheelsets.

It rides more like an all-arounder than a climber or aero wheelset. Per my measurements, it has an average front rim depth of 50mm (ranging from 47.5 to 52.5mm), a rear depth of 55.5mm (52.1 to 57.1mm), and weighs 1451 grams (vs 1420g claimed) with an HG freehub, specs that align with other all-arounders.

It doesn’t hold its momentum at aero speeds, my surrogate measure of its aero performance, any better than the average 45-50mm deep value carbon wheelset. And despite its wavy rim edge, the front wheel gets buffeted by crosswinds more than its Drive 50D sibling, one of the more stable performers in the winds in this category.

I rode these Drive Helix 57D SS wheels with our benchmark 28mm Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR tubeless tires. At the right inflation pressure (around 60psi front, 63psi rear for my 150lb/68kg weight), the wheels were comfortably compliant on their stainless Sapim CX-Ray bladed straight-pull spokes, though again, at a similar level to the average wheelset in this price range.

The wheels are not overly stiff or responsive, but not noodly, either.

While they look trendy and blingy, the wheelsets’ design is more mainstream and broadly acceptable.

I measured their rims at 21.5mm internal, 28.2mm where the rim and tire meet, and a maximum width of 31.6 externally for the front wheel and 30.5 for the rear. It combines a blunt spoke edge and a classic toroidal profile.

And, the tubeless-ready rims are hooked for those who still prefer to ride clincher tires.

The freehub is clearly audible, a bit louder than a well-greased DT Swiss EXP, but not annoyingly so, like those Hunt and Scribe wheelsets use. I’ve had

It’s hard not to expect or want more performance from the Drive Helix 57D SS. It looks similar to some of the best-performing carbon road bike wheels we’ve reviewed that climb exceptionally well, aren’t bothered by strong winds, roll almost effortlessly at aero speeds, or respond like a cat when I put the power down.

But you have to separate the expensive looks of these wheels from the budget price you pay for them and the performance you should expect from wheels in this value carbon range.

If you can live with this looks-performance dichotomy and your budget can’t afford better performance – or your riding doesn’t need it – the Drive Helix 57D SS is a good alternative to some of the more commonplace, stealth aesthetic wheels in this category that don’t perform any better.

The Drive Helix 46D SS cuts about 85 grams (1350g) of weight and 9 mm (41.5mm average) of front wheel depth from the 57D version. Its deeper counterpart, the Drive Helix 68D SS, claims to add 70 grams overall (1520g) and 7mm (58.5mm average) to its front wheel depth.

Each of these models retails for US$1189, £920, €1093 sold direct on the Elitewheels website. With the code ITKCycling10, you can get a 10% discount, reducing the price to US$1070, £828, €984.

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For the ultimate in trendy blingy wheels, Elite also makes the Drive Helix wheels in the same depths with carbon spokes and ceramic hub bearings.

While I haven’t tested these CS versions (CS for carbon spokes vs. SS for steel ones), my experience with the Elitewheels Drive 50D and other wheels with carbon spokes is that they are typically more responsive than those with steel spokes.

On the other hand, carbon-spoked wheels are usually less compliant or comfortable, though not the Drive 50D in our testing.

There’s also little claimed weight difference between the steel and carbon spoke versions of the Drive Helix wheels, 10 grams or less, sometimes in favor of the steel-equipped ones.

However, there’s a big price difference of about US$400, £300, and €400 more for the carbon-spoke, ceramic-bearing CS wheels.

For the record, the Elitewheels Drive Helix 46D CS, 57D CS, and 68D CS sell for US$1599, £1236, €1470 on the Elitewheels website. With the code ITKCycling10, you can get a 10% discount, reducing the price to US$1439, £1113, €1323.

The original owner of these and any Elitewheels gets a 3-year warranty against manufacturing defects. If you need to replace the front or rear wheel within that same timeframe due to a crash, Elitewheels will give you a 38% discount on the original price of the damaged one. Elitewheels has service centers in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Shipping on new products and valid warranty claims is free. You can return an unused wheelset within 30 days, but the shipping cost is on you. It took about a month for the wheels I ordered to arrive in the United States.

Check out my review of The Best Value Carbon Wheels for comprehensive and comparative reviews of a dozen other value carbon wheelset models.