Fast Forward F4R FCC Tubeless DT 350 wheelset

These Fast Forward F4R FCC Tubeless Ready wheels are seriously good for their relatively sensible price tag. They're stable in strong winds, quick to spin up to speed and also quick to stop. What's more, you get great hubs and high-end pads. It's a great package.

• Pros: A great set of wheels and a sensible price, good accessories included
• Cons: I've not really got anything negative to say

FastForward (or FFWD) has added tubeless compatibility to the F4R and it's done it very well. This full carbon wheelset comes in at a very respectable 1,450g, 35g lighter than the claimed weight. That's slightly lower than the claimed 1,455g of the non-tubeless version.

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The rims are 26mm wide externally and supported the 28mm Goodyear tyres I used very well. They're laced to the brilliant DT Swiss 350 hubs with DT Aerolite spokes, 20 in the front and 24 in the rear.

Those hubs are pretty bombproof. While these wheels were used in mostly dry conditions, I've had these hubs on wheels that have seen some horrendous weather; they're solid and don't require much attention. While we're on reliability, I've had zero spoke tension issues even after a few big hits in races.

Out on the road, I was looking for any effects of the Dual Arc (DARC) section in the rim. If the intent was to improve aerodynamics, it has only a slight effect. These feel no faster than the £2,000 Fulcrums that I've also been testing. They don't, however, feel any slower. At over £750 cheaper, that's a big plus point for the F4R.

At 45mm deep, these strike a great balance between speed, quick acceleration and handling. They don't pick up strong winds which is probably down to the blunt profile at the leading and trailing edges. Out of corners and up steeper slopes, they're a touch harder to spin up to speed than the Fulcrums, but again, I point you to the price.

One of the attractions of this set of wheels is what you get for your £1,250. They come in a well-padded double wheel bag with a zippered storage compartment containing brake pads and skewers, and if you are going to run the wheels tubeless, you also get a set of tubeless valves.

The excellent SwissStop pads, consistency in the rim's construction and FFWD's Confidence Brake Technology all combine to give you very good braking. Wet weather braking isn't as good as the Fulcrums, but these are still consistent, with good power that doesn't grab. It results in braking that you can predict and then control.

To some degree, any wheelset's performance is affected by the tyres that you choose. These were supplied with Goodyear 28mm tubeless tyres so I got some sealant to test the set-up time.

The tyres installed easily, suggesting a bit of a loose fit, but when I used a track pump to inflate the tyres without sealant (usually sealant is required to hold enough air for the tyre to seat), they went straight up, the bead seating effortlessly. Impressive. I added sealant later to prevent punctures.

At 28mm wide, the tyres also provided a great test for the wheel's stiffness. There was hardly any clearance at my SuperSix's chainstays, but I got zero tyre rub on the frame, suggesting less than 1mm of lateral movement at this point. Very impressive.

FFWD suggests a user's weight limit of 100kg. The wheels can handle more than this, but FFWD is erring on the side of caution to take into account riding terrain. The disc brake version has a higher weight limit due to the absence of braking forces on the rim.

In terms of value, these wheels stack up pretty well against more expensive options, and when compared to cheaper options you can see where the extra money has gone. There are no issues with the braking as I found on the Parcours Grimpeur wheels (£700), for example.

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At £1,250 I'd say that these strike a near perfect balance of performance and price. You will lose a few watts to a high-end set like the Fulcrums, but the FFWD's rim width and stiffness combined with the excellent DT Swiss 350 hubs make these a fabulous wheelset for racing or just going fast. I've also tested the Giant SLR 0 wheels (£1,549.98) this year. The FFWDs are comparable in terms of braking and also spinning back up to speed, but the FFWD hoops have a much better tubeless system that plays nicely with standard clinchers and tubes so, for me, they represent significantly better value.

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So you get a fast set of wheels that run on great hubs, and the rims are perfect for wider tyres and give you good control when braking: £1,250 seems like a very fair price to pay for such a good package.

Verdict

Fast tubeless-ready wheels that are perfect for wider tyres, a great package for the price