Recently, the company @8lien.bike reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in testing out a new pair of their L5 wheels. 8Lien is a relatively new wheel company, founded by some people that brought lots of experience from other wheel companies, and the L5 wheels are clearly proof that they know what they’re doing.
First, let’s hit the basics... The L5 wheels feature a 45mm deep front wheel and 50mm rear and come in at 1180g for the set. They sit right in the sweet spot of being both aerodynamic and still very light. The wheels are 21mm internal width and 28mm external width. The wheels all feature carbon bladed spokes and 8Lien’s R01 hub with ceramic bearings and straight pull, carbon bladed spokes.
When the box arrived, the wheels were well packed and organized. The finish and quality of the wheels is very nice. They feature a unidirectional carbon finish with no coating and the rim bed area has a beautiful 3k weave. My initial, straight out of the box reaction, was that they felt very light.
I’ve got more than 225 miles on the wheels at the moment and I’ve been impressed so far. On bike, I would say these wheels punch well above their price tag, easily on par with any of the more expensive big brand-name wheels. My weekday morning routes feature a number of short, punchy climbs and the guys I ride with, all attack them. The low weight on these wheels felt great on accelerations over the climbs and responding to attacks. One morning, I pushed away from the group and solo’d into the finish line, so the aerodynamic qualities of the wheel set are pretty good too.
