Peter Maniaty
Chapter2 has entered the wheelset market with this impressive set of hoops to complement their frame range. Peter Maniaty took them around the block.
It’s been seven years since Chapter2 launched its first carbon frameset. Now the New Zealand brand has officially entered the wheel business with the arrival of the REHI45 – an impressively versatile set of aero optimised tubeless ready carbon rims.
“The wheelset is the second most important component on a bike,” explains Chapter2 Founder, Mike Pryde, an avid rider and racer who was personally involved in much of the testing and development of the REHI, named after the Māori word for ‘racing’. “In order to enhance how our framesets perform, wheels were an obvious addition to our range. It’s been an on-and-off project for about three years. Covid and the post-Covid conditions made it somewhat challenging to launch a new product, so we waited a little longer. I’ve actually been riding a very similar prototype set for the past two-and-a-half years.”
First Impressions
Like most things that carry the Chapter2 label, the REHI is a lovely looking wheelset. The black gloss finish with subtle turquoise highlights certainly catches the eye and the gleaming rims and hubs are beautifully finished. Weight-wise you’re looking at around 1485g for the set with valves and rim tape – a pretty competitive number, especially given the generous rim depth.
Tech & Specs
Chapter2 is playing it smart with its first foray into carbon wheels. Specifying 45mm rims with hooked beads really maximises the versatility of the REHI, ensuring appeal to a broad cross-section of riders, both on and off road. “We found 45mm is the rim depth that offers the best performance across many conditions, including cross winds, hills, flats and descents,” says Mike Pryde, adding the aero optimised profile was originally developed to help maximise the aero benefits of Chapter2 framesets such as the Koko and Toa, whilst still offering a competitive weight.
As wheels continue to creep ever-wider, the REHI measures on the narrower end of modern spectrum with 21mm internal and 27mm external rim widths. Again Pryde says this is quite intentional. “Whilst many manufacturers are going wider on the internal width, we felt that because of the ETRTO requirements for a minimum 5mm difference between internal width and tyre width, 21mm offers the greatest tyre width options, safely. We also felt a hooked profile offers the greatest selection of tyres as well as safety and peace of mind to the user.”
The REHI45 wheels are built with Sapim CX-Ray straight pull stainless steel spokes (21F/24R) around Chapter2 branded hubs developed in collaboration with another “well-established wheel brand” (sorry, Mike Pryde wouldn’t tell us who, we did ask). Featuring a six-pawl design with 10-degree engagement angle, the hubs are made from 6061-grade structural aluminium and come standard with stainless steel bearings. However, thanks to the use of conventional 6903 and 6803 bearing sizes, ceramic upgrades should be relatively straightforward if you’re keen. External spoke nipples no doubt make the REHI wheels a little less aero, but also considerably more straightforward to adjust or replace, particularly when run as tubeless.
In situ, the 28mm review tyres (Goodyear F1 Eagle R) measure pretty much perfectly to size and, according to Chapter2, the REHI rims are suitable for tyres ranging from 28mm to 45mm. Sold as disc brake only, the rotor fixings are centre lock with the option of Shimano, SRAM XDR and Campagnolo N3W freehubs. Each wheelset ships with a pair of tubeless valves and is covered by a 5-year warranty.
On the Road
As already mentioned, REHI means ‘racing’. But do they actually deliver that promise in the real world? Fitted to my own bike (BMC Teammachine SLR-01) the answer was a resounding … yes. In fact, overall I found these wheels quite a revelation. Rolling out into the unknown, I was expecting a solid ride experience. But what I encountered was far better, across pretty much every type of terrain and conditions imaginable.
Over five weeks during the depths of winter, I rode numerous fast and flat pacelines with my local training bunch, where the REHI45s handled and accelerated as well, if not better, than my regular, much-loved 50mm carbon race wheels. Once up to speed they really hum along and you can absolutely feel the benefits of the aero optimised rim profile take effect. That said, by far my most illuminating ride was actually a solo 75km journey over rough and heavily undulating roads, in the rain no less, where the REHI45 wheels absolutely excelled – silky smooth yet also pleasantly spritely. They were a whole lot of fun on the inclines too, where I was able to maintain my approach speed extremely well.
Fitted with 28mm tubeless tyres at 70psi the REHI45’s tap along wonderfully well and it’s clear the hubs are top-notch with lightning fast engagement. There’s virtually no discernible delay when you really put the power through the pedals, which I can’t say has always been my experience when testing wheelsets. I encountered plenty of wintery cross/tailwinds during the review too and once again the REHI45s performed above my expectations, especially for 45mm rims. You still feel the stronger gusts, but I’ve ridden far, far worse and the REHI was pleasantly well-behaved in all but the most blustery of conditions. Overall ride quality is fabulous and whilst, yes, you can absolutely race on these and throw them through high-speed corners with total confidence, they also feel like you could ride them all day, day after day, and not pay for it later.
Summing Up
Smooth is fast, and the REHI45 wheelset is the perfect example. As robust as they are responsive, they’re a real eye opener; an outstanding all-round carbon package that’s as much at home on the road as off it. With an RRP of $2,999 they sit towards the upper end of the mid-range market – a fiercely contested place that wedges them firmly amongst both the smaller boutique wheel brands and the major multinationals. Time will tell if the REHI45 is more of a ‘toe dipping’ exercise from Chapter2, or something far more serious. Personally, I hope it’s the latter, because it’s certainly a very promising start.
