Newmen Evolution SL A.30Newmen Evolution SL A.30

Newmen Evolution SL A.30 wheelset Review

Reviews

The company from the peaceful Wiggensbach near Kempten is a relatively new contender on the components market. Newmen was founded in 2016 by former Syntace boss Michi Grätz — he knows all about lightweight construction! Newmen lives by a simple principle: Be light but powerful, at a fair price. The young manufacturer of components is a real alternative to the big names, especially when it comes to wheelsets. We wanted to take a closer look at those, which was a welcome reason for Bungi to subject the Newmen Evolution SL A.30 wheelset to (long-term) testing.

Bungi‘s starting point

“In the beginning, there was one question: Do wheelsets exist that are light, yet resilient and that feature wide rims at the same time? Sure, there are expensive carbon wheelsets … but are they the only choice? What about the light aluminium wheelsets from Newmen? This calls for a test!

The facts at hand

When I received the box with the wheelset, I wondered whether there was anything inside at all — the box was that light! So I opened the lid … and the wheelset was actually there. Here’s a small overview of its data:

  • Tubeless Ready
  • 27,5″
  • Inner rim width: 30 mm
  • 28 hole straightpull hubs
    • 3-fold lacing, Sapim D-Light (2.0/1.65/2.0) spokes
    • 36Z pulley freewheel
    • Disc brake rotor admission: 6 holes
    • Material: Aluminium 7075
  • Axle standard:
    • Front: 15x110mm Boost
    • Back: 12x148mm Boost with SRAM XD freewheel body
  • Material rim: high-strength aluminium alloy
  • Weight: 1620g
  • Max. system weight: 125kg

When lifting, the light weight is immediately noticeable. The front wheel weighs 760g, the rear wheel 860g — all in boost standard, of course. At first glance, the workmanship of the wheelset appears to be of very high quality. The decals on the rim and the hub in an anthracite-grey design are simple, but very chic. The concentricity of the wheelset as well as the spoke tension ex works were very good. The bearings were also perfectly adjusted, so that a readjustment wasn‘t necessary.

Onto the bike

Before I mounted the wheelset, I prepared it for tubeless, mounted the Schwalbe tires — Magic Mary Evo Addix and Hans Dampf Evo Addix —, filled in the tubeless sealant and mounted the cassette. I used Schwalbe’s valves and DT Swiss’ rim tape, and SRAM’s GX-Eagle cassette was chosen for the finish. The application of the rim tape was very easy and the valves could be installed without any problems. The mounting of the tires also didn’t require much effort. When inflated, they slipped directly into the small edge of the rim, which promises a secure grip of the tire bead! When mounting the cassette there were also no big obstacles — just a cool sound that was made by the freewheel. This was due to the ratchet system, which relies on a 36 tooth ratchet, which promises a very direct response with an engagement angle of 10°! The sound comes in when the ratchets run contra-rotating.

Newmen Evolution SL A.30 in Action

My Newmen conclusion

Okay, they don’t look new anymore, but technologically they are. I am very pleased with the wheelsets and have already recommended them to a friend or two! And would you recommend something to a friend that wasn’t good? Of course not!

Therefore: If you want to ride a light and affordable wheelset which covers the aforementioned range of applications, you can absolutely rely on Newmen. Their wheelsets are within an affordable range for their weight class and above all, their agility comes without a loss of robustness, which makes the price-performance ratio really good.”