ENVE

When it comes to wheels, there are few brands that actually produce a QUALITY wheelset where when you say the brand name, nothing else needs to be said and Enve is truly one of them. Are they pricy, yes. Are they quality, definitely yes. They are hookless, keep that in mind, however most tires that are coming out these days are all hookless compatible so finding compatible tires really is not a problem anymore.

They are very responsive wheels, and I have this set and a set of 4.5 SES and to be honest, I mostly use the 2.3s on a day to day basis. Yes, the 4.5s are faster, you can feel it on the flats and the downhills however with the 2.3s you never really have to worry about fighting the bike in crosswinds so from a day to day perspective it is a lot more realistic of a wheelset to use.

I've always wanted to try these however I've heard from shop mechanics that these tires are an absolute menace to mount depending on the wheels you are trying to put them on. I mounted these onto the ses 2.3 and 4.5 and they are noticeably more difficult to mount than say the gp5000 str however not impossible.

These tires are durable. Yes, compared to the gp5000 str or p-zero race tlr you are sacrificing some rolling resistance, however having the layer of puncture protection is very mind calming. Every time I rode the str or p-zero there was always some worry every time I went over some rocks, sticks, this that on the rides of roads or in trails however with the ses tires, I never worry about a puncture issue. These tires are very much in between a proper race tire with minimal puncture protection and an all season road tire like the gp5000 astr.

You will always be faster in a race not having to deal with a puncture than to deal with a puncture. These tires are realistically the kinds of tires most people on the road should be using.

These tires were originally designed with the wider (25mm internal width) original ENVE SES AR 3.4 rims in mind (which are now the standard ENVE SES 3.4 rims). I use the 29mm size which were optimized for those rims for aerodynamics, rolling efficiency, and durability. I started using these when they first came out and have had great success--they just feel great on different tarmac surfaces and at the right air pressure (like 55-60 psi) they are very comfortable compared to the classic 90+ psi 25mm tires that many still ride. The handling is great and they work well on all tubeless ready rims. And they're pretty easy to install too.

I purchased this tire in a 700X33 for use on an All-Road bike, which I typically ride on paved road, but with some very cracked and bad sections. On a wide carbon rim (22 internal), the tire measures true to size at 33. The ENVE SES provides a smooth and definitely fast ride, although I upped the pressure slightly from the SILCA calculator. The tire does pick up road grit, as is mentioned in many online reviews, but that doesn't appear to affect performance. I picked 33, because my wheel has an outer width of 30mm, and I felt it would work better with a wider tire, but in hindsight, I could have gone with a 32, or even a 30. While those sizes wouldn't have provided noticeable increases in speed, they might have provided slightly quicker handling. Overall, this is an excellent tire, and probably even better at relatively narrower widths.