Walker Brothers WideBoy 58mm wheels review

We’ve been impressed with Walker Brothers’s wheels when we’ve reviewed them in the past. Now we have these Walker Brothers WideBoy 58mm wheels in for test. Not only are they deep, but they’re also wide with a 28mm outside cross-section to the rims and a 21mm internal width. This lends a very wide stance to 25mm tyres, giving a high air volume and also a very clean interface between the tyres and the rim, to reduce turbulence and improve airflow.

Walker Brothers says that the WideBoy range is designed for road bikes more than time trial bikes, where there may be clearance issues, so you need to check that your frame and brakes can cope with such a wide rim.

The rims of the Walker Brothers WideBoy 58mm wheels are quite flat sided, with a slight bulge outwards from the braking surface and they have a U-shaped section. Despite their depth, I found that they coped well with gusty crosswinds, although as you’d expect they are prone to a bit of buffeting. They are very stable when riding fast on the flat and on descents though.

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The braking surface incorporates basalt, which Walker Brothers says makes it stable up to 200ºC. It’s also very effective and I was impressed by the stopping power in the dry.

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The spokes are straight pull Sapim CX Ray, laced 20 front, 24 rear, with the rear non-drive side being radial and the drive side being two-crossed. The nipples are external, so wheel truing is a bit easier as it doesn’t require dismounting the tyre or rim tape.

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Hubs are made of carbon fibre. The rear hub incorporates four sealed steel bearings for extra longevity. Walker Brothers does not supply quick releases with its wheels, so you’ll need to buy these separately or repurpose some from an older wheelset, but it does provide rim tape and carbon-specific brake pads.

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The Walker Brothers logos are very large, very white and slightly raised. So I’d anticipate than over time they would probably begin to look a bit tatty, but this really is my only criticism of what is an excellent carbon clincher wheelset.

For more details visit the Walker Brothers website.