Why SL Carbon?

The SL Carbon has been built and refined over nearly two decades of road racing, long-distance riding, and New Zealand's notoriously variable conditions.

These wheels have been raced at the highest level. WorldTour riders and NZ National Team athletes have come to us specifically because they wanted something more performant and reliable than what their sponsorship deals provided. We built their wheels, dressed them in the right stickers to meet team requirements, and sent them out to race at the highest levels. That's not something we shout about, but it speaks to what these wheels are capable of when the stakes are highest.

For everyone else, that same performance translates into a wheelset that handles everything from local bunch rides to National Championships, in crosswinds, on rough chip roads, and across the unpredictable conditions that make riding in New Zealand what it is.

Two rim widths, two depths, and a custom build for every rider. The SL Disc doesn't ask you to compromise.

Hub options

All the hubs we sell can be ridden hard and maintained easily. 

We'll ensure they fit your current bike but they're also versatile and adaptable enough to move to your next one. Want to go deeper? Check out the hub deep-dives on our hub portal for the full rundown on each option or get in touch with your hub related questions.

Spoke options

We offer a range of spokes from Alpina and Berd.

The spoke choice comes down to how the wheel feels: weight, stiffness, liveliness and comfort. Want the full picture? Check out the spoke deep-dives on our spoke portal for a closer look at each option, or get in touch and we'll help you choose.

Lifetime guarantee

We back our work. SL Carbon wheels are covered by our lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, plus our lifetime guarantee against impact damage and broken spokes under normal riding conditions.

We build the SL Carbon to be ridden. A well‑looked‑after wheelset shouldn’t regularly break spokes, lose tension, or fall badly out of true.

Our lifetime warranty is there to cover anything that slips through the cracks with components or wheelbuilding. If there’s an issue that comes back to us, we’ll fix it.

If something we can control goes wrong, we’ll put it right.  For full details of coverage and what counts as crash or impact damage, please refer to our main Wheelworks Lifetime Guarantee.

Rims: 21mm or 25mm internal width

The SL Carbon is available in two internal widths and two depths. Every combination is valid - but the right choice depends on your bike, your riding, and what you want from your wheels.

21mm internal width

The 21mm is a narrower option, better suited to older frames with tighter tyre clearances, and for riders chasing every last gram. It works best with tyres from 25mm to 32mm and delivers a focused, aerodynamic profile.

25mm internal width

The 25mm reflects the modern standard for road rims, giving superior casing support and allowing lower tyre pressures across a wider range of tyre sizes from 28mm upward. It's the right choice for most riders on newer bikes.

Rims: 35mm or 50mm depth

35mm depth

Lighter, faster to accelerate and brake, and better in crosswinds. The 35mm handles more predictably at everyday riding speeds and suits lighter riders particularly well. It's the more versatile of the two depths.

50mm depth

Laterally stiffer and more aerodynamic. The 50mm comes into its own above 40kph, rewarding more powerful and heavier riders with a more responsive, planted feel at race pace.

Our most common combination is a 35mm front paired with a 50mm rear - the shallower front reduces weight and manages crosswinds well, while the deeper rear delivers stiffness and aero where it counts most. Every rider is different though, and we'll talk through the best combination for your riding either before or after purchase.

Rims:  rider-specific carbon layup and spoke-count

Lighter riders need a responsive, lively wheelset, while heavier and more powerful riders need more lateral stiffness to give a trustworthy feel while hard cornering and sprinting.

To accomplish this we produce two different carbon layups in each rim model, and two choices of spoke count.

We'll discuss the best rim layup and spoke-count for your new SL Carbon wheels after purchase.

Max rider weight

The rider-specific carbon layup and spoke-count allow us to build durable, reliable wheels for riders up to 140kg.

ebike use

The SL Disc is compatible with e-road and e-gravel bikes. Berd spokes are a popular choice for these builds - they improve responsiveness and comfort, and the slight aerodynamic penalty matters less when you have a motor doing some of the work.

Weights

Hooked bead and tubeless‑ready

• All rims use a hooked bead
• All wheels are fully tubeless ready and arrive with depth-matched valves.  
• If you prefer tubes, that’s fine too - the rims work perfectly with standard tube setups.
• Max tyre pressure of 100 psi

If you’re new to tubeless or unsure about sealant, tyre choice, or pressures, we’re happy to walk you through the options.

3‑axis spoke nipple drilling

A big contributor to broken spokes is forcing them to bend awkwardly between hub and rim. To avoid that, we drill spoke holes in the XC Lite rims at carefully calculated angles in three dimensions.

This lets the nipple sit in line with the spoke in both side‑to‑side and front‑to‑back directions. Combined with spoke lengths measured to tight tolerances, this reduces stress at the nipple and helps prevent fatigue‑related spoke failures over time.

Our choice of hubs complements this by using angled flanges that point towards the rim, further smoothing the spoke path and increasing long‑term reliability.

What's in the box

• Ready to ride: Your new Wheelworks arrive pre-taped and fitted with high-flow tubeless valves - straight out of the box.
• Free tracked delivery: Courier delivery is free of charge throughout New Zealand and Australia.
• Packaging we're proud of: Your wheels ship in a custom-made cardboard box, produced in-house on our CNC. Made from 68–71% recycled material, sourced from sustainably managed forests in Kawerau and Tokoroa. No single-use plastic, no styrofoam. Designed for multiple uses and fully recyclable.

Production, COO, and EOL

We’re transparent about where our components come from:  rims are manufactured to our specifications by a specialist carbon partner in mainland China.

At the moment there’s no practical large‑scale recycling stream for carbon rims, but our experience is that a well‑designed carbon rim will outlast multiple aluminium rims used in the same way.

Aluminium hub shells, stainless steel spokes, and brass nipples can be recycled at most metal recyclers once they’ve finally done their duty.

If you ever retire your Wheelworks wheelset and aren’t sure what to do with it, get in touch and we’ll help with the best options at the time.

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