RaceFace Turbine R Wheelset with Vault Hubs: Customer Review

Here in this review, our customer David Campbell seems pretty stoked with his new RaceFace Turbine R wheelset mounted up to RaceFace Vault hubs. David says the wheels are cost effective, durable, use high engagement, but provide a little more drag while free coasting compared to other lower engagement hubs. Check out his review below!

I purchased the RaceFace Turbine R Boost wheelset for a bike build a little over a month ago. For the price that Worldwide Cyclery offered, these were very appealing. Between the weight (1815g for 29"), the 30mm internal width, the 120 point engagement, and stealth look -- this seemed like a no-brainer. I have a pair of carbon wheels that I run on another bike and was looking for something with a little more vertical compliance. I also wanted something that could take a beating on all the rocks we have in Central Texas.

The wheels came trued, tubeless taped, murdered out, and ready to go. You also get 5 spare spokes in case things go south. The first thing I noticed is that the hub isn't all that loud. It's louder at high speeds, but I'd say just enough to let people know you're coming. Speaking of which -- the hubs are gigantic! Mounting and setting up tubeless tires was a simple task. I went with a 2.3 Minion DHF and a 2.3 Aggressor. The profile is great! I can even go with wide trail tires if I want to later. They do only come with 28 spokes, but I can't really say I feel a difference in stiffness versus my previous 32 spoke alloy set. Only that those were much heavier but cost about the same to build.

Once I took them out for a ride, I saw how useful that extra engagement could be. Technical climbs and rock gardens were a lot easier now that ratcheting could be done almost instantly. For comparison, my other wheelset has the standard DT Swiss 16T hub. I did notice a little bit of extra drag when not pedaling but got used to it after one ride. Another factor is that I am running more aggressive tires. After about 120 miles on these wheels, much of it over rocks and some nice drops, I can say I'm impressed. The tires have held on tight. The rims are still true and looking good.

I would say that if you are looking for a fairly inexpensive, low profile, high engagement, quality alloy wheel, this is your set! If you need something visually flashy, these aren't for you. These are my go to wheels for anything rowdy.

Pros: Cost. Decent weight. Wide. Durable. High engagement. Easy tubeless setup. RaceFace quality. Stiff laterally but forgiving over the hard stuff. Not very loud.

Cons: They only come in one color. Slightly more drag when off the gas. You can't brag about having carbon wheels. Not very loud.