It seems strange to consider Miche as an outsider to the more established wheel brands of Zipp, Enve, Roval, even Hunt, but a quick survey of people around me suggests that I'm not wrong with that initial perception.
The brand was founded in 1919, some 88 years earlier than Enve, but when you think of buying new road wheels, Miche rarely gets much of a look-in these days.
In early 2022, the brand formed a working collaboration with Wilier, and since then, its started making more noise. That noise got even louder this year with the launch of the Kleos RD wheelset range in summer, a trio of 'Race Division' wheels at 36, 50 and 62mm deep.
I've spent some time riding the middle of those options, the 50mm, to see how - and if - they compare to their competitors. At that depth and a price of €2,349, they sit in a very crowded segment against the likes of Enve's Foundation 45, Zipp's 404 Firecrest, Hunt's Limitless 48, the DT Swiss Arc 1100 DiCut 50mm, and more. Roval, Vision, Fulcrum, FFWD, Reserve, Bontrager, Cadex, Campagnolo, Hed, Reynolds, Parcours, Knight... name any wheel brand and it will have a ~50mm wheelset in its lineup.
Design and specifications
My first impression was that the Kleos RD 50 are pretty unexciting wheels. There's no extreme low weight to get excited about, or any groundbreaking technologies to pin this review on. The only thing of any real novelty is the aero covers that were posted to me in a paper envelope two weeks after the wheels had originally arrived.
This aero... shroud... for want of a better term, pops onto the hub to cover the two-cross spoke flanges (driveside at the rear, non-driveside at the front). They certainly make that area cleaner, in aerodynamic-, aesthetic-, and literal terms in that it keeps the water, grit and grime from working its way into the otherwise exposed spoke flanges. They do, however, feel like an afterthought to resolve a poor design rather than something additional for the aero benefit. Frustratingly, one of my aero covers didn't actually fit and snapped as I attempted to fit it, so I was forced to make do with the aerodynamic penalty for the duration of my testing. I'm being satirical, of course, but for those who care, Miche doesn't quantify what this saving is.
Elsewhere, the story of unexciting returns, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Credit must go to Miche's designers and engineers for keeping the reins on the project, doing everything well, but without letting their Italian nature take over and fitting it with flamethrowers or giving it an absurd price.
I think the best word to describe the design is sensible. The designers have used a 21mm internal bed with hooked beads, and designed a rim that has a modern shape that plays nicely with 28mm tyres. They've used aero bladed spokes; not the wild carbon fibre ones that you'll find on the Cadex 50 wheels, but straight-pull stainless steel spokes that are easy to replace, and external nipples that can be adjusted with the spoke key fitted to most multi tools. They spin on CeramicSpeed bearings for the performance benefits, and feature an easy-access preload adjustment. The only downside is that to access the internals you need two 12mm hex keys; does anyone have even one of these, let alone two?
They're set up ready for tubeless tyres from the box, with the valve and rim tape fitted, and they even come with a pair of wheel bags, something that is becoming ever rarer.
The design is perfectly sensible; and that's no bad thing.
Performance
That word that continues into the ride quality too. Whether heading uphill or down, they feel surefooted and reliable; sensible. For my testing, I shod them with 28mm Continental GP5000 AS TR tyres. These are tyres I'm already a fan of, so this no doubt helped with my confidence, but there was a definite air of stability from the wheels, especially when the winds picked up.
Sadly, despite my best attempts, I've not managed to repeat the Cyclingnews Wind Tunnel Wheels test, so I'm unsure how these stack up in that environment. The eyeball aero test - which you're totally welcome to throw into the void right away - tells me that they'd be in the ballpark. Given the difference between the fastest and slowest in that test was just 3.87 watts at 40kph, that's a fairly small ballpark to be in, so to a point means that their exact aerodynamic performance isn't all that important.
Their weight is also in the right ballpark. With tubeless valves, my scales measure these at 1524g. That's not groundbreaking by any means. Those Cadex 50 Ultra wheels tip the scales at 1316g, but then again they are about another 25% more expensive. The similarly priced Zipp 404 Firecrest are 1500g without valves, while the cheaper Hunt Limitless 48 are a hair over 1600g.
In the real world, the time it takes to set up your wheels is one marginal gain that's often overlooked. An hour in the shed setting up wheels is an hour that you don't get to ride, spend with the family, cuddle the dogs, whatever, so it's something I always try to quantify in testing. I've certainly had an easier time setting up wheels than I had here, but they weren't too bad. I physically couldn't get a pair of Specialized Mondo tyres on so swapped to the GP5000. They were tight, but did eventually stretch over the bead. The upside to this tight fit meant they inflated and seated immediately. All in, it took around 20 minutes, which isn't too bad.
Value
On the whole, my feeling on all £2000+ carbon wheelsets is mixed. For the everyday rider, I don't see the need. You can get a pair of Zipp 303S for £1090, Hunt Aerodynamicist 54 for £999 and you'll get 97% (made up figure) the same performance for 50% of the price. But there will be people out there who feel the need to have the aero bladed spokes, the extra watt from a sculpted hub or the weight saving from slightly more premium material choice. Among the products out there catering to that need, the Miche Kleos RD is competitive.
Verdict
My overriding feeling throughout writing this review is that I'm not sure why someone should buy these wheels.
If anything, they're actually more difficult to buy: The top six results in a Google search includes three product pages at Miche, two BikeRadar news stories, and one from Cyclingnews (hopefully two when this goes live!). There's no presence from the well-known shops such as Competitive Cyclist (USA) or Sigma Sports (UK). Do the same for any of the mainstay brands and you'll be given an endless choice of stores to buy from, likely with competing prices and easy returns policies. Miche doesn't tend to be the most well-stocked in stores either, so without a real USP, there's no reason for me to wait three days for the stock to arrive when I could simply walk out with something else on the same day.
It's unfortunate because there's nothing objectively wrong with them. They do everything well, with their CeramicSpeed bearings, convenient spoke choice, modern rim shape, easy(ish) setup, ballpark weight and ballpark price.
But they're not cheaper, lighter, or easier to use than the mainstay brands, and there's nothing to suggest they're significantly faster either. There's no reason to specifically choose them over the competitors beyond a particular love for the brand's heritage.
