Formula Volo XC Wheels

Not to be confused with Formula Hubs (the big-time OEM supplier in Taiwan that just happens to have a similar logo), these wheels come from Formula in Italy—the long-standing disc brake specialist. Since 1993, Formula has focused their attention primarily on disc brakes, which are made in their Italian factory. Within the last year or so they’ve branched out and turned their attention to front suspension and wheels.

Currently they offer four wheelsets. At the featherweight and pure XC-race end of things there’s the Volo XC Hyperlight; a 1,191 gram 26-inch-only carbon tubular wheelset that’s only ever going to hold limited appeal. The Volo Superlight is a little more practical. Offered in both 26 and 29-inch options, it features a scandium alloy clincher rim with a 17mm inner width. Weights on the Superlight range from 1,343g (26er) up to 1,444g (29-inch). We reviewed their Volo Light wheels. With a wider rim, the ‘Light’ comes in two formats; there’s an AM version with oversized hubs that cater for rear thru-axles and up to 20mm axles up front, while the Volo Light XC comes with a 15mm or 9mm up front and a traditional quick release on the rear—both share the same rim.

Unlike their brakes, the wheels are made in Taiwan. At $1,049 for the set, they are at the upper end of the market for alloy wheels but the quality and finish appears to be first rate with ‘champagne anodised’ scandium alloy rims, 24 straight-pull spokes and intricately machined hubs.

According to their website, the 29er version weighs 1,676g per pair; however our test wheels came in 100g lighter than claimed at 1,575g for the pair without skewers (710/865g). Even if you factor in the supplied 68g titanium skewers, the total weight is still less than claimed (when comparing, remember that most manufacturers list their weights without skewers). Although 1,575g isn’t groundbreaking for a 29er wheelset, it is impressive when you consider that Formula rates them as being suitable for all-mountain use—sub-1,600g is more in XC wheel territory.

Where the XC-race oriented Volo Superlight has a narrow 17mm internal rim width, the all-mountain-rated Volo Light measures 21mm internally (26mm external). Most of its competition is 19mm wide—this puts the Volo Light a pretty good position. Why is wider better? It offers better support to the tyre sidewall which allows you to run lower air pressures without excess tyre squirm—the result is better traction and comfort. We know of two alloy wheelsets that better the internal width of the Volo Light whilst being at least 100g lighter per pair, however these wider yet lighter alloy wheels are not even close to all-mountain capable—they are pure XC-race models. The only way you’ll get a wide, sub-1,600g 29er wheelset that’s pitched at trail and all-mountain use is by going carbon, and then you’d be looking at spending more than twice as much.

With these stats in mind, the Volo Light wheels appear to be a pretty good thing if you are chasing light, yet trail-capable wheels; so long as they stand up to all-mountain use as claimed.

Wrap ‘n’ Roll

A wrap of adhesive tape was all we needed to set these wheels up without tubes. The inner profile has nice broad and flat shoulders to securely hold the tyre bead in place. Initial inflation was as easy as it gets—that means that it’s still a pain sometimes but the issues relate more to the tyre than the inner rim profile. With a good tubeless-compatible shape and a decent overall width, tyre burping was never an issue.

Considering the Volo Light only has 24-spokes per wheel, we were surprised how stiff the wheels felt. While they weren’t the absolute stiffest 29er wheels, they were certainly felt very solid for an alloy wheelset in their weight category. We got a sense that much of their stiffness and feel comes from the wide, triangular profile scandium alloy rim. The hubs are heavily machined and minimalist and 24 relatively-thin spokes isn’t a lot. While running a rugged rim could add grams where it’ll be noticed the most, the payback comes in overall toughness. These wheels resisted trail damage better than most genuinely lightweight alloy 29er wheels. By the end of our three-month long review, the rear wheel had gone 1.5mm out of true but that was it. No dents and the spoke tension remained nice and high.

The hubs were a real standout. They were amongst the smoothest we’ve come across and only felt better at the conclusion of our review. The 30-point (12-degree) freewheel engagement isn’t exceptionally fast but it never failed to take-up and didn’t require any servicing. About the only criticism here is that you’ll need a special Formula tool to remove the freehub body when maintenance is required.

As far as riding styles go, all-mountain is a pretty broad description. Depending on who you ask, it’s anything from regular trail riding through to big drops and sizable airtime. These wheels are clearly tougher than most alloy XC-race wheels, but their weight, cost and low spoke count would make us reluctant to say that they’d be an ideal choice for the rougher end of the all-mountain spectrum. However we’d thoroughly recommend them as a solid, yet very light wheelset for day-to-day trail riding on varied and technical terrain.

EightyOneSpices (08) 8388 3581 / www.eightyonespices.com.au