RaceFace ERA Wheelset Review

Building on the success of their Next R31 carbon wheelset, Raceface brings us the ERA carbon wheelset, which offers more than just durability and lightweight. At the center of this wheelset are the revered Vault hubs that offer impressive engagement, low friction, and easy maintenance. The new carbon rims are the big news, with these wheels employing all of the latest tech and shaping to provide ideal ride quality and compliance. I spent months riding these wheels back to back with several other carbon sets to differentiate their performance aspects and capture their performance in words. Read on to see how impressive they are.

Performance Comparison

Product Specifications

At first look, the ERA wheelset doesn't look revolutionary. With the same hubs and spokes from the R31 wheelset, are they just another carbon wheelset? One ride on these wheels answers that question, and it's a resounding no! I spent months trying to destroy these wheels and having fun along the way. As it is our job to convey the nuances of their ride quality with words, I'll do my best, but mostly.. these are the wheels you want.

The front and rear rims have been designed for different purposes and tailored to provide different performance characteristics for the front and rear of the bike. Both rims measure 37.2mm externally with 30mm internals, and the Anvil Edge Bead Wall is thicker at the edge of the bead to distribute impact and lessen the chances of sidewall damage. The front rim is 18.6mm tall, which gives it more lateral compliance, while the rear rim is 22.6mm tall to give it more strength and peppy acceleration.

The Vault hubs are much larger than those found on other models tested. They feature an aluminum shell that tapers from the drive side to the non-drive side in the rear and from the brake side to the non-brake side in the front. This design allows for an entire hub shell that is larger, as opposed to just a taller flange. Oversized hubs shorten the spoke length while increasing the bracing angle of the spokes between the hubs and the rim, which aims to enhance stiffness and durability. These large hub shells also allow for the use of larger 6902 bearings inside the hub.

The Vault freehub design includes six spring-loaded pawls arranged in two sets of three, allowing three pawls to engage simultaneously with the 60-tooth drive ring. This provides 120 points of contact or 3-degree engagement. The hubs use standard six-bolt rotors and are available with XD or Microspline free hubs in standard Boost (148mm) and Super Boost (157mm). Centerlock-compatible hubs will be available soon.

Using 28 straight-pull spokes, both front and rear, laced in a 3-cross pattern, the spokes do not touch. The rims feature a 4mm offset to keep spoke tension even, and each wheel uses a single length of spoke; extras are included with the wheels. Raceface offers the ERA in 27.5, 29", and MX sizes. Of utmost importance in any review of carbon wheels is the warranty, and Raceface provides a lifetime warranty that includes crash damage!

Ride Quality

The ride quality of carbon wheels has come a long way in the past decade as we realized that having the stiffest, most responsive wheel possible wasn't the most enjoyable to ride and didn't provide the most control. A few years ago, we saw the pendulum swing deep with the Zipp 3Zero Moto that prioritized compliance above all else. The 3Zero Moto wheels blew us away with their comfort and control, but their weight made them feel like a compromise. The ERA wheels give you almost the same level of comfort and control while weighing a half-pound less.

Behold the ERA, a lightweight, snappy, and compliant wheelset that seriously enhances control. Unlike the Industry Nine Solix wheels, you're not struck over the head with how spry and lightweight they feel on the first pedal stroke. The ERA wheels have a subtle, muted feel that slips through rock gardens without that pinballing effect stiffer wheels suffer from. We ran the same tires at the same pressure throughout our wheel testing but ended up checking the pressure in these wheels more often as they felt softer and seemed to be quieter in the chunky places. Our testers all agreed that the ride quality was near perfect and had problems coming up with any criticism. They accelerate quickly and feel incredibly precise without ever feeling too harsh or direct. You can dive into a berm or hard corner without discernible flex, then launch into a chunky line and feel the sublime effects of lateral deflection. We loved how calm the cockpit felt with these wheels mounted.

I know we sound effusive about these wheels, but it isn't because we're paid to review them or have some sponsorship at stake. We purchase all of the products we test at retail; these wheels are no exception. The ERA wheels enhanced the ride experience on every bike we mounted them to. To describe them with a single word, it would be “Control.” Similar to the Zipp 3Zero Moto in terms of their lateral deflection, especially up front, but lacking the lethargic acceleration. There's less unwanted feedback reaching the handlebar than with almost any other wheel. They don't feel soft in normal trail conditions; they feel snappy and quick, yet compliance ramps up when conditions get spicy.

Freehub Engagement

Freehub engagement is a contentious issue, but I'm a fan of rapid engagement. I ride dicey, technical terrain and thrive on crushing hard uphill moves. I loved the .59 degree engagement on the Industry Nine Solix and found no downside. There are plenty of manufacturers that claim slower engagement will lessen the effects of backlash from your suspension, but that seems like an excuse for not making a better product. While the Vault hubs have 3-degree engagement (5X slower than I9), it's still a fairly rapid pickup that doesn't leave you with much of a dead spot. Consequently, you're not burdened with the sound of a zillion pawls buzzing from your rear axle.

If you're riding stock wheels on your bike, the engagement is likely between 6 and 10 degrees. Having a hub that engages faster decreases the bike's response time; it's like moving from internal combustion to an electric vehicle. Faster engagement enhances your ride in numerous ways; every time you jump on those pedals to sprint, ratchet, or wheelie, the bike jumps to react. We'd accept faster engagement on this wheelset if it were offered, but there's nothing about them that feels less than high performance.

Weight

When we talk about wheels, lighter is generally better, but not at the expense of durability. The ERA wheelset weighs in at 1768 grams with tape and valves, and that's moderately light for an enduro-approved wheelset. We have lighter wheels in this test, notably the Industry Nine Solix at 1475 grams, but they also cost 50% more. The ERA wheels shave a few grams from their predecessor, the Next R31, but they add so much to your ride quality.

While heavier than the Solix and the Enve M6 (1608g), you'd be remiss to judge them for their weight alone. The ERA wheels feel like they've struck a perfect balance of weight and compliance. The no-questions-asked lifetime warranty provides the assurance that you never have to think about taking it easy on your wheels. I rode these wheels like they were rentals; if we also get to test the warranty service, then that's just an additional feature of our review. After ample abuse and many careless line choices, the ERAs were unfazed. Our testers all commented on how light the wheels felt and how readily they accelerated. Even when swapping back and forth between lighter wheels, they never felt heavy.

Durability

We put approximately 350 miles on the RaceFace Era wheels over three months of blown-out, end-of-summer conditions. The wheels were subjected to cased jumps, poor line choices, and risky hucks to the unseen. Rim contact was never intentional but frequently happened while sussing out new lines. Despite our treatment, the length of usage might not be enough mileage to find a point of failure or determine how durable the wheels are. This is one of the reasons that we record the tension of each spoke at the beginning and end of the test period. The ERA wheels use higher tension on the rear drive side and uniform tension everywhere else. When testing commenced, we stripped off the tires and put them in the truing stand to find them perfectly round, true, and the spoke tension completely unchanged. This bodes well for their durability; wheels that lose spoke tension during testing are more susceptible to damage as time goes on.

Perhaps even more impressive, when we opened up the hubs, we found them impeccably clean and free of dust and debris. The 6902 bearings were smooth, and the pawls and 60-tooth drive ring were completely clean, proving the low-drag labyrinth seals had done their job. Despite rides in inclement weather, muddy trail days, and water crossings, the hub internals look as if they were new. We have a few scratches in the rims and some dings in the decals, but I think the wheels will probably look better if they are devoid of decals, as their appearance is a bit flashy. RaceFace knows these wheels are durable, so they back them with a lifetime warranty, which they define as “the expected usable life of our products being ridden regularly.” This interpretation sounds a little suspicious, but we expect there needs to be a clause to keep them from replacing 100-year-old wheels. We tested a set of RaceFace R31 wheels that also use the Vault hubs back in 2018, and we're still riding them without issue, so that likely bodes well for the ERAs. The wheels have a weight limit of 140 kg (308 lbs).

For those new to carbon wheels, one of the biggest concerns is likely about their durability. These wheels are expensive and lightweight; are they also…strong? The answer is yes. We ride carbon wheels because we surpass the limits of the tire's sidewalls and want to be able to keep riding. Carbon can flex and absorb impact in ways that alloy can't, so rest assured that you're not signing up for a lifetime of warranty claims and high-maintenance parts.

Value

While the price of carbon wheelsets has decreased over the years, they're still a major purchase. With the cost in mind, you'd be hard-pressed to make a more meaningful upgrade to your bike for the $1600 retail price these wheels will set you back. Carbon wheels affect your rotation weight, acceleration, handling, comfort, and the reliability of your ride. The changes to your ride quality and level of control these wheels offer make them a solid recommendation. The ERAs outperform more expensive carbon wheels in our review and have a very reasonable price tag, given their level of performance. If cost is of no concern to you, check out the Industry Nine Solix wheels. They're lighter and have faster engagement, but they'll cost you 50% more.

Conclusion