THE BOSSI RD1 WHEELS IMPRESS WITH SHEER SENSIBLENESS!

Words and Images: James Raison

Sydney-based Bossi bicycles is the brainchild of Industrial Designer James Bossi. They’ve dabbled in commuter and CX bikes but recently have refined the range down to titanium road and gravel rigs. We got a Bossi Grit frame (that we’ve already reviewed) as a test rig for Shimano GRX Di2 and James decided to send some range-topping Bossi RD1 wheels to give the full Bossi experience.

The rims are made in China, shipped to Australia, and hand-built by James himself at the Bossi HQ in Parramatta. After 6 months of riding, I can say they’re very good, and represent an interesting clash of philosophies within the carbon wheel market. Let’s get nerdy.

SPEC

Price: $2,200
Rim: 22mm tubeless ready clincher - Torayca T700/800 Carbon Fibre
Front Hub: 12x100mm DT Swiss 240 straight pull centrelock disc - 24H
Rear Hub: 12x142mm DT Swiss 240 straight pull centrelock disc - 24H
Spokes: SAPIM CX-Ray
Nipples: SAPIM Secure Lock
Wheelset weight: 30mm=1355g 40mm=1429g 50mm=1489g +/-30g
Rider Weight: 120kg
Max Tyre size: 25C-50C
Warranty: 3 years

HUBS/SPOKES

The legendary DT240 hubs are at the heart of the Bossi RD1s. They’re darlings of the wheelbuilding world with a compelling balance of dependability, lightness, (relative) affordability, performance, and tool-free sevicability. They’ve graced many a custom build and taken part in plenty of World Tour races over the years.

They’re a very contemporary build; 24H straight pull SAPIM CX-Ray spokes, and centrelock disc brake compatibility. A quick check of spoke tension straight out of the box found them to be even, consistent, and correct on both wheels. You could, fairly, make the argument that 24 spokes isn’t enough for extreme activities like loaded bikepacking though, since we’re talking spec.

There’s only one problem with the DT240 hub that I can see; the DT350. The DT350 is slightly heavier and about as good. The Bossi RD2 wheels are a full $300 cheaper and the only difference is the choice of DT350 hubs instead of the DT240. I’d probably buy the RD2s if it were my money on the line.

RIM

The Bossi unnamed rim is firmly in the wide end of the spectrum with 22mm internal and 30mm external (or 29.95 as we measured, but with some rounding that’ll do fine). It’s refreshingly non-fussy. It’s compatible with standard clincher and tubeless tyres between 25 and 50mm. The set I used was equipped with 30mm rims.

Tubeless setup is straightforward but expect some tightness. I had the Continental Terra Speeds and Pirelli Cinturato Ms on the RD1s and they were “not too hard” to set up. I did use a lever to get the Cinturatos on. The bead and channel are well-designed to make tubeless a breeze with the tyres popping on with a blast from my Bontrager Flash Charger and staying there. I was even able to get tyres up with a standard floor pump after deflating to add some sealant.

It’s nice to have a simple hooked rim as the market is steaming towards hookless. Sure, hookless is great for shaving off the grams but can make tubeless setup painful, and limit tyre compatibility. I’ll circle back to this below.

THE RIDE

The Bossi RD1s make for a compelling all-round wheelset for anyone wanting a set for smooth tarmac only, or mixed terrain performance.

Their 1,350g weight spins up effortlessly and the DT240 hubs roll fantastically well. My only real gripe with the DT240s is how quiet they are when freewheeling, and I’d like it if they engaged a little quicker. They’re not slow to react to pedalling by any means but I’ve started noticing cheaper hubs getting faster for pawls and ratchets to combine their powers. The Hunt Adventure Carbons, for example, are around $1,300 and engaged lightning fast.

Stiffness is… presumably fine… Gravel tyres at 35 psi don’t give an effective test rig for wheel stiffness and my light weight means wheels have to be disastrously flexy (eg, Reynolds AR 41 X) for me to even notice.

Comfort is one of the most underrated features of carbon rims for gravel riding. The RD1s make a world of difference to days getting rattled around by the terrain. I tested some aluminium Shimano GRX WH-RX570 wheels with Schwalbe G-One Allrounds and they were far less comfortable than the Bossi rims. You notice it most deep into long rides. Everything is a little less sore and a little less fatigued from your hands to your back and shoulders. Remember, that’s on a titanium frame as well, a material celebrated for its ride quality. It’s a valuable lesson of how important wheels are for comfort.

The Bossi wheels are now on the Grove R.A.D which is a rowdy aluminium frame and they’ve massively softened up the often bumpy ride. It’s only taken a couple of rides to confirm just how effective carbon rims can be to improve the ride on a stiff bike.

THE QUIET WHEEL REVOLUTION

The Bossi RD1s embody an interesting conflict within the wheel industry. Part of the reason brands like Bossi can put wheels together at this price is reduced bloat. A small company doesn’t have the same overheads or R&D costs as the big players. I’m not going to say these are better than what you can get from Zipp, Enve, or Roval but I can say that their dollar-for-dollar performance proposition is mighty good. Remove carbon brake track development, wind tunnel time, the operational costs of being a large company and you’re off-setting the advantages of production scale.

HYPOTHETICAL VS ZIPP 303S

The recently announced Zipp 303 S (their punt at more affordable rims) are a fascinating comparison to make to the Bossi RD1. I won’t run through their exact specs but they’re surprisingly similar when you put them next to each other. Zipp’s killer feature is the lifetime warranty but the 3 years Bossi backs their wheels for is still good.

The differences then are:

DT 240 hubs Vs Zipp 76/176
SAPIM CX-Ray Vs SAPIM CX-Sprint
Non-tubeless tyre compatibility on the Bossi compared to tubeless only with the Zipps
Lower weight on the Bossi wheels - even with the 50mm variant compared to the Zipp’s 45mm rim depth
The kicker here is the Zipps are more expensive.

I’m willing to take a punt and back the DT240 hubs as superior, the spokes will make little to no appreciable difference, and the Zipps are limited with tyre options. So, why buy the Zipps when Australian brands are able to hand-build genuine alternatives for less? It’s a question buyers should be asking themselves.

WRAPPING UP

The Bossi RD1s are fairly generic rims built with quality spokes and hubs and hitting a competitive pricepoint. They’re an easy wheel to like, and an easy wheel to live with. They get a recommendation for both road and mixed terrain riding because they come with no complications or annoyances. I wouldn’t do extreme bikepacking with that low spoke count but they seem more than capable of most riding.

Were it my money, I’d get the RD2s because they’re cheaper and negligibly heavier. What matters is the quality building and that nice rim.

You can head over to the Bossi website if you want to snag yourself a set of wheels.

Disclosure statement: These were sent for review by Bossi Bicycles. It’s not a paid review and we don’t make money from the sale of Bossi products.