$819.96

ENVE’s M 50 Fifty wheelset is their ultimate pair of cross-country hoops. The name is for 50% descending and 50% ascending. Accordingly, they wanted to balance strength with light weight.

Their main focus is on the rim. It’s molded carbon-fiber, of course. As is the way of ENVE, the rims are molded using a removable bladder, and they never use paint or filler. This probably saves about 60g per wheel compared to the competition. But they don’t stop there. Their rims have molded spoke holes and internal nipples for greater rim strength, which means greater wheel tension,  which means a stronger wheel. The interior of the rim sidewalls are hookless, which means greater impact resistance, and that they designed the fit to be so precise you don’t need a hooked bead seat. Despite all the features designed to maximize stiffness, the rim still has some vertical compliance, a good thing, as carbon isn’t known for bending. The compliance means fewer vibrations coming through the spokes to the hub to the fork and frame, and ultimately, to you.

The shape is 28mm deep and 27mm deep. This is the size that balances the needs of strength, stiffness, and air volume so that the wheel can do everything and excel at everything. They recommend tires 1.9-2.25” wide

The wheels are tubeless ready. They come with tubeless tape and valves. That written, you can certainly run tubed tires if you so choose.

The rim is laced with 28 two-cross spokes to the hubs

DT Swiss 240s hubs are like Swiss timepieces. Design classics that look good and last forever. The hub shell is one piece, with standard flanges, the left side offset for your disc rotor. The bearings are super smooth sealed cartridges and designed for thru-axles, though, typically Swiss, can be converted to quick releases in most cases. The Shimano/SRAM ten-speed cassette body is standard and can be converted without tools to a SRAM XD driver. In both cases, it freewheels on DT Swiss’ patented ratchet system, which not only offers near-instant engagement, but also a cool sound when coasting.

The ENVE M 50/50 is balanced in the way something that does everything superbly is balanced.