Review: FFWD Tyro 2 Wheelset

The Tyro 2 wheelset is designed for maximum versatility, according to FFWD, and while the result isn’t especially light, it can certainly take some abuse. These are carbon wheels that can be used all year-round, both on road and off.

The Tyro is FFWD’s do-it-all wheelset, designed to accept up to a 44mm tyre for road, gravel and CX use. In this rim braked build tyre sizes are constrained by your calipers, so unless you are running a cyclo-cross bike with cantilever brakes you probably aren’t going to be able to exploit the full benefits.

> Buy now: Tyro 2 Wheelset from FFWD for £969

That aside, if you’re sticking to roads you can certainly ride around without wincing every time you hit a pothole or crack in the road – a bonus which offsets the slight weight penalty over some carbon wheelsets for similar money. The Tyros are tough, and their solidity gives a real sense of security and a planted feel on the road.

The ride quality is good. Wheels probably bring far less to the table than tyre or frame choices when it comes to ride feel, but they still play their part, and despite their depth and stiffness, the FFWDs don’t create any harshness.

For sprinting efforts or when climbing hard the Tyros feel tight, something that is much more noticeable on rim braked wheels. That’s because flex at the rim is greater than at the hub where disc rotors are situated, so if there is movement it’s more likely to highlight itself as brake rub.

Braking on carbon rims is often considered sub-par compared to aluminium offerings, but things have improved a lot over the years; mainly in terms of the pads available. FFWD includes a set of SwissStop pads with these, which is good to see. The braking quality is great, with plenty of bite without grabbiness, and I’d say the result is easily on par with aluminium in both the wet and dry.

At 1,740g with tubeless tape fitted the Tyros aren’t the lightest wheels out there, but that is only really noticeable from a standing start, or on the steepest of climbs. With a 45mm deep rim there is a decent aero advantage, which helps them sing along on a flat road at speed or on descents.

Something like Hunt’s 3650 Carbon Wide Aero wheelset will save you around 300g, for instance, but they aren’t designed to take the abuse that the Tyros are.

So, performance is good, but what about the actual build? First up the Tyros are built in house at FFWD’s factory, and the quality is excellent. I haven’t been too sympathetic with how I’ve treated them for the test, and they’ve stood up to the abuse. They are still running true front and rear, and the hubs are spinning smoothly.

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For the freehub FFWD has specced a ratchet design over pawls, which gives a higher level of mechanical contact and fewer moving parts. That can only be good news for durability. The options are Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo.

The carbon fibre rim is reasonably wide at 29mm externally (21mm internal), and these are tubeless ready with tape fitted at the factory. Getting tyres on isn’t an issue, with 25mm, 28mm and 32mm rubber all popping on relatively easily, both in a tubeless and tubed setups.

The front wheel gets 20 spokes laced radially, while the rear gets 24 crossed 1x on both drive and the non-drive side. Considering the depth of the rim I expected the spokes to be flat aero ones, but they are standard circular cross-section. It’s a good strong build  with a three-year warranty, although the rider weight limit of 100kg is lower than many.

The hubs are FFWD’s own, using an alloy body and steel bearings.

Value

The Tyros are priced at £969 (the disc brake version is the same price) which is competitive in my eyes. For instance, Edco’s FOUR-8 is a slightly shallower version of its SIX-4 wheelset that I tested a little while back, with a 48mm-deep rim and a similar width to the Tyros. They’re about 200g lighter, and cost £999.99.

Scribe also offers some very good value for money wheels and a full range of rim brake options. Its Aero Wide 50 HD Carbon Wheelset weighs a claimed 1,474g (so around 1,520g with rim tape) and costs £870. They also use a ratchet system for the rear hub.

Overall

The Tyros aren’t just limited to the road, and they’re definitely tough enough to cope with a bit of cyclo-cross or light gravel too. There are lighter wheels out there, but they’re strictly for road use only. For under a grand, the Tyro wheelset is a strong and versatile package.

Verdict

Reliable aero wheelset that can cope with more than just smooth tarmac