Bicycling Test Editor Picks AR 35 For Gear of The Year List

woensdag 8 november 2023

As part of its 2023 “Gear of The Year” awards, Bicycling magazine published a story highlighting senior test editor Matt Phillips’s 10 personal favorites. His list includes the new CADEX AR 35 WheelSystem.

Of all the wheels Phillips rode throughout the year, the CADEX AR 35 stood out as his clear favorite.

“This wheelset makes every bike I installed it on (which, because I like it so much, is a lot of different bikes) feel better,” Phillips wrote. “Stiff and reactive wheelsets often have a downside in the form of a choppy ride. But the AR 35s aren’t harsh. They are admirably (and surprisingly) compliant on roads of all surfaces.”

Designed to excel on rough roads, gravel and dirt, the CADEX AR 35 feature light and durable carbon fiber rims with a hookless bead and broad 25mm inner width to create a rounder, more uniform tire shape with better sidewall support for cornering. Phillips appreciated the superlight weight and the accompanying performance boost.

“Coming in just under 1,300 grams and built with carbon-fiber spokes, this wheelset is snappy with a capital S,” he wrote. “Speed changes—acceleration and deceleration—feel nearly instantaneous and positive. I felt no noticeable windup, and it is very reactive to cornering inputs.”

The rim width was also a positive in Phillips’s view: “The 25mm internal width works well with the wider tires I ride these days (typically 34 to 38mm on my road bikes) and offers the support I like when running lower pressures (mid to upper 20 psi).”

For more, check out the story on Bicycling.com.

And for all the technical details on the AR 35 WheelSystem, click here.

Delen