RESERVE 30 HD WHEELSET £1,695
SPECIFICATION Weight: 1,872g (Front: 834g, Rear: 938g) • Six bolt or CenterLock, 27.5in or 29in • Rim width: 30mm (internal) • Contact: pbp-uk.bike
There are loads of fancy carbon wheelsets on the market, some are lightweight, some are comfortable and some are just bombproof. Where does Reserve’s 30 HD sit in the venn diagram of wheel choice?
Reserve says the 30 HD is designed for trail/all-mountain use, which is a big clue as to what sort of wheelset we’re looking at. It features a 30mm (internal) width rim that comes fitted with tubeless tape and the brand’s innovative Fillmore valves I tested a while back. Hubs are made by US firm Industry Nine, and there are a couple of disc/cassette mounting options – six-bolt or CenterLock with either a SRAM XD driver or a Shimano MicroSpline. The rear hub features Industry Nine’s six-pawl freehub with 4° of engagement. The pick-up is ultra-quick and it literally purrs when you’re freewheeling.
Reserve is only selling the front wheel with 15x110mm boost spacing, but the Industry Nine front hub is modular, so you can upgrade to a 20mm axle or RockShox’s oversized Torque caps should you wish. You can also choose either 29in and 27.5in diameters, although, when I checked, the PBP webshop isn’t currently allowing you to mix and match if you have a mullet bike. Now here’s the key info – the wheels are covered by a lifetime warranty, but Reserve also has a crash replacement policy in place, which means if you wreck them, it will sort out a replacement at a reduced cost.
With its raised centre section to add extra meat around the spoke nipples, the rim is definitely burly. It also has a 4mm asymmetric offset, which means the spokes are shifted over to even out tension. Industry Nine uses oversized aluminium spokes in most of its wheels, but tying the 30 HD together are 28 double-butted stainless-steel spokes. They’re laced three-cross and the build quality is superb.
When testing wheels, I always use Maxxis tyres as a benchmark because I’m familiar with how they set up
