When the Astral Luna wheelset launched, I known as them an ideal all-rounder street wheelset that might ship years of drama-free efficiency, and that about sums up my time with these wheels.
Fast background: Astral is the rim model sister firm of White Industries, and these come along with your alternative of a number of White Industries hubs. They usually’re in-built Eugene, Oregon, and the hubs are made within the USA whereas the carbon rims are made for them elsewhere (Astral is making their very own alloy rims in home, however not carbon but).
The Luna wheels vary from $1,899 to $2,099 for the pair relying on whether or not you select the bottom Strategy hubs or White’s CLD hubs. Functionally they’re the identical, however the CLD hubs get titanium freehub our bodies and a bit extra machining to avoid wasting weight. In addition they have barely lighter Sapim CX-Ray bladed spokes, making the CLD wheelset 80g lighter.
I examined the CLD model, however the rims are the identical (~420g, 40mm deep), so general journey high quality must be about the identical.
Precise Weights, Widths & Particulars
With tubeless rim tape put in, the wheels weighed 681g (entrance) and 857g (rear) for a complete of 1,538g. Claimed weight is 1520g, so the tape doubtless makes up the distinction. The included valve stems are 16g.
Claimed rim dimensions are 25mm inside and 31mm exterior, and these measured very near that.
The edges have a semi-gloss end with UD fibers. It’s not matte, and it’s not shiny, which ought to match up with a number of unpainted carbon frames on the market. And it blends in with painted frames, too. Astral confirmed it on metal street bikes for the launch, and in contrast to some racier-looking carbon rims, these appear to look proper at house whether or not on a carbon or steel bike.
They don’t make any particular aerodynamic claims, but it surely’s a usually aero form that labored nicely in my testing.
They use mini-hooks quite than go hookless. A broad bead shelf with minimal hump made tires straightforward to seat and setup tubeless, however getting the tires initially on was a bit tight.
I attempted two totally different manufacturers of tire all through my check interval and it was the identical for each, so it wasn’t the tires…however, as soon as the tires had been on there, they popped into place shortly and simply and held air nicely. I didn’t have to take away them throughout using (to repair a flat or insert a tube), however if you happen to usually wrestle to mount tires, it could possibly be a difficulty.
The hubs are all Middle Lock with Enduro chrome steel bearings, alloy our bodies, and metal axles. Each variations makes use of bladed Sapim spokes, and the CLD mannequin merely makes use of increased finish variations of them.
As one would anticipate from White Industries, the hubs are improbable. It’s arduous to place into phrases apart from to say White’s hubs are a few of the smoothest rolling hubs I’ve ever ridden.
The one limitation on the Astral wheels is you could select black, or black. If you need White’s extra colorfully anodized hubs, you’ll need to construct up a set of hoops by yourself.
Journey Assessment
The factor that stands out concerning the Astral Luna wheels is… nothing. And I say that with the most important of compliments.
The truth is, I talked to Alec White about this throughout testing as a result of I used to be struggling to provide you with any superlatives, and we agreed that there are a number of nice wheels on the market now. And these are nice, too.
So whereas they’re not the lightest, or stiffest, or most reasonably priced (nor most costly), there have been a couple of issues I favored about them which may attraction to you, too:
- The freehub isn’t too loud, but additionally not silent, hitting that candy spot of coasting noise.
- They roll extremely easy due to White’s wonderful hub design.
- They give the impression of being nice on nearly any bike.
- They’re optimized for 28-32mm tires however can deal with as much as 52mm.
Importantly, there’s nothing I disliked about them. They’re an amazing wheelset that’s versatile, easy, and is backed by a stable firm with a historical past of creating nice merchandise. And the value is truthful, IMO, particularly contemplating you get White Business hubs as a part of the package deal.
If that type of “actually good with out screaming it” factor appeals to you, the Astral Luna must be in your listing.
